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Portland's annual women-centered arts fest Siren Nation is back, from November 5-8! This three-day festival is packed with women musicians, filmmakers, artists, and craftsters. Siren Nation's mission is to showcase and support women in the arts--and inspire other women to make their own. This year's festival promises to be as great as ever! The film lineup alone is awesome: four documentaries on four strong women, including Ahead of the Majority on Patsy Mink, the first Asian-American woman to run for president, and Ridin' and Rhymin' on cowgirl-cum-poet Georgie Sicking. As for music, check out this rundown of lineup, including Lovers and Tender Forever:

Northwesterners, get your tickets now! For non-Portlanders, it's worth it to check out the line-up for unknown artists you didn't know you were missing.

Artist Jessie Rose Vala, based in Portland, Oregon, has a way of mixing utterly beautiful graphite detail with dark, often mythological narratives. I first saw her work at Motel Gallery for the exhibition: The Tortuous Veil. In it, Vala explores the archetypes of the vampire, werewolf, zombie and shape-shifter, using them as metaphors for our own over consumption, complacency, mob mentality and environmental degradation. Other works of Vala include explorations of inner struggle despite the security and comfort we create for ourselves in something as mundane as our living room (Future Remnants of Dreamvilles), as well as scenes that mix modern female figures with ancient myths and tropes. (more after the jump)