Desert- and Swamp-busters: Community Gardens

The Artdog Image of Interest

Last week's Image of Interest focused on the problem of food deserts and food swamps. This week, I'd like to focus on one of the solutions that can be used to combat them: the growing movement to create and cultivate--in ALL senses of the word--community gardens.

Community gardens are becoming increasingly popular for more very good reasons. Beyond helping lower-income communities stretch their food budgets and gain access to healthy food, which would be enough in itself, they:

Make good use of previously-vacant (often trash-plagued) plots of land. This is efficient, fights blight, and discourages crime.

Teach people of all ages practical skills they can use to improve their lives. This is why they're an outstanding project for schools.

Bring communities together, because there's nothing like gardening side-by-side to promote people talking with each other, creating friendships, and sharing ideas or skills.

Yes, I know it's getting on toward winter in the Northern Hemisphere. But winter is the time to PLAN gardens. The infographic below, which promotes the annual Project Orange Thumb, sponsored by Fiskars, offers good starter tips. If you think you'd like to apply for Project Orange Thumb, the next call for applications probably will go out in January.





IMAGES: Many thanks to Suburban Stone Age, via Pinterest, for the image-with-quote about tomatoes, and to Fiskars' Project Orange Thumb, for the infographic about community gardening. 

Design fiction and science fiction

Have you ever heard of design fiction? WALDENLABS' John Robb explains it this way: "Design fiction is a way for designers and artists to visually depict the future in inspiring ways. Typically, design fiction is associated with how technology will change our future." But in my opinion he misses an important aspect of design fiction with this definition.

Robb offers examples of companies that are developing products, and have put together videos to show how those products might be used in the future. He suggested that one by Corning, "A Day Made of Glass," is an excellent example. Check it out here:



It was made in 2011, but it still looks pretty futuristic (except in a few of the ways that women are portrayed--did you catch them? Some are subtle, others quite blatant). What struck me most forcibly however, was how old that "art form" of design fiction by companies making products really is, and how it actually misses the mark if you want to think of it as "art."

Robb conflates corporate "design fiction" with science fiction, pointing to Star Trek's best-known innovations, communicators (leading to the development of cell phones), and glass computers (later realized as touchscreens). SF readers need not look far to point out other innovations first portrayed in science fiction.

Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and his shipmates used an inspiring computer unlike anything the 1960s had seen before. Star Trek wasn't created to sell computers (or cell phones), however.

But corporate design fiction is created for different reasons from those that give birth to science fiction. If you followed my October Images of Interest, you saw several examples of corporate design fiction, especially in regard to kitchens, cars, and houses. They present fascinating glimpses, but they were made primarily as marketing tools, to create brand identity and to sell the companies' products of that day, by association with their futuristic visions.

Science fiction offers a viewpoint, too, of course. Each individual science fiction writer has developed his or her own unique viewpoints (yes, often more than one). But science fiction is not primarily designed to preach, teach, or sell products.

Our wheelhouse, we must always remember, is to shine a light on new thoughts, ideas, and potential problems . . . and also always to entertain, beguile, and if possible, enrich our readers' lives. If those technological wonders we invent in the course of doing that become real someday, well, that's icing on the cake.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Corning via YouTube, for the "A Day Made of Glass" video, and to Subspace Communique for the photo of Mr. Spock and his computer.

Mindfulnes is key

The Artdog Quote of the Week

If ever there was a good argument for staying alert and practicing mindfulness, this is a great one. Whyte has focused a spotlight on an important principle of the human experience.

My Quotes of the Week during the past three Mondays have focused on maintaining an attitude of hope and gratitude in the face of adversity. It's hard to do, but it's important work, both in our personal lives and in the public discourse. I'm confident that, unfortunately, we'll get plenty more practice as time goes forward.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Flowing Free for this quote from David Whyte. 

Deserts and Swamps: a closer look at food insecurity

The Artdog Image of Interest

Do you know what a food desert is? What about a food swamp? Do you live near one?

They exist in all kinds of places, including rural areas, where you really wouldn't expect them--but viewing an area in terms of food deserts and food swamps is a way to key in on some root causes of food insecurity.

We can join in the effort to fight this trend. First, support community gardens, and efforts to bring farmers markets to low-income areas near you. A quick Internet-search should offer local options.

Also, pay attention to how poverty-stricken communities in your area are treated. I really hope you'll encourage your civic leaders to remember that poor people are people. People with rights, like everyone else. It's a myth that most are lazy or poor because they made bad choices. Most people who are born into poverty must overcome huge obstacles to climb out of it.

Another good way to fight food deserts and swamps is to advocate for programs such as SNAP, the US government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is part of the Farm Bill, renewed every five years (including now!).

And in the meantime, contribute to local food banks. Again, they're only an Internet search away.

This infographic may be focused on a particular region, but it's instructive as an example in a broader sense, offering a snapshot of the problem's impact.

IMAGES: Many thanks to AZ Quotes for the quote image featuring author Michael Pollan, and to Brown is the New Pink blog, for passing along the infographic on food deserts and swamps.

In search of Thanksgiving peace

That's the point of Thanksgiving, isn't it? To break bread together, to join with each other over a table of plenty (or at least, we hope, "enough"), to mend fences, to heal wounds, and to come together.

But we live in a rough time. Post-election, wounds are still raw. Gains and losses are still bitter. And many peoples' Thanksgivings will be times of strife, if we're not careful. So, then, what to do?

I'd hope that we'll seek the more excellent way (I Corinthians 12:31), or in other words, the way of love. I started this month with All Saints and All Souls Day references to honoring our ancestors. Yet for many younger people the necessity of dealing with still-living ancestors and/or elders can become quite a trial.

The reverse quite often is true, too. Older people may have little patience with the things their younger family members value. This is mostly because they don't understand them, and may even be afraid of them. But they, too, need to remember the way of love.

Both sides seem all too short on respect for the other, too much of the time. But the way of love is a way of respect. It's an attitude that sets aside the assumptions of failings and seeks out, then abides in the places of agreement. A good start is simply to listen. To seek to hear, more than to be heard.

Only by setting part of our pride, our sense of controlling the situation, and our drive to force others to agree with us, do we find a place of mutual acceptance and peace. It behooves us to remember Wayne Dyer's thought.

Only when we're willing to step back from conflict can we truly be at peace with each other. Unfortunately, the hosts too often have to intervene with "rules of conduct in our house." One of my Beloved's elders banished all talk of religion and politics from her household on Thanksgiving. It worked, because they all respected Grandma.

But however we do it, we must remember and honor the soul-work of the table, the giving work of the cook(s), and the purpose of this day.

All of us have more to be thankful for than we have reasons to despise each other. Let us strive to remember that, and to act on it.

IMAGES: Many thanks to The Way International for the "Breaking Bread Together" graphic; to Oprah's Pinterest page, for the quote-image from Iyanla Vanzant; to Quotemaster, for both the quotes from Gertrude Stein and from Gloria Steinem; to QuotePixel for the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi; to Brainy Quote for the wisdom from Wayne Dyer; and to the World Food Program USA on Pinterest, via World Vision and its HungerFree initiative for the Laurie Colwin quote. Many thanks to all of them!

Where's your focus?

The Artdog Quote of the Week

It's been shown that optimists tend to be healthier and live longer than pessimists. But are optimists born, or do they cultivate their attitude? If one is a pessimist "by nature," is that person doomed?

No, in fact. Resistance to pessimistic thoughts is not futile. Resiliency can be learned. It doesn't matter how horrible you think things are, bright spots exist. Look for them. Cultivate them. Foster positive things. Where life persists, hope is possible, but it depends on all of us and our choices.

It ultimately comes down to a basic choice: hope or despair. Where would you rather focus? Which would you rather pursue?

IMAGES: Many thanks to Kush and Wizdom's Tumblr, for this quote image.

Banned! Too political, they said.

The Artdog Image of Interest

Normally when we think of a banned book or other communication, we assume it's considered pornographic or inflammatory. And of course we immediately become curious, if we're most people.

But . . . they banned a supermarket chain's Christmas ad, designed for children, as "too political" to broadcast in the UK.

Say what?

This week's Image of Interest is a video whose story kind of begs for me to pass it on. Yes, it's designed for kids, and yes, it does make a strong point. Whether or not that point is a dangerous or political point, I'll let you decide. It just might be the most adorable banned video you'll ever see.





You see, the point isn't about a political party or a politician. It doesn't consist of hate speech, and it's not inciting anyone to rise up in rebellion against the government. It's not attempting to inhibit any unalienable human rights.

It's about deforestation and habitat loss due to palm oil cultivation and production, and it's also about orangutans, topics I've addressed on this blog within recent months. What it does have the audacity to do is point out a problem that is widely acknowledged in scientific and environmental circles, and largely ignored or unknown by the general public.

I consider it my honor and privilege to spread this message as far as my humble little blog can spread it. It appears that lots of others feel the same way I did. The world's caring people need to learn about, and pay more attention to this problem, before all the Pongo Faces are gone forever.

IMAGE/VIDEO: Many thanks to Iceland Foods, Greenpeace, Australia's The New Daily, and YouTube, for access to this banned video.

Influences: the quilts and quilters of Gee's Bend

I remember when my sister, the quilter in the family, first showed me pictures of several quilts from Gee's Bend at some point in the mid-2000s. They were strikingly beautiful, and unlike anything I'd seen before. Lots of other people thought so, too, when they were first exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2002.

Many people were astounded and delighted when they got their first looks at the now-famous Gee's Bend quilts. In 2006 they were featured on United States postage stamps.

Like many people, I was fascinated by the dynamic asymmetry of these designs, such a different approach to the formal balance found in most traditional quilt patterns.

If you've grown up with quilts as I have, the first thing that leaps to mind when someone says "patchwork quilt" is the formal balance of traditional patterns such as the Six-Pointed Star Medallion Quilt (2017) from Catbird Quilts at left, or the Hoedown grid quilt by Codysnana, from The Spruce Crafts at right.

We artists and art lovers seek and create bridges to meaning by linking what we know to things we have not previously seen. Thus, I understand the comparisons to the work of Color Field artists such as Barnett Newman, or artists associated with Geometric Abstraction, such as Frank Stella or Josef Albers, by art critics commenting on the earliest shows. They had few other points of reference in their universe (not being conversant with West African textiles, apparently).

They could've Googled it: this screen grab shows the results of a Google Image Search for "West African Textiles."

Of course, an argument can be and has been made that, particularly in the white-male-dominated world of the New York art scene in the early "uh-ohs" (well pre-#MeToo) there were more than a few people flabbergasted that impoverished, isolated black women could actually come up with such stunning and masterful designs, all by themselves.

Well, suck it up, guys. White men didn't invent ALL the good things after all. (Truth be told, there are those who will point out that they actually didn't even invent as many of those good things as they claim . . . but that's a whole 'nother blog post).

Bottom line: the women of Gee's Bend are the real deal, even if they didn't go to art school or study "the masters." But it's also true that they didn't get into the Whitney, and thereby onto the world stage, all by themselves.

They got there through the efforts of a white man from Atlanta, named William "Bill" Arnett, and as with all help from white men, the longer one looks at his work and treatment of the outsider artists he discovered, the more questions arise. There are those who intimate or outright claim exploitation. Certainly, the licensing of those images for postage stamps didn't filter back to Gee's Bend, for one example among many.

Bill Arnett, of course, has his own version of events. And you certainly can't say he didn't have a nose for talent. Not only did he discover and share the Gee's Bend quilts with the world, but lightning struck at least twice. He's also the man who discovered Thornton Dial and mentored him into world-class artist scene. Arnett continues to champion the cause of African art, with his Souls Grown Deep Foundation.

No matter who paid for what, licensed what, or what settlements were reached in the aftermath, one thing we must say is that, whatever their influences, the quilters of Gee's Bend have become influential in their own right. They only came to the attention of the world in 2002, so we still don't even yet know how or what or where their influence will go, but already they've become established deep in the aesthetic consciousness of contemporary African American art. Younger African American artists know Gee's Bend is a place where their roots run deep.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, 2018, the official portrait of the former First Lady, by Amy Sherald.

At left, the "Runway version" of the Milly dress by Michelle Smith; at right, a variety of Gee's Bend quilt designs.

For one example, a younger Amy Sherald, whose work I profiled last spring, and who was recently chosen to create the official portrait of Michelle Obama for the National Portrait Gallery, attended that 2002 Whitney show. Sherald says part of the reason she chose to use the Michelle Smith-designed Milly dress for the portrait was the way it reminded her of the Gee's Bend quilts.

I predict that the echoes of influence aren't finished reverberating through generations (and artworks) to come.

IMAGES: Many thanks to The Textile Research Centre of Leiden, for the montage of Gee's Bend quilt postage stamp designs; to Catbird Quilts, via Pinterest, for the gorgeous Six-Pointed Star Medallion Quilt, and to The Spruce Crafts by Codysnana, via Pinterest, for the photo of the very striking Hoedown pattern grid quilt. The screen grab of West African Textile Patterns is from a Google Image Search. I want to thank the New York Times for the almost-15-minute video "While I Yet Live," which includes comments from the quilters about their history, and lots of images of their wonderful quilts. Finally, I am indebted to Decor Arts Now, for the photo of the Michelle Obama portrait, the Milly dress, and several suggestive quilt patterns. I also want to thank Decor Arts for the photos of the Michelle Obama portrait, as well as the photos regarding the "influence elements" of the Milly dress and a collection of representative Gee's Bend quilt designs.

Don't forget your umbrella!

The Artdog Quote of the Week 

I'd describe this past week as one heck of a storm--especially in southern California (with Thousand Oaks in the center of the bullseye). If ever we needed an umbrella against the disaster-storm, it's now.

But, gratitude? Really? 

That's a pretty hard ask, in a country that's seen raging weather but continued denial of climate change, ever-deepening political divides, and seemingly more gun violence every day. This may be the season of Thanksgiving, but it's often hard to find solid reasons for hope.

Well, we all need to suck it up. We can never afford to give in to apathy--not if we ever want things to get better. There are bright spots in the darkest places. It's our job to shelter and foster those little flames of hope so they can grow.

So look around, be positive and think creatively. Let's explore all the ways that we can improve our world.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Emotionally Resilient Living for this evocative image. It comes from a a whole page of great strategies for building and keeping a positive attitude. 

100 years since the War to End all Wars

Unfortunately, it didn't end all wars. It barely paused them, as we know too well today. But let us stop for a moment today to consider all of those who have died to defend our freedoms, and all the decisions--both foolish and wise--that have been taken in regard to war and its waging, since that day.

I live in the metro area that's home to the National World War I Museum and Memorial (they don't all have to be in Washington, DC!), where they've been rolling out a massive retrospective and display after display as the 100-year anniversaries of various battles and other events from that war unfold. Now we've come to the centennial of the end of that war. Yes, it's a big deal.

The National World War I Museum and Memorial's celebration of the centennial of the Armistice currently includes a projection of several images, including the striking poppies, on the Memorial obelisk at night.

One hundred years ago today . . . what was it like? Here's a gallery of images from that day.

The signing ceremony that sealed the Armistice: Image by Maurice Pillard Verneuil - Maurice Pillard Verneuil, Kamu Malı, 

American soldiers in the field (64th Regiment of the 7th Division) celebrate news of the Armistice. This photo is from the U.S. Army - U.S. National Archive, Public Domain.

Celebrants riding a bus in London, while waving arms and flags.

Jubilant women show their delight in Sydney, Australia on Armistice Day.

People turned out in a somewhat impromptu but clearly delighted crowd in Vincennes, France once they heard the news.

Americans back home also turned out in force to march, wave flags, and generally spread their joy.

There are many more such photos to be seen and enjoyed online. I particularly appreciated Mashable's collection (which includes some of the images I chose, but has a lot more, too). 

It may seem simple-minded to say this, but war is bad. It's terrible for the fighters, the civilians caught in the middle, and the environment, too. Unfortunately, it also can be good for some types of industries, companies, leaders, and governments, so we can never allow our vigilance to wane.

It's especially hard to remember how awful war is, when you've been at peace for a while. I hope you'll look back, enjoy these photos from a different time, and pay particular attention to the joy and intense relief in the people's faces. Ending this war was good for all of them, because war is humankind's worst invention, and they'd just had a long, ugly taste of it.

Celebrate, yes. Thank a veteran, certainly! But then get involved in efforts to keep the local, national, and international focus on working for peace.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Minnesota Mom's blog, via Pinterest, for the illustrated quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, and to The National and the AP, via Pinterest, for the photo of the poppy projections at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. For the vintage images in the Armistice Gallery, I'd like to thank Wikimedia for the Maurice Pillard Verneuil image of the signing of the Armistice; Wikimedia again, along with the US Army and the US National Archive, for the photo of the celebrating 64th; to Great War London for the celebration-on-the-bus photo from London; to Anzac Portal's "Australians on the Western Front" image gallery for the photo of the delighted women in Sydney; to the FranceArchives page, "Proclamation de l’armistice de 1918" for the photo of the happy crowd in Vincennes, France; and to Mashable, via the Hulton Archive/Getty Images, for the photo of the parade in the US. And happy Veterans Day to all.

What is food insecurity?

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest 

November is the month of Thanksgiving, a traditional celebration of feasting in the United States (several other countries also celebrate Thanksgiving days of one sort or another). We traditionally think of this as a time of harvest, of feasting, and of plenty.

But for much of the world, much of the time--including in our own USA--food on the table isn't a "given" at all, and "plenty" is an abstract concept. My Images of Interest for the rest of the month will examine aspects of food insecurity and ways to address it, both at home and abroad.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Hunger Free, via World Vision's Pinterest page, for the illustrated quote from Norman Borlaug, and to the Australian organization Foodwise, via Ecologic Media's Pinterest page, for the attractive and informative infographic on food insecurity.

Retreat to Paradise Point

I'm writing this post from the edge of Table Rock Lake, in the Hollister, MO area, at a resort managed by Bluegreen Vacations called Paradise Point. I'm enjoying a mini-writing retreat there with my friend Dora Furlong, who set up this trip.

Here's the view (across an arm of Table Rock Lake) from our balcony at Paradise Point.

Neither of us is officially participating in Na-No-Wri-Mo, but both of us are trying to make progress on our current projects. And what a beautiful setting for our efforts! The physical beauty of the land is sometimes absolutely breathtaking.

Fog rose from the valleys in southern Missouri  on our trip to Paradise Point. Photo (complete with unavoidable bugs on Jan's windshield) by Dora Furlong.

We drove down from the Kansas City Metro Monday, and were startled by the thickness of the fog in the valleys at dusk. I remarked to Dora that it was like the fog that comes up each evening from the Sirius River on Rana Station in my stories. From there, we launched into a discussion of ways to create greater drama with the fog (writing retreat; it's what we do!).

The lights and the fog held an interactive dialogue on the grounds of Paradise Point after dark.

After supper we wandered around in that selfsame fog on the Paradise Point grounds, both to get a sense of our surroundings and because it was good to take an after-dinner constitutional. And of course I collected more great resource material!

It's a mini-retreat, so our time is limited. But I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse. If you're a creative person, I hope you'll consider taking some time away (with a friend or alone) to concentrate on immersing yourself in your own creative work. Not all of the rewards show up on the page, but I think you'll find those rewards are both real and enriching.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Dora Furlong for sharing her photo of the fog along Hwy. 65 in southern Missiouri, and giving me permission to use it here! The other two photos are by me, Jan S. Gephardt. As ever, if you wish to use an image from this post please include a link back to your source and an attribution to the photographer, when you do! Many thanks!

Decision time. This is IT. Today is Election Day.

Time to choose: either VOTE or SURRENDER.
What'll it be?

IMAGES: Many thanks to Keith Ellison, and Pinterest for the "Not voting is not a protest" quote graphic (American NewsX, however, has been linked to fake news); to the Sarasota County Democratic Party for the "Go Vote" graphic; and to the ACLU of Alabama for the "Vote Like your Rights Depend on it" graphic.

Use your VOTER voice

Your vote is your voice

When my kids were small we talked about using our "indoor voice" and our "outdoor voice" when trying to teach courteous and practical volume control. But there's only one appropriate volume to use when voting. It's your affirmative voice, to tell the world what you want and how it should comport itself.

So do that, please!

IMAGES: Many thanks to WTXL Channel 27 for the "Your Voice - Your Vote" graphic; to Imagur and vinrussell for the "Powerful Weapon" graphic; and to the Kansas ACLU for the "Power Vote" image.

Your Vote is your Power

Make your voice heard.

IMAGES: Many thanks to The Riverside Church, for the illustration for its article "Lift Every Voice and Vote," to The Bull Elephant, for the graphic on reasons why one should vote; and to EdTechSandyK, for the quote from John F. Kennedy.

Does your state allow advance voting?

Big election. Don't miss out.

Dear Citizens of the USA:

Please plan to vote.
Please learn about the issues, the candidates, the propositions and ballot measures.
If you haven't started educating yourself, start now!
Once you've gained a good background, put it to work.
Make your voice heard.
VOTE.

IMAGES: Many thanks to the On the Road to Crunchy Mama blog for the "Educate yourself. Now Vote." button design, and to NPR and Smartboy 10/Getty Images for the multicolored voting hands illustration.

Love, loss, and music for All Souls Day

The Artdog Images of Interest for All Souls Day

IMAGES: Many thanks to the Beers and Beans Blog article "Graveyard Musicians-Oaxaca, Mexico," for the photo of the mariachis in a graveyard on the Days of the Dead; to the Genealogy Bank Blog's "101 Genealogy Proverbs" for the Chinese proverb; to Quote Ambition, for the "Sympathy-Loss-Love" quote image; and to Amazon for the "papel picado" banner designs.

Result of the love of thousands

Artdog Images of Interest on All Saints Day

IMAGES: Many thanks to Bob's Market and Greenhouses for the marigold photo at the top; to  the Inner Journey Events Blog article by Della Ratcliffe for the illustrated Linda Hogan quote; and to Farstrider.nethttp://farstrider.net/Mexico/Muertos/Cemetery.htm for the photo of the Mexican cemetery on the Days of the Dead.