Free Motion quilting at NY Maker Faire

I’ll be demonstrating Free Motion quilting and embroidery at the NY Maker Faire September 17 & 18 (next weekend):
Maker Faire
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Queens, NY  11368-2950
Come on down and say hello!

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Kult der Originalität

My Cult of Originality essay gets a German translation, courtesy of Thomas Leske.

Ein kleiner illustrierter Aufsatz von Nina Paley. Sie lesen weiter.

I. AUS DEM NICHTS
Oft muss ich mir anhören:
MICHAELANGELO WAR EIN GENIE! Ein einzigartiger Künstler! Total originell!

Ist es nur ein eigenartiger Zufall, dass seine Werke im Europa des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts erschienen

statt im alten Ägypten, … [...]

Inspiration (a.k.a. Artist’s Prayer)

Our Idea
Which art in the Ether
That cannot be named;

Thy Vision come
Thy Will be done
On Earth, as it is in Abstraction.

Give us this day our daily Spark
And forgive us our criticisms
As we forgive those who critique against us;

And lead us not into stagnation
But deliver us from Ego;

For Thine is the Vision
And the Power
And the Glory … [...]

Mimi & Eunice

Many years ago, I thought “Mimi & Eunice” would be a great name for a comic strip. Recently I’ve been needing to do some drawing just to keep my head from exploding, so this week I figured, why not Mimi & Eunice?

As far as I can tell, Mimi & Eunice are two middle-aged children/baby … [...]

Me at Kripalu April 16-18

Wanna spend a fun weekend with me improvising drawn stories on index cards at a renowned yoga retreat? I sure do!
Nina Paley’s Visual Storytelling Workshop @Kripalu
Friday April 16 – Sunday April 18, 2010
(with a screening of Sita Sings the Blues on the 16th)
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health (in the Berkshires of Western MA)
Register … [...]

The Cult of Originality

A lil’ illustrated essay by Nina Paley – keep reading

I. VACUUMS
I hear this a lot:
MICHAELANGELO WAS A GENIUS! A singular auteur! Wholly original!

How peculiar, then, that his works showed up in Europe in the 16th Century,

rather than ancient Egypt or Sumeria or Persia, or in the Lascaux Caves.

How “original” was Michaelangelo? He used … [...]

thru-you.com

This is inspired, and makes me love everyone. (Thank you for the tip, Eric!) [...]

Your Children Are Not Your Children

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they … [...]