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Bailey 🐝

@the_librarybee

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2168

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artist & librarian telling stories through all mediums✨🌈
🐝 zine workshop @cafecinodc, 10/18
🐝 dyke night @thedewdropinndc, 10/20
📍 DC

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I heard there was a shortage of sapphic tops, so I'm doing what I can to help ✨

Custom orders for sapphic tops are open! You can either visit the link below or access it from my bio 🌈

https://forms.gle/CDLCEL9HpZ5D2d8A8

Each unique top is $25 and features two designs - one background image and one text overlay. The designs, text, and font choices were chosen based on inspiration from the @lesbianherstoryarchives, Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion by Eleanor Medhurst, and my own experience learning about sapphic communities and the symbols that have helped them identify each other for years.

I'm endlessly grateful for my own sapphic community and hope that these designs help to increase our visibility year-round 💞

The first round of tops will be available at @dmvgaydogmoms's Pride Pawty market this Sunday, June 28th!

#sapphictops #sapphicart #sapphicshirts #sapphicartist #customshirts by @the_librarybee

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4 months ago

First market as a vendor: ✅

Hi! I'm Bailey (or Bee), and I'm a librarian and visual artist. I've been creating my whole life and am excited to bring my art to my community.

Huge thanks to @timkimeart, @petite_punk, @amendadaptdc, & @dcgoodwill for their efforts in putting on the first Reimagine Market, and for the vote of confidence in letting me try my hand at vending! It was lovely to see so many faces familiar and new, and to spark conversations about art and upcycling.

Curiosity is a driving part of my artistic process, and thrifting and upcycling are two ways I like to reimagine my work. I love the idea that my art is alive and always growing (this definitely includes the rooted plant cuttings from my plant library), whether from community input or the inclusion of new techniques and items that find a home on the page. It feels good to repurpose ordinary things into art and to share them with the world.

Onto the next 🐝✨

#dcartist #queerartist #lgbtqartist #washingtondc #visualartist #mixedmedia #polymerclay #upcycling #vintage #prints #watercolor #blockprinting by @the_librarybee

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a year ago

I wanted to chat a little bit about my blind date with a book selection ✨

Each book is hand selected by me, and meets the following:

⭐️ at least a 3 star rating on storygraph/goodreads (subjective, I know!)
⭐️ matches, shares, or promotes progressive and inclusive values
⭐️ is thrifted (either from my library or elsewhere) and in good condition
⭐️ I've read it and can vouch for it, or at the very least, find the merit in how it might reach someone even if it didn’t resonate with me

Since starting to vend at markets, I cherish the opportunity to channel my inner librarian and help share reading material that helps folks feel seen, informed, and connected.

My earliest memories were in libraries. My work study job in undergrad, in the special collections library, quickly became my safe space when I was struggling with so much. Libraries were always the places I came back to, and quickly became the places through which I gave back.

I completed my Master's in Library Science in 2022 at UMD-College Park, with a focus in legal information. Pretty soon afterwards, I made a more concentrated effort to engage with my artistic side, finally opening up to others as an artist, sharing my work, and taking classes from talented local artists in new mediums.

Want to chat more? I'm @the_librarybee on @the.storygraph! Drop your username in the comments or message me 📚

#books #thrifting #blinddatewithabook #thriftedbooks #thriftbooks by @the_librarybee

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9 months ago

septembah ❤️🍁

personal + art happenings during my 9-year DC anniversary month 🎈

#personal #dcartist #mixedmedia by @the_librarybee

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18 days ago

☕️ NEW DATE ☕️

Is there anything better than getting crafty in your favorite local coffee shop? ☕️

Join us on Sunday, October 18 for a zine making workshop at @cafecinodc! Local artist and librarian Bailey of @the_librarybee will guide you in making your own zine, inspired by what coffee means to you.

Materials (including coffee books, magazines, and more) will be provided. Further instructions on how to copy and prepare your zines will also be given. Share one with us and contribute to our first mini zine library!

Where: 632 Howard Rd SE, Washington DC 20020
When: 12-2 PM, Saturday September 12th
Cost: $25-35 (before fees) sliding scale payment

Tickets available on eventbrite and in bio! We can't wait to create with you. 🤎
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zine-making-workshop-tickets-2002223117242

#shoplocal #coffeelovers #zinemaking #thingstododc #coffeecommunity by @the_librarybee

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24 days ago

🎨 guided section — perfect for beginners or anyone who enjoys a little instruction along the way. this section is first come, first serve, so come early to grab your spot!

🖌️ free paint section — for more advanced painters or anyone who wants to freestyle. paint whatever your heart desires! and don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of sapphic inspiration if you’re feeling stuck.

all supplies included, and you’ll leave with your finished piece.

🍹 full bar on-site, with non-alcoholic options available. one drink minimum.

📍 500 8th st se
🗓️ saturday, september 20
🕓 4–6pm | 21+

grab your ticket via the link in our bio. let’s sip, paint, and celebrate queer joy — together. 💕🎨

no refunds unless the event is cancelled. taken in Southeast, Washington, D.C. by @the_librarybee

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a month ago

thank you to @littledistrictbooks for commissioning & stocking this design! each color was intentionally chosen to reflect as many individual pride flags as possible in only three hues. the design itself is a bit of an homage to the original LDB location. 🏳️‍🌈

next time you swing by, check out some of the new artwork on display - you might recognize some familiar work! 👀

#queerbookstore #lgbtqartist #lgbtqbooks #queerartist #readqueerallyear by @the_librarybee

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2 months ago

You can now shop The Library Bee at Femme Fatale! 💃🏻✨✂️

Almost a year since my first market, and I've loved chatting with y'all and sharing my whimsy with you through art SO much that I decided to take a leap and make it official. I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining a fabulous collective of artists of all backgrounds and mediums.

Curated blind dates with books, sapphic tops (and new embroidered patch tops, peep my sweater!), and original artwork are available now. So much more is to come. 🪩

Thank you to everyone in my community who has taught me, learned with me, coexisted with me, crafted with me, and been with me. I am a mixed media artist in the sense that I am everything and everyone I have found inspiration in! 🩷🌈

#dcart #sapphicartist #lgbtqartist #dcartist #shoplocal taken in Femme Fatale DC by @the_librarybee

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2 months ago

turning some of my old poetry from years past into collage zines has been such a lovely way to reconnect with my past work. I started submitting to independent journals when I was in grad school and continued to write when I wasn’t taking art classes around the city or assembling my early projects for The Library Bee.

I always published under a pen name, Andy VanDoren, to keep my writing as open to interpretation as possible. now felt like the perfect time to bring those two projects together ✨

if you like poetry that plays with the meanings of words, explores the various experiences of love, sexuality, and girlhood, and maybe waxes a little too poetic at times, you can grab one ($5) at my next market, or grab all four ($15) 💋

#zines #poetry #dcwriter #dcartist #poetryzine by @the_librarybee

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2 months ago

so excited to have had my work selected for the @cuethedykes tshirt! 🎱

everything I love about CTD is in this design: the little doodles on the photo drops, the energy between @torobar14th_st and our group, the crack of billiard balls hitting, and sapphic innuendos. and of course, the people. with a community like this one, inspiration comes naturally. 💋

thank you to @coldricestudios for the incredible photos, and to @_leev_ & @ryanlakeschrader for organizing the coolest group of dykes, dolls, enbys, femmes, mascs, and every sapphic in between. 🫶🏻

anyway, play pool! kiss each other!! sink the cue ball five (5) times!!! see u next time 😎

#cuethedykes #dcartist #shirtdesign #sapphicartist #billiards by @the_librarybee

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3 months ago

Something so relaxing about block printing to me is seeing the same design in a variety of colors, experimenting with how they look together. Pride flags are naturally my go-to combinations.

I love celebrating sapphics in my work every day. Violets were a historic means of identifying one another, and while we have internet communities, books, and media, solidarity and advocacy remain just as important. Here's to continued visibility and supporting one another 🌈

#sapphicart #pride #sapphic #femmeart #lgbtqart by @the_librarybee

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3 months ago

one for the books 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

#pride #bipride #dcpride #sapphicpride #sapphicart by @the_librarybee

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3 months ago