#piecework magazine

[professorpski]

Piecework, Fall 2022

Piecework magazine offers both historical articles on needlework and instructions with patterns for some of items featured. I must say I always feel the ones with patterns are the best although I have not yet made any of them.

For the instructions, we have the tatted doilies are drawn from an 1889 called Weldon’s Practical Tatting and Katrina King suggests more modern uses like earrings for the smallest motifs and wedding veil for larger ones. The long cream kilt stockings, from ones worn by men who wore breeches instead of long pants, are adaptations from 18th Century Cape Breton Island examples. Barbara Kelly-Landry offers full instructions and she and Annamarie Hatcher recount the history of such stockings and how men’s calves used to be an object of interest for their shape. Yes, women ogled men’s calves. Maybe that it why it is my favorite pattern in this issue. ;-) The other pattern is for the colorwork sleeves you see here which were a separate part of traditional Macedonian clothing according to Ali Giles-Damjanovska in one of two articles on that tradition. Plus an early American sampler pattern is included.

Then, there are historical articles with information and inspiration but without patterns. So there is one on bobbin lace from Puerto Rico by Diana P. Martinez Rodriguez from which this christening gown image is taken. I thought it was crochet at first glance which may explain the popularity of crochet trim in the late 19th and early 20th century: its ability to mimic lace. There are more articles including one on patchwork quilts from India, on early European couching stitch embroidery, and a dress created by someone in a mental asylum, and no, I am not making that last one up.

You can find it at your local bookstore or newsstand or online here: https://pieceworkmagazine.com/subscription/

[therealadothamilton]

From Spring 2024 Piecework magazine

[ostensiblynone]

The audacity of the gay news and jokes in the "Rambling Reporter" was toned way down in the mid-fifties, not because of a vice crackdown by the Los Angeles police or retrenchment by Hollywood Reporter management but because of a scourge that threatened Mike Connolly personally—and its name was Confidential, the preeminent scandal magazine of its time.

Its inaugural issue blazed onto newsstands late in 1952, launching its wildly successful exploitation of public hunger for the unvarnished truth about film personalities. In no time at all, Confidential had Hollywood running scared from whatever stories it would date to print next. One by one, major stars and performers were finding their once-private pecadilloes trumpeted from its salacious pages. Compounding the fun, a dozen or so imitator magazines sprang up as well, with names such as Top Secret, Whisper, Hush-Hush, Exposed, and Lowdown. Confidential's terrorizing of the film industry would endure for nearly five years, until the Los Angeles County District Attorney bowed to behind-the-scenes pressure from the movie studios and indicted Confidential on charges including conspiracy to commit criminal libel and conspiracy to circulate lewd and obscene material. Joining the prosecutorial team was the California State Attorney General's office. The infamous Confidential trial lasted for two months, August and September of 1957. After the jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared, the criminal libel charges were dropped, but Confidential paid a five thousand dollar fine on the obscene material count and publisher Robert Harrison signed an agreement not to print stories injurious to stars' reputations in subsequent issues. One of the unsung secrets in this mid-century scandal magazine saga involved not the stars, who were merely victims of smear journalism, but the authors and sources of the hatchet job stories, many of whom were respected members of the Hollywood press. As the criminal prosecution of Confidential dragged on through the hottest months of 1957, Walter Winchell observed, "Many writers for respectable slick mags are suffering from the jitters hoping their names aren't exposed in the Hollywood slime-light. They have been enjoying a comfortable income (under other names) peddling lowdown on celebrities that their editors deleted." Moonlighting journalists on Confidential's payroll had varying levels of involvement. Some were paid retainer fees, not to write but simply to pass along gossip that their own newspaper deemed too hot to handle. Contributing writers, those on the front lines whose submissions were considered first drafts (or even barely sketched outlines), were paid between two hundred fifty and fifteen hundred dollars. These contributors' drafts rarely resembled the versions that got into print, which appeared under bylines that were with few exceptions fictitious. The real writing was done either by outside writers, paid up to five hundred dollars per article on a piecework basis, or by Confidential's in-house staff of four men. Some articles required numerous rewrites, until they achieved what published Harrison called Confidential's "toboggan ride" style and sound. … In The Fifty-Year Decline and Fall of Hollywood (1961), [Hollywood correspondent Ezra] Goodman, who in previous pages had already laid substantial groundwork to get across the message that Connolly was queer, now delivered his coup-de-grace in hopes that his readers would put two and two together. "Some of [Confidential's] tipsters were even among the press," Goodman snickered. "One of the leading 'male' gossipists in Hollywood was a source for Confidential—the magazine used an unpublished story about this columnist's amorous activities as a journalistic sword over his head." Goodman knew whereof he spoke regarding Confidential; he himself had written secretly for the gutter gazette, as had his long-time mistress, the United Press's Aline Mosby. Mosby, in fact, had been in the press gallery of the courtroom covering the Confidential trial when the prosecution's star witness, former Confidential editor Howard Rushmore, fingered her as one of their free-lancers. A defense attorney further opened that kettle of fish by adding that Mosby had written a grand total of twenty-four stories for them. United Press assigned another reporter to cover the trial while Mosby slipped out of town in disgrace.

—Mike Connolly and the manly art of Hollywood gossip by Val Holley, published 2003

[catrinathomas]

10 common photography mistakes to avoid

Photography has as of late turned into your energy and you invest increasingly more time holding a camera? Recollect that all starting points are troublesome yet, as is commonly said, no torment, no addition. Indeed, mainly, you have been hit by the photography bug! Colorland has arranged for you 10 most normal missteps made by amateurs photographic artists. Peruse on and really take a look at how to stay away from every one of them!

10 common photography mistakes to avoid

1. Proficient hardware isn't all that matters Recollect that the expert gear won't make you an expert photographic artist and that photography isn't a work on a piecework premise. It's a slip-up to imagine that just a "great" and simultaneously costly gear allows you to take delightful and excellent pictures. An accomplished photographic artist can take better photos by utilizing their cell phone than a novice - by their expert camera. To this end you ought to continuously get to know your camera's choices or elements of the hardware you intend to purchase. Contemplate how you can utilize them! Furthermore, recall that even the best phone screen won't show your Genuine photograph - you ought to constantly watch the impacts of your work on your PC screen or far superior, on an adjusted screen.

2. Photography is the opportunity of articulation so don't duplicate others' thoughts Obviously, it's alright to be motivated by others' photographs yet you ought to never at any point duplicate their thoughts. It's vital to break down a photo, its tones, edges and make determinations which can be next effectively executed in your own photos. It's likewise worth partaking in photography studios and gaining from the well known picture takers, understanding books and industry magazines, asking experts for counsel and additionally… paying attention to yourself and not fearing tests which will assist you with becoming awesome :)

3. Try not to utilize a flashbulb Novice picture takers frequently love to utilize a flashbulb. Nonetheless, it's quite important that proficient picture takers really don't utilize it by any means. An inherent blaze ordinarily overexposes a photo and makes it level. Consequently, in the event that you are truly keen on photography and you need to foster your abilities, rather center around utilizing a reflector or different frill which will assist you with stressing the light. Nonetheless, if you would rather not abandon your flashbulb, make certain to diminish its power so the light appears to be more normal.

4. Stay away from an excessively foggy foundation Numerous novice photographic artists are generally amazed by, purported, the bokeh impact about which we wrote in our article about spring photograph motivations. In any case, you ought to recall that this impact ought not be abused. The bokeh is a certain something however you ought to likewise zero in on the whole casing and on what is happening behind the scenes which frequently finishes your image. Try not to underrate the right foundation determination since it is an exceptionally principal thing.

5. Try not to snap photographs automatically - center around the organization Make sure to continuously have a thought for an image and its structure. Is it safe to say that you are know about the brilliant proportion or the standard of thirds about which we wrote in our article about Math in photography? In the event that not, make certain to look at it. The other brilliant and exceptionally crucial rule is finding 4 fascinating focuses with regards to your casing which will keep our eyes centered.

6. Try not to take pictures against the light and in full daylight

Lovely weather conditions can lead us to an off-base determination that it's an ideal chance to head outside and take a few pictures. Obviously, you ought to exploit its resources and do a few examinations, notwithstanding, you can't disregard shadows cast by hair or a nose and that overexposing such a photo is so natural. During such climate, it merits utilizing an obscure spot which will give you the most lovely, gentler and more versatile light. Furthermore, with regards to the shadow - never under any circumstance take photographs in such way that you will see a shadow with a handheld camera in the casing. It's a principal botch as… placing your fingers before the focal point :)

7. No more auto mode! The AUTO mode was made for beginners. Be that as it may, to foster your abilities, you ought to keep away from it at all costs! As we have referenced previously - get to know your camera, read the guidance and exploit its capabilities! It's simple :) Likewise, attempt to take pictures in a Crude organization which is more straightforward for computerized picture handling. We expounded on it in our article about winter motivations, do you recall?

8. Photograph editors? It's not all that matters! With regards to advanced picture handling, you ought to recollect that photograph editors are perfect to uncover the magnificence of your photo, not to make it without any preparation! Obviously, they were made to make picture takers' life simpler however you ought to always remember about the casing discipline. Make in fact great pictures to limit further impedance in a photograph manager. Figure out how to utilize the slider which controls the splendor, the difference and the immersion and make sure to take a stab at the ideal! :)

9. Try not to abandon the variety allocating pointless philosophy to dark and white photographs It's generally simpler to take dark and white photos however we bet you need to find out more and foster your abilities, isn't that right? Try not to abandon the variety and particularly in pictures where the variety assumes the fundamental part, for example at the point when you take photographs of fall leaves or a rainbow :)

[scribblesartcollective]

Honoring black american artists this month:

Harriet Powers was a folk artist and quilter. Sadly, there are only 2 known surviving works, both pictured behind her portrait. Left to right, Pictorial Quilt (1898) and Bible Quilt (1885). While the fate of the other quilts are lost to time, these at least can be visited at the National Museum of American History (D.C.) and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass. Her work was striking, depicting legends, biblical stories and astronomical phenomena in a unique style informed by both Black American and African influences and story telling. Her work perhaps even more unique for the time period where figurative and impressionistic work were simply not found in American textile artistry. She used a piecework and applique technique using both hand and machine stitching to create her works of art. For more about Harriet and her life and work, Harriet Powers' quilts leave a complicated legacy for her descendent - wbur

Harriet Powers: A Black Female Folk Artist Who Regained Her Glory - Daily Art Magazine

Fibers Spotlight - Harriet Powers - Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts

[martelledesignresearch]

Books i found in the AUT  library that have caught my interest;

Women in graphic design by gerda Breuer

Illustration by alan male

Sketching and drawing by kojiro Kumagai

Visualising ideas from scribbles to storyboards by Gregor Krisztian and Nesrin Schlempp-Ulker

Women in graphic design by gerda Breuer notes 12/08/22

“Design has offered women a decent means of support since the  nineteenth century, and it continues to do so today. In the USA, tens of thousands of women find employment at every level of the field, from stay at home pieceworker to production artist to independent entrepreneur to creative director.” - ellen lupton page 66

“Magazine Publishing is another field where women have found opportunities to thrive. Whiles names such as Grace Mirabella (Mirabella), Tina Brown (Vanity Fair, The daily New Yorker, and The Daily Beast) and Anna Wintour (Vogue) have figured high on the mastheads of great magazines, women’s roles as art directors and designers have been less prominent.” - page 75

“NEVER DO ANYTHING JUST FOR MONEY!” - An interview with Irma Boom - page 226 

Irma Boom is one of the most important contemporary book designers and probably the best known female designer in Europe. Her books reflect on the medium ‘book’, they are artistic objects and part of many museum collections. She has worked for the museum Fur Gestaltung Zurich, Vitra and the Dutch Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging, for which she created a book with 2136 pages. She lives and works in Amsterdam. - Page 226

Q&A’s I relate to 

Is graphic design still a boy’s club?Is it still harder for women to become successful?

Well, I don't think it is any different than in other fields, but it is indeed remarkable: at schools you see many women, but less in professional life. 

Did you choose jobs because they would bring you attention?

I collaborate a lot with artists, which is an interesting challenge. I do books I am interested in, and if there is a possibility To collaborate, That's the key to success. 

Why are you so attracted to books?

A book tells stories. They’re culture! A book spreads information. Even now, when we are connected to the whole world via the internet, a book can still do its work. 

Is there a difference between working with women or with men? Areyou treated differently because you are a female?

I have no experience of being a man, but I work a lot in male environments and I love men, I must say. But in the art world, lots of women are active: curator, directors in the museums and galleries. When I work with women. The social aspect is also an important aspect. I love working with strong women. 

“I AM AN INDIVIDUAL, NOT A MODEL” - An interview with Paula Scher

SInce the 1970’s Paula Scher has been one of the most popular Graphic Designers in the USA. she has Designed hundreds of record covers and posters and is known for her conventional and colourful designs, which initiated the discussion on 

‘A new historicism’ in graphic design. Paula Scher was the first female partner at Pentagram and always insisted on being valued for good work, not for being a woman, which she emphasised especially in the letter ‘the boat’. - page 232

Have the men changed?

They work better with women than they used to. They are less condescending and accept that women make terrific designers. 

Do you see any structures in the behaviour of women graphic designers?

Large design firms often have large corporations as clients. The larger firms make more money. Men gravitate towards them because often they are the ‘breadwinners’ in their family relationships and want to earn more money. I found that both men and women designers can be equally disgusted with corporate work. The women I know in highly paid positions, or working with high paying clients, are the breadwinners of their families. 

I chose to read through this book because I personally am a believer in women's rights and the culture of women, especially in the creative industry. This is someone that I am passionate about and am interested in. Since I am studying communication design, this book reveals and discusses women in the industry of graphic design and I think this is worth reading as a young female who is interested and is striving to be a part of the graphic design industry. 

After having read through this book, I have discovered some important well known female graphic designers such as Irma boom and Paula Scher. Both of these female designers have creative talents along with strong personalities and ideas. What i have learnt from both the designer icons is that it doesn’t matter what your sex is but unique ideas can equally come from anybody, but as a woman in the male dominated industry, we must work harder and push even further for our work to be heard and seen. It isn't about being better than men but to have the equal opportunities and credit as everybody else in the competitive field. As A young Junior designer. I do take inspiration and motivation from these artists, because if I want my work to be seen, I must take the advice to be strong in my ideas and have a firm mindset in order to achieve my goals and also what I want to create and share to the world. 

Illustration By Alan Male Notes- 12/08/22

Introduction Notes; Illustration is about communicating a specific contextualised message to an audience. It is rooted in an objective need, which has been generated by either the illustrator or a commercial based client to fulfil a particular task. It is the measure and variety of these different tasks that makes the discipline of illustration such an influential visual language. 

Most people have been influenced by children’s books. These have been described as ‘holding the key to worlds locked inside the imagination, as well as depicting worlds that exist but cannot be seen.’ Children’s picture books, whether fiction or nonfiction, feed us attitudes and information and help to develop our visual senses and intellect. One’s imagination is free to create images and conjure up atmospheres. - page 9

The Illustrator Notes; They need to have knowledge of, be authoritative about and have empathy for a great many topics and subjects, particularly those they may be required to engage with as part of the brief. They also need to be mindful of current affairs and opinion and be contemporary with society at Large and trends in visual language and media. Illustrators need to have knowledge, understanding and insight regarding the context within which they are working and the subject matter they are engaged with. - page 11

The application of  creative processing by being inventive, imaginative and original is intrinsic and inherent to the individual. It is something that cannot be given, but can be brought out, controlled and directed. How much control and direction is down to the circumstance and situation of the illustrator at any given time. - page 30

Research and Illustration;

Much illustration, as we know, is dependent on reference, even images of fantastical and highly imaginative, nature are underpinned or influenced by something that is real. - Page 36

Externalisation of ideas and freedom of expression;

The drawings produced should not be inhibited by vagaries of technical accuracy or realism. The idea or concept is paramount. Methods adopted ought to allow for complete creative and imaginative freedom, and the concept of ‘doodling’ is to be encouraged. - page 56

Inspiration can occur anywhere and in the unlikeliest places, so carrying a sketchbook at all times is wise. 

Ambient, decorative, metaphorical, and fantastical images can be innovated and conceived at this stage by using whatever visual means appropriate colour, texture or line. - page 57

Aesthetic and non aesthetic;

Cultural history and association has a considerable influence on the fluctuating facade of contemporary illustration.This cultural association has facilitated a defined push for some illustration styles to be intrinsically linked with subjects, themes and contexts that are influenced by market culture, most notably the music industry, advertising, and fashion. 

Uran culture like punk, new wave, and psychedelic before that, has now given rise to a trend in illustration that is symbolic of music, fashion and graffiti associated with this genre. Like many so called ‘subcultures’ 

The fashion industry continues to provide opportunities the fashions of the day, most notably from the early twentieth century to the 1950s, was dominated by illustration. 

Today, contemporary illustrators engage with either conceptual or literal ideas and will draw from a considerable range of influence, dependent on the garments in question. And their intended customers. - page 100

Other examples suggest the inclusion of hand lettering intrinsic in the image as a whole, or the representation of specific physical distortions related to the human figure, most notably used in satire. It can be certain that the visual imagery that is illustration is deeply embedded within culture and will continue to represent and communicate either trends in society or be a trend unto itself. - page 102

Chocolate Box;

The term chocolate box is usually associated with imagery that many, particularly some visual arts practitioners, would be contemptuous of. It could be said that it is devoid of ‘intelligent’ aesthetics, superficial, and safe’ regarding content, particularly as it mainly depicts subject matter that is unchallenging and ‘pure’ it contextually provides messages that are ‘sickly sweet’ and overly sentimental, especially with advertising. 

Visually, much of what could be considered as ‘chocolate box’ is a combination of either pictorial or composite hyperreality with impressionable or sentimentalised nature. 

More ‘adult’ in nagture and popularly described as ‘cheesecake’ occasionally risque, the subject matter can be derived from the worl of glamour, used to promote or sell a myriad of products, oten totally unconnected with the theme and frequently containing elements of humour mixed with sexual connotation. Not to be confused with pornography of any form, this is subject matter relies in imagery that is overtly ‘chocolate box’: scantily attractive young women, proactively posed and engaging in some action or commentarythat provoke amusement and/or titalltion 

Generally the ‘chocolate box’ domain of illustration does provide much food for the thought and debate regarding levels of aestheticism and individual professional ambition within illustration practice.  - page 105

Shock;

Throughout the ages, artists and more latterly illustrators have produced imagery with the sole intention of inciting disagreeable reaction in the audience. 

Most of this material can be contextualised as either commentary by way of editorial publications or narrative fiction, imagery that corresponds with literature of an ‘alternative’ nature - extreme gothic horror might be an example. 

This method of working and stylization has been associated with and embedded within the guise of avant-garde illustration. - page 107

It might be expedient to deliberate on what relationship aesthetic values manifests with ‘chocolate box’ and ‘shock’ illustration. 

With ‘chocolate box’ it might be through ignorance;there are many, some illustrators included, who subscribe to the notion that ‘sickly sweet' is to be an aesthetic. 

“Throughout the ages, artists and more latterly illustrators have produced imagery with the sole intention of inciting disagreeable reaction in the audience.”

Reading this book illustration by Alan Male was a research I chose to do since I wanted to explore and discover more about my own passion for illustration. What I have learnt and discovered after reading and doing my research is more than the visuals, but illustrations starts from concepts to further refining development and also finding the context of expression of the art work made. I learnt that my passion and style of my own illustration practices can have a sense of its own style that is somehow influential from my past and my developing ages. My history and past interests plays an important role in our own creative practices today, it has involved visual influences when we were growing up and this does seem to be relatable to me personally and is something I surprisingly agree with. Reading this book made me discover ideas and contexts  that I never thought I would want to express. 

Sketching and Drawing by Kojiro Kumagai notes 12/08/22

The study of croquis, which means a quick rough sketch, has its goal the ability to catch the shape of figures and objects with one’s eyes, to quickly render those shapes and to draw a living line. This study is a must for architects, stylists, decoratorm and fashion designers, not to mention artists and illustrators. 

On sketching and drawing; page 6

Croquis, the art of quick sketch.

The more one draws, the harder the croquis becomes.

We are interested in the primary two croquis which are nude sketching and costume sketching. When sketching nudes,one looks at the nude model and draws the model as quickly as possible. (from 2 to 8 minutes)

In costume sketching, in addition to grasping the expression of the form as quickly as possible, one must also study the balance between the costume, body, and pose. In particular, one should express the feeling of the costume.

The importance of line; page 7

When we try to know a line, our eyes follow the line. In a word, a line is traced by our eyes. Not only do our eyes trace the line, but our spirit tries to reproduces the lin in our mind through the power of idea and image. 

We draw lines with the power of our muscles. And lines are the means to record action. 

The beauty of the s shaped line; page 8

Among all the possibilities of line, the graceful line in which the secret of harmony resides is the S shaped line. 

To obtain beautiful form, avoid creating shapes with sharp, square, lines. 

As for the secrets of the curve, Hogarth, Ingres, Toulouse-Lautrec, Harunobu knew them well. Every line of ukiyoe, especially the lines of th kimono, have the s shape.

Using Ballpoint pens;

Ball point pens do not give lines of varied darkness and width as pencils do, but they can create a simple touch and interesting style that pencils do not. 

Using brushes; 

There are soft and hard brushes. It is important to choose strong brushes. A brush expresses both powerful and delicate touches depending on how hard you press. However, it takes some time to gain full command of brush technique. 

Using pencils;

Pencils, the most common of the artist’s drawing tools, are good for the beginner. You can achieve quite significant expression and effect with the skillful use of a pencil. Even those experienced in croquis technique favour pencils. Pencils range from 2B to 6B are suitable for croquis. 

Doing quick sketches;

One does not not spend the time on sketches than one does on a drawing. When sketching a live model, one should capture the entire figure quickly., expressing the pose, body movement, and costume in five to ten minutes. From the beginning, try to show the movement and form of the model, rather than trying to draw beautifully. It is important for you to try to finish each line with one stroke rather than using repetitions one does when drawing. 

Nude croquis; 

Sketching nudes is indispensable to the study of fashion illustration. In order to finish a sketch within five to ten minutes, one must really look at the model before starting. One must grasp the movement, form and structure of the human body. They execute the sketch quickly. The simple form the nude body prevents the use of tricks or shortcuts that one might attempt with a costumed formed. 

Visualising ideas from scribbles to storyboards notes 12/08/22;

You can use pictures from torn out catalogues and magazines or photos of yourself to build up a scrap file (morgue) of useful source material. Doodle as often as possible and wherever you are. A practical scrap files well organised , manageable, and provides the right source images in just a few minutes. 

Montage technique; this means that elements from different source images are brought together and arranged into a single image. 

Eyes are the mirrors of the soul, as the saying goes, we don’t want to go into that much depth here, but it does go to show how crucial the eyes are in helping us to understand and interpret different moods and emotions. 

Graffiti Woman by Nicholas Ganz notes 12/08/22

Graffiti Woman celebrates the rise of female graffiti and street artist, showcasing the work of over 125 women, from those at the top of the game such as New York’s Lady Pink and Amsterdam’s Mickey to a galaxy of rising stars. 

“My good friend Squid, bassist for the girl punk group The Lunachicks, grew tired of the question “what’s it like to be a girl musician in a male dominated field?” her response: The only difference between me and them is that I sit when I pee” - Dona

During the research for Graffiti Woman it became clear that, for the women involved, the scene is a cluster of contradictory experiences - some good, others bad. Being part of the movement isn't easy, and women have not enjoy their fair share of the limelight, but it  has become a much more level playing field. 

Women enter this subculture and appear to gain an automatic and tainte set of traditional feminine qualities.

Girls that persist, despite this hurdle, face further obstacles. Although women cannot be physically stopped from getting involved in graffiti, they can, through exclusion of their competitive force, be denied a place within an all-male subculture core.

Women  have been part of this subculture since its inception -albeit at the fringes. But only now does graffiti appear to embracing their feminine touch. 

Nancy Macdonald author of the graffiti subculture

“Most girls have different handwriting from guys. Girls use rounder letters. You see this already in primary school. With this background a lot of girl writers use round letters when they first try out, although obviously not all of them. Girls also tend to use round characters like butterflies hearts, big eyes - cute shit!” - Mickey

Across the water in New Zealand, Diva NZ has been active since 1998, and Mizery has been spray painting characters since the 1990s. 

“Women have always been in the streets…graffiti is just another way of advertising your soul instead of your body. I believe women, convinced of the possibilities of doing what they love, are extremely powerful.” - Blue 

Fafi;

Fafi belongs to a particular group of graffiti artists who use a brush to paint figures on the wall. She started back in 1994 and has concentrated on female figures - known as “fafinettes”. “Fafinettes’ are reminiscent of japanese manga comics with strong colours and sexy poses; they beautify dirty places, and fafi tries to be able to express her personality fully. ‘I find I Have two distinctives states of mind,’ she says, ‘most of the time, it's all very spontaneous and instinctive. I think most of us don't know why we do it - it's like a calling. We want to b e remembered. Then, sometimes if i s top a little bit, take a moment of reflection, I see a place in a different light - not just as a target for one of my characters, but like a big canvas, of which my character, is just one part…she stands there with traffic lights, trees and moving passers-by. Now that I want to create my own world where my “fafinettes'' will be among the characters.’

Lady Pink;

New Yorker, Lady Pink, who came to prominence in the 1980s through her involvement in the book subway art and the film wild style.

‘At the age of fifteen I started writing graffiti. At first it was to mourn the loss of my first love, so I wrote his name everywhere.’

‘My greatest contribution to our culture has been the ability to inspire people and to have had a positive impact on their lives. Many young women look up to me as a role model, and that is not a position I wanted, but I do my best to not let them down. I expect great things from our future generations, so don’t let me down!’

Miss Van;

French painter Miss Van, a female graffiti writer, was extremely rare. While many would have tried to hide femininity in their work in an effort to become accepted by their male counterparts, Miss Van did the exact opposite. She stayed true to herself, embraced her female sensibilities to the fullest, and used that to define a style that today - years later - is often imitated but never matched. Miss Van’s exquisite taste and her impeccable sense of style let you know that this work was done by a woman’s hand. With each piece, she deftly balances the playful and the alluring with precision and skill that allows her characters to be insightful, multidimensional and fully realised. 

Each girl Miss Van paints is unique. Each one has a different story to tell. And like any great storyteller, Miss Van leaves it up to the viewer to fill in the history and backstory. It's up to you to determine how you want to interpret them. It is precisely this aspect of her work that makes Miss Van’s art so interesting. A man may see Miss Van’s girls as overtly alluring, sexual and erotic, while a woman, may see them, as playful, sexy, and sweet. It is this internal energy that Miss Van infuses into her characters which Marks a Miss Van piece  and sets you in such a way that can completely transform the way you look at the city. Suddenly the city itself, like Miss Van’s characters, becomes sensual,sweet,alive, and full of mischief. 

[knithacker]

Yes, you can knit two socks simultaneously! 👉 https://buff.ly/34Snlin 🧶🔮 via Piecework Magazine

[cakane463]

A Washcloth in a Suitcase

“Sara Lamb doesn't know when great-aunt Gladys knitted this cloth, but she's used it for more than twenty years, ever since she found it in the case. Great-aunt Gladys Dunning, my grandmother’s younger sister, was born in 1901 on a grain farm in California’s Central Valley. Both girls were raised on that farm, and both spent their adult lives on farms and in small farming towns in the San Joaquin Valley, tending family, cooking, gardening, visiting, and busy with bridge clubs, friends, and church. Gladys graduated from the University of Southern California in 1925 and then taught in California public schools. At the time I knew her, she taught business classes, typing, shorthand, and accounting in the high school in the farming community where she and her husband, Merrill Thomas, had settled. She was childless, and so we, her sister’s children and grandchildren, were her family. After my grandmother died, our family often had Sunday dinner at the Thomas’s; I remember that the dining-room table was always set with hand-embroidered linens, cloth napkins, and hand-crocheted lace tablecloths, but whether Gladys made any of these herself I don’t know. I do know that she was an accomplished knitter in earlier days, but she had given up knitting by the time my sister and I picked up needles. Nevertheless, she would reminisce, advise, and comment about our projects: having been a teacher, she was accustomed to instructing. After the deaths of Gladys and her husband, they left five nephews and a niece as heirs. One nephew was executor of the estate, and after he had taken care of the specific bequests, he called for volunteers to clean out the rooms in their house; he assigned my sister and me the guest room. We were routinely sorting everything into piles to give away, keep for the family to divide, or leave for the executor to decide about when I opened the old travel case shown here and discovered some thirty years’ worth of Gladys’s knitting, tatting, small-loom weaving, stored together with yarns and booklets and personal notes. I regretted that we had never had a chance to talk about what she made or see photographs of her wearing the suits and dresses she had knitted.

I saved the suitcase and its contents, thinking that I might use the circular knitting needles, but the cables proved to be too wiry and stiff. But in one of the case’s pockets, along with a cake of soap and a hairnet, I found a knitted washcloth, a reminder of Gladys’s love of travel throughout her life.

I don’t know when she knitted this cloth, but I have used it for more than twenty years, ever since I found it in the case. It has been handy to have a cloth of my own while traveling; it’s sturdy and a good scrubber, can be moistened to cool the neck or eyes on hot days, and dries quickly. It fits into a small corner in my own suitcase, and that’s where I keep it, waiting for my next venture.

Sara Lamb is happiest spinning, weaving, and dyeing, activities which provide enough variety to keep her entertained and her days full. She is currently striving to finish all the things. This will never happen.”

This article was published in the November/December 2013 issue of PieceWork.

[konstantya]

I recently came across this article on Jane Austen’s women and their crafts in an old issue of Piecework Magazine.  Not only is it interesting and informative, but it includes some patterns!

I really hope everything’s readable.  If you click through and then right click on those images and open them in a new tab they’re a much better size/resolution.

[professorpski]

Piecework, Winter 2022

The cover of this issue features a Jacobean Crewelwork Project Bag by Deanna Hall west which accompanies an article on the history of crewelwork by Jacqui McDonald. This article is actually an excerpt from Royal School of Needlework Essential Stitch Guides: Crewelwork. So you can try your hand and see if you want to pursue the craft further.

You see as well a colcha, Spanish for bedspread or blanket, which also refers to a long, self-couching stitch which is what embroiders this one with flora and birds. Julia R. Gomez wrote both the article on the history of this kind of needlework and offers a lesson and a project featuring a peahen. 

Those Sports Mittens have both a history and a pattern written up by Karen Penders St. Clair whose Grandmother LeRoux first typed up the basic directions. She made them in Kelbourne Woolens Germantown worsted weight yarn, a revived American brand, so you have both pattern and yarn with a bit of history. You see here the outer edge from the Shetland Old Shell Hap and Half Hap, which are a square and a triangular shawl respectively explained by Elizabeth Johnston. While the borders are pretty lace stitches, the body is done in garter stitch, a thick and warm stitch which surely makes sense coming from the Shetland Islands.

I always feature the projects, but there are lots of historical articles on felting wool, on Coptic textiles, and paper packets of needles and on needle gauges, small items that remind us that everything has a history.  

You can find this issue at your local yarn shop, LYS, or here online: https://pieceworkmagazine.com/subscription

[carinmarais]

Reading & Listening Update: Research, L’Morte d’Arthur Lectures, and More

Reading & Listening Update: Research, L’Morte d’Arthur Lectures, and More

Besides sitting with a nasty head cold while writing this (oh the joy of the changing season — hello there, autumn, my second-favourite season who’s not being very friendly this year), the past two weeks have not been too bad.

The one highlight (oh, and what a highlight!) was finally seeing a-ha live on stage after waiting a whopping 26 years. But more about that in a next blog post.

I’ve…

[somediyprojects]

Quaker Heart designed by Janice Wood for PieceWork magazine. Blue version stitched by Pat Geary.

Medallion samplers, with whole medallions in the center and half and quarter medallions on the borders and corners, were one of three distinct types of samplers stitched at Quaker schools in England and America during the seventeenth century. The motifs were thought to have been used to teach mathematics, and the samplers usually were stitched in monochromatic or somber colors.

This small heart pillow was designed using traditional Quaker sampler motifs and variegated cherry red thread to give it an aged appearance. A traditional sampler alphabet appears on one side with the date and recipient’s initials on the reverse side.

[all-things-are-nothing-to-me]

The Smartphone Society

The automobile was in many respects the defining commodity of the twentieth century. Its importance didn’t stem from technological virtuosity or the sophistication of the assembly line, but rather from an ability to reflect and shape society. The ways in which we produced, consumed, used, and regulated automobiles were a window into twentieth-century capitalism itself — a glimpse into how the social, political, and economic intersected and collided.Today, in a period characterized by financialization and globalization, where “information” is king, the idea of any commodity defining an era might seem quaint. But commodities are no less important today, and people’s relationships to them remain central to understanding society. If the automobile was fundamental to grasping the last century, the smartphone is the defining commodity of our era.People today spend a lot of time on their phones. They check them constantly throughout the day and keep them close to their bodies. They sleep next to them, bring them to the bathroom, and stare at them while they walk, eat, study, work, wait, and drive. Twenty percent of young adults even admit to checking their phones during sex.What does it mean that people seem to have a phone in their hand or pocket everywhere they go, all day long? To make sense of our purported collective phone addiction, we should follow the advice of Harry Braverman, and examine the “machine on the one side and social relations on the other, and the manner in which these two come together in society.”Hand MachinesApple insiders refer to FoxConn’s assembly city in Shenzhen as Mordor — J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth hellhole. As a spate of suicides in 2010 tragically revealed, the moniker is only a slight exaggeration of the factories in which young Chinese workers assemble iPhones. Apple’s supply chain links colonies of software engineers with hundreds of component suppliers in North America, Europe, and East Asia — Gorilla Glass from Kentucky, motion coprocessors from the Netherlands, camera chips from Taiwan, and transmit modules from Costa Rica funnel into dozens of assembly plants in China.Capitalism’s simultaneously creative and de­structive tendencies spur constant changes in global production networks, and within these networks, new configurations of corporate and state power. In the old days, producer-driven supply chains, exemplified by industries like auto and steel, were dominant. People like Lee Iacocca and Boeing legend Bill Allen decided what to make, where to make it, and how much to sell it for.But as the economic and political contradictions of the postwar boom heightened in the 1960s and ’70s, more and more countries in the Global South adopted export-oriented strategies to achieve their development goals. A new type of supply chain emerged (particularly in light industries like apparel, toys, and electronics) in which retailers, rather than manufacturers, held the reins. In these buyer-driven models, companies like Nike, Liz Claiborne, and Walmart design goods, name their price to manufacturers, and often own little more in the way of production than their lucrative brands.Power and governance are located at multiple points in the smartphone chain, and production and design are deeply integrated at the global scale. But the new configurations of power tend to reinforce existing wealth hierarchies: poor and middle-income countries try desperately to move into more lucrative nodes through infrastructure development and trade deals, but upgrading opportunities are few and far between, and the global nature of production makes struggles by workers to improve conditions and wages extremely difficult.Congolese coltan miners are separated from Nokia executives by more than an ocean — they are divided by history and politics, by their country’s relationship to finance, and by decades-old development barriers, many of which are rooted in colonialism.The smartphone value chain is a useful map of global exploitation, trade politics, uneven development, and logistical prowess, but the deeper significance of the device lies elsewhere. To discover the more subtle shifts in accumulation that are illustrated and facilitated by the smartphone, we must turn from the process by which people use machines to create phones to the process by which we use the phone itself as a machine.Considering the phone as a machine is, in some respects, immediately intuitive. Indeed, the Chinese word for mobile phone is shouji, or “hand machine.” People often use their hand machines as they would any other tool, particularly in the workplace. Neoliberal demands for flexible, mobile, networked workers make them essential.Smartphones extend the workplace in space and time. Emails can be answered at breakfast, specs reviewed on the train home, and the next day’s meetings verified before lights out. The Internet becomes the place of work, with the office just a dot on the vast map of possible workspaces.The extension of the working day through smartphones has become so ubiquitous and pernicious that labor groups are fighting back. In France, unions and tech businesses signed an agreement in April 2014 recognizing 250,000 tech workers’ “right to disconnect” after a day’s work, and Germany is currently contemplating legislation that would prohibit after-work emails and phone calls. German Labor Minister Andrea Nahles told a German newspaper that it is “indisputable that there is a connection between permanent availability and psychological diseases.”Smartphones have also facilitated the creation of new types of work and new ways of accessing labor markets. In the “marketplace for odd jobs,” companies like TaskRabbit and Postmates have built their business models by tapping into the “distributed workforce” through smartphones.TaskRabbit connects people who would prefer to avoid the drudgery of doing their own chores with people desperate enough to do piecework odd jobs for pay. Those who want chores done, like the laundry or cleanup after their kid’s birthday party, link up with “taskers” using TaskRabbit’s mobile app.Taskers are expected to continuously monitor their phones for potential jobs (response time determines who gets a job); consumers can order or cancel a tasker on the go; and upon successfully completing the chore, the contractor can be paid directly through the phone.Postmates — the darling of the gig economy — is an up-and-comer in the business world, especially after Spark Capital pumped $16 million into it earlier this year. Postmates tracks its “couriers” in cities like Boston, San Francisco, and New York using a mobile app on their iPhones as they hustle to deliver artisanal tacos and sugar-free vanilla lattes to homes and offices. When a new job comes in, the app routes it to the closest courier, who must respond immediately and complete the task within an hour to get paid.The couriers, who are not recognized employees of Postmates, are less enthusiastic than Spark. They get $3.75 per delivery plus tips, and because they’re classified as independent contractors, are not protected by minimum wage laws.In this way, our hand machines fit seamlessly into the modern world of work. The smartphone facilitates contingent employment models and self-exploitation by linking workers to capitalists without the fixed costs and emotional investment of more traditional employment relations.But smartphones are more than a piece of technology for wage work — they have become a part of our identity. When we use our phones to text friends and lovers, post comments on Facebook, or scroll through our Twitter feeds, we’re not working — we’re relaxing, we’re having fun, we’re creating. Yet, collectively, through these little acts, we end up producing something unique and valuable: our selves.Selves for SaleErving Goffman, an influential American sociologist, was interested in the self and how individuals produce and perform their selves through social interaction. By his own admission, Goffman was a bit Shakespearean — for him “all the world is a stage.” He argued that social interactions can be thought of as performances, and that people’s performances vary depending on their audience.We enact these “front-stage” performances for people — acquaintances, coworkers, judgmental relatives — that we want to impress. Front-stage performances give the appearance that our actions “maintain and embody certain standards.” They convince the audience that we really are who we say we are: a responsible, intelligent, moral human being.But front-stage performances can be shaky and are often undermined by mistakes — people put their foot in their mouth, they misread social cues, they have a piece of spinach lodged in their teeth, or they get caught in a lie. Goffman was fascinated by how hard we work to perfect and maintain our front-stage performances and how often we fail at them.Smartphones are a godsend for the dramaturgical aspects of life. They enable us to manage the impressions we make on others with control-freak precision. Instead of talking to each other, we can send text messages, planning our witticisms and avoidance strategies in advance. We can display our impeccable taste on Pinterest, superior parenting skills on CafeMom, and burgeoning artistic talents on Instagram, all in real time.New York magazine recently ran a piece about the four most desirable people in New York City according to OKCupid. These individuals have crafted such attractive dating profiles that they are pummeled with attention and racy requests — their phones ping continually with messages from potential paramours. Tom, one of the chosen four, regularly tweaks his profile, subbing in new photos, and rewording his self-description. He has even used OKCupid’s MyBestFace profile-optimizing service.Tom says all this effort is necessary in our present “culture of likes.” Tom considers his OKCupid profile to be “an extension of himself”: “I want it to look good and clean so, like, I make it do crunches and shit.”The incredible reach of social media and people’s rapid adoption of it to produce and perform their selves are engendering the emergence of new technologically mediated rituals of interaction. Smartphones are now central to the way we “generate, maintain, repair, and renew as well as . . . contest or resist relationships.”Take texting rituals, which, with all their complex, unwritten rules, now play a commanding role in the relationship dynamics of most young adults. One need not deal in toxic nostalgia to admit that new, technologically mediated rituals are displacing or radically altering older conventions.Digitally maintaining, generating, and contesting relationships through smartphones is somewhat different from using phones to complete tasks associated with wage work. Individuals don’t get paid a wage for their Tinder profile or for uploading photos of their weekend adventures on Snapchat, but the selves and the rituals they produce are certainly for sale. Regardless of intention, when a person uses their smartphone to connect with people and the imagined digital community, the output of their labor of love is increasingly likely to be sold as a commodity.Companies like Facebook are pioneers in the enclosure and sale of digital selves. In 2013, Facebook had 945 million users who accessed the site through their smartphones. It made 89 percent of its revenue that year from advertising, half of which came from mobile advertising. Its entire architecture is designed to guide the mobile production of selves through a platform that makes those selves salable.That’s why it instituted its “real names” policy: “pretending to be anything or anyone isn’t allowed.” Facebook needs users to use legal names so it can easily match corporeal selves with digital selves, because data produced by and connected to an actual human is more profitable.Users of the dating site OKCupid agree to a similar exchange: “data for a date.” Third-party companies sit in the background of the site, scooping up users’ photos, political and religious views, and even the David Foster Wallace novels they profess to love. The data are then sold to advertisers, who create targeted, personalized ads.The pool of people who have access to OKCupid’s data is remarkably large — OkCupid, along with other companies like Match and Tinder, is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp, the sixth-largest online network in the world. Crafting a self on OKCupid may or may not yield love, but it definitely yields corporate profits.Awareness is spreading that our digital selves are now commodities. New School professor Laurel Ptak recently published a manifesto called “Wages for Facebook” and in March 2014, Paul Budnitz and Todd Berger created Ello, a fleetingly popular Facebook alternative.Ello proclaims: “We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate — but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life. You are not a product.” Ello promises not to sell your data to third-party advertisers, at least for now. It reserves the right to do so in the future.However, discussions of the peddling of digital selves by gray-market data companies and Silicon Valley giants are usually separate from conversations about increasingly exploitative working conditions or the burgeoning market for precarious, degrading work. But these are not separate phenomena — they are intricately linked, all pieces in the puzzle of modern capitalism.iCommodifyCapital must reproduce itself and generate new sources of profit over time and space. It must constantly create and reinforce the separation between wage laborers and owners of capital, increase the value it extracts from workers, and colonize new spheres of social life to create commodities. The system, and the relationships that comprise it, are constantly in motion.The expansion and reproduction of capital in everyday life and the colonization of new spheres of social life by capital are not always obvious. Thinking about the smartphone helps us put the pieces together because the device itself facilitates and undergirds new models of accumulation.The evolution of work over the past three decades has been characterized by a number of trends — the lengthening of the workday and workweek, the decline of real wages, the reduction or elimination of non-wage protections from the market (like fixed pensions or health and safety regulations), the proliferation of part-time work, and the decline of unions.At the same time, norms regarding the organization of work have also shifted. Temporary, project-oriented employment models are proliferating. Employers are no longer expected to provide job security or regular hours, and employees no longer expect those things.But the degradation of work is not a given. Increasing exploitation and immiseration are tendencies, not fixed outcomes ordained by the rules of capitalism. They are the result of battles lost by workers and won by capitalists.The ubiquitous use of smartphones to extend the workday and expand the market for shit jobs is a result of the weakness of both workers and working-class movements. The compulsion and willingness of increasing numbers of workers to engage with their employers through their phones normalizes and justifies the use of smartphones as a tool of exploitation, and solidifies constant availability as a requirement for earning a wage.Apart from the Great Recession, corporate profit rates have steadily climbed since the late eighties, and not only as a result of capital (and the state) rolling back the gains of the labor movement. The reach of global markets has widened and deepened, and the development of new commodities has grown apace.The expansion and reproduction of capital is dependent on the development of these new commodities, many of which emerge from capital’s incessant drive to enclose new spheres of social life for profit, or as political economist Massimo De Angelis says, to “put [these spheres] to work for [capital’s] priorities and drives.”The smartphone is central to this process. It provides a physical mechanism to allow constant access to our digital selves and opens a nearly uncharted frontier of commodification.Individuals don’t get paid in wages for creating and maintaining digital selves — they get paid in the satisfaction of participating in rituals, and the control afforded them over their social interactions. They get paid in the feeling of floating in the vast virtual connectivity, even as their hand machines mediate social bonds, helping people imagine togetherness while keeping them separate as distinct productive entities. The voluntary nature of these new rituals does not make them any less important, or less profitable for capital.Braverman said that “the capitalist finds in [the] infinitely malleable character of human labor the essential resource for the expansion of his capital.” The last thirty years of innovation demonstrate the truth of this statement, and the phone has emerged as one of the primary mechanisms to activate, access, and channel the malleability of human labor.Smartphones ensure that we are producing for more and more of our waking lives. They erase the boundary between work and leisure. Employers now have nearly unlimited access to their employees, and increasingly, holding even a low-paid, precarious job hinges on the ability to be always available and ready to work. At the same time, smartphones provide people constant mobile access to the digital commons and its gauzy ethos of connectivity, but only in exchange for their digital selves.Smartphones blur the line between production and consumption, between the social and the economic, between the pre-capitalist and the capitalist, ensuring that whether one uses their phone for work or pleasure, the outcome is increasingly the same — profit for capitalists.Does the arrival of the smartphone signify the Debordian moment in which the commodity has completed its “colonization of social life”? Is it true that not only is our relationship to commodities plain to see, but that “commodities are now all that there is to see?”This might seem a bit heavy-handed. Accessing social networks and digital connectivity through mobile phones undoubtedly has liberatory elements. Smartphones can help battle anomie and promote a sense of ambient awareness, while at the same time making it easier for people to generate and maintain real relationships.A shared connection through digital selves can also nourish resistance to the existing hierarchy of power whose internal mechanisms isolate and silence individuals. It’s impossible to imagine the protests sparked by Ferguson and police brutality without smartphones and social media. And ultimately, most people are not yet compelled to use smartphones for work, and they certainly aren’t required to perform their selves through technology. Most could throw their phones into the sea tomorrow if they wished.But they won’t. People love their hand machines. Communicating primarily through smartphones is fast becoming an accepted norm, and more and more rituals are becoming technologically mediated. Constant connection to the networks and information we call cyberspace is becoming central to identity. Why this is happening is a labyrinthine speculation.Is it, as media and technology expert Ken Hillis suggests, simply another way to “stave off the Void and the meaningless of existence?” Or, as novelist and professor Roxane Gay recently pondered, does our ability to manipulate our digital avatars provide a balm for our deep sense of impotence in the face of injustice and hate?Or — as tech guru Amber Case wonders — are we all turning into cyborgs?Probably not — but it depends on how you define cyborg. If a cyborg is a human who uses a piece of technology or a machine to restore lost functions or enhance her capacities and knowledge, then people have been cyborgs for a long time, and using a smartphone is no different than using a prosthetic arm, driving a car, or working on an assembly line.If you define a cyborg society as one in which human relationships are mediated and shaped by technology, then our society certainly seems to meet this criterion, and our phones play a starring role. But our relationships and rituals have long been mediated by technology. The rise of massive urban centers — hubs of connectivity and innovation — would not have been possible without railroads and cars.Machines, technology, networks, and information do not drive or organize society — people do. We make things and use things according to the existing web of social, economic, and political relationships and the balance of power.The smartphone, and the way it shapes and reflects existing social relations, is no more metaphysical than the Ford Rangers that once rolled off the assembly line in Edison, New Jersey. The smartphone is both a machine and a commodity. Its production is a map of global power, logistics, and exploitation. Its use shapes and reflects the perpetual confrontation between the totalizing drives of capital and the resistance of the rest of us.In the present moment, the need for capitalists to exploit and commodify is strengthened by the ways in which smartphones are produced and consumed, but capital’s gains are never secure and unassailable. They must be renewed and defended at every step. We have the power to contest and deny capital’s gains, and we should. Perhaps our phones will come in handy along the way.

[summoner-of-arkas]

BF Gungeon Starting Items Because Why Not

Karl

Starting Gun: Frozen Firearm - Ice to see you

A poleaxe turned into a rifle upon entering the Gungeon. Like its wielder, the firearm has an affinity with ice and shoots out a high speed icicle with each shot. While most Gungeoneers come knowing how to fire a gun, Karl didn’t so the accuracy of his new rifle suffers.

Passive: Antidote - A beneficial addiction

Provides immunity to poison.

Karl has almost always been seen drinking an antidote whenever he’s in the Breech. Such over-consumption has left him immune to the various poisons of the Gungeon but unluckily, not bullets.

Seria 

Starting Gun: Bloody Spliter - Get them deep

A sword turned into a revolver upon entering the Gungeon. It shines with the power of its wielder and inflicts a terrible bleed upon those it hits. However while its causes these wounds, the pure damage of the bullet is lacking.

Passive: Champion’s Dominion - Reign supreme 

Boosts damage while at max HP

Seria was famous for her reign at the arena. The same is true for her journey into the Gungeon. However, such pride is easily shattered upon the unforgiving gundead.

Lugina

Starting Gun: Sky Gunbringer - Off the walls

A sword turned into a pistol upon entering the Gungeon. While the gun itself is unremarkable, Lugina has mastered its use to the point where he can ricochet shots off walls. Lugina was the first of a new wave of Gungeoneers to enter the Breech and luckily his blasphemous blade turned into a gun.

Active: Rocks - Looking Rocky

Calls forth three rocks to act as temporary guon stones for the current room.

These new Gungeoneers hail from a land where most beings are in touch with one aspect of the natural world around them, and Lugina has a special connection with rocks. However while the Gungeon’s stones are resilient, they are not for defense and crumble soon after use. 

Passive: Tailwind - As Swift as the wind

Higher movement speed.

Lugina’s Earth magic not only includes rocks, but also the manipulation of plant-life and the wind.

Paris

Starting Gun: Van de Gunff - Close Enough

A rapier that has been turned into a lighting rod upon entering the Gungeon. Lets loose lightning on enemies in a wide arc in front of the rod when fired.

While not far off from its original form, the jammed consider it solely a projectile weapon now as any part capable of melee damage has been rendered useless

Passive: Honor Armor - Health Begets Protection

Armor worn by Paris. Grants an armor upon entering the next floor if you left the previous floor at full health. Grants immunity to electricity.

This armor has been passed down Paris’ family for generations and in her world, activates its defensive properties at low health. Perhaps in Paris’ journey to escape the Gungeon, the power of the armor has been changed like it did for one of her ancestors.

Tilith (Co-op)

Starting Gun: Gate - A World Of Pain

Opens a tiny gate to another world a magical projectile comes out of.

As Goddess of the Gate, Tilith can create openings to other worlds. Unfortunately, the Gungeon's presence prevents her from creating a gate large enough to escape from.

Active: Pretty Battle Kiss - Need a Heal

Use to heal yourself and your ally by half a heart.

It is unknown how a kiss was given an area of effect, even less known how it can heal someone. When asked, Tilith responded that physical kisses were reserved for a certain champion.

Passive: Immortality - Well Kinda

Start with an extra heart container

The immortality of a goddess doesn’t really mean much in the Gungeon.

Lin

Starting Gun: Prototype Blaster - Pew Pew

A prototype laser blaster not designed for direct conflict. 

Lin was not much for frontline combat and avoided it until being forced to enter the Gungeon, armed with a prototype Noel managed to cobble together from spare parts from his own gun.

Secondary Gun: Laser Cannon - The Big Gun

Shoots out a large laser. After being given the cobbled together laser, Lin contacted the requisition department and ordered a gun to deal more damage when she needs it. Unfortunately, she forgot she could’ve ordered a new blaster.

Passive: Communicator - Requisition Delivery

Increased chance of ammo drops. While the Acquisition Department doesn’t do deliveries to people in the Gungeon, the Summoner’s Hall Requisition Department can do such a thing. Though the teleporter that delivers takes time to charge. 

Noel

Starting Gun: Advanced Gun - Ambitious

A simple gun with a large amount of attachments and firing mechanisms. 

Noel designed this gun to obliterate anything that stands in his way. However, all the various attachments and energy sources canceled each other out and left only the base pistol functional. When asked about its state, Noel said it was working as intended.

Active: Mock Bullet - A facsimile of the original

Creates a weaker copy of all enemies in the room. Does not work on bosses.

Noel is famed for continuing his late uncle’s work of psudo-cloning people and beings of all types. The copies he creates are weaker than the base being which makes them not long for the world, especially when they are placed near the aggressive gundead who see such a thing as an affront to the bullet and attack these clones immediately.

Passive: Blank Holster - More Blanks

Start the floor with an extra blank. Unused blanks under the limit are retained and added on.

Blanks are an important tool to any gungeoneer, so Noel had the bright idea of carrying more and not dropping off blanks and only regaining the amount he started with.

Caleb

Starting Gun: Makeshift Gun - Everyone Starts Somewhere

A pistol created by someone who has never created a gun before. After Caleb found his father’s ammonomicon, he made it his goal to continue his father’s work. When a gate opened in time and space to a universe where the Gungeon still existed, Caleb quickly created this gun and ventured through the gate with no care to the faulty firearm.

Active: Failed Gunpowder - Blows up in your Face

A faulty batch of gunpowder sensitive to impact. When thrown, it explodes in a random effect.

While trying to create functioning gunpowder in his own world, Caleb has failed more than his share of times. Ever the pragmatist, Caleb found use in the failures as a last ditch weapon.

Passive: Summoning - Gacha Failed

Grants companions all their synergies, but lowers their possibility of being found and reduces starting HP to one heart.

As a summoner, Caleb has learned how to effectively work in teams and boost their strength. However, the power of summoning is weak in the Gungeon and takes a lot of vitality of a summoner to use their power. Other summoner had chosen to hold of the use of summoning, but Caleb persists anyways.

Renza

Starting Gun: Ranged Punch - Come Get Some

A magical spell that sends out a fist as powerful as the caster’s. 

Physical combat has no place in the Gungeon and engaging in it will bring the wrath of the jammed. Eventually both Renza and the jammed came to an agreement on her ranged punch spell.

Passive: Fist Bullets - You’re already Gundead

Bullets that travel with the power and fury of a healer turned warrior. Killed enemies will launch backwards and deal any overkill damage to whatever enemy they hit. Does not chain enemies.

After the Blacksmith met Renza, she began a regular correspondence with the warrior about her travels and the world outside the Gungeon and how her sister, Cadence, was doing in the Breech. Eventually, the Blacksmith forged these bullets as a gift for her new friend. 

Attached to the gift was a note

“Call me. <3″ 

Hearth

Starting Gun: Prisoner’s Pistol - Desperation or Death

A shabby pistol given to Hearth before he was sent to the Gungeon.

When Hearth was captured for speaking out against the Hegemony of Man, they gave him the option of being extra-judicially killed or sent to the Gungeon. Either way, he wouldn’t be their concern anymore.

Secondary Weapon: Piecework Rifle - Ingenuity in the face of death

A rifle separated into pieces and reassembled upon entry into the Gungeon. While the Hegemony of Man stripped Hearth of almost all possession when they sent him into the Gungeon, Hearth managed to smuggle enough rifle pieces to build an entire rifle. Some pieces had to be sacrificed to be able to maintain cover so the rifle’s power suffers.

Passive: Ammonomicon Pocket Edition - More stats

A tiny Ammonomicon that displays a Gungeoneer’s stats and gives a small increase to magazine size and max ammo

When Hearth was sent to the Gungeon, the pocket edition Ammonomicon just entered production and he managed to get a copy for free. Nowadays you can only find secondhand copies sold for exorbitant prices.

Attack:

Speed:

Bullet Speed:

Coolness:

Magnificence:

Curse: 

[stevishabitat]

Last year ProPublica wrote about the world of work-at-home customer service, spotlighting a largely unseen industry that helps brand-name companies shed labor costs by outsourcing the task of mollifying unhappy customers.

As we reported on the industry, we invited current and former customer service representatives to contact us. They did. We heard from more than 100 and interviewed dozens. Often, their stories disturbed us. One woman, afraid to take a bathroom break, kept a jar under her desk in case she needed to urinate. Another, afraid to call in sick, paused calls to vomit. A third, afraid to hang up on a customer, didn’t know what to do when she realized a caller was masturbating to the sound of her voice.

These accounts captured how agents are simultaneously ubiquitous and invisible. Customers talk to them all the time but know little about their work conditions.

So we’re providing accounts from seven agents, many of whom describe the experience of being caught between abusive callers and corporate directives to appease. These seven are highly representative of the 100-plus agents we heard from, as well as the agents we interviewed in our first article. The agents, including some who told us they love their setups, laid out common themes, describing problems that people at various levels of the industry, including managers, have told us are endemic. We’ve also found echoes of these complaints in lawsuits and arbitration claims. Abusive callers are such a concern that, a few years ago in Canada, a union for telecommunications workers launched a campaign called “Hang Up on Abuse.” Airbnb, recognizing the emotional strain of taking such calls, offered their in-house customer service agents free therapy sessions.

The reps we spoke to needed these jobs, which allowed them to work from home even before the pandemic. They included people with disabilities, caretaking obligations or limited opportunities in rural towns. Recruitment ads touted flexibility and the chance to be your own boss. But many agents discovered the roles came with limited hours, close monitoring and strict performance measurements that put them in constant fear of losing their jobs. A Department of Labor investigator concluded that one contractor, Arise Virtual Solutions, exerted an “extraordinary degree of control” over agents.

Most customer service agents are women. Many describe being sexually harassed. One said a caller told her, “I really like the way you type.” Their work belongs to a grim history of women in outsourced roles stretching back to the piecework manufacturing era. A half century ago, temp work exploded, driven by companies hiring women to cut costs compared with full-time employees. These magazine ads from 1970 and 1971 show how women temps were viewed at the time, and the attitudes have certain parallels to how customer service agents are viewed today. While many agents work full time, a growing segment are independent contractors who don’t get paid holidays, vacation time or fringe benefits.

Read the interviews here: https://www.propublica.org/article/not-allowed-to-hang-up-the-harsh-reality-of-working-in-customer-service?utm_source=pocket_mylist

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This sounds all too familiar to me. There are several calls from the past 8 years that I don't think will ever leave me. I have to be very careful about allowing myself to think about them, because I spiral very quickly into anxiety and intrusive thoughts. So I won't be sharing those stories. But yeah, people who think that anyone who works in front of a computer is at a squishy white-collar job... I have some news for you about every person you've ever talked to at an 800 number...