Lucky.

I'm feeling pretty lucky right now. Something kinda ugly (like this lil' guy) became something beautiful.

After a bout with advanced encephalitis from mononeucleosis, my lil' lil' bro, Caleb, is alive and well. We were pretty scared for a while though. The doctors were scared too. The one other patient the neurologist had treated with this condition died. Yikes.

So after this week of long, beep-filled nights, fluorescent lights, long drives, and even longer waits for answers, Caleb is coming home. All the commotion has settled down, bringing the walls to my emotions down with it. Seeing images of him posted on Facebook made my eyes well up. "I almost lost him," I thought. "I could be looking at this image as holding someone who I can no longer physically hold in my arms." More yikes.

The beauty in this fungus of a situation is the renewed appreciation I have for life, the hypersensitivity to just how precious my family is to me, and the heightened awareness of how little time there is to waste (which would be none). I'm also grateful for the stronger bond I've formed with not only my family, but also the people around me who gave so much love and support. And as it relates to my work, I feel more empowered to put my ideas (and ideals) into practice. I feel a manifesto arising...

Hell was good to me...

...and to the gulf oil spill response. At Strange Daze this Sunday I raised $80 for OCEANA through the sales of my art work. Yeah-yers! And that $80 will be matched by a "supporter." Thank you Diesha, Angelyn, and Michelle for taking home my art stuffs and helping me help a cause I'm crazy about.

Boxed Water is...

...ridiculous. And so am I for buying it, for giving into my weakness for good packaging and an environmentally-friendly hook. I think it was the line, "Our boxes are recyclable where facilities exist (recyclecartons.com)..." that made me pull out the 2 bucks to take this carton-o-goodness home. Recyclable cartons were news to me, and I was all about supporting the cause.

Unfortunately, upon returning home I found out that the site was UK-based and carton recycling locations in the states are dispersed at best. In Georgia, there are 4 places to recycle this well-designed con, all of which I'll have to burn fossil fuel to get it there. Sigh.

But all is not for naught. Falling victim to green marketing for the umpteenth time compelled me to make something out of this by recording my exploration in life-after-making-boutique art and figuring out how I can best use my talents and passions to help someone other than myself.

So from ARTlantis (June) until this week, I've taken a hiatus from making art outside of my jobbie job. I've spent QT with friends, family, myself, and nature. I've researched how to make my studio and my entire life less wasteful. I'm not 100% clear on exactly what I'm doing yet, but you can bet this carton will be involved in one sliced-and-adhered way or another.