The Milwaukee Women’s Art Library

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As of November 2022 I am the Community Ambassador for the Milwaukee Women’s Art Library. This means I will be continuing the archive of Women and Nonbinary Artists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To me what archive means is to leave evidence of those who have lived; giving the People a voice to share their stories, experiences and history of a community. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Archival team will be teaching me about what it is to archive and why we archive. The Archival team will offer their services to Milwaukee communities. The UWM Library, where the Archival team is from is a powerful tool that is free and available to the public.

As a recent UWM graduate student, one of my main reasons why I chose UWM was because of it’s public library. That library supported and still does support my own research and it is truly a special resource that I hope to remind the Milwaukee community that it is all of ours to use. The UWM Library system also shares their collections with all of UWM University campuses throughout the state, meaning you can borrow and view the resources delivered in person and making these resources widely available to view. As we move forward with this project I will be sharing some of my research that I am finding that is connected to Milwaukee Artists.

  • The Milwaukee Handicraft Project 1935-1942
  • Latinx/e/o/a Artist Collectives History
  • Indigenous Artist Communities
  • African American Artist Communities
  • Uncovering how communities are linked and have always shared space


As I share my perspective of this process of learning how to archive and the importance of artist’s papers, I am honored to be able to share this learning process with my community. This type of work is really a dream project of mine; to be able to empower others to remember to share their stories, save their papers, documenting their experiences and WRITING OUR OWN HISTORY, BY US. I am part of the Latino and Indigenous community and the importance of preventing erasure, something my ancestors and my community know too well. Starting from the burning and destruction of the libraries and thousands of codices that would be lost forever by the invasion of the Conquistadors in the 15th Century Mexico to modern times of today and banning of books, continued book burnings and erasure of Indigenous languages and traditions. We still face this erasure. The urgency of writing our stories became hyper-obvious during the Covid 19 pandemic that started in 2020 and is still occurring at present moment. We need to write our books.

Binders

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Women working in the bindery. Milwaukee Handicraft Project 1935 – 1942

From the Milwaukee WPA Handicraft Project Online Exhibit

This photo is from the Milwaukee WPA Handicraft Project Online Exhibit, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons, 2012, Lois M. Quinn. ETI Publications.

Women in the bookbinding unit mended and rebound books, mounted collections of prints, made boxes, scrapbooks and portfolios.

The Milwaukee Handicraft Project 1935-1942

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Women’s Work: The WPA Milwaukee Handicraft Project
By Jacqueline M. Schweitzer, Honorary Curator of American History

This is the inspiring story of a work program that brought fame to Milwaukee while breaking gender and color barriers during the Great Depression, told through a collection of toys, textiles, books, and photographs at the Milwaukee Public Museum. The Milwaukee Handicraft Project (MHP), a Works Projects Administration (WPA) program operating from 1935 until 1942, employed over 5,000 women and minorities. The Museum’s large collection reflects the ingenuity and skillful craftsmanship of MHP products. The story behind their design and creation is an uplifting tale of empowerment during one of the darkest periods of our nation’s history.

Resources:

2012
Milwaukee WPA Handicraft Project Online
Exhibit
Lois M. Quinn
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, lquinn@uwm.edu

https://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=eti_pubs

https://www.mpm.edu/research-collections/history/online-collections-research/wpa-milwaukee-handicraft-project

An Exploration of Relearning to Read Image

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An Exploration of Relearning to Read Image:

2 years ago, I sat down with a Mexica (Aztec) Codice facsimile at UW-Milwaukee’s Special Collections Library(Also the reason I chose grad skool at UWM) I looked through one accordion style book. Full color pages, weighing approximately 5 lbs. I was sweating, I was emotional. I was looking at the stars trying to make sense of the shapes, symbols and logographic language of the Nahuatl. After maybe 3 hours of looking through it. I went home, exhausted, I felt like I had been beat up.

I wept. I wept because the pain was real. I cried because I did NOT know what they were saying. I did NOT understand. I did NOT sit down with that book and was like, Oh yes, of course, I totally get this. I was totally devastated. Especially because I am an artist.

Now having and using the language I use (image), I come from a place of using image as words, my language is line, design, my language is art. But when it came to the books of my ancestors, I wept because even though they were using image as language and phonetics, I was lost. I could NOT read it. So as the year went on, my research became deeper and deeper and I started writing their language, I started copying their alphabets, I started to UNDERSTAND. Im still obviously learning this language. But for the first time in 2 years, I can now look at these magnificent, detailed, profound codices and start to see the story, I start to see our history, I am starting to read it. I have many more decades of research I need to fully understand more, but I know this is just the beginning of discovering what they were trying to teach us, remind us, and what they recorded in their codices were first hand-eye witnessed accounts from the Indigenous People of a land we now call Mexico.

Here are some of my drawings of the books. But Im telling a new story. I am fully influenced by the 16th Century Indigenous Tlahcuilo who wrote these codices and their style of drawing which is their own unique approach to portraying their communities. Within these drawings you can still see my own personal style and that will continue to grow and evolve as I continue to study from 16th Century Indigenous Artists and bookmakers known as Tlahcuilo.

back cover of a book I’m self publishing on The Florentine Codex

Tlazocamati-Thank You 2020

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Catching my breath from an intense semester, I’ll be finishing up projects next week(to those who are waiting patiently) I’ll also be spending a couple of weeks reflecting on all I have learned in the past 5 months of research + experimenting. But I am here to flower, we all are and for being one of the shittiest years we have survived through there are so many people who truly made this year one of my most successful as far as my art career goes. To those who gave me work:Thank you from all my heart, you helped me flourish in a skill I’ve been given, beyond grateful. To my mentors: your patience and discipline towards me helped me grow and push past many obstacles I was facing in my art work. Y’all helped push me to new areas. To my family: I can’t thank you each enough for giving me much needed space, amazing fresh meals, to providing clean clothes to soothing my mind and wiping my tears. To the universe: Thank you for a much needed pause, we’ve been cruel to Pachamama, Mother Earth and she is speaking loudly back at us. Thanks for keeping us balanced on an unbalanced world. To those who don’t even know me that well or we’re just Facebook friends: all of your posts this year, the stories,the joys, the sorrows, the fotos, the LOVE, thank you for reminding me there are awesome and beautiful and mindful people all around us. I love each one of yous. Salud to a new decade and thanks for this past one. 💜🌟🔹Tlazocamati🔹Gracias🔹Thank You 🔹🌟💜˙ǝuo ʇsɐd sıɥʇ ɹoɟ sʞuɐɥʇ puɐ ǝpɐɔǝp ʍǝu ɐ oʇ pnlɐS ˙snoʎ ɟo ǝuo ɥɔɐǝ ǝʌol I ˙sn punoɹɐ llɐ ǝldoǝd lnɟpuıɯ puɐ lnɟıʇnɐǝq puɐ ǝɯosǝʍɐ ǝɹɐ ǝɹǝɥʇ ǝɯ ɓuıpuıɯǝɹ ɹoɟ noʎ ʞuɐɥʇ ‘ƎΛO˥ ǝɥʇ ‘soʇoɟ ǝɥʇ ‘sʍoɹɹos ǝɥʇ ‘sʎoɾ ǝɥʇ’sǝıɹoʇs ǝɥʇ ‘ɹɐǝʎ sıɥʇ sʇsod ɹnoʎ ɟo llɐ :spuǝıɹɟ ʞooqǝɔɐℲ ʇsnɾ ǝɹ,ǝʍ ɹo llǝʍ ʇɐɥʇ ǝɯ ʍouʞ uǝʌǝ ʇ,uop oɥʍ ǝsoɥʇ o⊥ ˙plɹoʍ pǝɔuɐlɐqun uɐ uo pǝɔuɐlɐq sn ɓuıdǝǝʞ ɹoɟ sʞuɐɥ⊥ ˙sn ʇɐ ʞɔɐq ʎlpnol ɓuıʞɐǝds sı ǝɥs puɐ ɥʇɹɐƎ ɹǝɥʇoW ‘ɐɯɐɯɐɥɔɐԀ oʇ lǝnɹɔ uǝǝq ǝʌ,ǝʍ ‘ǝsnɐd pǝpǝǝu ɥɔnɯ ɐ ɹoɟ noʎ ʞuɐɥ⊥ :ǝsɹǝʌıun ǝɥʇ o⊥ ˙sɹɐǝʇ ʎɯ ɓuıdıʍ puɐ puıɯ ʎɯ ɓuıɥʇoos oʇ sǝɥʇolɔ uɐǝlɔ ɓuıpıʌoɹd oʇ ‘slɐǝɯ ɥsǝɹɟ ɓuızɐɯɐ ‘ǝɔɐds pǝpǝǝu ɥɔnɯ ǝɯ ɓuıʌıɓ ɹoɟ ɥɓnouǝ ɥɔɐǝ noʎ ʞuɐɥʇ ʇ,uɐɔ I :ʎlıɯɐɟ ʎɯ o⊥ ˙sɐǝɹɐ ʍǝu oʇ ǝɯ ɥsnd pǝdlǝɥ llɐ,⅄ ˙ʞɹoʍ ʇɹɐ ʎɯ uı ɓuıɔɐɟ sɐʍ I sǝlɔɐʇsqo ʎuɐɯ ʇsɐd ɥsnd puɐ ʍoɹɓ ǝɯ pǝdlǝɥ ǝɯ spɹɐʍoʇ ǝuıldıɔsıp puɐ ǝɔuǝıʇɐd ɹnoʎ :sɹoʇuǝɯ ʎɯ o⊥ ˙lnɟǝʇɐɹɓ puoʎǝq ‘uǝʌıɓ uǝǝq ǝʌ,I llıʞs ɐ uı ɥsıɹnolɟ ǝɯ pǝdlǝɥ noʎ ‘ʇɹɐǝɥ ʎɯ llɐ ɯoɹɟ noʎ ʞuɐɥ⊥:ʞɹoʍ ǝɯ ǝʌɐɓ oɥʍ ǝsoɥʇ o⊥ ˙sǝoɓ ɹǝǝɹɐɔ ʇɹɐ ʎɯ sɐ ɹɐɟ sɐ lnɟssǝɔɔns ʇsoɯ ʎɯ ɟo ǝuo ɹɐǝʎ sıɥʇ ǝpɐɯ ʎlnɹʇ oɥʍ ǝldoǝd ʎuɐɯ os ǝɹɐ ǝɹǝɥʇ ɥɓnoɹɥʇ pǝʌıʌɹns ǝʌɐɥ ǝʍ sɹɐǝʎ ʇsǝıʇʇıɥs ǝɥʇ ɟo ǝuo ɓuıǝq ɹoɟ puɐ ǝɹɐ llɐ ǝʍ ‘ɹǝʍolɟ oʇ ǝɹǝɥ ɯɐ I ʇnᙠ ˙ɓuıʇuǝɯıɹǝdxǝ + ɥɔɹɐǝsǝɹ ɟo sɥʇuoɯ ގ ʇsɐd ǝɥʇ uı pǝuɹɐǝl ǝʌɐɥ I llɐ uo ɓuıʇɔǝlɟǝɹ sʞǝǝʍ ɟo ǝldnoɔ ɐ ɓuıpuǝds ǝq oslɐ ll,I (ʎlʇuǝıʇɐd ɓuıʇıɐʍ ǝɹɐ oɥʍ ǝsoɥʇ oʇ)ʞǝǝʍ ʇxǝu sʇɔǝɾoɹd dn ɓuıɥsıuıɟ ǝq ll,I ‘ɹǝʇsǝɯǝs ǝsuǝʇuı uɐ ɯoɹɟ ɥʇɐǝɹq ʎɯ ɓuıɥɔʇɐƆ