Maybe an adult told you when you were a child that your drawing was terrible or thought the dog you drew was a dinosaur. Maybe, like me, you never had any exposure to arts during your K-12 education. No matter what’s got you intimidated, I can offer you experiences with art-making that are playful and empowering, but also offer clear guidance on tools and techniques to get you started.  We’ll focus on things you can try in your own home using accessible materials, with a lot of scaffolding and an embrace of mistakes.  It’s hard to feel fear and despair when you’re actively making things!  You can take these workshops stand-alone or as a series.  Can’t Draw?  Don’t Let That Get In Your Way will be an introduction to printmaking using gelli plates and stamps. Sign up at the Art Paint Draw website.

One of my collages, The Words They Told Us We Cannot Use, was chosen for an exhibit of works on paper at the Alexandre Hogue Gallery in Tulsa Oklahoma, juried by Mary Weaver Chapin, PhD, the Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Portland Art Museum. The exhibit runs from September 4 through October 16.

Two of my collages are in A Show of Resistance at First Studio Gallery in Phoenix, one on the wall and one in the digital gallery. The AZ Arts Alliance writes about the show, “Art has long been a force for revolution, reflection, and reform. A Show of Resistance, opening June 2, 2025, at First Studio Gallery, is a powerful testament to the role artists play in shaping conversations, confronting injustice, and imagining a more equitable future. This bold, multi-artist exhibition—presented in partnership with Arizona Art Alliance—features 80 compelling works selected from over 200 submissions nationwide. The artwork spans a range of media, styles, and voices, unified by a common thread: resistance. Whether addressing personal battles or global challenges, the selected artists use their creative expression as both mirror and megaphone, inviting viewers to engage, reflect, and act.” The show will be up from June 2 through August 29th. The closing reception is Friday August 1st from 5-9pm. Visit the virtual gallery here. Outside of the closing reception (August 1), the gallery is open by appointment—please contact FirstStudioGallery@gmail.com.

Kolaj LIVE Online: Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide, Saturday, 26 July, 3-5PM EDT

Kolaj Institute’s Politics in Collage Project is a series of residencies, publications, discussions, and exhibitions examining complex socio-political issues that contemporary society is contending with, in order to spark meaningful dialogue and inspire deeper engagement.

In January 2025, Kolaj Institute organized the residency, Politics in Collage 2025: Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide, that brought together collage artists to make artwork that responds to a global rise in authoritarianism. They explored the history of political collage and its early 20th century roots in the European anti-fascist movements. They learned how to read and decode authoritarianism, to understand how it operates, and strategies for resisting or countering it. Discussions and presentations centered on how an artist can make work that picks up the unfinished work of history and contributes to the civic discourse.

Artists in the residency worked together to illustrate and elucidate The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide, a text written by Martin Mycielski, the Vice-President and Executive Director of the Brussels-based Open Dialogue Foundation. Based on the Polish experience, The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide offers its readers information and tools for recognizing and resisting authoritarianism. In a clear series of lists, the Guide lays out what to expect in a society being led by an authoritarian regime, rules for surviving such a regime, and strategies for engaging with authoritarian supporters. Kolaj Institute has published a book and folio of prints using the artwork made during the residency.

Participating artists are Heather Wright (Elgin, Minnesota USA), Heather Wishik (Woodstock, Vermont, USA), Lori Petchers (Fairfield, Connecticut, USA), Suzanne Gore (Boise, Idaho, USA), Andrea Lee (Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada), Jennifer R Myhre (Sedona, Arizona, USA), and Olivia Baldacci (New York, New York, USA).

During this Kolaj LIVE Online, we will hear from the artists, Martin Mycielski, and Kolaj Institute Director Ric Kasini Kadour.

Book: Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide

The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide is a collage. The book combines the text of a Polish human rights activist with the artwork of seven collage artists to create a space in which we can think about the rise of authoritarianism and how to navigate the troubling, difficult times in which we find ourselves. Organized as a series of lists, the book illustrates what to expect under authoritarianism and offers rules for surviving authoritarian regimes and engaging their supporters. The introduction traces how the text came into existence and how the artists came together to make collage about it. Ric Kasini Kadour shares historical examples of artists responding to authoritarianism; John Heartfield's anti-fascist collage and a 1979 exhibition in East Germany that was described as a "victory over false consciousness." The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide is a testament to the role art can play in our communities.

Folio: Art to Resist & Survive Authoritarianism

The folio “Art to Resist & Survive Authoritarianism” consists of twenty-six, 15”x11”, collage prints on 100lb Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper in an edition of 5, plus one A/P. The folio is presented in an archival box with a label, a guide and a numbered title page signed by the curator. One set of folios is included in Kolaj Institute’s archive. The remaining folios are available for sale with the proceeds going to support the mission of Kolaj Institute. The folio is also available as a traveling exhibition. Please send an email to inquire about exhibiting or purchasing folio.

Purchase a Copy of the Book: https://shop.kasinihouseartshop.com/product/authoritarian-regime-survival-guide

About the Project: https://kolajinstitute.org/politics-in-collage/

Come learn the basics of linocut relief printing on Sunday July 13th from 2:30-5:30pm AND come away with postcards you can mail to our elected officials! No previous experience with linocut carving is necessary and all tools and materials will be provided. You don’t need to be proficient at drawing to enjoy this workshop. This workshop will take place in the New Room of the Sedona United Methodist Church at 110 Indian Cliffs Road. Parking is free. I was the founder of the Art and Culture working group of Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara County and led many Make Art Make Justice workshops like this one for people with little to no artistic experience between 2017 and 2024. I understand that many people come to an art-making experience with a similar level of nervousness that they might a math class. I’ll do my best to give you a positive, playful and empowering encounter. You can sign up for the workshop here. I have one scholarship slot available. Please email me at jen@moreartlessfear.com if you are interested.

I will be speaking in the symposium on Politics in Collage as part of Kolaj Fest in New Orleans, along with two other artists who were part of the 2025 Kolaj Institute’s Politics in Collage residency. Our charge was to make collages in conversation with Martin Mycielski’s Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide and we will be speaking about our own practice in political collage as well as about our experiences in this residency and sharing some of the artworks that are featured in the forthcoming book.

Join me and Jill Sans from The HeArt Box Gallery on Saturday June 21 2025 to celebrate the Solstice—the longest day of the year—by making sunprints in Aspen Alley behind the gallery in Flagstaff. I’ll be helping folks make cyanotypes and Jill will be guiding folks through printing with turmeric. This is a free event, but donations will be accepted and both of us will have art available for purchase in the gallery.

The Big Gay Art Show runs June 6 through July 25th. It is a juried art show that exhibits and sells artwork in support of the gay communities and allies. From the Sedona Art Center:

This much anticipated and well attended exhibition is open to all artists in any medium and of any level. In 2012, the Big Gay Art Show was conceptualized by a small group – some connected to SAC and others in the Sedona Pride organization. The event began as an effort to offer the gay community a voice in the local art scene. Since that first show, Sedona Arts Center has welcomed hundreds of emerging and professional artists to Sedona to share their work. The event provides a positive venue to for the gay communities and its allies to show their work. In the past, Sedona Arts Center hosted and promoted this event, but has now taken on the special event at the request of Sedona Pride. Featuring: Becky Altman, Laura Atria, Kevin Bacher, Brandin Barón, Simone Beach, Jim Berenholtz, Rora Blue, Roberta Brown Shader, Penny Buckley, Juliette Buffington, Rick Carraway, Steven Cheadle, Stephanie Dishno, Kevin Eaton, Marvella Frey, Leo Gagne, Eric Galbreath, Corinne Geertsen, Sharon Gilham, Claire Havenhill, Lynn Haygood Lee, CJ Henderson, Andres Juarez-Troncoso, Gerald Kaplan, Denize Katzen, Kathryn Kirby, Jason Kiss, Mike Leckie, Amy Light, Harold Lohner, Hank Lumen, Michael McCalla, Tom McIntire, Nicole Melnicky, Kachina Mooney, Jennifer Myhre, Michele Naylor, Ross Ozer, Ali Paintings, Emma Parla-Aziz, Rachel Peach, Jasmine Porter, Nath Raye, Linda Riesterer, Ro Robertson, Jillian Sander, Deborah Splain, Ashley Young, Xinyi Yu

Opening Reception: Friday, June 6, 2025 from 4p-6p at Celebrate Sedona.

The Special Exhibition Gallery is Open Daily 12-5pm

Two of my collages will be on exhibit alongside the work of documentary photographer Amy Martin as part of this family-friendly celebration of the labor movement at the Museum of Contemporary Art Flagstaff, featuring music and poetry. See this map for where to park (parking is free).