Category: Dandelions

Dia de los Muertos 2018

10/28/2018

For many years now, models Brenda Lucero and Lucy Cruz have been including Todd and me in their annual celebrations of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. This year's collaborations were both managed and directed by Lucy and Brenda, who handled all of the research, scheduling, wardrobe, accessories, props, and design themselves. All I had to do this year was paint, and edit. Saved me a lot of energy. Thank you Brenda and Lucy!

This year was especially fun because I got to paint Brenda's daughters. They both did great on set, and I had a blast working with them.

Photographer Todd Powers * Sugar Skulls Jen Raven
Editing Jen Raven & Todd Powers
Wardrobe & Hair Brenda Lucero
Direction & Design Lucy Cruz

I love these kids so much --and so does the camera!

I love the way these girls love each other. At one point Todd caught some beautiful shots of them playing on set. These are my favorites of the entire shoot.

This year's DdlM shoots were also special because they included photographer Fortino Alvarez --in front of the camera, for a change, rather than behind it.

Photographer Todd Powers * Sugar Skull Jen Raven
Editing Jen Raven & Todd Powers
Models Lucy Cruz and Fortino Alvarez
Direction, Design, Wardrobe Lucy Cruz

Model Brenda Lucero knocked it out of the park this year, with her powerful and personal tribute to her beloved Aunt Rosie, who recently passed away. Brenda sketched out an original design for her Sugar Skull, which included the dandelions art that Brenda and I have been using in our ongoing series, "Fly Away Home."

Slideshow of "Fly Away Home" can be viewed in my Forward Motion Gallery.

Brenda shared with us her fond memories of playing BB guns with Aunt Rosie, on her Grandparent's ranch. Rosie loved all of her nieces and nephews, enjoyed playing with them and loved to spoil them. Brenda asked us if it would be ok to include BB guns as props, in Rosie's memory. Also especially for Rosie, we included extra roses, her Father's Sombrero, and a rose ring, gifted to Brenda from Rosie eleven years ago.

Sometimes these shoots make me tear up a little. They are so personal and beautiful. I am honored to be included in these lovely tributes.

Photographer Todd Powers * Sugar Skull Jen Raven
Editing Jen Raven & Todd Powers
Model Brenda Lucero * Direction, Design, Wardrobe, Properties Brenda Lucero

Thank you Brenda, for allowing us to collaborate with you on such a personal project! We love you!

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Pain2 Exhibit, USC Keck School of Medicine

8/26/2017

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In September, I will be joining an encore 'Pain' themed exhibit, hosted by the USC Keck School of Medicine. The original 'Pain' themed exhibit, in 2014, was hosted by The Gallery at the LRC, the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.

This is a mail-in exhibit, so we don't get the artwork back when it comes down. Inexpensive creation is key: I re-purposed a cereal box to create a fold-up mailer, which will protect my work on it's way to USC Keck School of Medicine.

A little packing tape; a little gesso; we're in business.

'Fly Away Home' is an ongoing collaboration that I've been creating with model Brenda Lucero. We began this project in 2016; this project is dedicated to the memory of Brenda's little brother, Johnny. I am grateful to Brenda for her friendship, her talent, and her courage in sharing this personal pain with the world, through our art.

'Fly Away Home' ongoing series, beginning December 2016
Photographers Jen Raven and Todd Powers * Model Brenda Lucero
Body Art, Backdrop Art Jen Raven * Rain Backdrop Todd Powers
Wardrobe/MUA Brenda Lucero * Editing Jen Raven and Todd Powers

More information about 'Pain2' on Facebook
'Pain2' exhibit runs Sept. 1 through Oct. 27.

There are more dandelion-themed body-art works
and dandelion-themed paintings in my galleries.

Update! Photos are coming in from the exhibit, at Keck School of Medicine USC!

Video on Facebook

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¡Loteria!

2/25/2017

I've been invited to participate in Cactus Gallery's annual '¡Loteria!' exhibit, in which artists are assigned cards from the Loteria deck as inspiration for original artwork. I've been given card #31 'Las Jaras' (the arrows) and also, from the older, lesser-known deck, card #87, 'La Plancha' (the iron).

My work for 'La Plancha' is a nod to activism on behalf of women's rights, and includes a quote often associated with the women's movements in the 1960's; "The personal is the political." The iron is a tool easily associated with the kinds of work society usually assigns to women --the work that is 'never done' while also largely unrecognized and usually unpaid.

'La Plancha' is 5x3" watercolor and archival ink on watercolor paper. The frame I built for this work is permanently attached to the painting, hardware on back.

While sketching out my ideas for 'Las Jaras' I was mindful of a Mexican proverb;
"They tried to bury us. They did no know we were seeds."

'Las Jaras' is 12x9" acrylic on composite board (a clip-board with the clip removed), hardware on back.

'¡Loteria! iii' opens March 11, 2017 with Cactus Gallery, Los Angeles..
Shop Cactus Gallery online

A Long Way to Somewhere

2/2/2014

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In May of 2013, I had the pleasure of working with model Jin n' Tonic, for a body painting photo project we titled 'Dandelion.' I was inspired to continue with the dandelion theme on canvas, and early this year I finished 'Long Way to Somewhere' (acrylic on canvas 10x8"):

'A long way to somewhere' is an homage to the poet David Whyte.; this line was taken from his work, 'Glentrasna,' which spoke to me on a very personal level, as I worked my way through the project. An excerpt from this poem wound up on the project board, and kept me inspired in the weeks leading up to the shoot.

". . . and horizons held their own unspoken promise,
that grief could be its own cure . . .

. . . as if even the sharpest pain
could be a long way to somewhere after all . . ."

~David Whyte, excerpt from 'Glentrasna'

On a personal level, working with the dandelion theme over the past six months has been wonderfully healing. I'm so grateful for paint; for poetry; for people.

Slideshow: Progression of 'Long Way to Somewhere' (May 24, 2013 - January 1, 2014):

Progression photos of 'long way to somewhere' by Jen Raven
Portfolio photos of 'long way to somewhere' by Todd Powers

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Dandelion

5/16/2013

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Last month's JNT print, 'April Showers.' Photo by Todd Powers

Todd has been working with model Jin n' Tonic on a series of monthly print releases, and they asked me to collaborate on 'May Flowers.' Lisa Klassen-Barnes agreed to bring her skills to the table, and we had a concept meeting in April.

Jin and I agreed that It would have been easy to slap a few roses on her and be done with it; but we wanted something more meaningful.

Dandelion, we discovered, is a significant bloom for both of us, and worthy of a labor-intensive project.

Learning to capture Dandelion. Thank you, Lisa!

Dandelion is an outsider of sorts; a lovely wild flower, wrongly named a weed. Jin and I both appreciate Dandelion as an irreverent, tenacious little survivor --she flies on the wind and blooms wherever she lands; no shame, no apologies.

On the flip side; the Dandelion is tough to capture, visually. She's complicated ... One more reason to like her. I am still new to body painting, especially in color, and I had only ten days to research, sketch, plan . . . and practice, on anyone who would sit still (thank you, Lisa)!

Lisa created a uniquely Dandelion hairstyle.

The day of the shoot arrived, and I was nervous. The group had great energy, though, making it impossible to stay tense.

Lisa created something uniquely wild and beautiful with Jin's hair; And I was able to let myself get lost in the paint. The practice paid off, as I finished painting Jin sooner than I'd anticipated.

To complete her look, Todd air-brushed some blue-green into Jin's hair, and she was ready to go.

Jin, Todd, and Lisa had all been scouting potential locations, in the ten days I was learning Dandelion, so no time was wasted during the shoot, either.

Our collective efforts on this project have really paid off. The finished photos are amazing (see below)!

This has been a terrific collaboration, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it. This is definitely my favorite arts-mischief so far, in 2013!

(above and nsfw) behind the scenes video created by Jin n' Tonic!
(below) slide-show of Jin's four-hour transformation into the Dandelion:

JNT Print "May Flowers" for May 2013!

To view Todd's finished edits from the shoot, please visit
my forward motion gallery, here at jenraven.com.

For more on this project, visit A JNT Blog on Jin's official fan page!

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Dia de los Muertos 2018

Pain2 Exhibit, USC Keck School of Medicine

¡Loteria!

A Long Way to Somewhere

Dandelion

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