Underground Garage Sale

WASH will be tabelling zines and handmade crafts at this years Underground Garage Sale in Mississauga.

2800 Erin Centre Blvd, Erin Meadows Community Centre, Mississauga, ON

Saturday, January 16th - 12PM - 5PM.

Come and say hi!

Facebook event here.

- Evy

Help Save the Toronto Women's Bookstore!

For those of you who don't already know, the Toronto Women's Bookstore is on the verge of closing down. Being one of the only non-profit feminist bookstores in North America, they are a vital resource. They are not only a bookstore, but a safe space for the people who use it. They host tons of events, workshops, and provide plenty of community resources. Please help keep them around. You can purchase something from the TWB or you can donate. Anything and everything helps. Donation information can be found on their website, www.womensbookstore.com.

You can follow their fund raising events here, http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=224659239047&index=1

Thanks so much. Happy new year!

Sexual Health & Pleasure Article in Macleans Magazine

Interesting article about sexual health and pleasure education.

Enjoy!

WASH Zine @ Bluestockings NYC!

WASH is proud to announce that you can now pick up the first copy of our zine ($2) at Bluestockings in New York City! This issue talks about hormonal birth control and things you should know about it such as different methods, dosages, side effects, ingredients, and alternative methods. So tell all your Manhattan or Brooklyn bound friends!

Bluestockings is a book store, fair trade cafe, and activist center in lower Manhattan. They host tons of readings, performances, film screenings, and workshops. If you're ever in Manhattan this place is a must to check out!

And of course, if you're in Toronto, our zine is still available at the Toronto Women's Bookstore.

July 25th: The Sacred Prostitute

Something interesting to check out this weekend!

The play by Santo Cervello and Grace Lebecka, "The Sacred Prostitute"
to explore exciting new possibilities for creating fresh models of femininity in the society.

Please join us on
July 25th at the Bloor Street United Church
300 Bloor St. West, Toronto
at 7:30pm

TICKETS: $25
Buy Now On Line or Call: 416 245-3871
info@sycamoretreeinternational.com
www.sycamoretreeinternational.com

Our intention is to bring the archetype of a Sacred Prostitute to a new level of appreciation for contemporary women and men.The play is inspired by Esther Harding "Women's Mysteries" and Nancy Qualls-Corbett "The Sacred Prostitute"

Santo Cervello is a member of the Theosophical Society in Toronto and a wayshower for the psychic program at the Edgar Cayce Institute in Virginia Beach. He has been working in theatre for 30 years. .

Grace Lebecka received a MA in Clinical Psychology in Poland, and a MA in Spiritual Psychology from The University of Santa Monica, California. She also received training through Jean Houston's Mystery School. Grace has dedicated herself to the Sacred Feminine for the past 12 years.

Wash Zine @ Toronto Women's Bookstore

WASH's, Things You Should Know Zine issue 1 is now available at the Toronto Women's Bookstore!! Located at 73 Harbord Street right near Spadina. Go check it out! TWB is also a great resource center. You won't want to leave!

Also, feel free to email us with feedback or ideas/issues you want to read more about.

-Evy

Wondering what to do with all those leftover tampons?

There are lots of alternative menstrual products out there for women. Organic pads and tampons, reusable pads, Diva Cups, Keepers, etc. Non organic tampons (so your big brand Tampax, Always, etc) are made of rayon (derived from wood/pulp) and then bleached to look white. This bleaching process produces dioxins which are carcinogenic (cancer causing). The synthetic fibers in these tampons can also remain in a women's uterus even once the tampon has been removed. Kind of unsettling, right?

If you haven't already, check out some of these friendly alternatives,
Natracare
Diva Cup
Gladrags
Keeper

And if you're already one of the converted and are wondering what to do with all those leftover tampons, why not get creative and try some tampon crafts!

Tampon Ghosts?

Or maybe a Pan flute (my personal favourite)! It actually works, too!

I thought this website was too funny not to share.
-Evy

ZINE ISSUE #1 AVAILABLE NOW!

WASH is really pleased to present issue #1 of its brand new zine!! Issue number one tackles, Hormonal Birth Control, an important topic that people do not know enough about! This issue tackles hormonal birth control myths and misconceptions, and begins to dissect what it is, how it works, and how it affects women's bodies. In conjunction with the zine there is another book that goes into more detail about each individual method and its medical and non medical (active and inactive) ingredients and what you should know about them. There are a limited amount of handmade, handbound, silkscreened copies for sale for $10. There are also photocopied copies available for anyone who is interested. We will accept pwyc donations for them but no one will be refused one for lack of funds. If you would like either copy, please get in contact with us and we will send you one!

Starting June 19th copies will also be available for purchase at Toronto's, Heartbeat 960 (960 Queen St West) and for reading at the Toronto Zine Library located at Brunswick and Bloor! The Sheridan Zine Library as well as the Zine Library at the Ontario College of Art & Design will also be carrying copies shortly. We will be working on getting the zine into more and more locations so we will keep you updated. If you have a distro, store or space that would like to carry our zine, please get in contact with us!

And finally, WASH now has miniature hand knit uterus pins (currently in pink or multicoloured)! They are cute and only four dollars. Want to support the cause? You can donate and get one in return!

The purpose of our zine is not to dictate but to educate and inform those interested, unsure or curious. Learning is fun!

Please email us with any interest or feedback!

-Evy

Artist of the month: Shannon Gerard (by popular demand)

This month's artist is not only one of Toronto's best print and book art artists (in my opinion), but also one of the best people i've met in a long time, and recently had the privilege of having as an instructor. Shannon Gerard is most well known for her crocheted boobs and penis' that come with a hand made booklet with illustrated instructions on how to do your own self examinations. The penis or breast contain a lump inside them that the user must find using the method of self examination explained in the book. She also crochets nipples, mustaches, and 'mature' finger puppets (entitled, Four Play). Shannon also creates and self publishes her own books. Her work is hand made, beautiful, playful, sincere and honest. Her books and book art such as her series, Hung, draw a lot from personal experience. She confronts us with the difficulties and complexities of human interaction, intimacy and emotion that is on going in every day life.
Shannon teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design and constantly encourages her students to contribute their ideas to the community by partaking in self publication and independent practices. You can catch her and her work at many Toronto independent press events such as Canzine, Small Press Book Fair, or the Toronto Comic Arts Fair. What i most appreciate about her work is her interest in education and outreach. Her website lists many helpful websites and locations for those who are interested in getting into print or book art/publication in Canada. Her humor and good nature leaks even through the type on her website. Her work and attitude is exactly the type of thing we love to see here at WASH: work that encourages understanding, tolerance, education, and support from our very own community.To view more of her work, check out her catalogue at her website. You can also check out her entire array of crocheted work over at Etsy.

-Evy

Swallowing Ice at The Harbourfront Center

There are two really great exhibits going on at The Harbourfront Center right now, Close Distance and Swallowing Ice, both part of the Contact Photography Festival going all this month. Swallowing Ice is the MFA thesis work of Artist and Curator Jennifer Long. It is an elegant and beautifully put together work that brings to light the decision making processes and inner dialogue that women experience when deciding whether or not to have children. The images are on her website but if you're going to be near The Harbourfront Center anytime this month i highly encourage you to go check it out.


"My artwork parallels my life experiences, and as a woman in my mid-thirties, I currently find myself surrounded by discussions of parenthood. Conversations with friends rarely get ten minutes in before the topic is raised. Originally the dialogues focused on fear and debate, but quickly turned to expectations, techniques, and experiences. Between 2007 and 2008, I had seven close friends give birth, two desperately “trying” to conceive, and a remaining group feeling overwhelmed and confused by this incredible shift. This experience inspired the creation of Swallowing Ice, an exploration of the decision-making process involved in a woman’s choice to have or not have children."

WASH Logo!!!

I'm pleased to announce that WASH now has a logo that you will find at the top of this page. It was created by Evy, one of our coordinators. Thanks Evy!

- Alice

Artist Of The Month - Annie Sprinkle

Annie Sprinkle (Born Ellen Steinberg) is a performance artist and sex educator. She is a sex positive feminist who has stared in, produced, and directed hundreds of different types of pornographic films and shows. She is well known for being one of the first porn stars to receive a Ph D. Her work is now studied in many university classrooms, which is exactly how i found out about her. When i first saw her work, i honestly did not know how to react. Her fun and encouraging attitude towards sex and female sexuality is not only what makes her work successful but also, educational.

Her website contains tons of images and writings from almost all her work. Her performance piece, Public Cervix Announcement is my personal favourite. In this piece she literally sits in a public space with a speculum placed in her vagina and allows viewers to come up and look at her cervix. While this takes place she talks to them about the functions and beauty of the female cervix. She also talks about how to perform a cervix self examination. A little over the top? Perhaps, but that is exactly what gets people's attention.



Her work, although sometimes seemingly comedic, usually contains serious political and social undertones, and is most of the time accompanied with writings or even dissertations from her PhD. Some common themes and issues prevalent in her work are sex trade work and the education and protection of sex trade workers; female orgasms, masturbation, and sex sex sex. Some links below. ENJOY!

Annie Sprinkle Writings
Annie Srinkle Art Index

-Evy Hareven

NEW: Artist of the Month - Colleen Wolstenholme

As an aspiring artist with a strong interest in feminist theory, gender politics, and women's health I am constantly on the prow for past and practicing artists whose work addresses these particular issues.
Feminism and Women's issues are dominant themes in today's contemporary art world. There are female and male artists all over the world working in every medium imaginable who are focusing their work on these topics. So, on behalf of WASH, we are bringing you a new artist profile every month, particularly ones with a strong focus in issues effecting women and women's health!


Colleen Wolstenholme is an internationally exhibiting artist from Nova Scotia whose work focuses on the effect that gender construction and media representation have on women and women's bodies. Working in sculpture, installation, photography and textile, Wolstenholme's work often takes on the look of stereotypical feminine objects, which when looked at closely are made up of composed consumerist products that are constantly marketed to women. In, Pills, large pill sculptures span over the floor expressing the over prescription and marketing of pharmaceuticals. In Birth Control/Viagra Rosary, a rosary of different birth control pills addresses the over medicalization of women's bodies,and how women's roles are perceived within certain fundamentalist cultures, whichever they may be.
Wolstenholme's work has engaged viewers for over a decade with its sheer size and detail, as well as its important and relevant content.
For more of her work and information, check out her website.

-Evy

February 2009: Artist of the Month

Evy Hareven is a Toronto based photography student whose work focuses on sex, gender and feminist politics.

Check out some of her work here

- Vivian