Spoke at UNCA about the relationship of my work to activism. Poet, Alli Marshall, wrote an article about my work. We were surprised when the Asheville weekly, “Mountain Express” featured one of my photos on the cover of the newspaper. I got a chance to meet new people from the community.
On January 21st, I went with Kimberly to the Women’s March here in Asheville. People gathered slowly. I had heard a lot of women say they were not going because they were afraid it might become violent. So we were really surprised when large crowds seemed to materialize out of thin air.
Transforming Hate: An Artist’s Book, was completed this year, eight years after it was started. We did not know if it was possible, but in March we pushed to get a few copies ready for an April PHOTO+CRAFT presentation. Entitled “Making and Meaning: Photobooks and the Social Fabric”, this Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center panel with Alejandro Cartagena, was one of thirteen events organized by Warren Wilson College here in Asheville.
The “Transforming Hate” book was published recently. The working title was “The Proposal” almost right up until it went on the press. The work on the book evolved over an eight-year period. I want to share some of the steps that I took in order to make the book. I’m hoping that in the process I can see more clearly why a price of $50 for the book does not begin to cover the cost of producing it.
The things that I’m finding solace in—that have become nurturing for me—seem so trivial and mundane in the face of all the news. I don’t feel immune to any of the violence, the fighting, the anger, the fear, the taking of human life that is erupting all over the world. It’s just not what I want to talk or write about. I feel like my discussing violence and abuse won’t stop it from happening, yet we desperately need to talk.
I’m so excited that I can now move into and organize my newly renovated studio space. We’ve been working on that space since we moved into the house in January 2011. At that time, frigid air just blew right through the old windows and doors. So I taped sheets of clear plastic over them. However, the strong winds blew the plastic sheets off the windows so I re-taped the plastic onto the cinder block walls every few days.
This blog will be about my work, fundraising for my Transforming Hate Project, building and settling into a new studio workspace, the garden, notes about other artist projects.