Coal Poster and Graffiti

I have created this poster to provide a visual means to assist the civil disobedience against the coal industry. The posters outlet with the cross bones send the message that no matter what they tell you, burning coal for energy is not clean and in fact, is dangerous to everyone including the environment. Yes, this poster is a limited addition of only 15 that you can get here, but I have also created two smaller versions that are free to download.11″ x 17″ coal poster download. 8.5″ x 11″ coal poster download.

In addition, I have made a graffiti stencil for this coal poster that can be downloaded free and printed at any size. What does that mean? That means that you can cut the stencil out and print as many as you like. You can print on poster board, cardboard, a building or just about anything that is flat. (Please do not vandalize – that only weakens the cause). All you need is something sharp to cut out the stencil, cardboard or poster board for the stencil, and a can of spray paint. If you are not the hands on type and do not want to purchase the limited edition or download the free smaller versions, then do not worry because there is another option. If you want one or several copies of the graffiti poster I will make them for you for a very small fee – to pay for materials and a little time. A sample of what the stencil version looks like is posted under the original version. The white background would be whatever you were painting on and the black ink could be any color of your choice. If you are interested in the graffiti stencil just email me at jorge at popsicles and grenades dot com. (no spaces etc – trying to avoid spam!)

On Sunday, the 25th of January, Mike Roswell will be organizing civil disobedience in East Tennessee. If you are able to be there with him, please come. If you can’t be there, contact him at roselle@lowbagger.org and find out other ways to offer support. For more information on the TVA ash spill and how you can get involved, go to www/unitedmountaindefense.org.” Mike Roselle from Drowning in a Toxic River.

Please read the article below and watch the video of this horrible disaster. You might even change your mind and decide to join Mike in civil disobedience.

Clean Coal is a Dirty Lie!

Although this coal disaster happened a month ago, I am posting this now because there will be an organized civil disobedience in Tennessee this weekend regarding this matter. For more information read the last paragraph. The video and the following paragraphs are incredible reports from several people who care and do something about it. Click on their links to learn more.

“The morning of December 22nd, a dam holding back an ash pond burst at the Kingston Fossil Fuel Plant in east Tennessee and covered 400 acres twenty feet deep in toxic coal ash. Except it wasn’t a spill and it wasn’t a dam failure. A fifty foot high pile of toxic waste collapsed and took the dam with it. Except it wasn’t a even a dam and it sure wasn’t a pond, as the TVA calls it. It was a berm made of the same toxic material that was in the pile.” Mike Roselle from Drowning in a Toxic River.

“This is a monumental and unprecedented environmental catastrophe. The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) disaster is now estimated at 5.3 million cubic yards of coal ash, or almost twice as large as the 2.8 million cubic yards generated by the World Trade Center collapse. There are 200 gallons in a cubic yard, so that equates to about 1.06 billion gallons — almost 100 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill of 11 million gallons in 1989.

It’s hard to comprehend the enormous size of this spill. TVA’s coal ash mountain was stacked over 50 feet high — as high as a 5 story building. If a dump truck can hold 20 cubic yards of dirt and ash, it will take 265,000 truck loads to haul away all the ash (they are taking it back to the power plant). If they fill one dump truck trip every 5 minutes and work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it will take about 2.5 years to clean up the spill. TVA has been telling the media it will be cleaned up in about 6 weeks – this is a ludicrous claim.” Dave Cooper from A First Hand Account of the TVA Coal Ash Disaster in Kingston, TN

The remaining text is again from Mike Roselle’s Drowning in a Toxic River. “The coal trains will soon be bringing coal from Zeb Mountain to replenish the two piles that rise above everything on the site save the massive smoke stacks. This is the end of the line for the coal that is being ripped out of the Appalachian Mountains. From here, the clean invisible electrons will zip at dazzling speed through high tension wires to homes and factories across the country providing America with clean and cheap energy.

Except it isn’t clean and it sure isn’t cheap. Every day, plants like this one will consume 10,000 tons of coal and release three times that much carbon dioxide into the air, along with mercury, arsenic and lead. What they take out of the stacks will be concentrated in the ash, and that ash will eventually wind up in a river, and this is all that’s left of the mountain. All along the way, laws and regulations designed to prevent this disaster were ignored by the TVA managers. They spent millions lobbing against treating this ash as what it clearly is: toxic waste.

So what do we do about this? Can we afford to sit by and watch this for any longer? Can we afford to wait and let the environmental movement and the democrats try to solve this problem with more studies, more press conferences, and more e-mail? As I write this, news about another TVA coal ash spill, this one in Alabama, is burning up the news wires. More toxic waste has been released into the Tennessee River. I believe it is long past time for a non violent response to the ongoing criminal activity of the coal industry. It is time to shut them down.

On Sunday, the 25th of January, I will be organizing civil disobedience in East Tennessee. If you are able to be there with me, please come. If you can’t be there, contact me at roselle@lowbagger.org and find out other ways to offer support. For more information on the TVA ash spill and how you can get involved, go to www/unitedmountaindefense.org.” Mike Roselle from Drowning in a Toxic River.

More Resources:

http://www.appalachianvoices.org/

http://current.com/users/JanforGore/all/0.htm

http://action.thisisreality.org/facts

Smile: Big Brother is Watching You

Now how does that make you feel? What is your interpretation of my Barack Obama Big Brother poster? Are you excited that you are now being watched over by a new kind of Big Brother? Or, are you thinking that the masks have changed, but the system remains the same – with slight differences of course. Perhaps, you are not thinking. You have nothing to worry about.

Please come by on Tuesday and let me know your thoughts! The information is below and from the Arts Company.

“The Arts Company is presenting a special “Obama Inauguration Art Party and Exhibit” on inauguration day, January 20, 2009, from 11-2pm in the gallery in downtown Nashville at 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, North.

The special event will feature big screen live coverage of inauguration activities and present an exhibit of commemorative portraits of Obama by four artists—Jorge Arrieta, Bob Grossman, Brother Mel, and Jeff Hand. The original artwork by these artists will be accompanied by limited-edition prints of each portrait, signed and numbered by each artist to commemorate this historic occasion.

The Obama bust by Robert Grossman, a NY-based illustrator, has been featured on the cover of the New York Observer.  Jorge Arrieta has had one of his current political poster series selected to be included in the Manifest Hope: DC Gallery, an exhibit curated by Shepard Fairy and others, scheduled in Washington, D.C. as a special inaugural art event.  Brother Mel created a painted metal portrait of Obama “after 4 years in the White House,” and Jeff Hand has created one of his signature portraits in felt.” – The Arts Company

Hope to see you there.

My Poster selected for Manifest Hope DC

My poster Workers Unite, from the Manifest Series, has been selected to be put on display at the Manifest Hope: DC gallery! Of the distinguished panel of judges one was producer, director and actor, Spike Lee. Another was artist and designer Shepard Fairey. If you do not know who he is you have probably seen Fairey’s work at some point and most likely his Obama poster.

“MANIFEST HOPE: DC gathers together a diverse array of the nation’s most talented visual artists under one roof to mark the Presidential Inauguration and encourages artists and activists to maintain the momentum to bring about true change in the United States.

MANIFEST HOPE: DC, will issue an inspiring visual call-to-action, encouraging a redirection of public energy toward true reform in three key areas: Health Care Reform, Workers Rights and the Green Economy.

The Gallery will be open to the public in Washington, DC for the days preceding the Presidential Inauguration, Saturday, January 17th, 2009 through Monday, January 19th, 2009 between the hours of 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Art exhibition management will be provided by our Washington, DC gallery partner, Irvine Contemporary.

Congratulations to fellow Nashville artist Herb Williams as his three-dimensional crayon portrait of Barack Obama was invited to be displayed at the show. Even more exciting is the fact that his piece sold for $25,000.00. Woo-hoo!

My “Workers Unite” poster symbolizes the power of a unified workforce to accomplish its goals. The poster joins together workers from mechanics and landscapers to educators and office staff to reveal the rights and importance of all workers.

“Unified people can make amazing things happen. Unified people fought and achieved the 40-hour work week, the 8-hour workday, overtime, sick leave, paid vacation, maternity leave, employer-paid health insurance, safety and health protections and guidelines, fairness in promotions and minimum wages. Together there is nothing we can not achieve.

We work hard. We deserve to be treated with respect and dignity by our employers. Our worth as workers and the value of the services we provide is immeasurable. Together we can ensure that the lives and livelihood of workers and our families remain a top priority for our employers. A strong and united work force can lift this country out of the murky waters and together we can put our economy back on track.

Central to that, the very crux of making these things possible, is the right to organize, efficiently, without employer intimidation and scare tactics. When a majority of workers speak, their will should be recognized.” – from MANIFEST HOPE website.

A smaller version of my Workers Unite poster is available here in a limited edition of only 15 prints. You can also get the limited editions of the Manifest Opportunity poster and the Manifest Change Poster here.

 

Happy New Year Frances!

Popsicles and Grenades is beginning the new year with some positive artwork. Happy New Year Frances! I am posting a drawing I did of Frances, my daughter. The drawing is not in a style or technique that I utilize often, but it was for a gift and I enjoyed the process. The next drawing is of a sculpture from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy. I am also giving this drawing away as a gift for Christmas past.
But, on to the New Year!

What goals have you set for this new year? What are you doing to ensure your success? What I enjoy most about the new year is the symbolic change that can occur in every one. We all have the opportunity to start fresh – to change old ways and to learn new things. A shift in consciousness!

I am confident that this year will bring many joys and sorrows. If I may just recognize and affirm the good in all, but deal with malevolence with honest strength then I will be prepared for evil and encourage good. “He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted.” – Lao Tzu