Feminist Street Art
Shall we take to the streets?
You know that I make art to inspire action. A feminist street art takeover feels like a natural progression for us, my friends!
I love street art (visual art in public spaces - usually unsanctioned) and I’ve always wanted to play with it but my medium isn’t super conducive. That said, as I drew out the patterns for my series “It’s nice to meet me” they seem to really lend themselves to a street art campaign.
Here’s what I’m thinking…I teach you how to wheatpaste, share the files with you, and then we can all take the streets and spread the feminist word!
Below you will find a full tutorial on how to wheatpaste, posters for you to download in English, French, Spanish, German, and Romanian, as well as a powerful powerful story of how the posters were used in South Africa.
What the hell is wheatpasting?
Wheatpaste a simple non-toxic glue that you can make at home (tutorial below). You then use this glue to affix poster art to walls in public spaces…wheatpasting!
Wheatpasting is my favorite way to create street art for several reasons:
1) It’s non-toxic
2) It’s temporary
3) It’s removable
4) It’s quick to put up
5) It’s inexpensive
Is it legal?
Depends. It’s totally legal if the owner of the wall gives you permission. It’s less legal without permission depending on where you post it and where you live. You should do some research and find out what is approved in your city or town and then make your choices.
What if I have an allergy to wheat?
I found this recipe for rice paste which is used in many Japanese paper crafts. It seems to be a fine alternative (although a bit more labor intensive).
How will this work?
The process is easy.
1) You watch the tutorial and make yourself some paste
2) You decide which messages you think your community needs to see and then download those files
3) Print and trim the images as big as you like
4) Go out and post them
5) Snap pics and tag them #BadassCrossStitch @BadassCrossStitch
How to make the paste!
I will list the full instructions here and then below I will include the instructions with photos.
HOW TO MAKE WHEATPASTE
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cold water
1/4 cup of boiling water
2 tsp sugar
Instructions:
Add the cold water to the flour and stir until there are no clumps
Add the boiling water to the flour mixture and stir
Add the sugar to the mixture and stir
Transfer into a sealed container and refrigerate to cool it off
The paste will stay usable for a few days if you keep it sealed and refrigerated.
Step 1 - Add the cold water to the flour and mix until the clumps are gone.
Step 2: Add the boiling water to the flour mixture and stir
Step 3: Add the sugar to the mixture and stir
Step 4: Transfer into a sealed container and refrigerate to cool it off
(bonus: sneak peek inside my refrigerator…it’s like Martha Stewart meets Cribs up in here)
How to Paste
While your paste chills, select the messages you want to share.
Download and print them on any computer using regular computer paper.
Want to make a BIG one? Use this amazing online tool to render it massive and still be able to print it on a regular printer.
Pandemic Series
Est-ce que tu parles français? Well, the amazing Noemie Couillard and Pali Meursault have translated some of the messages into French so that my French and French Canadian friends can participate in the fun in their native language. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? If you want to translate into other languages for me…message me! I’ll make the art, you just send me the translations. Amusez-vous bien Paris!
Sprichst du Deutsch? The delightful @unkyong53 translated these special gems for us!
Hablas Espanol? Gracias a Camila Ruiz for her translations into Spanish!
stii sa vorbesti romaneste? Thank you to Ioana Friedman for these Romanian translations!
Next, cut the excess paper.
I transfer my chilled wheatpaste to a squirt bottle of some sort to make it easier to dispense quickly.
When you have identified where you want to affix the art, you squirt the wheatpaste directly onto the wall and use a paintbrush or your hand to spread it around.
Then you carefully place the art onto the area and smooth out any air bubbles.
Squirt more paste on top of the art and use the brush or your hand to cover the whole piece with paste.
That is it! The piece will dry and remain in place until it doesn’t.
Snap a pic, upload it to the interwebs, tag @BadassCrossStitch and #BadassCrossStitch and carry on to your next one!
If there are specific messages from my work that you want to see, or specific messages that might be unique to your community that you would like…message me and I’ll see what I can do!
Say her name: Uyinene Mrwetyana
Uyinene Mrwetyana was a South African student at the University of Cape Town. She was raped and murdered in 2019 by a postal worker. Her murder set off protests across South Africa against gender-based violence and femicide.
Brave humans covered the post office where she was murdered in resistance art as part of their protest.
