Political Action

calling voters: A doodle diary

| Susan

I became a political activist in 2016 when my beloved country lost its mind and elected Don the Con as President. Since then, I’ve engaged in all manner of ways to get citizens to register and go to the polls. This past cycle seemed particularly critical as a myriad of election deniers were running for high office, including secretary of state and it seemed like our Democracy was in serious jeopardy.

In my experience, taking action is powerful. And it sure beats sitting around worrying! So, I joined my illustrious phone banks and called Arizona voters.

There are usually several minutes between the time someone hangs up and another answers; I tend to be jumpy and the adrenaline flows so, I doodle. They are pretty much stream of consciousness and include quotes from the folks I call. The one about Goth Girls I did afterward because it was so completely random and therefore, my favorite call of the weekend.

More Sketches of 2017

| Susan

A few new sketches from Spring of this year.

 

March and April were busy. I went to the town hall to hear my Congressman Jared Huffman answer questions. I made calls to Georgia voters for Jon Ossoff in Georgia, marched for 45 to reveal his taxes, went to a climate rally and a Mill Valley Community Action Network (MVCAN) meeting. Sketches were created.

Down in the Baja

Año Nuevo State Park.

We saw a few of the famous Elephant Seals. They’re pretty funny looking. We learned that the Grizzly Bear and the Elephant Seal have a common ancestor. Pups are “weaners.” Elephant Seals spend most of their time way out at sea (3000 miles) They came to Año Nuevo Beach in California, to shed their skins and later, to give birth.

AnoNuevo

 

And we hosted a birthday party at our house for our friend Seth.

Seth

One Week 100 People 2017

| Susan

I have become a big fan of Instagram. Through that app, I’ve found wonderful sketchers, illustrators and artists and I’ve been sharing my work (@susanstanger5995—when I picked the handle, I didn’t know you were supposed to pick something more descriptive—I’m still learning). In early March, I learned about a challenge to sketch 100 people in a week. You might have noticed that I love to draw people so this was a no brainer for me. But it wasn’t easy. It was really 100 people in 5 days and by the end of the week, I was pretty much burnt out on drawing people.

On the other hand (so to speak), my drawing became more facile and quicker. I also started using other media, like a sharpie pen and colored pencils. One day, I banged out several sketches that way in just half an hour. Really quick and half from memory as my subjects moved through and out of eyeshot.

I posted on Instagram every day but the drawings were out of order and sometimes incomplete. I knew that eventually I would post them here so I could show them all in order (somewhat—though it seems that I’m missing a couple) and write more details about what I was doing, if I wanted to. So, here they are, my sketches of 100 people…

These first few sketches were done at the Mill valley Community Action Network meeting

These first sketches were done during a meeting of the Mill Valley CAN (Community Action Network) meeting. A group that is doing fantastic political action!

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The ferry is a wonderful place to sketch people because they seldom see me drawing them. Most are reading something, as this sketch shows.Number19-23

 

Here’s where I start doing those really quick sketches with the Sharpie pen and colored pencils. These were created in the lobby of the building where I work, 201 Mission St. on the corner of Beale in SF.

 

Back on the FerryNumber44-48

Number49-52A few of my colleagues:Number53-55

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More quick sketches with a sharpie. I sketched first and colored in later.

 

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Finally doing a few just with paint. It was really fun and interesting to mix it up and do things a little differently.

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At the Water protectors rally in San Francisco

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Voila!

Lots of Activity. #Enough

| Susan

It started with the Women’s March. I walked with my family in Oakland. From my 7 year old cousin to my 85 year old mom. It was a great event, though a little rough keeping track of all 16 of us!

stand4rights

Since then I’ve been calling my Senators to block the Cabinet nominees. Last week, we met in front of Diane Feinstein’s house to urge her to block Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. This week I went back to thank her for voting against him and for her very strong message (she heard us and acted, yes!). Also to encourage her to vote no on Pruitt.

atdifishouse

The Senator lives in an incredibly beautiful house with a lovely view of the Bay. This week there weren’t as many people there and I didn’t always agree with the speakers but it was good to be out to make my voice heard.

 

Women’s March

There were 16 in my family marching on January 20. From the three octogenarian matriarchs to a couple of fiesty 7 year olds. Imperative activity!

unfair

jacobauntbetty