Article by: Shoshana Akins

Boston’s art scene, although beautiful, has always been overshadowed by its big, bad, East Coast competitor: New York City. Although the city has a lot to offer, it at times seems limited and inaccessible.

It is this very problem that launched the all-girls, all-free, all-Allston art collective, Paint Pens in Purses. Two years ago, Shayna Yasuhara (also known as “Shayna Shenanigans” around the reaches of Harvard Avenue) and a group of her friends were tossing around ideas about creating an all-girls collective for the sake of preserving the art scene in Boston, and also keeping the presence of women in this field at the forefront.

“We all just kept talking about it and talking about it, then one day I said, ‘You know what, lets just do it’,” said Yasuhara with a laugh. “I was sick of seeing all my friends leave for New York or L.A. once they graduated because there wasn’t anything for them here. I wanted to create something.”

To support this artistic passion and organization of hers, Yasuhara flexes her Northeastern degree in criminal justice and sociology by answering people’s questions on their car insurance at her day job. But it’s in her free time when the real “Shenanigans” comes out, armed with paintbrushes and empowered to create. Yasuhara has connected with many artists locally and abroad, getting support for these creative Beantown beings from dedicated sponsors such as Scion, Red Bull, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Sharpie to fund PPP’s events (making most of the events student-friendly and free). With five shows under their belt and one on the way, the growing collective of about twenty members has not only made a great impact on the streets of Boston, but on the budding girl-geniuses in it.

One of the collective’s members and current Massachusetts College of Art senior, Ali Nebel, came to Boston because it was one of the only art schools that had accepted her (and, to be honest, because she was following her boyfriend to Emerson). Once she got here and the relationship didn’t work out, she felt disoriented and confused. Growing up in New Jersey had made New York City the end all of the art scene, which then made Boston, feel… empty. But after being introduced to Shayna a year ago and joining PPP, Nebel realized the feel of Boston was actually “a blessing,” not a devastating detriment.

“Boston is such a tiny city, so to spread your art around is pretty easy,” said Nebel. “New York is so big, but here if you’re an artist, you know everybody. How fantastic of a network is that? And then if you don’t know somebody then one of your friends does. It’s like Facebook in action.”

According to Yasuhara, the collective doesn’t have any moneymaking dreams or business minded goals; it’s a group of girls coming together to support each other in a struggling scene they are passionate about and “becoming a family.” And though it is not intended for creating high-capital status, the collective is taking on one particular moneymaking venture: a book showcasing the collective’s art and its members. Recently graduated Art Institute of Boston student and PPP member, Mykim Dang, is the spearhead of this project, managing everything from font size to the publisher pick.

“I had always wanted to make a book, but I didn’t have a topic yet,” said Dang. “Once I was introduced to Shayna and the girls at Paint Pens, I knew immediately this is what I wanted to make it about. I proposed the idea to Shayna and she was so pumped about it and told me to go crazy with it.”

Recently sent out to the publisher, the finished product is done in a coffee-table book style with huge glossy pages featuring everything from Dang’s cartoony-bright skate deck art to fellow member Elizabeth Siegel’s (a.k.a. Tofusquirrel) complex characters of pure imagination.

“It really is just meant to show off what we can do,” said Dang, hiding a modest smile. “To really show people Boston has something to offer and to show girls they can make awesome art, too.”

The collective is looking to have its sixth show (a Sadie Hawkins-inspired number) within the next few months and is crossing its fingers on a debut of the book for this coming summer. But these girls won’t be stopping there; in the streets, on lampposts, on concert flyers, and anywhere outside the museum-sterile confines of glass, they will fight on for the art scene of Boston. Pens at the ready and creativity flying.