solstice dispatch
an owl in the evening, a bunny in the night.
it’s the solstice. this screened in patio was once a bird cage and is now being converted to a ceramics work area and outdoor kitchen space. it’s coming along slowly but is finally pretty usable & maybe by the next dispatch i’ll have a graywater sink set up. i have been pouring over youtube videos about firing ceramics without a kiln. trying to start doing monthly -ish firings with my friend to get the hang of it. i love this one made of bricks and charcoal briquettes.
an owl in the evening.
tis the season for piles of sticks. here’s a painting of a pile of sticks with a bunny in the night. it’s noisy & a lot to look at in front of all the other work but it helps me somehow to see it all together while its still unfinished. disorder reigns.
speaking of painting, i came across this quote by picasso (who i am generally pretty skeptical of) on accident. it reminded me of this :
the person who (allegedly) wrote the digital caption to this graffiti in portland is an artist who i’ve always found to have some of the bravest things to say. as i step away from engaging in social media the way i was, as christmas nears, as festivities and celebrations for new beginnings come to a head, it feels important to see & share things like this. i love artists. i also think artists have both the power and responsibility to use their g*d-given gifts of self-expression to say something that actually matters. and my hot take is that this is especially true for artists who are going to participate in the economic side of being an artist during the holidays. if artists can’t speak toward liberation, who can? if artists can ask for your money but shy away from disclosing their political position in hopes it’ll generate more income, what’s the fucking point? to put more agreeable things into the busted, inequitable, decaying market?
here’s a christmas related read i felt moved by– joy to the world: why i’m an anarchist by éireann lorsung.
in beyond cursed and evil news, an israeli real estate firm is already marketing flattened gaza for beachfront development. and somehow i’m still having trouble explaining to some people in my life why the israeli genocide of palestinians is worth talking about.
poem by palestinian poet khaled juma.
nativity scene at the lutheran church of bethlehem in the occupied west bank.
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and now i guess here’s my christmas card. tidings of comfort and joy are under the rubble of empirical power and militarization. free palestine from occupation. us imperialism paved the way for this all. from gaza to arizona, an end to borders & settler colonialism.
this world is broken and the more deeply i learn of this fact the more my heart hurts for it. peace on earth & joy to the world.
