Hello my fellow/sister Obamaniacs!
I have finally gotten it together to do a silkscreen run of my popular "Believe" design, in blue on super-soft Alternative Apparel 100% cotton silver t-shirts. They look great!
As with all of my Obama stuff, $5 from each sale goes back to the campaign. You can purchase them via my Etsy site - artbymags.etsy.com - or just surf on over to my website, artbymags.com for more info.
I will also have 750 stickers of the same design, 3x4", available next week, thanks to the good folks over at Stickerobot.com. 250 of them are being kept to put in packs that will be sold online of ALL of their Obama stickers that have been released this political season. I'm honored to be included in that. All of that money goes back to producing more Obama gear to get on the streets.
And you can still get your bicycle spoke cards with my design on it, from Obamaspoke.com, for only $1 to cover shipping and Paypal fees. (Or if you order via my sites, I will include a free pair of them with every order!)
We're in the homestretch now folks, so tell your friends to buy up this stuff so I can send even MORE money to Barack's campaign. So far, I've raised $305 - let's break $500!
mags.
Hey everyone, this is just a quick announcement to let everyone know that my Obama stencil design is now available as a bicycle spoke card. Measuring about 3" by 4" and laminated, it's a great way for biking enthusiasts to show their support for Obama. Turn you bike into a billboard for Barack!
Spoke cards can be ordered online for only $1 via obamaspoke.com, or Louisville locals can pick some up for free or donation at Derby City Espresso. Any donations made will go back into printing more spoke cards or possibly stickers with the same design, but a donation is not required. We want to get these out and on as many bikes as possible.
Hello everyone -
I'm an Obama supporter based in Louisville, KY and I just wanted to let everyone know about my personal fundraising effort. I'm an artist and DIY craft-maker; I don't make much money and thus don't have a lot of disposable income to donate to the campaign. But what I can do is make art/create designs. So, inspired by the now famous Shepard Fairey Obama posters ("Hope," "Progress," "Change"), I decided to create my own Barack Obama design, with which I could make prints and t-shirts and other assorted things to sell in order to raise funds for Barack.
These are pictures of my spray paint stencil prints that I've made. So far I've made $85 to donate to the campaign, which is way more than I would have ever been able to come up with on my own. Plus it's getting Barack's image and uplifting message out on the streets and in people's homes.For more info and to support this fundraising effort, you can visit my website - artbymags.com and my Etsy shop - artbymags.etsy.com.Thanks!mags.
Obama's National Arts Policy Committee will be distributing the campaign's official arts policy platform to the Indiana and North Carolina arts community in order to cultivate a base of arts voters before the fast approaching primary. Obama is committed to the arts, and it's important we, as writers, artists, performers, and musicians, do our part to help win these importnat states!
Do you know any arts professionals in these states? Write me at obamaarts@gmail.com to get a pdf of the platform and a letter from our committee chairs, Margo Lions and George Stevens, Jr., to send out to your personal contacts. Or send me email and professional affiliations of people you know working in the Pennsylvania art community and we will send those documents out to your contacts. Any emails submitted will be kept private will only be used to send the official letter and policy document.
YES WE CAN sing for President Barack Obama, during the week of his inauguration, in D.C., and will have 4 people from each of the 50 states in our beautiful UNION.
YES HE CAN, and YES WE WILL SING with a lot of joy and celebration.
Join us if you want to be a part of this incredible time! Thanks, Sharon M.
(We're organizing this from Charlottesville, Virginia.)
Wow! According to Kyle, our Regional Coordinator, 3000 people were registered in Montgomery County on this past Saturday alone! Great job, everyone. On behalf of Region 5, I'd like to extend our thanks and congratulations to every neighboring group who helped us and helped the campaign -- each volunteer at Giant, Starbucks, Cold Stone, Zion Baptist Church, etc. In particular, Region 6 was right there with us on Saturday at the Montgomery Mall. They were a big help.
The race to register voters has ended and now we need to look ahead. As we all know, superdelegates are a major factor right now. Region 5's House rep, Allyson Schwartz, has pledged her vote for Hillary Clinton, but many Democrats wonder if Governor Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack on Friday will tip the scales in Obama's favor. With Governor Richardson's endorsement so recent, now is a great time to write to Allyson Schwartz and urge her to switch her vote. Superdelegates won't vote until the national convention, so nothing's set in stone. If you're in the 13th district, email, write, or call her!
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Typographers might disagree, while the firms that designed the Obama logo would probably nod along.
If you've spent even five minutes on this site, you've probably been impressed by the design. It doesn't scream at you; it works subtly, the way good design does. You may not know why it works, but you definitely feel it. Posters, banners, signs, even this site -- the campaign has built a cohesive look that's fresh, strong, and hopeful. How did the campaign do this, and why does it matter?
Obama's National Arts Policy Committee will be distributing the campaign's official arts policy platform to the Pennsylvania art community in order to cultivate a base of arts voters before the primary. Obama is committed to the arts, and it's important we, as writers, artists, performers, and musicians, do our part to help win Pennsylvania!
Do you know any arts professionals in Pennsylvania? Write me at obamaarts@gmail.com to get a pdf of the platform and a letter from our committee chairs, Margo Lions and George Stevens, Jr., to send out to your personal contacts. Or send me email and professional affiliations of people you know working in the Pennsylvania art community and we will send those documents out to your contacts. Any emails submitted will be kept private will only be used to send the official letter and policy document.
Do you have time to help us do some online research? I am looking for a few volunteers to help me do some online research for this big project. We need to find all the arts organizations in Pennsylvania and get emails for the staff of those organizations. We will be working on this right away, but since it's just online research, you can do this from home and at any time of day. If you have some time to help out, please reply back via email to obamaarts@gmail.com.Thanks so much,Shawnee Barton Obama for America Arts Policy Committee Member
ON THE presidential campaign trail, Barack Obama is a fount of inspiring rhetoric. So it's interesting that the Illinois senator's stirring policy paper on arts and culture briefly hands the microphone to someone else, quoting poet Dana Gioia, the National Endowment for the Arts chairman.
"The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct," Gioia said in a speech last year. "The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society."
Obama would turn that sentiment into policy, through an intriguing plan to reinforce - and reinvest in - the arts. Other candidates ought to take up this banner.
Class plays may not turn every child into Meryl Streep. Cello lessons may not yield a bumper crop of Yo-Yo Mas. Still, a good performance - charged with student jitters, long rehearsals, and warm applause - can resonate for years. It can move students who grow into teachers, lawyers, Web designers, and parents to pass their creative passions to the next generation.
But the stark reality is that school arts programs have been cut, and for too many people American culture can seem like a riot of action movies and shoot-it-out video games.
How does the country reclaim itself? Obama has compelling ideas.
He calls for a renewal of cultural diplomacy. America would welcome more of the world's artists and send more of its own artists abroad as ambassadors who can embody national values and help "win the war of ideas against Islamic extremism." A superficial propaganda effort would be disappointing. But it would be progress if after years of war in Iraq, the country could turn a more creative face to the world.
Obama would also send a corps of young artists into low-income schools and communities. And while this isn't a new idea, it would be exciting to have a well-trained, White House-approved army of artists putting paint, scripts, and violins in culturally parched neighborhoods and classrooms.
The Illinois senator offers other nuts-and-bolts ways to promote the arts. For example, he endorses a proposal to let artists who donate their work to charity deduct its market value, instead of just the cost of materials.
And instead of bashing the National Endowment for the Arts, Obama calls for more funding, noting that time has not been kind to the endowment's budget. The $145 million that it has today is less, especially after inflation, than the $176 million it had in 1992.
"Art addresses us in the fullness of our being - simultaneously speaking to our intellect, emotions, intuition, imagination, memory, and physical senses," Gioia said in his speech. It's an insight that national policies should reflect.
My Obama yard sign stands up to 40 mph wind gusts.
I find that prophetic.
I saw icicles hanging from a Hillary sign the day I went to vote.
That seems poetic.
At a recent arts industry event for Obama in Santa Monica, one attendee stood up and voiced her desire for either presidential candidate to publicly discuss the arts. Senator Obama may not have been at the meeting, but he heard her and all the other Americans who are looking for a candidate to stand up for the arts.
About nine minutes in to the victory speech he gave from Virginia on February 9th, Senator Obama told his supporters that he doesn't want teachers to "teach to the test," instead, "I want our students to learn art, and music, and science, and poetry, and all the things that make an education worth while."
YES WE CAN elect a president who believes in arts education!
Here is a link to the speech on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9XeEzokCvQ
We invite you to join Artists and Creative Industry for Obama! It is moderated by Obama for America's National Arts Policy Committee and has the most up to date information about where Obama stands on the Arts.
While you're there, read Obama's official policy platform in support of art and culture and articles written by committee members Michael Chabon and George Stevens, Jr.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/CreativeAmericaforObama
Hello all. Despite being an active activist (don't laugh, we all know there are plenty of sedentary ones) I find that it has taken me too long to actually join this site and be as active as I should be. Nevertheless Obama's address in Iowa was a call to action for me.
Initially, though, my support for his candidacy began after I read "The Audacity of Hope". The eloquence of his ideas both in their composition and creation is stirring but his ability to translate those ideas into action is what gives me confidence. The other candidates have a plan... Obama has already begun enacting change. Not to mention that is it extraordinary to have a candidate that is so articulate; in a nation where the media parades every sound bite and excerpt as "news" I strongly believe it is important to have a thoughtful orator as our leader. A president who wouldn't incite reaction and anger due to his constant blunderings.
Ok, so I was one of the millions of viewers of the live "Myspace" event on Monday, hosted by MTV and Coe College in Iowa...
I have to say, after that forum, I'm more committed to supporting Barack Obama's campaign than ever before. My personal questions were answered and any missing information I wanted was supplied. I truly believe this is the right man for the job, the best candidate for the Party and for our Nation.
Having met the man years ago in Illinois when he was a state level official I saw something in this man. An intelligence, patience, conviction and honesty about him that shined through everything he did. His hard work and due dillegence to the people of Illinois and now all people of our great nation, has been committed and consistent. Obama truly believes in the power of one voice, one thought, one movement. He has shown his dedication to the equality and fairness our nation has claimed to have been built on and has strived to keep that promise alive to those he has worked for in Illinois, now it's time we let him work for ALL America!
I'm concerned.
I'm concerned that Mr. Obama doesn't have anything regarding his stand on GLBT issues anywhere on his website.
I'm concerned that this blatant lack of concern on the part of the Obama Campaign might reflect badly on my community.
Look, I won't back Hilary because she's married to the one man who made a lot of empty promises to my community and proceded to do just the opposite. He signed DOMA into law, he redefined "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which only made it worse for our brothers and sisters in arms.
I won't back Edwards because he changes his tune at every forum, debate, townhall meeting. Simply, he can't be trusted.
I so want to back Obama because he has, in the past, done so much to forward the needs and concerns of GLBT's in Illinois. He just recently voted "Yeh" on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill. He helped Equality Illinois get GLBT language added to our already in place ENDA act. But now that he's running for President, I feel a bit hurt that GLBT concerns are not addressed at all on his "Issues" page.
Maybe he doesn't want to draw attention to a no-win situation during the campaign. Maybe he's still unclear on the difference between "Holy Matrimony" and "Legal Marriage." Maybe he thinks that by posting or allowing GLBT concerns to be put up on his website that it will only foster negative feedback from his opponents. Whatever the reason, it's very concerning to me.
Look, no one is suggesting we take away any individual church or congregation's right to deny blessing any couple's union for whatever reason they might have. No one is suggesting we "re-define" the supposed definition of the word "Marriage." But when every Fortune 500 company backs ENDA and Marriage rights for employees, when the results are finally in from other countries who have allowed Civil Marriage/Legal Marriage for same-sex couples and unanimously they all show no ill affect on opposite-gender marriages or the rate of marriages in general...why is this even an issue here in the USA?
Aren't we SUPPOSED to be the "New World?"
Aren't we Supposed to be the leaders, the bringers of change, the more "Advanced" nation?
So, why, in 2007, can't we wrap our heads around the difference between Religious Cerimonies and Legal Contracts?
Has the "religious-right" so confused this issue that there's no hope to educate the general public anymore?
Has the GOP allowed religion and religious views to over-ride common sense?
Whatever the excuse...I'm still concerned.
