Stencil artists - cut it out, send it in!

Call for participation: deadline February 1, 2006

Cut& Paint: A Stencil Template Zine #2

Once again, Josh MacPhee (author/artist of Stencil Pirates, Nicolas Lampert and Colin Matthes are putting together a zine of stencil templates. This time around they plan on scaling back the size of the zine a little (legal size folded, so 7" x 8.5"), but to make up for the shrinking size they hope to include a set of die-cut stencil templates with the zine. That's right, pre-cut stencils ready to use!

Like issue #1, most of the zine will be filled with some of the best and most exciting stencil templates out there (black and white stencil images that can be cut out and used), so they're looking for your best stencil template ideas. This time around they're also open to multi-color pieces, so if you are interested, send a clean black-and-white print of each layer, as well as a composite image. In addition, they would like to expand the rest of the zine, too. This means more in the how-to section, so send along any new tips you've got. They want photos of stencils from your area, particularly from places they usually don't hear from. They'll also be including some writing on stencils as well, so if you have any articles you've been working on that deal with stenciling, public space, politics, etc., feel free to submit them.

The specs, once again:
*All designs should be 7x8 inches.
*Templates should be clean sprays of stencils on clean white paper. Flat black paint is preferable. They'll be photocopying these templates, so keep the lines and edges as crisp as possible. In order to get a really clean print, you can spray little bit of spray-tack (like light spraymount) on the back of the stencil so it lays flat on the paper.
*No racist, sexist, homophobic designs. Also, they're really looking for smart and creative takes on what's going on in the world, not copied portraits of movie stars or Japanese robots. Keep it original.
* Stencils don't have to be hit-you-over-the-head political (i.e. Fuck Bush, although that's fine too), but they should be interesting to more than just you and your friends! The goal is to have stencil templates that other people will want to use.
*Feel free to submit more than one template design.
*Tell them if you want your template credited to a name, and if so, what name (and contact information if you want, i.e. website, email, address, etc.).
The best designs will be used for the die-cuts, so send in great stuff and they might make 1000 pre-cut copies of your stencil! They hope to keep the price at $5 or below, and distribute Cut & Paint #2 much further and wider than #1.

Edward Roop, Paonia coal miner: another Avedon portrait person

You are a writer, you are a writer. With just a little table and a pad of paper, you could show (me) the writer you are, though it is already telltale, what with your upper pockets jammed with fountain pen and a pair of eyeglasses. I see it too in your blues eyes, the soft glow of thinking man's eyes. I know you have a song on your mind. Are those wires from your stereo headphones, black tentacles leading from nowhere, jutting out of your pocket today? Is there a song in your eyes, in your mind, to write down? In your face, I see the expression of Sam from Iron and Wine--the Florida soft-singing writer. Are you a similar poet? When you are cleaned up, your sooty arm matching the white of your belly...when you are rooted out of the mine, gentled as the nipple you inadvertently fondle...is there some time to pen your black-day-into-white-night songs of your life, cooing them to life as your wife counts the money, irons your workpants, brings stew to your bowl? I hope it is so. I hope it is so, that you pen and write and remember your albeit song, sooty canary bird of flesh.

Oil worker Roberto = self-portrait Van Gogh

Roberto Lopez, Lyons, Texas -- you are Vincent Van Gogh, starry starry night in your faraway eyes. in your faraway eyes. Poseidon wave hair has curled your head and possibly your unlucky life (as oil field worker).

From the Amon Carter exhibit of Avedon's "In the American West" collection: "When the show opened in the fall of 1985, it generated passionate debate about how we define the West and the nature of photographic portraiture. By focusing on working class citizens and people at the edge of society, Avedon had audaciously extended the cachet of celebrity and elegance usually reserved for the wealthy and well-known. By drawing vivid attention to life's hardships, he had challenged public preoccupations with heroic success."

The show closes this Sunday, January 8th. Don't miss/highly recommended.

Desahogate # 2 - Call for Submissions

¡Atención!
Writers, Poets, Musicians, y Artists
We at In Tlilli, In Tlapalli Press recently completed the anthology Desahogate #1: Growing Up Xicana/o, which had over 40 contributors from throughout Tejas documenting our varying experiences growing up as Xicanas and Xicanos. We are seeking contributions for Desahogate #2, which will be themed “Amor y Pazion.”

Is your passion fighting for La Raza or other social/political causes that are personally or culturally significant? Do you love the sight of your family gathered around the table to enjoy a meal that reflects the amor and hard work you put into it?

Is your passion creating arte y música, dancing, playing sports or
customizing cars? Or do you have another interest that no one knows about and which you are ready to share with the world?

Last but not least, do you have a unique love story about a family member or a significant other?

We are a diverse Raza and would like this collection of stories from our community to reflect those amores y paziones that give meaning to our lives.

This is another step we are taking towards strengthening, and collecting stories from, nuestra comunidad. Desahogate #2 will again allow us to tell our own stories in our own estilo.

All are welcome to contribute, including youth, elders, unpublished and published writers. We accept essays, short stories, entrevistas, poemas, and comics, as well as photographs and other forms of arte. We are asking that submissions be completed as a Word-formatted document or another Microsoft-compatible word processing program, if possible. But we will accept handwritten or typed submissions, if needed. If you would prefer, we will also audio record your submission, with advance notice.

No sexist, homophobic, or racist submissions, por favor!

If you are able, please send a $5.00 donation for a copy of Desahogate #1: Growing Up Xicana/o. These funds will allow us to raise additional funds to publish our second issue.

**Donations not necessary to submit stories/poems.**

Deadline for submissions: January 15, 2006.

Please send your submission along with your name and return address:

In Tlilli, In Tlapalli Press
c/o Xicana Xicano Education Project or
xicanaxicanoeducationproject@yahoo.com
PO Box 37105
San Antonio, TX 78237