I'm sure many of you are feeling as I am - a combination of heart break, horror and helplessness regarding the oil spill off the gulf of Louisiana. Try as I might, images of spring time life being slicked with crude oil haunts my inner eye and fury at the thought of 'drill baby drill' mentality just about makes me want to scream. But what good would that do?
To maintain my sanity I am avoiding as much of the news about this as I can, but I went in search of ways to help. I'm not hearing about masses of volunteers flocking to New Orleans, but I am hearing about how the fishermen that are now out of work need jobs. BP is responsible for taking away the livelihood of these fishermen that their families have relied on for generations. The claim is they will be employing them and getting the clean up rolling but so far all these now grounded men are doing is waiting... I'm sure there are 'reasons' beyond my simplistic thinking, but in the mean time politics and big business seem to be over riding common sense and decency.Anyway, in my search to did find ways to help, I came across this article from CNN which lists volunteer opportunities and organizations that are on the ground helping. All I can do is send a donation, but I doubt that will get the images out of my brain...
click on images for closer view
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thank you for this image, and your words...somehow they lessen the helpless, hopeless feelings that threaten to overwhelm those of us living near this part of the world.
ReplyDeletePowerful image, Karin. Thanks for the link, too. Just makes me so sad.
ReplyDeleteWould that we cogs could do something mighty but we cant! our hands are tied. what a sad mess they have and will have for months to come - years before oysters regrow! If you havent read do try to find a copy of "the living dock at panacea" by Jack Rudloe. Its a wonderful book on the marine life (that will be wiped out this week) around panacea fla. your mandala is so to the point! thanks for speaking for us cogs! lyle
ReplyDeletesuch a strong work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for offering information here Karin...Your imagery is so powerful as always.
ReplyDeleteSo so sad...there is so much pain and sorrow in this world, along with the beauty and joy. It does feel so unbalanced somedays, with the scales tipped to the horrors...
ReplyDeletehelp were we can, send love and whatever hope we can...all our loving spirits can do...
Big Love to you and all of us...
I had not heard of the oil slick but have seen images of oil slicks that have happened else where in the past. I remember seeing film footage of vets cleaning the oil off birds, the carnage floating lifeless on top of the water. It really is horrific and a terrible waste of life and beauty. These MNC's and Governments that the MNC's have in their pockets need to act responsible and with accountability.
ReplyDeleteYet you continue to amaze me how you manage to produce such beautiful work out the emotions you feel about your own life and life events outside of immediate sphere of influence. You have much talent.
I hope that you are well and your treatment is proving successful as it nears its ending xxJ
you have portrayed it well with your art.
ReplyDeleteBP is already paying the fishermen in LA. Not sure if they are covering the fishermen of Texas (hope so).
I think the eateries may be the ones coming up short for income
It is rolling in here too, sad to know it will just keep on coming and growing, there went the tourist season too.
This crying coastal thanks you and all who are helping
This piece complements your da Vinci quote in the sidebar beautifully.
ReplyDeleteAs I meditate on this latest environmental violence I find myself turning to my practice of Tonglen.
I donate to the organizations that I know are on the ground, at all times, to assist our precious environment.
And I remember in the wise ways there is no us and them. We are deeply addicted to fossil fuels...all of us are. Living without using fossil fuel is like trying to go through the day without using something made in China....nearly impossible.
All sentient beings will benefit when we begin to invest in renewables rather than trying to ride this dead end technology any further.
Your powerful work is doing what art does best...going Beyond words.
Karin, thanks for posting about this. It is so hard to know what is happening and about to happen because of this spill. I just heard on the radio that they are finding oil covered birds. Very sad. I am going to try not to watch because it is heartbreaking what they show. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting the link.
ReplyDeleteI have been torn between tears and anger, absolutely heartbroken.
That evil chant, 'Drill baby drill' is echoing in my head and just tics me off.
Thank you Stacy, that is really the most I could hope to have happen with this post...
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Liz - I know, it saddens me so, too. sigh.
thanks for the book recommendation Lyle - I'm not sure now would be the best time for me to read it though. I'm sure it would only make me more depressed about what's happening down there! here's hoping the cogs come together to move the machine in a new direction!
many thanks Valerie and Laura. xo
yes, the fullness of it all is here, Kim. May all that big love help heal this big old planet and all in it ❤
Hi Jasmine, well, this appears to be the worst ecological catastrophe ever in the US - and it's growing still...
thank you for your healing thoughts - I have 3 rounds of chemo to go, and then the radiation will begin, so I'm moving forward, slowly but surely! xox K
Hi Paige - I guess it depends on who you listen to. The fishermen I heard interviewed yesterday haven't received any support yet, though promises were made, and continue to be made by BP. It sounded like that was the most frustrating aspect - they want to work, but are sitting watching oil spread and nothing being done, with many able bodied hands available...
You are so right Donna - we are all so deeply ingrained in oil dependency - like it or not. Very few people are living 100% off the grid, and it's nearly impossible for those who would like to. But together we can all move away from that dependence, rather than continually doing the same thing.
We must pressure our senators and congress people, pressure the prez to halt his plans for drilling expansion, and ask that he start putting his campaigning plans into action, creating alternative energy resources and jobs for the people in this country. Power to the people ;~)
I know Gloria - and I heard that 20 sea turtles have washed up dead on the beach... it's a massacre. We have warnings and can stay away from harm - but wildlife? ? ?
I hear your frustration kaerryanne - I hope you'll channel it into letting people in power know that you want change!! It's really all we can do - and send what ever we can to those on the ground doing the heart breaking hands on work.
Thanks everyone, for your understanding and support - together we can initiate change. xox Karin
I discovered a wonderful organization, Matter Of Trust, that uses human hair and animal fur to weave into mats that soak up the oil.
ReplyDeleteIt's spring and that means my Siberian husky Maya is blowing her coat. I've filled and sent a HUGE Hefty garbage bag off, and working on filling bag #2.
Thank you for giving voice to what we are all feeling. It really is too horrible for words. Your mandala expresses the fear and sadness and anger that overwhelms me.
ReplyDeleteKarin,
ReplyDeleteThis is such a strong piece. I live down in the south. This makes me angry also and sad. The fishermen are saying they will go to work for BP to help clean up because they will not have jobs. What about our wildlife and all the wonderful sea creatures. Our Earth....
Love,
Katelen
The anger I have been holding in is overwhelming and your skulls and cross bones fit the images perfectly. BP should pay and support these fishermen and their families because this fragile ecosystem was in trouble before this even happened. I know we could have been out of this oil dependency if it weren't for the cash influences from the oil companies. Take care of yourself and I am sending you hugs. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
ReplyDeleteGee, I hope oil spills don't happen in threes! We just recently had one - right on top of the Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world (here's an article about it)!
ReplyDeleteSo very sad, and devastating for the environment and all the creatures living in the area. :(
working it out in image, well done and thanks for the links, love! xo
ReplyDeleteIt is an awful catastrophe, Karin, and I so hope for the time when we are able to live in harmony with Gaia rather than destroying her. `They' have the knowledge to do so but their greed is preventing it. So very sad for the people and the planet. Thanks for sharing. xx
ReplyDeletePS ... Your art work really speaks volumes! xx
ReplyDeleteabssolutely sickening! not your artwork of course. If there is any beauty in it, it is only in your heart and in the art you share.
ReplyDeleteStrong imagery. There is a resonance here. -J
ReplyDeleteVery powerful piece Karin. Man's greed continues to devestate the lives of people and wildlife and we all need to fight against such exploitation of resources and humanity. You expressed your horror but also your hope, beautifully x
ReplyDeleteKarin - this piece you have done captures my feelings on the subject. It is so sad, and doubly so when you think that we really should have evolved into careful stewards of our little planet by this time. But my hands aren't clean in this. I drive a car that runs on fossil fuel. I can't watch it on TV. It's too awful.
ReplyDeletePowerful image, we need so to put our energies out there for positive change, for all those technologies that do no harm. Thanks for sharing all your feelings on this crisis.
ReplyDeleteHi Em, that is a cool link - thanks - I have a bunch of no longer wearable real hair wigs I could send them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharmon, it does seem to have struck a cord. I wish it could do more...
It must be that much harder, living in the region Katelen. I know the fishermen are desperate for work - and who knows how many years this will effect the fishing, shrimping, and oyster bays... but yes, there is no way to warn the wild life - to help them move from harm's way. sending hope and love, Karin
Yes, once again we are in a position of too little too late - we have the technology to be less reliant, in not free of oil dependency and all I can hope is that this incident will propel that into happening sooner than later. After all, it was part of Obama's campaigning platform = not expansion of drilling. argh!!! xox
Lord, I hope not too Svasti - our most beautiful and vulnerable places n the planet do not need to be threatened further by us humans...
yeah, trying to anyway Cat!! I think I need to do a few more :) xox
I agree Carol Anne - 100%. Thank you xox
Thanks Peggy, I know - it is sickening to me, too...
Thank you Jayne.
Hi Penny, yes, I feel like we are trapped in the greed element - which leads to the universal dependence that we can't get around! Try as I might, driving my hybrid, I still need gas; heat & power my home in less than ideal ways; buy products that are made by lord knows what means... sadly, we each play a role, like it or not. But we can vote for change, and use our purchasing dollars as proactively as possible! I do have moments of hope - I'm glad you saw that in my piece, too. xox
Hi Pam, I know what you mean - as angry as I am, I almost feel some guilt in the whole problem as well, knowing I have a dependence on the poisonous stuff... Thanks for visiting.
Amen to that Corrine!! Putting our energies towards positive change is the best thing we can do - thank you for that statement. xo
Karin ... Thank you for this ... As always, your perspective is so balanced ... You offer a beautiful creation, even as it depicts a horrific situation ... and you offer the CNN site ... With all that you have gone through, your spirit always rings true and strong. Bless you xxoxoxoxo
ReplyDeleteI've been offline for a while -- our computer went belly-up last week -- crashed totally ... All's up and running again, but we're on a new system and I'm feeling like a rank beginner all over again. Whee!
Hopefully I'll be blogging again within a few days.
Sending you huge love, and as always, healing thoughts ... and a deep bow to you for your creation here. It has me weeping.
About 20 years ago there was an oil spill in Georgian Bay, which is about four hours from where I live, and a landscape I've revered all my life. I just about lost my mind imagining the ruination being done ... ditto this latest horror.
There's something very wrong with a world in which ordinary people have to send donations to help clean up a mess that was caused by a corporation so bloated with cash that we can't begin to imagine the greed ...
Love you xoxoxoxo
This one evokes such emotion in me. The skull and crossbones, the rush of oil, the fish and birds. Oh my, Karin. Such a tragedy with a long-lasting effect. :(
ReplyDeleteThis happening is causing so much harm to animals, humans and nature, it´s so sad and so tragic.
ReplyDeleteAs usual you captured the situation SO well in your mandala. Great work, Karin.
xoxoxo Bettina
The loop current is threatening the coast of Florida and more now. The greedy bastards make me so angry! The birds ,the nesting and migration , the white sandy beaches...my heart is crying. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
ReplyDeletebeautiful... love this. have been out of the loop and in my own loop lately... i feel like i am in a box with cotton in my ears... some of the noise seeps in... but most of it sounds muffled. i am glad you are making art about it! lots of love to you. hope we can talk soon. xoj
ReplyDeletethat's cool - my word verification was "mendings"...
Oooh! I DO NOT like bones, skeletons and skulls. I just don't. I am sorry.
ReplyDelete