Sorry this blog has been still for a few weeks. There is certainly no shortage of stuff to share, but truth be told, we have been so busy working hands-on, in the real world, that this news-source has suffered. I apologize, and promise to get right back to it now that the smoke has cleared. We have been working hard, writing articles for our local paper about what's going on with the people and the volunteer groups in the Gulf, we have been working every day to finish the trailer for the documentary and get everything ready for the show. We had the opening reception on Saturday evening, and so many people came out. I could see that the paintings, photos and film moved and affected them deeply, and I was very grateful to be able to see that response first-hand.

"We had a great tme, and I could tell people really GOT the show. ♥ A lot of people came out, watched the trailer, asked good questions, and I even sold a piece! :D But the really exciting thing is that it's running for almost another month, and so you can come and really look at it and process it all. They're bringing classes of school kids in, and I am going to be there to answer questions after they see the show and watch the documentary trailer. We have a panel discussion on the 7th as well. One of the other artists in the show, Connie Bostic will be there and Q, X and I to talk about the experience and answer question. It thrills me that people want to KNOW!"

Connie's work makes such an incredible, powerful impression, especially with hand-written quotes, pulled from the news of those first days after Katrina literally written on the walls above her paintings. This haunting body of work was gleaned from memories of images she saw on the news in the days following the storm, and her own emotional reaction to them. Bill Rosen's almost life-sized photos of personal destruction in his own home in New Orleans effected viewers mightily. When they noticed where the high water line was in the house and saw the piles of ruined objects that looked just like the things in their own homes, you could see the reality sink in a little deeper. It's not unimaginable, but it does help to have that artist hold your hand and gently but strongly lead you through that door so that it is easier for you to imagine and to face the truth of it.

People said a lot of things about our work too, things I hope I never forget, but the comments that made the biggest impression on me were, regarding my photos, that I seemed to really capture the spirit of the people and the land there, and what they are really going through; and regarding the film, that we managed to keep it non-political. That was important to us all along, and I am grateful that people saw that and immediately commented on it. They said, in various ways, "this is about ALL of us." It is.
Now the real work begins. Finishing the full-length film and buckling down for the long haul. There is so much still to be done. Hurricane season is just now really cranking up - there are two category 1 storms in the Atlantic right now, and years worth of work ahead of us - decades, maybe a lifetime's. I am hoping that what we're doing now is inspiring others to look at it the same way, and helping the ones who are living through it have some hope.