Bottom Line Feeders
Energy Responsibility
I am very late. Humpday last week had too many humps for me. I got battered. I’m pretty bruised up, but I’ll be alright. Sometimes wicked memories from the past just refuse to stay there - and they can absolutely derail us if we are caught off guard. Last week I was. Fortunately, in addition to all the humps and bumps, a blue wave washed over us last week too. That was like a soothing salve for my bruises. In it, I observed hope seeping in like pockets of clarity in the liquid fog that is the resevoir of our collective consciousness. The muck and the myre that so often can seem overwhelming. It is so important to think about how our responses to negative stimuli affect others. Consciously deciding what type of energy we bring (or drain) from any given situation, regardless of the insanity that might surround us, it is of immense value and certainly worth practicing. Staying the course in the storms. Sometimes I think it might be the only way to defeat the bottom line feeders that seem to be in charge of so much at the moment - those who are obviously abusing their power to the point of grotesque.
On a lighter note: last week, Marshall and I got home from deinstalling The Troika in Tivoli where they lived at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park for the past 5 months or so late Thursday evening. They slept in the truck overnight and then Friday morning, after we unloaded them, we used the truck to go pick up 5 trees in Teaneck, NJ. Three glorious Japanese maples, a white pine and a superbly scented cedar, each 8-10’ tall.
Our friends didn’t have room for them and were hoping to find them forever homes outside of their massive pots - we were more than happy to oblige. We successfully brought them home in the truck, laying them gently on their sides, then we used the tractor to place them in the locations we wanted to plant them (that was on Saturday, and it took pretty much all day). Our Sunday was spent planting them all before too much time passed (the ground will freeze here tonight). Even with help from our tractor, my back is making terrible noises and filing a number of complaints, it is offended and disgruntled from the backbreaking work of planting the new friends, who already, after just one night, look ecstatic to have their roots in the earth. It must be like a dream come true for them to have their roots unbound, no longer threatening to suffocate them. To begin exploring the land in which they have landed. Despite my dissonent back symphony, my mental health is much improved between planting the trees, mucking about in the dirt, much inspiration in the studio, progress on Wicked Monstrous and the curatorial work, AND the blue wave crashing on the shore of my mindscape.
In lieu of the usual singular image of a piece of my artwork, I am sharing a few images from the catalog for the exhibition Creative Responses that is now in Iceland at the Akureyri Art Museum. It arrived here in the mail on Friday and gave me such a boost! What a surprise! I had no idea that a detail of Eternal Crush — one of my welded post-consumer plastic wall pieces would be on the cover. Some really beautiful poetic work in this exhibition if you happen to be in Iceland.
I am so grateful to the amazingly talented and thoughtful artist Thordis Adalsteinsdottir for putting Creative Responses together.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK
To reduce your plastic (and carbon) footprint:
Did you notice there is no plastic involved? I love that they take pride in the omission of plastique to this degree. (Is it me or are more and more mainstream companies forgoing thin, glassy, wildly unnecessary outer plastic membranes?) The frustration of buying a box of glorious looking tea only to bring it home, open it up and find the tea bags inside are wrapped in separate little plastic/mylar pouches - or even worse that the tea is in synthetic mesh bags. What in the world. Such an awful idea, steeping thin plastic in hot water to drink with hopes that the benefits of the herbs in the bags won’t be overshadowed by forever chemicals. (Nothing says; “May all your endocrines be disrupted” better - save microwaving plastic I guess.) Anyway, if you are like me and tend to drink a lot of tea in the winter and fall, you can buy boxes in bulk, direct from Celestial Seasonings while saving a nice amount of $ to spend on other winter pick me ups. My brother gave me a massive quantity of Zingers for Christmas one year - it was a great gift that lasted years. Zingers make great sun tea in the summer! (Add mint, lemon, honey, maybe even a few thin slices of ginger and you are in for a refreshing treat!) Recently, I’ve rediscovered Bengal Spice which is a warm and comforting flavor - as well as Sleepytime, a soft and dreamy way to end any challenging day. Drink up kids.