May 20, 2008
 
Northwest Magazine
P.O. Box 894
Port Townsend, WA.98368

 
Dear Editor,

 
As an artist and writer in the Pacific Northwest, I've often wondered what it would be like to follow an artist for a day.  Meet the people in their life and see the places they go.  

 Recently I followed local multi-media artist, Colleen Sargen, to Crow's Shadow Institute of Arts near Pendleton, Oregon.  The printmaking facility is located on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, hosting local and nationally renowned artists.  Historically the building was part of the St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Schoolhouse, a boarding school for native youth from 1847-1972. The facility was founded by artist James Lavadour in 1992, transforming this site through art. 

 Other artists mentioned are Frank Janzen, Tamarind Master Printer at Crow's Shadow; printmaker Wuon-Gean Ho from London, England; Lorie Baxter from Pendleton Oregon, James Lavadour, founder and artist; Lillian Pitt, artist; Pat Walters, executive director at Crow's Shadow.    

 I would like to offer an essay written about my experiences of these artists and the art institute.  I currently reside in the emerging artist mecca of Walla Walla, Washington.  My education background is in Environmental Science, Biology and English.  I have been published in various smaller, community publications.  As an emerging artist, I have the chance to interact with amazing people and places I think others will find fascinating.

 As a Pacific Northwest publication that strives to imbue itself with the passions of its people, including but not limited to the arts, I feel Northwest would be the ideal place for publication of this essay. I hope this topic interests you and I look forward to your response. 

 Sincerely,

 L. A. Fairbanks  

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Recycling

Happy Earth Day! Now help fix the planet.

Image courtesy fo Corus Steel Packaging Recycling

1  Drink up: It takes three months for a recycled aluminum can to make its way back onto the shelf in reincarnated form.

2  Or build a bridge: In 2002 researchers from Rutgers University built a 42-foot-long bridge over a river using plastic beams made from polystyrene cups and polyethylene milk jugs.

3  Or construct a boat: During World War I, enough metal was salvaged from corset stays to build two warships.

4  On April 27 the boat Earthrace will begin an attempt to break the maritime around-the-world speed record. It will use biofuel, some of which comes from liposuctioned human fat.

5  No fat here: During Britain's 2007 Recycle Now week, svelte models strutted down Brighton beach wearing swimsuits made from steel cans.

6  These boots were made for flooring: Nike gathers old athletic shoes and turns them into raw material for "sports surfaces" like tennis courts and running tracks.

7  Meanwhile, in China, more than 1 million unsold copies of British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams's latest CD will be used to resurface roads.

8  Last year Chinese hair salons caused a stir by unlawfully recycling used condoms, possibly donated by local nightclubs, into hair ties.

9  Elsewhere in Asia, an enterprising dental technician established the Japan Denture Recycle Association in 2006 to cash in on the precious metals in discarded choppers. Proceeds go to Unicef.

10  Each year Americans junk more than 80 million dollars' worth of copper, gold, silver, palladium, and platinum in the form of retired cell phones.

11  Cell phones, laptops, and, um, personal massage devices: New British laws mandate that old electronic appliances—including sex toys—cannot be dumped. They must be recycled with other so-called e-waste.

12  E-waste is for the birds: An Australian nut orchard converts the shells of vintage Macintosh computers into houses for pest-eating birds.

13  Humans need houses too: When Luiz Bispo built his house in a Rio de Janeiro slum out of construction waste last year, city authorities threatened to destroy it. Now the house—which floats atop a junk-filled river on a base of plastic bottles—is being touted as an icon of sustainable development.

14  Cities have long been gold mines for recyclers: Beginning in ancient times, tanners collected human urine to use in turning animal skins into leather.

15  In the Middle Ages, urine was also used to make saltpeter, an essential component of gunpowder.

16  Cities get recycled too: Masonry from Roman settlements made a handy source of stone for medieval church builders.

17  But enough is enough: In 1821 Turkish soldiers surrounded Greek forces holed up in the Parthenon and started stripping lead from temple columns to make bullets. The horrified Greeks promptly sent the enemy a fresh supply of ammunition to discourage further recycling.

18  Using every part: There are now sheep-poo air fresheners. Sterilized sheep droppings are turned into packets stuffed with grass- or daffodil-scented material.

19  Green to the end: The Doggone Project in Mannheim, Germany, can recycle deceased pets into fertilizer.

20  You, too: Ecopods, a British company, sells stylish coffins made from hardened recycled paper, available in a range of colors including indigo and silver leaf.

so you weren’t really bitching...you were being honest.  talking from the gutter, but honest talk.  sometimes i think if i get in the gutter with whoever it is talking...to talk gutter talk, illustrate what it is...perhaps perpetuate it...to illuminate it.  this in an effort to "startle others into acting like warriors"...make em mad...spur that ass to get itself out of the rutt...spur the mind to see its own traps for what they are….and find a way out...

anger can be a motivater.  to change.  so can the death of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, the moving of a friend...many things can jolt the system enough to want to change.  tho notibly words are perhaps the least of these, especially when coming from me.  and there are some who merely push themselves further in when challenged…depends on the person.  and whether they really want out. 

as always, i find many (especially women) who are SO MUCH smarter, stronger, braver than they....realize, allow....pretending to be everything but the warrior they are because of someone or some things or some obtuse reason...in an effort i think to avoid… 

what is that quote? "The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus and apply your mental and physical energies to the problem at hand - without growing weary. Because such thinking is often difficult, there seems to be no limit to which some people will go to avoid the effort and labor that is associated with it."– Thomas Edison

come on, dare to transcend.  it is a trap of your own making...therefore you are the only one who has the key.  which is, of course, both...a blessing and curse.

"you got to look outside your eyes
you got to think outside your brain
you got to walk outside your life
to where the neighborhood changes"  --ani d

Support Women for Peace, a live music event Friday, March 28^th, 2008 from 6-8pm at the Colville Street Patisserie. Acoustic performer Hatti Moss will be accompanied by Samala Coffey on hand drums as part of the March of Peace events.

Also featured that evening will be Women for Women International, an organization that seeks to empower women survivors of war through job skills training, rights awareness and leadership education, and business development support in order to "launch women on a journey from victim to survivor to active citizen."

To find out more about Women for Women International, see their website at http://www.womenforwomen.org/programs.htm and come to this event!

An unprecedented gathering to engage the hearts and minds of our community by highlighting the vision, science, and programs of early social, emotional, and cognitive learning.

Anchored by the deep wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this community–focused event will celebrate and explore the relationships, programs and tools that nurture and empower children, families and communities to be compassionate members of society.

Each of the five days will provide parents, educators, business and community leaders with an opportunity to better understand the real benefits of compassion, and concrete steps on how to bring compassion into their lives.

Sri Karunamayi
March 18-20, 2008
Portland, OR

"I have not come to you as a Guru ---
 I have come to you as your own Mother."

about the divine mother