Jenny Doh: ART SAVES

Houston Strong

Look at this H charm and jump ring I made with sterling silver wire. It's to honor the people of #Houston. I'll make you one and ship it to you if you email me a new screen shot of a minimum donation of $100 to American Red Cross (for #hurricaneharvey ) or Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Houston Food Bank or Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Screen shots must be dated from this moment forward (Previous donations are great but this is to encourage new or second donations.) [email protected] /// chain not included///please allow 2 weeks for the charm to be created, packed, and shipped #HoustonStrong #riseup

Aug 30, 2017 1:21:30 PM | ART SAVES, Art&Activism, Thinking Out Loud

Jean Valjean, Hurricane Harvey, and Osteen's True Colors

I remember learning about Romanticism in high school and being struck to realize that it has nothing to do with conventional ideas of love and romance. Romanticism is a movement that reaches not only the visual arts but also literature & music. It's a movement that shines light on the need to take care of the underdog, the downtrodden, the suffering.

Like Victor Hugo's magnificent literary work: Les Miserables ... where the Bishop tells the authorities to not arrest Jean Valjean because the silver found on him is silver that the Bishop gave him, not silver that he stole. Jean Valjean can't believe this grace given to him by the Bishop because he did in fact steal the silver. And the Bishop says to Jean Valjean ... take the silver and rise up and succeed. God. I weep every time I think about that exchange.

Paintings by French Romantics like Gericault and Delacroix exude the passion that they felt ... particularly regarding oppression based on class. Their works show breathtaking uprisings of a downtrodden people who overcome class oppression.

Speaking of the downtrodden. Have you seen the devastation and the havoc that Hurricane Harvey has caused on the people of Houston? The images of the suffering are heart-wrenching. These images are available to all ... including Joel Osteen, head of a megachurch in Houston that has not been flooded and that could house and aid thousands of people ... only if he opens the doors.

But Osteen and his team members have shown their true colors. And they look nothing like Jean Valjean's Bishop. The doors of the megachurch will remain closed, he said, but dollars will be accepted through his website to provide aid.

There ARE churches that open doors to help the downtrodden. That's part of the conceptual reason why churches are allowed to collect money without paying taxes. Because they're supposed to help. For free. And that's why I used to wear a cross around my neck. But I took it off in my 20s when I realized that most crosses on necks reflect closed doors, closed hearts of the greedy who use tax-free money to build shiny things that belong more to the over-the-top Rococo art movement of extravagance and jet-set life of the Osteens and nothing to do with Romanticism. They turn scripture into cliches of privilege to help them sleep ... like "we aren't perfect, just forgiven."

Maybe one day I'll wear that cross again ... when I feel that #fakechristianity no longer has a stranglehold on Christianity.

Aug 28, 2017 8:35:42 PM | ART SAVES, Art&Activism, Thinking Out Loud

The Getty

It has been such an honor to be featured on The Getty museum's site that shine's light on people's thoughts about inspiration.

From that feature, a new project has developed where They Getty will be using my art and words about inspiration for a campaign that will be placed on a metro bus in the Los Angeles area. This photo (above) is what it will look like.

I am so honored and excited. Inspiration IS all around me and I am so grateful that I get to use my time and energy to focus on making art every single day.

Nov 17, 2015 10:37:34 AM | ART SAVES, Fun & Discovery, Now Hear This, Paintings, The Getty

Quilts for Uganda :: A Call for Donations

This is my amazing friend Tracy Schultz who recently visited Studio Crescendoh to share with me the news about her upcoming trip to an orphanage in Uganda.

Tracy is an ambassador of sunshine. Salt of the earth.

Where is Uganda, might you ask?
Here's a little map that shows this small country in East Africa. It is bordered by Kenya, South Sudan, and the republic of the Congo.

In late November, Tracy will be traveling to an orphanage in Uganda with a group called Hopeline Africa Mission. When asked what they could bring to bring to the 50 children in the orphanage, they requested quilts.

Tracy would like to try and bring 50 handmade quilts, one for each child.

If you want to, I hope you will join me in making one to give to Tracy that she can take to a child at the the orphanage. Tracy will take pictures of each child and the quilt he or she receives and bring them back to share. I join Tracy in believing in the power of handmade and how the children will feel the extra love knowing that someone made them a quilt of their own. Here are some answers to questions you may have:

Q: Is there a size requirement?
A: No. You can make it any size.

Q: Is there a design or materials requirement?
A: No. You can make it as plain or fancy as you like, using traditional motifs or made up ones. You can keep it very very simple like this one. You can make it out of fabric or you can knit/crochet one with yarn!

Q: What's the deadline?
A: November 5th (If you live near Orange County, California, Tracy will make arrangements to go and pick up the quilt from you. If you live far too far for Tracy to pick up the quilt, you can make arrangements to have it shipped to her by contacting her via email at [email protected]

I'm excited to be able to donate to this meaningful project, which I know will be executed beautifully.

Aug 21, 2014 5:12:03 PM | ART SAVES, Quilting & Sewing

Tune In Tomorrow to Creative Mojo!

I am honored to be invited by Mark Lipinski, host of the Creative Mojo radio show to appear live tomorrow on his show. He will be interviewing me along with several amazing artists and contributors of my book, Art Saves, as follows:

The show goes LIVE at 3PM (EST) and Mark will be interviewing each of us as we delve into the topic of how indeed, art saves. If you tune in live, you are able to call in. But even if you miss the show LIVE, you will still be able to download the interviews via archived podcast right here.

Thank you, Mark, Michael, Suzi, Lynn, Susan, and Christine. :)