Badass Cross Stitch

[badasscrossstitch]

Voting in Illinois

Last week I asked my college students how many of them had ever voted (2 out of a class of 35 had). Only a handful were confident they were registered. I asked a few questions to see how much they knew about the voting process. This week, I put together a resource page and walked them through the myriad of options they had for registering, absentee voting, early voting, day of voting, how to look up their ballot ahead of time, how to research candidates, how to research judges and issues, and talked to them about their trepidation’s around voting. One student asked what this had to do with a business class and I explained at length about the impact that electeds have on everything that could impact their future businesses and the kind of world they want to live in. I then asked them how many of them were taught any of this before- 2 hands went up. I was SO ANGRY FOR THEM. All I hear is how young people don’t do this and they don’t do that and they don’t vote. They don’t vote because we have failed them. How can we expect to have civically engaged citizens if we do not teach them the basic logistics of HOW to vote. We let them graduate high school right at the age when they can first vote and we don’t demand that part of their learning include how to vote let alone how to vote informed. How is it that I have a classroom of voting age students who are brilliant and creative and inspiring and they learned more in a 30 minute crash course in voting with me in a business class than in their formal education prior to today? I hope they feel as much resentment as I feel right now and I hope they take that to the polls and show this country what is possible when we give folks the basic literacy and resources to do the most important thing any citizen can do in a democracy.

Here are the resources I shared with them. 

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE 

 1)    Register to Vote

2)    Ways to Vote

3)    Know your Ballot

4)    Do your Research

 1)    Registering to Vote in Illinois:

·         You must be a United States Citizen.

·         You must be 17 years old on or before the date of the Primary Election and turn 18 on or before the date of the General or Consolidated Election.

·         You must live in your election precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day.

·         You must not be serving a sentence of confinement in any penal institution as a result of a conviction.

·         You may not claim the right to vote anywhere else.

REGISTER ONLINE HERE (Links to an external site.)

When you register, you will receive a voter registration card in the mail. It will tell you where you go vote. (Somewhere nearby your address). If you don't get one in time you can look up your polling location here: https://ova.elections.il.gov/PollingPlaceLookup.aspx (Links to an external site.)

 Same Day Registration:

Illinois has same day registration. That means you can show up to your polling location with 2 forms of ID, register, and vote all at the same time!

On Election Day, voters who are not registered to vote can register and vote at their home precinct only. Any voter who is not registered and needs to know where to go to register and vote on Election Day can utilize the Clerk’s online Your Voter Information Tool to find their proper polling place by address or birthday.

Voters planning on registering to vote or updating their address on Election Day must bring two pieces of identification to register, one with a current address.

  2)    Ways to Vote:

 Early Voting

If you know you won’t have time to vote on the day of the election (March 17, 2020) don’t worry! You can vote early (and you can register and vote at the same time!). Early voting takes place March 2-16th. There are dedicated early voting locations. Here is a list of the Cook County locations: https://www.cookcountyclerk.com/service/early-voting-locations

 Here is the location and schedule for the early voting polling station closest to Columbia:

 69 W WASHINGTON, 5TH FLOOR

69 W WASHINGTON ST

CHICAGO, IL 60602

 MF

Feb.  19 - Feb. 21

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Feb.  24 - Feb. 28

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Mar.  2 - Mar. 6

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Mar.  9 - Mar. 13

09:00  AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 16

09:00  AM - 07:00 PM

SA

Mar. 7

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 14

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

SU

Mar. 8

10:00  AM - 04:00 PM

Mar. 15

10:00  AM - 04:00 PM

69 W WASHINGTON, PEDWAY

69 W WASHINGTON ST

CHICAGO, IL 60602

 MF

Feb.  19 - Feb. 21

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Feb.  24 - Feb. 28

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Mar.  2 - Mar. 6

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Mar.  9 - Mar. 13

09:00  AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 16

09:00  AM - 07:00 PM

Mar. 17

06:00  AM - 07:00 PM

SA

Mar. 7

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

Mar. 14

09:00  AM - 05:00 PM

SU

Mar. 8

10:00  AM - 04:00 PM

Mar. 15

10:00  AM - 04:00 PM

 Election Day Voting

In Illinois, you do NOT need to present a photo ID or any documentation in order to vote. You just have to be on the registered voter list. I find it helpful to bring my voter registration card with me and just hand it to them so they can find me easier. 

Voting doesn't take long at all in most cases. Just roll up, check in, get your voting form, go to a booth, fill it out, return it to them, get your "I voted" stitcker, post on social that you voted, carry on with your day knowing you did your civic duty and used your voice to shape the country the way you see fit.

 Mail In Ballot/Absentee Ballot - Illinois

Don't want to wait to vote on election day or go to the polls? That's cool. Get your absentee ballot mailed to you. Fill it out at home and mail it back! So easy. It takes 2 minutes online. Here you go... https://www.vote.org/state/illinois/ (Links to an external site.)

The ballot must be postmarked by the day of the election. 

Primary: March 17th / General: Nov 3rd

 Registered to vote in another state?

Cool! Get your absentee ballot from that state mailed to you. Fill it out at home. Mail it back before election day in your state. Easy.

https://www.usa.gov/absentee-voting (Links to an external site.)

  3)    Know Your Ballot

The primary is where each party votes on who they want to run in the general election (November 3,2020). You are essentially narrowing down the field in this election.

In the Illinois primary, when you show up to vote you need to declare if you want a Democratic ballot or a Republican ballot. You can choose either but not both.

The choice on who you want to run for President is NOT the only choices you need to vote on. Each ballot is different based on where you live. 

Go to this site: https://ballotpedia.org/Illinois_elections,_2020 (Links to an external site.) and enter the address you used to register to vote. It will give you a sample ballot. You can then use the sample ballot to research candidates and issues. You can fill out your sample ballot ahead of time and then bring it with you into the voting booth so you remember all the folks you want to vote for. This will also make the voting process real quick.

   4)    Do your Research

This is probably the most challenging part of any election.

Local politics/local positions are SO IMPORTANT. Local elected officials get to make major decisions that impact your neighborhood, your city, your county, and your state. Yes, national politics is super important but local politics, I would argue, has an even greater impact on your day-to-day life.

 a)    Know your ballot

There are lots of ways to do your research. Knowing what is on your ballot will narrow down the amount of research you need to do. So be sure to go to : https://ballotpedia.org/Illinois_elections,_2020 (Links to an external site.) and get a copy of your ballot.

 b)    Researching presidential candidates

Currently, there are 8 Democratic candidates and 2 Republican candidates.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-presidential-candidates.html

 Since there are so many Democratic candidates running for president there is a lot to consider.

I found this resource helpful: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/quiz-which-candidate-agrees-with-me/ (Links to an external site.)

 It could help you narrow down where to start your candidate research. 

 c)    Voting for Judges

When deciding on what judges to vote for (because let's be honest...what the hell do I know about who should be a judge or not) I use this resource: https://www.voteforjudges.org/ (Links to an external site.)

   Ultimately, you cast your vote for the candidates that you believe will create the kind of country that you want to live in. 

  I hope this is helpful to you. I hope you choose to vote. As always, I am here to answer any questions or talk through anything with you.

=)

Shannon

 VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE 

[badasscrossstitch]

Free Pattern

A classic meme re-imagined ...

Download it here: http://www.badasscrossstitch.com/freepatterns 

[badasscrossstitch]

In Solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union

On October 17th the Chicago Teachers Union will strike. Public school teachers and staff will always have my full support. As a former public school classroom teacher, I know first-hand how fucking hard their job is and how impossible it is made when they don’t have the resources, support, and pay that they need and deserve. 

I’ve made a few posters for wheat pasting, stickering, sign-making, whatever and I’m encouraging you to get out there and show your support for CTU. 

Click for download

Click for download

[badasscrossstitch]

Free Bob Ross Cross Stitch Pattern

You can stitch your very own Bob Ross.

Here’s a link to the free pattern.

[badasscrossstitch]

Feminist Street Art Takeover - You in?

We are staging a feminist street art takeover!

On my site, there is a full wheatpasting tutorial and over 30 different art image downloads with different messages depending on your mood and what you think your community needs to hear (all free).

Get at it!

http://www.badasscrossstitch.com/street-art

[badasscrossstitch]

Solo Show - Chicago

Do you know what makes me the most uncomfortable? Watching people look at my art. Want to come look at my art while I stand around awkwardly? 

My solo show - It’s Nice To Meet Me opens at The Center on Halsted in Chicago on August 16th from 6-8pm and you are invited!

The show will be up for 6 weeks so if you can’t make it to the opening you can still see it. 

Details Here 

It’s a new body of work. It’s a lot of pieces. It’s TMI about me because why not make it even more awkward right?!

Feminist and Political Embroidery.

xo

Shannon

[badasscrossstitch]

Los Angeles Women!

You should definitely consider attending this:

Ticketing Info Here

I am terribly sad to not be able to attend this year in person but I’m sending art for the silent auction.

I hope all my LA ladies folks will attend if you are able!

xo

Shannon

[badasscrossstitch]

Keep an eye on @MicroGalleries

I am very excited to tell you that I am one of fifty international artists that will make up the 2019 Micro Galleries Art Collective. 

Micro Galleries is a free global arts initiative that uses art as a vehicle to create positive change. We do this through creative interventions in public spaces, workshops, art tours, symposiums, think tanks, and residencies. We work together with communities who are in some kind of social or creative need, and together create new opportunities, imaginings, and creative possibilities.

This means exciting new projects. It means traveling to somewhere on the globe for a convening and full-on art takeover. It means bringing Badass HERstory to the world even faster. It means you and I doing even more creating together! It means more impact, more connections, more learning, and more art activism. 

So basically, it’s the coolest and I can’t wait to get YOU involved in these projects!!! Stay tuned. And follow MicroGalleries on Instagram. 

xo

Shannon

[badasscrossstitch]

Win My Art

Today kicks off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the US.

I made this piece and anyone who donates at least $5 to Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago before Friday at noon CST will be entered into a drawing to win it. 

Give now and Good Luck!

xo

Shannon

[badasscrossstitch]

Upcoming Workshops + Events!

There are some seriously fun (and mostly free) events coming up if you want to come hang with me and stitch or learn to stitch if you don’t know how yet! 

Chicago and Indianapolis

May 18th - The Other Art Fair - CHICAGO

This one is a bit weird and magical. I will be on-site at the Fair doing LIVE UPCYCLING. That means, you bring me the shitty art from your house - maybe it’s something you inherited, a gift, something you made that was a fail and hand it to me and I’ll make it better? At least different. You can just come watch or you can reserve a spot now.

I asked some friends to help me out by giving me some shitty art that they wanted me to upcycle so I could practice and show you some of the things I might do (you know...to set expectations ;) 

Number 1 - Bob Ross-esque estate sale find (BEFORE)

After some fancy needle weaving to cover up the part of the painting I felt was the weakest and the addition of an embroidered bird - because how you gonna paint a landscape and not include a bird?!

Close Up:

Upcycle Example #2 - Joann Fabric “art” before:

Upgraded with an embroidered conversation that is basically a word-for-word recounting of the convo I had with the teller while checking out...

I think we are going to have THE MOST FUN EVER so please book a spot and let’s upcycle some shitty art!

WORKSHOPS

May 19th - The Other Art Fair - CHICAGO

Craftivism workshop at The Other Art Fair - $5 to hold your seat. Supplies AND cocktail included! 

Register now.

May 31st - INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

Craftivism workshop ($10) at The Speak Easy. I’m kicking off my birthday weekend with a road trip to Indianapolis to stitch with the Hoosiers! 

Register here.

June 2nd - MCA - CHICAGO

Still finalizing details on this one but save the date! It will be FREE and it will be my birthday so....you will need to be there. Link shortly.

June 27th - TOMS - CHICAGO

Craftivism workshop (FREE) at TOMS in Wicker Park. Supplies are provided. Seats are limited.

Reserve a spot asap for this one! 

I can’t wait to stitch with you!!!!!

xo

Shannon

[badasscrossstitch]

Muslim Women’s Day

Today is Muslim Women’s Day! 

Started by Amani Al-Khatahtbeh of Muslim Girl 

As we close out Women’s History Month I thought I would add this piece to the vintage sewing pattern series using a collection of Muslim fashion illustrations to create one that would match the series.

I would like to use this piece and this day to draw your attention to the eternal badass who is Hoda Katebi. She and her team are launching a fashion production coop in chicago for immigrant and refugee women. 

First, follow them on instagram (at) BlueTinProduction 

Second, donate some money to their campaign. 💵

[badasscrossstitch]

Happy St Patrick’s Day

For my fierce feminist friends, I partnered with everyone’s favorite @FeministLimericks for this modern Irish blessing for you.

Free pattern will be going out in my newsletter this week (you can sign up on my website).

I hope you all will be showing up today to one of the hundreds of peace vigils being held in solidarity with our Muslim family and against white supremacy, terrorism, and Islamophobia.

[badasscrossstitch]

Some Thoughts For My Irish-American Family and Friends on St Patrick’s Day Weekend

Hello My Fellow Irish-American Friends

It is St Patrick’s Day weekend and the festivities are about to begin. I’m baking a soda bread as we speak and there are Smithwicks chilling in the fridge. 

This St. Patrick’s Day I would like to just quickly remind us all of some major moments in our history as Irish descendants and Irish Americas through the lens of oppression, sexism, and racism.

I know I know...that’s not very festive and this is OUR holiday. But we live in America in 2019 and shit is fucked so we need to use every opportunity we can to find solidarity and look to our past to inform our future. And since “everyone is Irish this weekend” it is a good time to leverage all that internet clicking to educate.

I hope you will just read through this and as you do look for the parallels. Think about our ancestors, our immigration stories, how we, as Irish-Americans, ended up where we are now in the United States with the privileges we have. Then dive deeper and read up on some of the things that stand out to you. 

If you really want to level up I highly recommend reading:

How the Irish Became White and Working Towards Whiteness. 

When you finish those I have more for you.

Let’s talk about St Patrick for a minute since it’s his holiday…

St Patrick was stolen from Britain and enslaved by the Irish in Ireland. After many years as a slave he escaped and fled back to Britain. Then he believed God spoke to him and told him he was to go back to Ireland and convert the Irish-heathens to Christianity.

So...a former slave who heard voices and had visions became a missionary and converted thousands to Christianity and is largely credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. No snakes, no clovers explaining the trinity, and I’m fairly certain he didn’t raise the dead but I have no proof so I’ll leave that alone.

Irish Immigration…

We just learned about St Patrick bringing Christianity to Ireland. Well, not all Irish were/are Catholics. In fact, the majority of the first “wave” of Irish immigrants who came to the US were Protestants who were descended from British and Scottish COLONISTS and were fleeing religious persecutions and tensions in Ireland. It was even against the law at the time for Protestants and Irish-Catholics to marry in Ireland.

In the southern states of the US at this time, Irish immigrants were valued because...wait for it... white slave owners recognized the importance of Irish workers to the protection of slavery. How you ask? The Irish would do life-threatening work which would ensure slave-owners could protect their more high valued property (slaves). Please do not read this and think “shit we had it worse than black slaves!” … NO. That is not the point of sharing this. It is meant to provide a layer of context around how white protestants thought of Irish immigrants at this time.

The next “wave” of Irish immigrants came as refugees fleeing the Great Irish Famine of the 1840’s and in response to the need for laborers in the US. One million people died in Ireland as a result of the famine. ONE MILLION Irish died in a food crisis.

Most of these Irish immigrants/refugees came over on ships known as “coffin ships” because of how deplorable the conditions were. Some were the very same ships that used to transport the enslaved from Africa (again...context only! Choosing to come to the US on old slave ships is NOT the same as being enslaved). A quarter of these refugees died en route.

These immigrants chose to live in cities in areas with other Irish immigrants so that they would have support and protection. Most of these immigrants were Catholic. Guess what? That was a very unattractive thing at the time. Anti-Irish mobs burned churches and homes. Read about the Bible Riots of 1844. Walls were built around churches. Armed guards were put in place to defend and protect church-goers. (Pause here and really consider this. Consider the Mosque attack that just happened).

There are many stories of young and single Irish women who were brought over to marry men they had never met who could pay for their trip to the US.

The press positioned Irish men as violent gang members who were prone to alcoholism and women as “reckless breeders”. The Irish represented the highest ethnic population in prisons, in poorhouses, and in insane asylums.

Societies of men started forming...Nationalists. Native-born, Protestant men who wanted to make America great again and formed a new political party called the… wait for it...Know Nothing Party. They believed Catholicism was way out of alignment with American values and these Irish-Catholic immigrants and refugees needed to go back to where they came from. Guess what? They were pretty darn successful in oppressing Irish immigrants through deportations and voter suppression.

So how did the Irish go from a despised immigrant group to plain old white folks?

1) Having melanin-free skin and embracing white supremacy

2) Becoming a major voting force and acquiring political power

3) Assimilating

embracing the english language and giving up Irish

taking on civil servant roles (police, firefighters, judges)

espousing capitalism

4) Pointing to the influx of non-anglo immigrants as a threat to America - most specifically Chinese laborers

5) The labor movement and acquiring power through unions

Irish-American history is one riddled with xenophobia, religious persecution, racial supremacy, capitalism and labor exploitation, and patriarchy. I encourage you, my Irish American friends and family, to know your history. Explore these ideas. Study our history and use it to determine how you want to move forward. 

How will you use the white privilege you now hold to dismantle the systems of white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism that are built to oppress and suppress? How will you build solidarity?

Slainte!

Shannon

[badasscrossstitch]

Salon

I had the most magical evening thanks to the gals at Salon Appetit. They invited me to be the guest artist for their monthly dinner salon last week. One thing I know for sure: food, art, wine, and real discourse will immediately turn strangers into friends. What an evening!

My deepest gratitude to the amazing Jamie Kelter Davis for these photos which truly capture the joy of the evening!

The gallery/dinner:

The hosts and chef:

The menu:

My favorite piece:

Lots of laughter:

Like, lots:

Also, lots of talking with our hands:

Stories:

More stories:

A badass cake!

the easiest de-install ever:

last minute fixes:

We should do this again and you should come.

xo

Shannon

[badasscrossstitch]

Soho House LA

I’m pretty excited about this new body of work. This series is headed to the new Soho House in Los Angeles. 

The first 6 pieces were inspired by some vintage sewing patterns that I scored at an estate sale in the suburbs of Chicago.The ones that I found were from the 40s/50s/60s and all of the illustrations were of white women. Not terribly surprising but I decided to hit up Ebay and see if I could get some diversity in my vintage sewing patterns since the major sewing pattern companies have been around for over 150 years. Turns out...women of color were not featured on sewing patterns until the late 60′s early 70′s as best as I can find (and with confirmation from one of the major sewing pattern companies). So the two women of color featured are from the first sewing patterns I could find that featured women of color. 

I hope to expand this series and bring a level of representation that did not exist. 

Hand embroidery and watercolor on cotton. 8x10

The final piece is for the text wall in the main clubhouse. 

This is Art

(despite what the patriarchy would have you believe)

My intention is to encourage people to pause and consider what gets considered art and what gets considered craft and why....(spoiler alert: it has to do with WHO makes it - their gender and color)

Goldwork embroidery on silk 11x17 

(and it’s hella hard to photograph it so I did the best I could)

[badasscrossstitch]

Centerfold

I never dreamed of being a centerfold but here I am...making centerfold art ;)

Pick up the March issue of In These Times Magazine 

[badasscrossstitch]

Art Salon + Dinner Party

In Chicago?

Saturday, February 23rd join me for dinner and conversation in a room full of my art. 

There are only 25 tickets.

Eat a 4 course vegetarian meal and drink some red wine (or byobeverage), check out my art, and let’s talk about all the things you aren’t suppose to talk about at a dinner party. Patriarchy, feminism, politics, religion...whatever you want! 

$35

Buy a ticket here.