The Wicche Rising

photo for Wetland Wicche a character in WaterRIP installation

have to add the swamp but couldn't resist this earthy take of Lady of the Lake

Sandy recently submerged a large part of the East Coast. My thoughts and  healing energy go out to friends, everyone in chaos. To all you riders of the storm, please,  tell us your stories, eventually enough of us will hear and learn that we cannot continue this devastating course. Critical mass counts and sooner is way better than later.

So - how badass does nature have to act to get our attention?

Global warming accelerates storm activity. Monocrops breed disease. GMOs are bad for soils, rats and humans. Human activity, much of it aimed for profit over else, has created a madness we have accepted as "reality." But this superimposed manmade reality composed of extractive economics, protecting the wealth of the few while hurting the many maintaining an "us/them and it" way of thinking; that "reality" is the false real. We've been hoodwinked, bigtime!!

Bigger real- we are in a relationship with all other humans, with other species, with ecosystems and the biosphere. We are connected.

Our bodies have a cellular intimacy with natural, real, whole, unpoisoned food. We evolved together.  This plays a part in why some people are better able to digest certain foods better than others.

(Acid reflux, allergies, IBS and other digestive issues have a relationship to GMOs- just saying)

 Like hummingbirds and deep throated blossoms, groomer fish and sharks, we are in an co-creative relationship with the natural world, we evolved together.  Instead of fearing, attacking, attempting to control and dominate, it is time we figured out how to dance.

Nature isn't the enemy, it is the animated life force, the spark's manifestation. To have senses and feel love, to make time meaningful, to wonder and find the potential we were gifted at birth, this is organic wisdom. Life is a gift. The gift is packaged by nature, to be respected, enjoyed and cherished.

Namaste

Ocean Tribute

Dress patch for Ocean Queen Gown, Goddess of love taken from the Botticelli painting

which is so full of mythic story. One of the influencers that have perpetuated western cultural memes. 

(Wacom tablet, Corel Paint, Photoshop)

 

WaterRIP installation is going up in December at the Kerf Gallery along with other works by noted artists, Beverly Naidus and  Don Metke. There may be others, but this is the "for sure" line up.

So i posted the dress blanks earlier and then the story stalled as i waited for the information i needed to flesh it out.

 I work with a visual goal that is quite sketchy, sometimes the images remain ghost holders, some come to life in an unexplained way and some are designed and good to go.

I am now at a place where the installation is telling me what it needs. This is nice as takes the pressure off in one way but can also be irritating, as what i liked at one point now needs revising to suit the staging concept the piece now needs, or rather demands.

Yes art can get in your face.  

At this stage the process teeters on feasability issues.  As the story wants more, wants to be bolder than space, time and money allows at this juncture, i need to edit. That is another kind of art.

WaterRIP is at the stage where she is like a runaway horse, with the bit in her teeth, i hang on and know that soon i will regain some control, re-esestablish the trust and that we will ride in together, in time for the show.

I love this place in my work!

Why Think Pink, Think BIG

building trust

 

When i think pinkwash, i think Komen Foundation. I had a professor at Evergreen State College who had breast cancer and was told by the Komen foundation that they were about cure and not interested in prevention, when she queried them.  As this prof was an environmental biologist, she didn't find the answer very appealing, which is why she told her story.

If one is sponsored by Big Pharma than creating a sustainable non-profit might be dependent on creating a sustainable pharmaceutical industry. Without addressing the clean up of products and processes, the Komen Foundation will be in business a long time.

Pinkwash, like greenwash is a symptom of a bigger wash. The big wash is the daily propaganda that business as usual pitches.  The big wash is to convince us that there isn't another way, that what we have is the best.

I was at a meeting a few days ago, where various nonprofits and budget concerned people were pitching ideas to each other, getting feedback and or support. I was there to snap some photos of David Pauling who is in the process of launching a local co-operative hub in the Seattle area.

SEGUE:
 I am on the advisory board of Main Street Values  (the hub) as David and i see enough commons that our minor differences are matters of discussion and vision explaining, friendly "window opening" discourse.  Like the name, Main Street Values makes me think of the fake 50s  where the economy was chirping but social reality was a mess. To David it means the local community counts, local worker/owner equity counts and we can do it by supporting each other.

I mention this to let everyone know that waiting for total alignment just might be an excuse to do nothing big, because real change creates a certain amount of unknowns and disharmony.

I am beginning to suspect that getting wants and needs in tidy lists when applied to relationships (business and personal, human and else) can be really damaging.  It appears to be part of the consumer/controller mindset and can cut us off from the very possibilities we need for personal discovery.  As we unfold, so too does the culture and the meaning of work and economics within that culture will change as we change.

So in relationships, i believe in staying open, aware and alive rather than dissing off the majority of viewpoints to find a clone version of my own imaginative reality. There is a nice flow in energy when one has the confidence to speak up and at the same time be willing to learn (not just listen or tolerate) from others. Like tossing a ball back and forth, it can be a bore or a terrific engaging challenge.

END SEGUE:
After listening to a couple pitches, like hearing how Solid Ground was picking up the ball dropped by the transit system; (cutting off free rides downtown that helped a lot of people get to doctors and  other appointments) it hit me how this was a privatize the profit, socialize the problem measure. Solid Ground relies on grants, donations and government funding,  (Part of the double dip cycle of write-offs)

As i was processing this information, i thought how all the people in the room were making a living off poverty and how MSV was the only pitch directed at changing the system and not directed at how best to bandage the wounds. Wow.

So all you pink and green campaigners,  please take a look inside and ask yourself if this is the best you can do. Look up the chain of reasoning and wonder why your organization is accepting smallness when it has the option to choose REAL BIG CHANGE.