Illustration for a poster for a local party here in NYC!

Promo Photo for Girl Sex 101!

Process process process!

Also, Girl Sex 101 was featured in the HuffPo yesterday. Bam!

Girl Sex 101 is a road trip in a book! Combining fiction & comics with solid sex-education, Girl Sex 101 does what no sex-ed book has done before.

A collaboration between author and sex-educator Allison Moon (the Tales of the Pack novels about lesbian werewolves) and artist kd diamond (founder & editor-in-chief of Salacious Magazine) Girl Sex 101 is loaded with fun, color illustrations and entertaining stories that offer far more than the standard sex-ed fare.

Backwards Day!

I know you’ve all been wondering why I’m working so hard and so much lately, and well, here is what I’m doin’! Here are two images from Bear Bergman’s children’s book, “Backwards Day.” You can pre-order yours at Flamingo Rampant!

In case you missed it...

Or don't live in Maine, I have a comic in the current Portland Phoenix Out In Maine Magazine!

My work at the Leather Archives and Museum!

Go see the show! It's still up!

The Center for Sex and Culture proudly presents Dirty Comics!

The Center for Sex and Culture proudly presents Dirty Comics!

Erotic comics are as old as comics themselves. While comics were
thought of as the medium of adolescents for much of the twentieth
century, erotic work has always permeated the form. Jon Macy has
curated a show featuring the work of over thirty contemporary artists.
Some are known for their erotic work and others are known for more
mainstream work and their erotic work is rarely seen. Both art and
artists span a wide array of genders, orientations, races and ages. A
broad spectrum of tastes and styles are sure to provide something for
any viewer.

Jon Macy is a local erotic comic artist known for his work in gay porn
magazines, as well as his series Fearful Hunter and his recent Lambda
Literary Award winning graphic novel Teleny and Camille.

Show opens Friday October 7 from 6 to 9pm.

Thursday October 13 from 7pm, A Discussion of Yaoi:
Yaoi is a distinct form of erotic comic work featuring sex between men
as titillation  for a female audience.
Join us for a fascinating discussion led by Agnes Czaja

Tuesday October 18 from 7 to 10pm, Kinky Wonder Woman:
Boston Blake gives us a lasso laced lecture on the kinky origins and
innuendos of Americas most famous female super hero.
A deep view in to one of many crossover points between mainstream and
erotic comics.

The Center for Sex and Culture
1349 Mission Street (between 9th and 10th Streets)
Gallery hours to be posted soon

http://www.sexandculture.org/

Tumblr

Maybe it's socially inappropriate to promote a Tumblr on my Blogger, but here we are in this complicated world:


http://kddiamond.tumblr.com/

Fact.

Illustration Roulette - Round 2!

Did you miss out on the first round of Illustration Roulette? Here's the low-down:

At the end of July, as a fundraiser for Salacious, I decided that I would give a completely original drawing to anyone who donated $10 or more within a week. This was hugely successful (thanks again to everyone who donated!), but also super duper fun. The extra twist? No one had any idea what they were gonna get - not a clue. In the end, I didn't even know either - I shuffled the drawings, slipped 'em into envelopes, and then addressed them randomly.

I've decided that this is a fun game (and a great way for folks to have original, never before seen or printed or copied art!), and I'm bringing it back.

If you want your own magical Illustration Roulette, donate here!

If you want to follow more about Illustration Roulette, you can follow me on Twitter, with the hashtag, #IllustrationRoulette. 

Where Good Ideas Come From

teaser for my show in the Center for Sex and Culture:

Another vlog!

Revealing how insane I am:

Gallery Shows!

In a fun twist of my year, I've been asked to participate in several gallery shows across the country, and I figured I should categorize and show 'em off here!

If you live in the San Francisco area, check out the Lyon-Martin/Femina Potens exhibit!

From the Femina Potens August Newsletter...

From August 7th to November 5th, visit Lyon-Martin Health Clinic (1748 Market Street, Suite 201) during clinic hours to check out our latest exhibit and make an appointment for your next check up. Suzanne Forbes, Kira Scarlet, Katie Gilmartin and KD Diamond are using drawing, needle point and illustration to create health awareness in the queer, women and trans communities. Topics include HPV, Identity, Community Support & Mental Wellness.

Across the country, back in Portland, Maine. I'll be showing comic art and illustrations on Safer Sex at the Planned Parenthood gallery in September. More info coming soon!

Details are still being worked out, but I'll also potentially be at a show in Chicago. More info TBA!

Back to San Francisco...

I'll be showing in "Dirty Comics," a show curated by Jon Macy, in October. More info soon, but keep an eye on the Center for Sex and Culture, where the show will take place!

SALACIOUS #2

Hey everyone!

I don't normally post about Salacious absolutely everywhere possible, but before I go off to travel for a week, I wanted to give an update.

Salacious #1 sold out within about 6 weeks of being printed. It was amazing! We did a print run of 550, and it went like hotcakes. It's already become an amazing commodity.

We decided to take a risk, and we doubled the print run of #2. We have a much better printer, and so the cost was basically the same for doubling our print run. We've already sold approximately 500 issues of #2, so we're at the same place we were with #1, which is wonderful!

The unfortunate difference is that, with #1, we had start-up funds, all of which went into printing promotional materials and helping with printer costs. Issue #2 has had nothing but capital from magazines, which, to be transparent, isn't enough. We currently owe our new printer another $2700, and we don't know where that money is going to come from.

For everyone that donates $10.00 in the next week, you will get a COMPLETELY ORIGINAL illustration from me. It'll be a little bit like Illustration Roullette in that you will not know what you'll be getting, but it will be hand-drawn and signed by yours truly.

You can donate here: http://salaciousmagazine.com/support.php

Or if you have a PayPal, you can wire money to kd@katiediamond.com

I know this is asking a lot. Many of us, myself included, don't have a lot of spare change right now. I'm aware that start-ups are rough for the first 3-5 years, and I'm willing to stare bold-facedly into that roughness and totally rock the hell out of this magazine. We are filling a void and supplying a new voice to the queer sex media, and I feel strongly about continuing this work. But I don't feel right asking my printer to go ahead with printing #3--nor do I think he'd let me!--without finishing our payments for #2.

You are all amazing.

Thank you.

- kd diamond

Note pad drawings

I've been doing these all week and I figured I'd put them up!

My very first Vlog!

I've been pondering doing it, and so I did. I either now have major street cred, or I'm an even bigger nerd than before.

Society6

I have prints for sale!

The Big Gay Porn Tour of Summer '11

I figured I should let y'all know my movements for a little bit in the next few weeks, so you can try your best to fit yourselves into the Big Gay Porn Tour of Summer '11...

First off, on Sunday, June 19, from 3 - 6 pm, we'll be taking over Boston at Great Scott. We'll have Issue #2 available, the door proceeds ($3) go to support The Femme Show Summer Tour, and we're hosted by Truth Serum again.

Next, we wander back north for a few days, to celebrate Portland's launch, at Slainte from 10 pm - 1 am on Thursday, June 23. DJ Dark City will be rockin' out, it's a $3 cover, and schmooze-time for #2!

Friday, June 24, we drive to New York City. Saturday, June 25, we rock out at Fontana's from 7 pm - 10 pm, drinking fancy cocktails and celebrating! We're proud to be sponsored by Tied Up Events, and Pleasure Chest. We'll be giving Pleasure Chest gift bags out to the first 50 folks who buy the magazine, so plan on being on time!

A small break so we can go see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met, and show Kelsea (our resident Business Fairy) the sights, and then we mosey on down to Baltimore on June 30, for a launch at Atomic Books, co-hosted by Sugar. We'll be there from 7 pm - 10 pm, sipping wine and talkin' smut!

That's the first segment of our tour... We'll be in San Francisco at Good Vibes on July 31 from 5 pm - 7 pm, and we're figuring out when we'll be in Toronto and Montreal!

Submit to Topside Press!

I'll let her explain:

WANTED

YOU:

A sex-positive client in need of succinct, crisp illustration and design work, and/or someone to manage your creative project.

ME:

A sex-positive queer with a penchant for comic-stylized art and a laser-focused ability to manage projects.

US TOGETHER:

Unstoppable and infallible. Please be a direct communicator, deadline oriented, and understand invoicing and time frames.

CONTACT:

kd@katiediamond.com
www.katiediamond.com

Sketchbook

Some recent doodles...

It's been a while, but...

It's been at least a year since I painted funky colored animals, of your choosing, all of which sold. And it's been at least four years since I painted brightly colored bugs, all of which also sold out.

So, the sun is staying out longer. The asphalt is hot as can be. It's time for another painting series! I enjoyed taking direction from y'all on your favorite animals ... Now let's get a little sexier.

In the guise of pin-up style painting, with the brightly colored Katie Diamond flavor, I will take more ... R-rated submissions for painting. They will be approximately 8x10, maybe slightly larger, and the pencil drawing underneath will show more than usual on my paintings.

I'll take written suggestions, for example: "tall Latina femme stands behind curtain - go!"

Or, if you want me to queer up one of your favorite pin-up drawings, I'm all for it.

Alright, people, let's make this happen!

Out In Maine!

A new LGBTQ focused magazine is coming out here in Maine! Check it out, folks!*

*I am in no way financially or creatively affiliated with this project. I just like stuff. :)

------

The Portland Phoenix

Presents:

Out In Maine


A magazine dedicated exclusively to the Issues, Events, and People that impact the GLBT communities of Southern Maine. In the current political climate (both locally & nationally), a loud, unrelenting voice of equality has never been needed more. We need YOUR support to make this magazine work.

What to expect: Professional Alternative Journalism in the classic Phoenix Style; real issues with local impact, presented frankly & unapologetically. Out In Maine will be the publication of record in regard to all things that impact, serve, and include the GLBT communities in Southern Maine, will serve as consolidated conduit for information, and will entertain readers as well.

Format: Out In Maine will be published in stapled magazine format, with an ultra-white premium stock cover.
It will contain a mix of color and black & white content.

Distribution/Circulation: The 2011 issues will have a print run of 10,000 copies which will be distributed for free mainly throughout the greater Portland Metro. Secondary circulation areas will include Ogunquit, Augusta, and Lewiston/Auburn. 2,000 copies will be inserted in copies of the Portland Phoenix throughout the Old Port. The remaining copies will be available at dozens of local businesses, wherever free publications are available. A full PDF version will be available online making both the editorial content and our client’s brands visible far beyond the distribution area for far longer than print can provide.

2011 Issue Dates & Rates

June 10th: Including the 2011 Pride Guide as the center feature, distributed in the Park during Pride festivities. Ad deadline: May 10th

October 21st: Including Community Leader Profiles and a Reception to honor them. Ad deadline: September 16th

This is an opportunity to be a part of Pride Guide 2011, support Maine Pride and to support a long-overdue magazine publication for, by, and about the GLBT Communities in Maine.


Single Issue Rates 2 Issue rates Ad specs
Full page $1,500 $1,200/issue 9” x 11”
Half page $785 $650/issue 9” x 11” or 4.375” x 11”
Quarter page $425 $350/issue 4.375” x 5.375”
Eighth page $225 $195/issue 4.375” x 2.65”

For further information or to reserve your space, please contact:
Erin Frederick • Account Executive
The Phoenix Media and Communications Group. The Portland Phoenix
16 York St. Suite 102 • Portland, ME 04101 [T] 207.773.8900 ext 116 [C] 207.415.8087
Out In Maine is published by the Portland Phoenix,
Maine’s Alternative News, Arts, and Entertainment Authority since 1999.

SALACIOUS Magazine is officially a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas!

To Our Fabulous Community,

Amazing news: SALACIOUS Magazine has officially become a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. What does this mean? This means that, should the sexy spirit move you, if you choose to donate to SALACIOUS, your donation can be tax-deductible.

We here at SALACIOUS HQ don’t get paid for our time. We are currently operating at a loss, and we are all volunteering our time between other ventures to give you, our rockin’ community, a fresh take on queer feminist sexuality. SALACIOUS is able to be sleek, glossy, and well-curated because we strongly believe in our work, despite the fact that it is not (at least at this moment) financially viable.

Right now, Katie takes full financial responsibility for all travel, printed materials, magazine printing, stickers, postcards, web-stuff... You get the idea. By donating to us via our awesome new sponsor status, you’ll not only be able to make your donation tax-deductible, potentially get a sweet freebie, and have they feel-good feeling in your sexy heart--you’ll be able to guarantee SALACIOUS retains its high print quality and full-color goodness. We want to double our print run for Issue #2, because we sold out of #1 so quickly, and your donations will help us do that.

Click here to donate: http://www.indiegogo.com/SALACIOUS-Magazine

So, thanks in advance! You’re fabulous.

Rock on,
kd diamond
SALACIOUS Founder and Art Director

SALACIOUS Magazine is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profits arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of SALACIOUS Magazine must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. If you choose to donate with a perk associated, only the amount over the fair market value of the perk will be tax deductible.

http://www.indiegogo.com/SALACIOUS-Magazine

Cross-post: Identifying Marks, by Aubin Thomas

I don't usually cross-post, but the point of my art (and by proxy, this blog) is to highlight the relationship between art and life, emotions and artistic interlude, media and mindfulness. Here is a post by Aubin, which I find as introspective as I find beautiful.

-----

I’ve been watching a lot of episodes of Unsolved Mysteries lately. I mostly like the segments that deal with the paranormal or with miracles, but there are also those inevitable stories that deal with bizarre murders or unsolved homicides. I usually don’t like to see those for the same reason that most people watch them—it’s the “could that happen to me?” factor, the small panic at the back of my mind that tells me it’s completely possible for me to get caught in the exact situation the person the show is profiling did. I’m uneasy about the thought that despite trying my damndest to be a good person and do good things I might unwittingly get myself murdered under horrendous circumstances, but that doesn’t stop me from watching the recreated trainwreck as it unfolds on the tv screen.

A lot of the victims are unidentifiable by usual methods. They might be too badly decomposed for fingerprinting, they might be decapitated so that dental records won’t be of any use, or there might just not be enough distinctive things about them or their belongings to help the public give a positive ID. If investigators are lucky, John or Jane Doe has a tattoo unique enough to make the little light bulb above an unknown family member’s head turn on and they can give Mr. or Ms. Doe a real name and begin the task of tracking down their killer.

I’ve been watching these shows since I was a child and I am absolutely certain that seeing copious amounts of Unsolved Mysteries, America’s Most Wanted, and the History Channel between the ages of five and fifteen shaped how I view the world and how I measure my fear of it. I’m also absolutely sure that it’s no coincidence that I got my first tattoo a few months after I’d been granted a restraining order against an ex-boyfriend who had come close to killing me on two separate occasions (once by choking me until I lost consciousness, another time by holding a knife against me and telling me exactly how he was going to dismember and dispose of my body). Although I was fortunate to come out of that relationship with only a fractured left wrist, the emotional trauma was and is incalculable and it set off strange patterns of behavior in me that I’m still fighting with today.

When I got my first tattoo, I decided to have it done on the top of my left arm to, in my mind, strengthen the weakness created by the wrist injury. Being a fan of the Dresden Dolls, I decided to choose the design Dresden Dolls fans refer to as a symbol of “rock love,” a heart created by combining a bass and treble clef. Standing about two inches high and done in black ink with a Victorian etching style to it, I figured it would be a tasteful piece of body art that I wouldn’t regret even if I fell out of love with the band’s music.

As time went on, I spiraled deeper into destructive behaviors to deal with the fact that I had chosen to not deal with the abuse I’d endured. Instead of rape and domestic abuse support groups and therapy I turned to bulimia and serial dating, putting my body in unsafe and unhealthy situations regularly, shoving every repressed memory and flashback down as deep as I could and pretending I didn’t notice that I was actively trying to kill myself as I tried to kill the pain I was feeling. I felt unhinged, unsteady, and having read Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel series Sandman, I decided that I was also Delirium and that my next tattoo should be of that character from the series.



My version of Delirium is from the collection of stories called Brief Lives, from a scene drawn by Jill Thompson where Delirium is lying on her back on a couch in a travel agent’s office asking her brother the meanings of imaginary words. I think it would be fair to suggest that I subconsciously chose that scene because the content of the conversation and her physical position reminded me of things I didn’t want to openly be reminded of. I had the drawing tattooed on my right arm, a bit larger than the Rock Love heart.
As I was getting the tattoo done I came up with an idea that I presented to the tattoo artist as a joke, but it was probably closer to reality than I’d liked to admit. I said that my goal was to get one small tattoo on each section of my body (arms, legs, upper torso, lower torso, feet, hands) so that if a part of my body was found the police could identify me from it. At the time I saw it as a sensible tactic for covering my bases in case my ex tracked me down, some way to protect myself from the violence even though I knew I was no match to actually fight against it.

In the five years since I was granted my restraining order I’ve been abused/sexually assaulted by two more men and have had more than my fair share of emotional and physical ups and downs, including going through a rehab program for my eating disorder and gaining and losing more friends than I care to think of. This past week I’ve had many unexpected and unwelcome reminders of my domestic violence past and with those came a renewed interest in seeing Unsolved Mysteries and shows like it. Although I’m in a healthy relationship with someone who has the patience and love to handle my emotional relapses about my past, I still found myself today making loose plans for which part of my body I should label next for post-mortem identification. I wonder all the time what the turning point is in terms of “getting over” being raped and emotionally manipulated and physically hurt, and I think it’s impossible to measure it in anything other than small, almost invisible steps. Today I think I made one by not actually drawing up the plans to identify my hypothetical corpse and instead leaving it as a fleeting thought. I will not be murdered, I will not cover my fear of the future with fear of my past, and if I get any more tattoos they will not be based on which part of me is most likely to be found intact if I die under mysterious circumstances, but for something I love about life.

--
Aubin Thomas

An update on my whereabouts!

Another quick and easy stab at promoting all the things I'm doing in the next few months...!

March 8 - I'll be speaking at Bates College, at two classes, with my Gender Outlaws talk.

March 11 and 12 - I'm giving a talk on Queerz and Comix, a history and an education; and teaching young queerios how to frame their media message, at the True Colors conference in Connecticut!

March 25 - I'm presenting a variation on my Gender Outlaws talk in Portland, at the Portland Trans Health Conference.

March 28 - Lyndon and I will be presenting our "Sexual Encounters of a Comic Kind" at University of Southern Maine for the first time!

March 31 thru April 3 - I'll be at Momentum Con repping SALACIOUS and just being overall excited to be there. Come find me!

April 14 thru 18 - I'll be at International Ms. Leather in San Francisco! SALACIOUS is an official sponsor of the event.

April 20 - Lyndon and I are presenting "Sexual Encounters of a Comic Kind" at Bowdoin!

Whew. And that's just the next six weeks or so. Keep your eyes peeled - we're having launch parties for SALACIOUS#2 in June and July, so get ready!

Some fun for ya

I don't normally just plug random things I like, but I figured Snowpocalypse VI of 2011 is as good a time as any to start...!

First, a Kylie Minogue video that I know I'm the late kid to the party to, but look at how pretty everything is!


Next, Scissor Sisters "Any Which Way" is so visually stunning, I can't help myself.


And it's not as awesomely put together as the ones above, but Pink's "Raise Your Glass" makes me happy.

Our new digs

For your perusal... We moved down the hall!

Justin and my space




There are actually two more rooms but they're not my space... I may add them later!




Some old friends...




And lastly, this isn't a part of my studio... But isn't this poster totally amazing!?

More pics coming soon...!

2011: In like a lion...a sexy lion.

Hello Fellow True Believers,

I don't usually use my blog as a major tool for event promotion, but I thought y'all would like to see when and where you can find me in the next few months. Someone asked recently (well, it gets asked a lot) if I had a mailing list, and I think the blog is the closest thing to a mailing list for me... (SALACIOUS has a mailing list though: http://eepurl.com/b1PvH)

Anyway! Here goes.





January 8 - I'll be repping SALACIOUS at Queerespondence's Launch Party for the Magazine!

January 13 - The Portland, ME SALACIOUS Launch!

January 14 - We're moving studios! Any locals who want to stop by the new place, contact me. We're just moving down the hall.

January 16 - I'll be dancing around being pretty at the Boston SALACIOUS Launch!

January 29 - I'll be in Oakland, CA for the SALACIOUS Launch, which is also an Iron Slut Sex Educator Showdown with Madison Young vs. Reid Mihalko!

February 8 - I'll be on a sex panel at University of Southern Maine. More info coming soon!

February 11 to 13 - I'll be in Providence, repping SALACIOUS at the FFF.

February 17 - I'm most likely giving a talk at Rutgers, with the fabulous Johnny Blazes, about our Gender Outlaws piece.

March 11 to 13 - I'll be teaching about Queerz and Comix, and talking about my Gender Outlaws piece at True Colors!






Whew. That's all I got for now.

If you'd like any more information on any of the above events, let me know!

Rock on,
kd

Suicide and Sexuality, Media and Mayhem

The past three weeks have been incredibly upsetting. Six young men have taken their lives due to the anti-gay bullying they were the focus of at their schools. None of these young men were connected--they did not go to the same schools, have the same socio-economic backgrounds, come from the same hometown.

However, there is a unifying factor among these young men--somehow, their peers had decided that they did not fit the right gender mold, and therefore deemed them worthy of scrutiny and brutality. Never mind whether they were *actually* gay or not.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about this. The absolute root of my politics is that sexism, classism, and racism are the pillars of oppression that, once toppled, could lead to a freer, kinder, gentler society. For me, homophobia and misogyny are subsets of sexism, and they are all a singular force that helps to police and patrol what's "normal" and who is "right" in our world.

When you're 12, 13, 14... Even 18, 19, 25 years of age, everything is still really confusing. Learning who you are, and who you love, and how you really want to dress--these are all confusing internal struggles that we all face, regardless of gender or sexuality. When our peers wish to taunt and poke fun and damage us during this process, the results can be ... incredibly harmful.

Sexism hurts everyone. Truly. Sexism tells men how they're "supposed" to behave. The notions of "true" masculinity are incredibly damaging, and they inherently limit a young man's full potential to really be himself. It feels so upsetting to me that we must still try to make it clear that it's alright for cisgendered men to be gentle, soft spoken, disinterested in certain activities. I thought we had gone beyond this hyper-masculinity, this ridiculous need to make sure that "MEN ARE MANLY!" But it appears I am gravely mistaken.

This situation, in the end, is only partially about making sure that schools have better policies on bullying, on peer support, and on staff and teacher support. That is only a part of the puzzle. Organizations like the Trevor Project, and initiatives like It Gets Better are also pieces of this puzzle.

We need greater Personal Visibility. It's one thing for there to be characters on television, in books, in comics, in movies. There needs to be openly gay teachers at all school levels; queer pastors and rabbis; lesbian business owners; transwomen authors; transmen comedians--ALL coming out of the woodwork, and not just to post videos online, but to turn to the youngest person in their lives and be open and honest with that youth about their own personal stories.

It might seem crazy--I might seem insane--but I've always had this idea, this concept, that if we verbalized our stories, if we all spoke our truths, we'd all feel ... safer, I think. More united. We'd have communities we didn't know we had.

When I was diagnosed with HPV, I went through a whole range of emotions. I felt a lot of things, good, bad, and ugly. I wrote two comics about the experience, one educational and personal, and one simply educational. I spoke openly about my HPV status, and additionally, spoke openly about my past safe sex experiences and my current safe sex practices.

This fascinating thing happened--suddenly, I had people telling me *their* biggest STI/STD fears. Folks of all sexualities and ages suddenly felt like they had a platform, had a friend, had a support that they could call up and ask questions or tell their stories to.

I had thought about this "story-telling saves lives" concept before then--but the experience of actually witnessing and being a part of it sealed the deal on this part of my artistic and political self. Visibility isn't just about seeing a representation of oneself in the mainstream media. It's about creating and experiencing firsthand a safe space to truly be yourself.

There is no way to bring these young men back. Even as I write this, there are tears in my eyes, because I feel a great hole in the heart of my community. When someone is murdered, there is a general and clear face and "enemy" to have strong feelings against. We are able to verbalize our upset much clearer--we are able to call it hate and call for tolerance. However, when someone takes their own life, we are forced to contend with a much much bigger problem. We must acknowledge that we must stand up and be strong against a Societal Standard. We must unite against a Cultural Norm. We must undo a History of Gender Policing, Gay Bashing, and Women Hating.

It is a radical movement to decide to take on Cultural Norms. It means we must not only examine how these norms affect the people around us and our children, but how we perpetuate these norms as well. We must be equal parts retrospective to introspective. It means we must, essentially, not only tell our stories--but listen to the stories of those we may not entirely agree with or feel comfortable hearing.

On The Radio - Animated Comic

YouTube took it down--but it's back now, on Vimeo! For all your relaxation needs... my Animated Comic for Regina Spektor's "On the Radio!"

Animated Comic by Katie Diamond from katie diamond on Vimeo.

Animals Being Awesome - Prints Available!

I will be making 5 prints each of the below Animals Being Awesome paintings... They'll go for $40 plus any shipping costs! All prints are 11x17 or 17x11 inches.

Send me an email if you're interested! kd@katiediamond.com

I'm giving an artist talk at Femina Potens!

Back when the internet was primarily ruled by AOL, and I was but a wee-queer who only understood her sexuality through books and the web... I discovered Femina Potens. This was ten years ago. At the time, Femina Potens only had a mission page, a calendar, and examples of artists they support on their meager, early-internet website. They were like a beacon of hope to my young queer artist soul. I babbled to my high school friends about how it would be amazing to go there, work there, exist there, breathe there!

A decade later, this August 18th, I'm giving an Artist Talk there.

Needless to say, but I've never been a subtle muppet, this is really exciting.

Info below!

----

WHEN?
Wednesday, August 18, 7 to 9 pm

WHERE?
Femina Potens, 2199 Market St, San Francisco, CA
ORDER TICKETS HERE:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producerevent/119366?prod_id=7307

WHAT?
No Straight Lines: drawing sexuality and gender in comics

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW?
My bio/talk description!

Katie Diamond is a radical queer comic artist who fuses art with politics, graphics with sex, and education with visuals as a method of altering societal norms and breaking down preconceived notions of gender and sexuality. Her work throughout New England, and across the country at large, has been called “imaginative,” “ambitious,” “fresh,” and “creative.” Her dogmatic approach to comics and art as a transformative experience sets her apart from other artists.

For the creation of "Transcension,” a chapter in Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation, Diamond teamed up with the fiery talent of Boston-based drag/burlesque performer Johnny Blazes (www.johnnyblazes.com) to create a collaborative comic about Blazes’ experience discovering hir “genderqueeritude,” and the process of
accepting one’s trans identity as a growing, changing experience of gender and the world.

In her talk, Diamond dissects the process she went through to create the succinct and rich visuals for telling Johnny’s story, and the various struggles and triumphs of what it means to represent gender and sexuality in two dimensions. Years of study and experimentation have given Diamond the tools to fully examine and create artistic methods that allow for subtly and intrinsically altering readers’ perspectives on culturally taboo topics such as transsexuality, transgenderism, sex, and sexuality.

Facebook Event link!

Under Fire

There has been a lot of talk this week of my new project. A lot of talk. Part of that is because I have only 3 days left to raise my pledged goal on KickStarter, and so the internet is all a-buzz about it. I've been pushing it through the many social networking channels, and like a good taboo-subject, it has officially reached complete strangers. [FMI: click here]

Also like a good taboo, it has earned its degree of commentators and detractors. Now, I am all for healthy critiques of my work. I love a good dialogue, and I love passionate art discussions. I am always open to these kinds of talks.

However, I can't say any of the negative feedback I've gotten has been a "critique." A critique would imply that commentators approached me and let me know their concerns about this project, my art, my identity, my process moving forward. Instead, my project and my artwork has been slanted as "rampantly racist" or "inherently oppressive."

Now, while I'm open to critique, I'm totally and utterly sensitive. I consider myself a radical, anti-racist, progressive feminist queer dyke. I consider myself someone who will always strive to make sure I do not replicate the systems of oppression in my language, my artwork, my comics, or my graphic design. I am the trusted designer and artist for many organizations *because* they know my politics are clearly painted in my work. And so these allegations cut deeper than others. Call my work bad and poorly designed. But don't call it oppressive.

I recognize as a white able-bodied queer woman, I have access to privileges that others do not. While I cannot disregard my privilege, and I never would, I can at the *very* least own it and try my best to clear the air of it so I can make all my art accessible, diverse, positive, and powerful.

My feminist erotica project is literally in its start-up phase. It does not have more than 2 solid submissions, and does not have any shape to it whatsoever. In fact, it's ONLY real guiding principles are that things CANNOT be heterosexist, sexist, or racist.

I am sensing many knee-jerk reactions to this work. I guess, naively, I did not think I would encounter such reactions. I've never had anyone tell me my work is damaging or oppressive... I'd like to believe my art falls far far far away from those categories, actually. I'm not Hustler. I'm not Larry Flynt. I'm not the mainstream heterosexist media. I'm actually pretty far removed from the Media Machine, and I intend to stay that way. This artist is not endorsed by Coca-Cola.

The Femme Show: NEW LOCATION AND TIME!

The Femme Show at Re/Dress
NOTE NEW LOCATION and TIME!
Saturday, June 5, 10:00 PM

The Femme Show comes to Re/Dress NYC with their unique blend of dance, spoken word, drag, burlesque and performance art from award winning artists. This is queer art for queer people, with a variety of diverse perspectives on femme identity that can be thoughtful, sad, funny, sexy, and fun. Special guests Lola Dean and Cheryl B. join us.

Please help spread the word about our new location! 109 Boerum Place, Brooklyn NYC
Transportation: F or G train to Bergen Street

Tickets $8-15 sliding scale at the door. No one turned away.
www.thefemmeshow.com

Re/Dress NYC is a curvy shopper’s dream come true! This lovely little shop is a premiere vintage & resale clothing boutique specializing in sizes 14 and up (vintage 10 + up). Fashions from Re/Dress NYC have been seen in the NYTimes Style Section, Italian Vogue’s Curvy Blog, Bust Magazine, Plus Model Magazine and more. Open Sun – Wed from 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm and Thurs – Sat from 12:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Re/Dress NYC is the perfect place to buy and sell goodies for your wardrobe.

The Femme Show comes to Brooklyn!

The Femme Show in Brooklyn, Saturday, June 5, 9:30 PM

The Femme Show comes to the new Collect Pond with their unique blend of dance, spoken word, drag, burlesque and performance art from award winning artists. This is queer art for queer people, with a variety of diverse perspectives on femme identity that can be thoughtful, sad, funny, sexy, and fun. Special guests Lola Dean and Cheryl B. join us.

Collect Pond is a space for trans/genderqueer/gender non-conforming artists to create and present work.
www.collectpond.org
338 Berry St, (corner of S 5th) 3rd Floor
Transportation info: L to Bedford, G to Metropolitan, JMZ to Marcy Ave

Tickets $8-15 sliding scale at the door. No one turned away.
www.thefemmeshow.com

Concept to Design to Final Product

For those of you who know me, you know I'm obsessed with process. I'm going to show you here how an idea goes from concept, to design, to final, in one blog post instead of a million-and-two posts.

So, the Portland Ultimate Summer League put out a call for designs. Originally, I submitted this design:

But they decided they liked a sportier example of a drawing style I sent, so I came up with the idea of having a similar concept to that example--a frisbee player throwing a fiery frisbee. I wanted, obviously, to make sure the frisbee player looked like he was actually in action... So I took some references:

I drew up some sketches (not pictured here because I didn't scan them in), and then finally captured the energy of the piece with the sketch below:

And then I went from there to final...!

Disclosure, Privacy, and Then Some

I rarely use this blog to post more political rantings, but several articles I've read recently, and several conversations I've had recently have made me want to get some of these thoughts out in a medium that would allow for further, broader conversations.

Some questions to lay the foundation of my thoughts:

- What does it mean to have an STI?

- What does it mean to have a mental illness?

- What does it mean to consider an abortion?

- What does it mean to hide your sexuality (in general)?

And finally:

- What does it mean to conceal these things?

I don't remember when I "became" pro-choice, or, for better terms, became part of the Reproductive Justice movement. I wish I could, and that I had some crazy story of what a revelation it was. But the one political notion I've always had embedded in me, it seems, is the concept that people have a right to do what they want with their bodies. Especially if it's a chance of life or death, economic or emotional or physical or spiritual... You understand.

My huge critique of the Choice Movement comes from the perspective of someone who spends most of their time thinking about media, and about messages. Somewhere along the way, the more "public" message of Reproductive Rights became the right to choose ... privately. That it "wasn't those old white guys' BUSINESS" to make choices for women, and families.

The inherent danger of the "none of your business" dogma is that it, inevitably, ruins any chance for

a.) public funding ["Why should we fund your private choices?"]

b.) public discourse ["Why are you talking about such a private choice?"]

and c.) public education ["Well, this is a private matter, so you can learn about it on your own."]

I bring all this up because I think the way to make change as a movement, the Choice Movement needs to pause and consider why privacy is such desperate issue. Perhaps, Progressives in general need to consider this, really.

For instance, back to my original questions up top, what DOES it mean to conceal an STI-status? What does it mean to conceal your sexuality (and when I say sexuality, I mean: hide being a sexual being of any kind)? Conceal a mental illness?

By considering issues of sexuality, mental illness, gender, reproductive health, etc. private issues, we as progressive feminists are painting ourselves into a corner. My work as an artist and as someone who is not only participating with media but *creating it* is to distill taboos, and to create an environment that visually shows the diverse human experience. I am hugely, hugely dogmatic about this. I can talk about it for hours.

I don't expect everyone to dedicate their life's work to this concept... I do, however, expect people to share their stories, and for people to listen without judgement. You don't need to stand at a podium with several hundred people watching you; you don't need to broadcast it on national television; you don't need to write a rambly blog post about it on your website intended for illustration. The best way to start is to grab coffee with a friend and share, or tell someone who's hurting you can relate to them, or share your STI-status with someone who has just learned similar news.

So, disclosure? Disclose away. It's only a taboo topic if we avoid discussing it.

My feature at MUSE

So, last night, I was the featured artist at MUSE in Portland, at Slainte. I've decided to post the notes I obsessively took so I could make sense at my talk... I wound up not needing to really reference my original notes at all, so what you're seeing here is the polished, original thought process, and what I spoke last night was a lot more fluid and passionate, in my opinion. But for those of you who missed it, here's what I said.

I won't be posting the slideshow I clicked through, since some of the content isn't allowed to be published online.

--------

MUSE Feature

February 24, 2010

So, a lot of people know me as someone who organizes events around town, as the former Communications Director of the League, as a graphic designer… But something that is a little more under the radar is that I’ve been drawing comics since I was 9 years old.

The way I “got into” comics was through my Elementary School best friend, Patrick. He’s also a huge queer now, but that’s a whole ‘nother story. He made me watch the X-Men cartoon series, and pretty soon after I was the only girl wandering into the comic store. The guys there treated me like I was a miniature goddess, really—they gave me discounts, offered new series for me to read…

Now, I’ve always been drawing. It’s one of my earliest memories, sitting at a Sesame Street table (Cookie Monster was my favorite chair), drawing a picture of Goofy from Disney. I think I was also wearing make-up. The only difference between toddler-Katie and adult-Katie is the make-up, really.

The first comic I ever drew was a 4-book series when I was ten years old. I made Patrick into Spider-man and made myself into a Gargoyle. Together, we saved the world from villains whose concepts I stole from the X-men comics. I used toys I had at the time as references, and even lit them from behind to figure out how to shade them. I wish I could say I have these still—but in a fit of childish rage at how bad they were, I tore them up when I was 11.

Throughout middle and high school, I read more comics than I drew them, and I taught and attended comic classes. I worked at the ******** Cartoon Camp for 3 summers in a row. I was the Comics Instructor. It was basically a formula class, taught to ages 6 to 14.

The thing about ********, who was a retired artist from DC’s 1960s Golden years, was that he didn’t really think I had what it took to draw comics. Every time I showed him my own art, he shrugged it off and asked if I thought I could make it. I’m really shocked that I didn’t really develop a complex, you know, being 15, 16 years old… He would tell me my art wasn’t strong enough for the comics scene, and then give me a raise for being so dedicated to teaching at the camp.

My freshmen year of college was at Boston University, which, in case you didn’t know, has a College of the Fine Arts. This program is really, really traditional, so I was already out of place as the comics and illustration kid.

It was in a NON-art class, Women in Politics, that I had the crazy idea to start what I now lovingly refer to as The Sex Education Comic Book. Boston’s Planned Parenthood chapter came into the class to discuss their advocacy work, and discussed the battle over the “Barrier Rule,” which is a line that dictates how close protesters can be to the front entrance of an abortion provider. This got the entire class really fired up, of course… It was a Women in Politics class.

After the Planned Parenthood advocate left, the class sat around talking about how we could all get more involved… My natural inclination was to propose we create illustrated pamphlets of Planned Parenthood’s advocacy work. I was really psyched up about it! I was surrounded by Pre-law, pre-Med, Poly-sci undergrad women… I thought, Holy shit, I’ve got some of the smartest women in the room, they could write for these pamphlets, I’ll draw it—it would be the best project ever!

But I was also the only freshman in the class, and the only artist, so that idea was quickly deemed ridiculous.

It wasn’t until the next year, after I transferred to MECA, that I was really able to fuse comics and art and education and advocacy…

I took an Art and Community Service class, and it was life-altering for me. We registered voters and educated folks about their polling places for the 2004 Election as our main project for the class… And once the devastation of the 2004 election results wore off, we all had to propose what our next project would be.

This is when I rekindled and reconfigured my idea for the Sex Education Comic Book. I put together an illustrated proposal, naturally, and then created a Call for Submissions…

I don’t really think, in retrospect, I realized how totally on fire this project would be. I wound up being the project manager for this insane beast, with over 30 contributors of varying ages and talents, across the country, from Maine to Florida to California. Some of them I still haven’t met.

The issue with the original incarnation of the Sex Education Comic Book is that I had this idea that it could be geared towards everyone. That if the stories were strong enough, it wouldn’t matter who was being marketed to.

The world does NOT work that way. You can’t expect your work to be universally appealing. And thus was the issue that slowly murdered the Sex Education Comic Book as it was… There was no way a high school boy would be able to go from reading about how to safely check for testicular cancer to a woman’s first experience of getting her period. In an ideal world, those stories are in the same book. But it’s still a bit of a stretch.

So, after 3 years, I put the Sex Education Comic Book on pause, and switched gears to write my thesis on Carolyn Gage’s “The Obligatory Scene.” I saw the play performed at SPACE Gallery, and really thought it would make a great graphic novel. At the time, I appreciated the themes of female sexuality, and really wanted to take those themes to a level that acting just can’t. I wanted to illustrate female sexuality.

Throughout writing and drawing for this thesis, I kept smashing into the same wall that I only cruised by when I was in high school and teaching comics at the ******** Cartoon Camp… Everyone seemed to be into me as the “comics kid” except for a few professors. They deemed me “unfit” to make it in the comics world. One professor in particular didn’t think my art, my inking, or my stories were strong enough to make it.

I think I really internalized that critique… Upon graduating, I didn’t finish the Obligatory Scene comic, and I didn’t push for the completion of the Sex Education Comic Book. Part of this was because I started working full-time at the League, but I think I was discouraged.

Then, the fall of 2007, I was diagnosed with HPV. This was a huge shock to me. I’d never been physical with a dude, which was how I thought one caught things such as HPV. I didn’t really know how to deal with my feelings—except to draw about it.

I stayed up for several nights in a row, in front of “Smallville,” till 4 o’clock in the morning, writing and drawing and writing. The result of this time with myself and my drawing pens is what you see on the screen now.

I won’t call this a revelation or epiphany, because that feels super cheesy. But drawing this comic helped me through what I was feeling, and combined my love for comic art and my love for education.

It also helped me realize that short, personal, educational stories is a really succinct, beautiful way to get through to people. I’ve always, always believed comics are a universal way to reach out to people… Drawings put people at ease, and the simplicity of cartooning allows people to connect with the story and the characters in ways that words alone just can’t.

Which is something I’ve been applying for the past year or so to any comics I write or draw…

The comic you see now is titled “Transcension,” and is a collaboration between Johnny Blazes and myself. Johnny wrote the text, I drew it, and we submitted it to a call for work for the second edition of “Gender Outlaws” by Kate Bornstein and Bear Bergman. We’ve been accepted, and will be published in the fall of this year.

So, I went from being an illustrated Gargoyle X-man to being an illustrated queer… Which I think is incredibly appropriate. And it’s only been in the past year, but I’ve finally discovered that the barriers ******** and my MECA professors put up for me were constrictions of their own. They saw me as a queer woman interested in breaking into this male-dominated comic scene, as trying to participate in Marvel, and DC, and become a part of the boys’ club. And they didn’t think I could cut it.

The past year has taught me—I don’t want to cut it. Not in the ways that they expected me to. What I bring to comics is a sex-positive, educational, queer lens… I see my work as a way to give voice to those stickier, more taboo topics, and I really feel like they’re a gateway to conversations that otherwise have no easy access point…

So, I guess what I mean is, my queerness is my muse. My community is my muse. My comics are better and stronger and deeper because I’m speaking from my truth, from our truth… And I want to say thank you. Thank you for being my muse.