#inktober Days 29 & 30 • Today we had to put our sweet rat Hermione to rest, after spending the last three weeks fighting aggressively growing cancer. She was a month shy of 2 years old - a sweet, loving soul taken from us too soon. The last 48 hours have been pretty exhausting, so I will forgive myself for having only finished one drawing over the last two days; it gave me some peace to draw and dedicate this to her while I sat with her. She is like this little half-opened rose, plucked before her time. I miss her already. 🐀❤️ ••• #inktober2017 #pendrawing #inkdrawing #penandink #micronpens #linework #lineart #blackwork #illustration #sketchbook #tattooart #tattooflash #crystals #crystalart #crystalcluster #rosetattoo #rosetattoos #rosedrawing #botanicaltattoo #botanicalillustration #esotericart #metaphysicalart #spiritualart #witchyart #halloweenart #transartist #lgbtartist #queerartist #artistsoninstagram

one of the hardest things i am still trying to learn is that there is no way, none at all, to reliably prevent bad things from happening in your life. you cannot foresee which people are going to hurt you and which are not. you can't become so good at something that you'll never fail. you can't prevent sickness, or death.

you can try, but that requires isolating yourself from everyone and everything, and that's no way to live

me, sitting on the bathroom floor in my pjs wielding a hammer to finish up shop orders: i am a Real Professional Adult

Happy Coming Out Day! To my beloved queer family all around the globe, for every time you come out, over and over throughout your life, and for every time you are able to represent your authentic self, I am so proud of you all 🌈🏳️‍🌈💖💕

I am so excited to announce that I am joining 7 other queer artists in a group pin giveaway (over on Instagram! I wanted you lovely Tumblr folks to know so that you have a chance to enter as well!

Head over to IG and check out the giveaway post to find out how to enter. You can win all 7 of these pins (including your choice of one of my crystal pronoun pins!) and check out 8 awesome queer artists at the same time 💗

GENDER GEMS ON ETSY | INSTAGRAM

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Trans culture is also laughing at ads like this

She’s so happy

My local area mass transit system is abbreviated HRT. I see HRT buses everywhere.

enter the trans cube

check out this knife

my work still uses some legacy systems from the 60’s. when they got set up, to save byte space, transaction was abbreviated TRANS.

THE BACKPACK IS ME THO. 

my mom once found half a torn luggage tag at the airport and all it said was TRANS and she gave it to me bc she thought it was funny and it remains one of my favorite supportive things she has ever done

#inktober Day 5 • Oof, this one has been especially emotional for me today! I have been sketching rat skulls lately after my oldest rat & soulmate Willow passed away earlier this year. A friend of a friend is cleaning up her bones to return to us, and I’ve been drawing skulls from photo refs in the meantime as a means of soothing the ache of missing her; it’s hard, being in this state of limbo before I can really put her to rest. Then, in a touch of unpleasant irony, one of our other rats Hermione was at the vet for surgery today to remove a mammary tumor - which should have been easy! we’ve done this a half dozen times before! - and ended up having to be anesthetized THREE TIMES because she kept yanking her stitches back out!! So most of my energy today has been dedicated to that little #ratmergency but fortunately she is doing alright now, and I was able to finish this up while she was sleeping. ✌🏻🐁 ••• #inktober2017 #gendergems #inkdrawing #pendrawing #penandink #blackandwhite #tattooflash #tattooart #flashsheet #sketchbook #sketch #linework #micronpens #illustration #illustrator #woodcut #linocut #skull #animalskull #bones #crystals #crystalart #esoteric #spiritualart #transartist #lgbtartist #queerartist #artistsoninstagram

There are two globally renowned olive gardens: Gethsemane, the grove where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before his betrayal and crucifixion, its agony painted by Gauguin and by hundreds of other painters, and the fictional Tuscan hillside that lends its name to Olive Garden, a massive restaurant chain with more than 800 locations in North America. The two appear to be unconnected: According to Darden Restaurants, owner of the Olive Garden chain, the phrase is intended to call to mind ideas of the olive harvest and Tuscan authenticity, not the final, anguished night of a prophet, dark hours spent in prayer, wrath, and silence.

This article about the Olive Garden just got more amazing the further in I read.  (via copperbadge)

If you’re not supportive of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline, you can help First Nations like Tsleilwaututh Nation who are taking Kinder Morgan and the Canadian Federal Government to court, by donating.

Canadian Tumblrites supported the push against the Standing Rock pipeline.

It’s time for American Tumblrites to return the favor.

One more thing, if Americans and other non-Canadians aren’t familiar with this oil pipeline and its widespread opposition and want to learn more, I’m here to help. I don’t blame anyone outside of Canada who hasn’t heard of it. Its gotten almost no coverage outside of this country.

I have however been posting about this terrible project for years now. Under the #Kinder Morgan hashtag on this blog I have posted dozens if not hundreds of posts about the project from just about every angle possible (Indigenous Rights, Oil Spill Risk, Economics, Climate Change, Legal Challenges, etc).

I’ll also happily answer any questions people have as well.

Get familiar, and support indigenous rights.

UPDATE:

First Nations have officially taken Kinder Morgan and the Canadian Federal Government to court:

If you want to help them, donating now would be a good time. Sharing the post above about their court challenge to the pipeline would also be appreciated.

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HE. IS. A MONSTER

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1.3 million people in Puerto Rico are living off food stamps. 40% of people in Puerto Rico won’t be able to properly afford food in a humanitarian crisis. Let me repeat that for the people who are against financial help, 40% of people in Puerto Rico won’t be able to properly afford food in a humanitarian crisis.

he’s denying people supplies necessary for their survival. you can’t tell me this man isn’t a monster.

#inktober Day 2 • So much more relaxed and less judgmental towards myself today. I think you can tell just looking at it! I may have gone a little overboard 😂 and I know it’s not perfect, but I let myself have fun with this doodle and enjoy the process, and that’s the whole point. ••• #inktober2017 #gendergems #sketchbook #mysketchbook #penandink #pendrawing #inkdrawing #blackandwhite #tattooart #tattooflash #flashsheet #woodcut #linocut #crystals #crystalart #esoteric #transartist #lgbtartist #artistsoninstagram

#inktober Day 1 🖊🕸💎🖤 ••• Starting out with a very small spirit quartz doodle. I’m already feeling the weight of the voice in my head that wants me to know how unskilled I am and how slow I am to improve - the voice that compares my work to the amazing Inktober art I’m already seeing around me - the voice that has kept me from actually pursuing my art for so many years. That’s the whole point of this challenge for me this month: just to prove that voice wrong! I may hate my drawings sometimes but I am committed to finishing them all. ••• #inktober2017 #crystals #crystalart #quartzcrystal #spiritquartz #pendrawing #inkdrawing #penandink #illustration #sketchbook #mysketchbook #transartist #lgbtartist #artistsoninstagram

✨🎃💎✨ • Sometimes you just feel the inspiration and everything flows! I pumped out this drawing from start to finish over the last 24 hrs and it felt amazing. For my birthday my mom gifted me a new #illosketchbook and I wanted to break the first page anxiety before I start #inktober this year. I’m really excited to challenge myself for the first time to really improve my commitment and skill with drawing. ••• Inking has always been one of my favorite activities. Ironically, against my love of bright colors and saturated palettes, I have this other love of sharp clean lines and black ink. We’ll see where this month takes me as I explore this other style I really love! ••• Also happening during October (and especially for you, lovely person who is still reading 😂), I am planning for GENDERGEMS’ first IG giveaway!! I am looking forward to everything this month has to bring!! 🕸🖊🍂 ••• #gendergems #sketchbook #mysketchbook #inkdrawing #penandink #tattooflash #flashsheet #october #pumpkin #woodcut #crystals #crystalart #blackandwhite #illustration #halloween #transartist #lgbtartist #artistsoninstagram

Fort Gibson High School sophomores used historical events of native people being used in human zoos as a way to show “school rivalry”.

This school is Cherokee nation, at a school with a large number of native people, and they mocked the trauma and oppression of native people.

The school principal and superintendent brushed off the issue. I’m tired of white people getting away with this stuff. White people and POC (including natives) with a colonized mindset will always use the excuse “well I’m not offended so you shouldn’t be” as a way to silence racism.

Guess what? Native American oppression is not an accessory.