Don't Frack My Mother

I can feel John smiling, serious topic treated with humor to spread thru the cracks in the walls of denial.

Working on waterRIP the Flow video, so also love the synchro.

Humans are not the reason Earth exists!!

Fracking is deadly to ecosystems and we are bodies of water (our bodies 50-90 percent water- depending on source, age, hydration - suffice to say that what goes into water will hitch a ride into our personal biological spaces and mess up our disease fighting abilities.

This old Takers story (term borrowed from Ishmael by Daniel Quinn) will frack us all if we don't change the tune. thanks for singing out!!

Thanks Gasland for keeping the information flowing! Documentary is a must see.

Shilshole

Shilshole Landscape

 

Seascape Sky

 



Last week I went to Shilshole to film some Mother Nature footage to augment waterRIP the Flow as i am changing the story of the installation to fit a Youtube presence.

This transmedia stuff is challenging but great brain exercise. I am thinking it beats the little puzzles and games -you know those products being touted as brain exercises.

I am thinking a whole system's approach will always get better results. When intent, purpose, appreciation and synergy are in harmony with the soul's journey aka core personhood and patterned upon unified field concepts in physics, nature (bio physio perceptions) and consciousness, it makes sense.

WaterRip-the Flow is all over biomimicry, so cosmomimicry isn't such a leap. Dancing with the universe, now i know what i mean.

Nature is no Mother

 Totems seem to personify the male archetype, but here they bloom, sprout  new possibilities, grow organically or "chaotically" depending on the observer! The blur is under observation, freeing possibilities! 

I am getting into character this morning, attempting to manifest the Mother Nature archetype for the waterRIP video.

See, that's a problem. Mother Nature and God the Father- like who set that up? And why do we continue this divisive nonsense?

How do i play the archetype while dissolving "her."

Reasoning behind the curtain:

I am suspecting that the authorative ignorance that decided we were creatures of a mechanistic universe, put Galileo under arrest for having the temerity to say the Sun wasn't orbiting Earth and more recently, it was that kind of voice that told "us" that throwing toxins over large amounts of land, was a great idea.

That voice believed that it had the right to force the world into submission. That voice thought  profitable poisons would just "go away," that the water used to arouse the plants would carry industrial waste laced fertilizers and nerve toxins known as pesticides, into the gutters, streams and on into the rivers. That "nature" would carry our collective wastes and proftable toxins out to the ocean.  The ocean would then magickly clean it all up. (or insert the carbon particles speeding up global warming, general air pollution, aquifer and well contamination, pharmacueticals etc. there is a long list)

So check it out. The underlying assumption is that Mother Nature would take the abuse and do the clean up. Now where is that coming from?

Does it relate to God the Father telling man he has dominion over all earth and all the creatures?

"We are told in Genesis 1 that God said to man “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28)."

I, for one, must query the arrogance of a God that dissed most of creation for a particular species and for only one gender of that species. (1- aka later)

So to avoid the trap of that argument - i consider the whole picture and jump to language itself.

People created language and then used it to describe "feelings/actions/mysteries.objects" which they named God. So now we are discussing a set of abstract associations that have been handed down for thousands of years. (We know what happens to stories after a while, right?)  So instead of focusing on the language, perhaps it is time to go back to the feeling, the knowing core, deep heart, the soul of things and reconnoiter.

Who are we - now? We have turned on many new lights; nothing looks as it did before. When we see differently, what we see, changes, and that is where our possibilities live. Let's join them.

(1) This is the same story that ignored Lilith and gave Eve, the rib clone, star status. So Eve, being a literal part of Adam, was there to attend him, have "his" children and in a jam be his scapegoat (The apple right?) This is all metaphor for a pattern associated with Nature and the Feminine.  So even when 'they" were benefiting from the work of the planet's natural services, enjoying "her' bounty, it was acceptable to take and give back as little as possible.  This is a pattern of abuse. Wow!~ Like a death sentence for sure.

WaterRIP the Niads

 

These are stills of the video shoot last week. Thanks to Kim, Rhoia, Natasha, JoAnne and David for the water niad come to life story. I am eager to start the edit. Though i have a new program with it's inherent learning curve so may take me awhile.

There is a saying here..the simple "if its worth doing, it's worth doing well" and the more heroic

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and shrinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can. ~ Sydney Smith"

Ok this is over the top for the task at hand, yet i like the attitude and it suits the whole of fashionRIP. On the path with faith and ever widening knowledge this is how to play in unified fields.

Healing Rain - Presents:

WaterRIP and Friends

WaterRIP the Flow

 

Veins to Rivers

Well the show is up, the parties rocked and i am looking forward to guest speakers

Aaron Cooper and Jacqui Alpert will be at the Kerf International Gallery for Winter Solstice presentations on spirit, science and healing.

We are planning events on the 21st and the 22nd.
Poet/artist Sheila Scott will read from her books on the 22nd; a celebration of change -the next 5.000 will not be constarined by the past.

(These dates have to change, merchants were afraid  to lose parking this close to Kmas. It seems once again the possible fear outweighed the possibility of more people and good energy.

As i write this it is the 20th and the WC was by no means bustling. Just saying- as we are now looking at the 28th -30th  just so you know!)

The presentations complement the installations.

Ecosystems health, social justice, generative economics, creating community while realizing the unique potential of everyone, every being - these are some of my favorite things.

As we start to understand how our systems of education, governance, commerce, health were the products of old, false  beliefs then some things start to look silly, tawdry and dangerous.  Why hold onto things that are harmful?

Why hold onto anything that promises to hurt not just isolated individuals but the whole of the community, the whole of the planet? Why hurt another when that hurt harms you?

That is the new quantum truth. We are connected, we interrelate and we are in relationships to all life and the abiotic systems that support life. In fact the lines drawn between what is alive and what is not is less defined... we are learning ever so much!

So we at the Kerf are turning on lights, bringing on the information, opening up the closets and letting the skeletons out, nothing is sacred but life itself.

 Life calling to life is in the living universe- is in the tiniest dew drop and the largest heart. Energy connects us all and in the whole we experience the beauty that rules such an elegant, enlightened truth.

When coming into oneness to heal we grow into our evolutionary skins. The old mantle falls away and transformation is. Welcome the new era.

WaterRIP to Carry On

 

Swamp vixen, wetland wicche, the sorceress of the toxic cleanse

wetlands are to water as the liver is to the human body

 

This blog is the public face of fashionRIP Project and as WaterRIP is entering the set up phase, i am noticing a pattern.

 3 times is probably not sufficient evidence of a pattern, but it feels like one. As that is what this experiment plays with, i am sharing.

The last openings were dramatic and both turned out to be gifts in disguise. So yesterday when driving down to the Wallingford Center (WC) to meet up with my guest star artist, Beverly Naidus and wonderful, ladder climbing hero of a brother, Robert,  at the Wallingford Center i was amped. (My brother said yes to the help request that very morning so i thought my big hurdle had been jumped.)

Then i turned on the radio and the first song out was"Carry On" by Fun. This made me grin.  I flashed through the tumultuous birthing process of "Species on the Verge" -shooting the video and prepping the installation and then quickly said no, this time was the third, the charm.

But when i pulled into the WC, hoisted a box from the trunk and went to the door. it was locked. i jumbled up inside, then walked around to the main door and tried it, also locked. The hours posted on the door read "Open 10-8 Saturday."

That stone in my gut sank. I called Beverly and my brother, trying to head them off. I was able to reach my brother but not Beverly. What to do?

"Carry On,"  right, the serendipitous alliance stood out like grace or irony. It is hard at times to know the feeling, perhaps its a lack of words for such as this. So i picked up milk for my Dad, getting a chore out of the way helped a bit.

Beverly tried to call me and my cell was accidentally set to a soft ring, so she left a few messages then hiked around the building and found a door that opened. She also found a baker who told her they were closed but when she stated her mission, they said to come on in. She did, she carried on!

When i realized my cell issue and called her back, she told me as much, i called Robert and the day ended up fruitful, the mission accomplished. Beverly's work "And Now Behind Curtain #2 " is hanging in the Kerf International Gallery - the centerpiece. We did it!  I love you all!

"Cause we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible...

 

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on

Carry on, carry on"

by Fun

magick

..

Water Cycles: The Good and the Bad

The Greenpeace report "Toxic Threads," is out  and i am feeling warmed by the kindred spirit of changemakers.. This is what Thanksgiving is to me. These are my heros. This is what i appreciate.

"Toxic Threads" is a focus on the toxins used in clothing during manufacturing and finishing.  You can support the campaign to eliminate this idiocy from our planet and make many ever more grateful.

There are non toxic substitutes, both the known and the yet to be discovered.  It seems that the more "cheap" rules the consumer oriented capitalist model, the more everything is cheapened. (Belief directs outcomes)
.
Companies blame the manufacturing subcontractors and yet force them to keep prices low (call it competition) so this game of "whose fault" ends up as "our fault." How?

If we buy these toxic garments we are agreeing to the idea that it doesn't matter.

Agreeing doesn't eliminate the responsibility or the after affects. Agreeing is a form of denial. However when a cancer of "unknown" origin enters your field of vision, the blame game gets uber serious. (Cancer causing toxins swimming at large in chemical pools are mixing it up, there is no way to predict all possible outcomes)

You see, what is thrown into gutters "over there" flows eventually to "here," in the water, via the sea life, even in evaporated water that is released as rain and snow. We are only beginning to be able to measure the consequences of our ignorance. However we can extrapolate from the knowledge we have acquired. That is where we can make the difference that will change the story.

If that isn't enough to alarm you, think about that garment next to your skin. Your skin absorbs these fine micro particles. Sometimes your skin reacts with a big red "no."

I wrote an entry a few years ago about toxic reactions to garments and started the wash first campaign to protect babies, in a first line of defense. The sign is a free download, post away ..please!

That was an immediate response, however, washing releases that crap into the local water systems and even water utilitiy companies know they are not able to filter these chemicals out. What you can't measure, see or don't know, can sometimes bite, is that really an acceptable risk under the circumstances?

So instead of supporting the patterns of dis-ease, support health. Support whole systems thinking. Weave the threads and pretty soon a new "design" appears. New designs equate with new possibilities. Its simply that simple.



 

graphics from the Toxic Threads PDF, more where these came from.

WaterRIP, The Flow

 

WaterRIP studio shots

 I was thinking this morning,  how amazing it was to have 2 articles show up on 2 consecutive days that effortlessly tied the next Kerf International Gallery show together.

My work with WaterRIP started with fresh water issues and since our bodies are 50-70% water, depending on age and hydration levels, what messes with water, messes with us. I then started recognizing patterns of biology repeating in ecology which helped me understand how dis-ease enters sytems and imbalances provide it residence.
This is also how each chapter of fashionRIP influences the next. This is the organic process.

 WaterRIP is a story and a "painting" with fabric. I am culling from fashion, as image, as sensory appeal and the changes new contexts provide. All the while, i am playing with how myth orchestrates reality, as beliefs show up in systems.  Get it?

Yeah, my mind has a tendency to weave like crazy. I untangle old stories and rework the material until something fresh has a chance to emerge. I incorporate new materials as needed. This is true in my art work and in the behind the scenes research. My life becomes a catalyst for the work and the whole process is ever more a flow. Borders are illusions that no longer seem relevant. The new story is coming to life.

WaterRIP is chapter 2 of fashionRIP Project. The installation is a pause and a celebration. It is made all the better because joining me this time, is Beverly Naidus. She is a new friend, who is currently teaching at the University of Washington, Tacoma, where she has created and facilitates a unique interdisciplinary studio curriculum in art for social change and healing. Is this spot on or what?

Beverly's installation, And Now Behind Curtain #2, challenges us with questions about the trance created by the mainstream media and the perils and rewards of activism. This is an interactive piece, so bring friends or make some new ones while playing the game. The work debuted in a museum show in Germany and headlined a Northwest Ropom art space during last spring's Folklife.


" The experience of sharing this work was one of the most profound interactions I have ever had with an audience.  Visitors have asked me to produce the game board as a real game that can be bought and used at parties and at home.  They have also asked me to turn the stories into a published book.  There was such a hunger for discussing what was shared in this piece. "  Beverly Naidus

 

 photos of And Now...

I see connections all over the place, they appear like holograms, so putting words to it  can be time cosuming and ..well it is an entirely other thing. These articles arrived like angels, gifts from the authors, Yes Magazine and the universe. The experiment continues as resources show up and help to smooth the path.

 Your Body is a Body of Water, by Jourdan Keith and Why Your Health is Bigger Than Your Body by Claudia Rowe,  really help explain the  December show at the Wallingford Center, Seattle in a most wonderful way.  Social justice, health, water, fair play, happiness and ecology are all on the same page. To experience the collusion please come by and see/ test for yourself.

And please let us know what you think, what you are seeking and why and how we can make 2013 the leap year of another kind. It takes a village, more, but so what?  We have all had challenges and we can rock when need be.  The time is now!

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!

Reign Water

ocean the siren ( repurposed sari) , fresh water the naif

( yard sale fabrics) and the practical swamp vixen, witch of the wetlands (vintage fabric)

I am in the midst of designing an installation that tries to connect emotional, visceral and literal communication. The recycouture dresses mix with other mediums in an art meets science wedding. Biology, ecology, psychology and chemistry, natural and manmade systems have patterns that resonate. This is not a surprise as we humans build from that which we know. Our awareness of this is the issue, as we seem to have gone off into ego and lost our way.I guess this makes  FashionRIP Project todays Little Bo Peep. 

I have sewn three of the gowns and they are ready for the embellishments that will create their personas. The dresses are from repurposed, remnant and vintage, or secondary market supplies and are real, wearable pieces -functional. My couture, custom garment background left tracks. These dresses are an expression of my art..whatever that is at the time it is.

Fresh Water is sweet, graceful and innocent, but not naive. She maintains a higher standard of purity and clarity than the human species and wants us to get with the program. She personifies the small rivers and streams of the higher altitudes and is therefore still fairly pristine. She is a dancer.

Ocean is pissed off. She is experiencing major acidification - aka acid reflux- which is damaging to corals, her underwater nurseries and thus it effects the survival of all her children. In response she is fighting back with tsunamis, hurricanes and giant swells that erode human habitats. She is not able to discern who is innocent and who is responsible, she sees our species as a threat. She understands that it is human activity that is making her suffer and she will not be placated by our fairly small attempts to change our ways. That we are hindered by those of us who are blinded by ignorance, greed and ideology is not her problem. Her problem is her children's survival. She is a mother, a creator.


Swamp Witch is the sorceress, the scientist, the amazing alchemist, the liver of the water system. Her job is to detoxify and cleanse the water bodies meeting grounds. She is a permeable, organic flexible and shifting border.  She works with dissonance and harmony, she knows when  to juxtapose and when to blend. She understands and values diversity. She is species wealthy and happy that humans are finally getting to know her. However, her work at times is far too challenging to go it alone. She is seeking our help, our greater understanding and our appreciation. She is the musician.