under the influence of project runway

now I just want to sketch the stefan's skyneedle costume as a fancy bitch gown.

here's a better picture

of the holographic print.

1st three

IRL they're sparkly holographic.

affirmation/care

These are some starting points for bandaid design ideas:

bandaid fashion

I've had this idea on the back burner for a while of putting out a series of bandaid designs. Mayyybe going for an OzCo Inter-Arts grant for collaborations between artists and non-arts organisations/companies to get them manufactured. In the meantime I'm making a bunch by hand.

Here's some other arts projects/artists/designers I've come across who have worked with bandaids. Please let me know if you come across any others!

Pflasterringe collection, bandaid inspired metal jewelry design by Kay Eppi Nolke.

Blingy diamonte bandaids by MAK.

Butch AS leather Bandaids by Scott Amron.

...and this limited edition bandaid series by designer Alexandre Herchcovitch, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. I love the use of bandaid as material! These could easily be fabric designs:

homoquilt, vicariousness and affirmation

This is old news, but in 2008 some friends and I were doing a queer craft group in Brisbane. We did a bunch of patchwork bees and I quilted it all together for The Sportman's Hotel annual LGBT bake and craft auction. If I remember correctly it raised somewhere between $600-$700 for PFLAG and the Australian Transgender Support Association of QLD.

I bring it up now because I made this patch:

I was going to make a whole series of these penises ejaculating different affirmations and pet names. I'd still like to. But this is where the idea came from for the mustard font on the hotdogs.

I've been thinking a lot about vicariousness in trans experience, how it's something that I don't want to do, it doesn't make me feel great and is bundled up with essentialism and doesn't affirm my experience with my body/gender. I'm making some changes to the kinds of relationships and sexuality I have to not play into vicariousness (if you don't know what I mean, I'm talking about fetishising and experiencing the kinds of bodies I want via other people).

I'm realising that it exists in the art that I make and it's something I want to be aware of and confront. I kinda want to embrace it and hyper do it but in a way that critiques it at the same time. How to achieve that is something to think about.

If anyone wants to talk to me about vicariousness, I would love that!

Here's some of the other patches from the quilt:

by Jackson

by Marde

by me.

swans

I made my friend Corey this swan (he likes swans) out of some of my orange hotdog fabric.

It made me realise I gotta have to either embrace or improve my messy sewing.

hotdog army

Anyone that's spoken to me lately will know that I can't shut up about the joy/zen that hotdogs bring to the world. I need your help. Call it embrace/call it getting it out of my system, someone _may_ call it art. Think fondly of the archetype crazy old cat lady, but hotdogs, stuffed ones.

I WANT YOUR STUFFING.

Crappy old doonas, pillows, stuffed toys, etc.

In the vicinity of Melbourne.

I can pick up.

Message me on here and we can arrange details. My best offer so far has been chewed up dog toys.

So yeah, my vision is to make lots of hotdogs. Some in actual size and some in that size that's good for a full body cling to. Mustard affirmations and here's some of the fabric I got so far, the vision is LURID:

I'm mostly excited about combinations of clashing ugly oranges.

The plan is to sell them at the Antiverse Market and maybe I'll try etsy. I'll post when stalls are happening.

I just got access to a sewing machine, thanks to Holly Fluxx! So hopefully I'll be pumping them out soon

Wheat _AND_ Meat!

I've been watching hotdog eating competition videos on youtube for inspiration. This cringe-humour clip might help explain also:

how it's gonna be

• wearable Stefan Skyneedle suit
• I Love What I Hate show with Kt Spit
• Harness making workshops umm, February?
• Participation Strategy research!
• Hot dog lap dance service
• My Own Private Idaho dreamscape recreation
• There's a stocking lensed film clip star in every Sporties regular

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HARNESSED

With a little funding help, I'm starting the HARNESSED project. I will be running workshops from August, talking about sexuality, fantasy, safer spaces... and making chest harnesses! out of whatever materials you dream up that reflect your sexuality! Down with leather protocols! (unless, of course that is your thang).

I can supply materials. All I ask of you is that you donate your harness for the duration of the project so they can all be exhibited at the QArts Exhibition later this year. Then it is all yours for happy flagging.

I got excited and made mine already. Considering my infatuation with all things CAMP, I went down the sequined track:

Workshop details soon to be announced. If you are private about these things, I can arrange 1-on-1 workshops. Contributions can be anonymous. Contact me if you are interested: warren dot gracie at hotmail dot com

HO student show

This is the first round of images, shown at my end of semester student show. The pool of contributions is growing and I'm looking into breaking them up into different series. Read a viewer's reflection at Born Whore. 

 

Selina, Kitt and Queenie.

I will be doing shows! So far, on the potential horizon is the QArts exhibition later this year (Bris), at Debby Doesn't Do It For Free and Mardi Gras (Sydney) next year. Also I'm applying for a show at the Sex Worker Art Festival (San Francisco) & the Queer Art Festival (San Francisco) next year. 

HO extension & female involvement

EXTENSION!!!

Originally the deadline for Ho submissions was May 30 2009, but I've extended it! I would really like for this to be an ongoing project. 

If you are planning on contributing, shoot me an email so I can know that they're coming. Also, I am really open to any conversations about the project. 

warren dot gracie at hotmail dot com

See the earliest post tagged with 'ho' for submission requirements and background.

CONSIDERATIONS

One conversation I've had recently is about the lack of contributions by women, t-girls, sistagirls, trans-feminine spectrum id-ing folks, and how I address this with the project. One suggestion was that I define the images as of "trans-masculine sex workers". However, I have included trans-female people in my call-out and I think it is an interesting point of discussion that so far, none of the contributions have been of this identity. 

By redefining the project, I think this could be silencing their lack of involvement. This could be for a million reasons, some of which I could guess but would really like to not speak on their behalf considering this is not my experience. I would really love to hear any feedback from trans-female people on the project in general, or ideas about how their experience can be included in the project. There are a lot of options for this: audio, presenting writing, interviews, etc... 

However, remembering that the point of this project is about the experience of sex working as your birth assigned gender, with a transgender identity. So I would like discussion to be around this as a point of inclusion/exclusion.

It is possible that the promotion or nature of the project is not inclusive of trans women since there is a history of trans women being socially excluded from the homo, dyke and trans-masculine communities I am a part of. This is a problem that should not be perpetuated. So any feedback on addressing this as a point of exclusion is SO WELCOME also.

xxx LOVING THE CONTRIBUTIONS SO FAR. THANKS SO MUCH TO YOU ALL WHO HAVE SENT PHOTOS IN xxxx

Ho: Trans sex workers who make me squirm

Juliet November, amazing sex worker blogger/intellect extraordinaire, has written a post about her experience of viewing the Ho images at my end of semester student show.

You can read about it at Born Whore. ->

President Carter,

Here is the 2nd in the text based video works I was required to do as part of my BFA. They were to be made in LiveType. Again, I feel like there are heaps of limitations with this program. It was great to learn - it will be useful for credits and captions but don't see too much potential to work creatively with it.

Text from 'Blood and Guts in High School' by Kathy Acker.

I originally planned to use this text for a nerd babe performance installation collaboration with Okapi of a dusty library backroom, called The Restricted Section for the Little Fish 'Unleash the Beast' show. Hopefully one day it will still happen!

HO update

There have been some concerns raised around 'outting' that could incur by contributing photos, outting either as trans or as a sex worker.

Here are some photos of myself that i'm possibly using for my contribution, ones which you can't tell that i'm the subject. I'm also toying with the idea of using identifiable pictures, but i like that there is an option of not outting myself to the general public. I'm expecting to receive contributions that are both identifiable and non-identifiable.

 

Some other ideas are to do shots of you from behind (like an over the shoulder, into a mirror, no flash shot), or body part close ups, or headless shots. Also, avoid using flash where possible as a general rule.

Remember, the deadline is May 30 2009. Feel free to shoot me an email if you want to discuss photo plans, straying from the format i've asked for, any concerns or if you need an extension. warren dot gracie at hotmail dot com

HO: TRANS SEXWORKER PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECT

CALL OUT FOR SUBMISSIONS

This photographic project will document transgender sexworkers who work presenting as the gender they were assigned at birth and no longer identify as. I will be applying to exhibit the series at different events in Australia, mostly at queer and sexworker arts events and also online. 

Since the photos will be released publicly, contributors will have to be comfortable with disclosure to some extent. However, I will not use your legal name and I’m open to negotiating measures to protect your identity if you would like to contribute but have privacy concerns.

To participate, you will have to consider the implications of the associations of your image and the content.

I am a transgender hustler who works as a lady babe. Primarily, this pays the bills. It also has been both affirming and dysphoria exacerbating, a result of limited financially viable representation options, the safest option, performative and an opportunity to max out lessons in the behavioral codes of feminine wiles. It’s creating a stronger affiliation with femmes and my class background. I feel moments of concern for my safety if a client recognises my face on the street and feels betrayed, and moments of satisfying queer subversion when being told, “You’re the hottest chick I’ve ever seen”, accompanied with a wad of cash.

I’m interested in documenting the process of embodying the rentboy/stripper minx/mistress/etc within, the transformation, the relationship that incurs with our bodies, the culture of trans people sexworking to pay for their medical transition, the connections between transgender identity and class, sexwork and class. I am really happy to have any discussions about representation.

The requirements:

• Email self portrait photographs (taken by you, either by holding the camera or with a self timer) taken while you’re in your ho persona, preferably at work but about to head to work is fine too. Around 5 photos would be great. Send to warren.gracie@hotmail.com
• Do not change the resolution settings on the photos
  
• Working photographs taken in the past are fine if you are not currently working
  
• Give me the following info in the body of the email:
  

  your working name (this can be the one you use or one made up for the project)

  your contact info

  the text “I consent to the use and publication by Warren Gracie of the attached photographs of me”. Include any conditions you have (eg. No online publishing)

  A short blurb on who you are/your experiences or thoughts on working as the gender you were assigned at birth/why you wanted to participate (this part is optional)

The deadline is May 30 2009.

This project is inclusive of pre, post and non medical transition transgender people, including but not limited to female-to-male, male-to-female and genderqueer transgender people. If you identify as trans, you are welcome to participate.

The term ‘sex-worker’ is an umbrella term, including but not limited to dance, full-service, porn, domination, submission, fetish, gf/bf experience and peepshow workers.

Feel free to contact me with any questions. 

warren.gracie@hotmail.com