01.23.2025 Do Not Let them Steal Your Joy

This is precisely the time when artists go to work.
There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear.
We speak, we write, we do language.
That is how civilizations heal.
I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, 
it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence.

-- Toni Morrison

Engraving bench at ACC

Three days into this new, hate filled administration in the White House, I went back to the jewelry department at ACC to start my metal engraving class. I left that first session feeling better than I have in weeks.  No amount of medication can match the surge of serotonin that comes from seeing my people and sitting at the bench.

When I got home, sitting at my kitchen table eating lunch, I remembered Toni Morrison's quote (above) about the importance of art...so I looked it up, again.

Our world is certainly bruised and bleeding. The people at the helm of our federal government are evil and full of darkness; but Ms. Morrison implores us to go to work, to create, to bring joy and light into our lives and into the world.

Being part of a creative community - engaging with fellow metalsmiths - is like plugging into a big battery. The world at large was no better at noon, when I came out of that first class, than it was when I first went in; but I was better. It was in that moment I realized how important it will be for each of us to have the things, even small things, that bring us light and hope as we find our way through what will be a very difficult and troubled time.

These oligarchs, these white men with more money than they can ever hope to spend, who can buy anything have no joy...and they want to steal ours.  

We will not let them.

Photo credit: Viasomatic

Part of the work, to protect and take care of those around us, is to take care of ourselves.  

I certainly don't have answers, but I do have suggestions.

Find a creative outlet - I love my classes, but I know not everyone has the same interests - or resources. Still, you can find something that speaks to you and that provides you with an escape from avalanche of headlines.

Put down the phone. Step away from the computer. Take a walk outside, try a new recipe, get a sketch pad or a coloring book...as long as you are doing it for yourself, and it brings a smile to your face.

My grandmother's engraved signet ring

Engage with your community - I hope you have folks who support and energize you in your local orbit, but not everyone does. As I said in a previous post, I'm not ready to give up on social media because it represents real and meaningful connections to people despite the virtual space. 

Try not become overwhelmed - my grandmother liked to say "no one eats an apple in one bite". Do what you can do, for yourself and for others, and know that it is enough.

The writer and activist, Rebecca Solnit, posted this recently...

You don't need to be the whole wall against fascism yourself;
you can just be a brick and if you can't be a brick,
you can be a dab of mortar
because there are millions of people ready to be bricks if they believe bricks are enough
or mortar if they get that just being mortar holds it all together.

Hold on to your joy, do not let them steal it, and know that we will get through this together.

Until next time.

 

01.20.2025 A Decade in the Making

MLK Jr Memorial - Washington, DC

Happy New Year!   

I had hoped to be out and involved in some kind of service project on this MLK Day, but it's just too cold (yes, I am a total wimp about the cold, but I live in Texas and I didn't sign up for this). I'm not about to turn on the television or look at my phone - so I'm putting up a blog post instead.

In smaller, but notable news...this marks my tenth year as a blogger! When I started this blog in January 2015, I planned to write about jewelry - and I have - but in the years since a lot has happened, and I've written about (and will continue to) other things, too.

Refreshing your memory - in January 2015, 

- Barack Obama was in his second term as President of the United States,
- the price of a dozen eggs was roughly $2.50,
- price of silver was less than $14 per troy ounce, and gold was roughly $1,100 per troy ounce,
- our daughter was a college freshman, my husband and I were in our 50s, I still had a consulting firm,
- Instagram was limited to photos and 15 second videos (there were no stories),
- most of us had never heard of a corona virus or an mRNA vaccine.

Today, things are a little different...

World's Proudest Parents and the Dr.

- a man (whose name I will not use), convicted on 34 felony counts, is returning to the White House.  I think he decided to move things inside NOT because of the cold, but because he was worried about a small crowd. I wish this was all a bad dream, but it is a stark, sad reality - and I am worried about our democracy.
- the price of eggs is almost $6 per dozen,
- the price of silver is almost $32 per troy ounce, gold is over $2,700 per troy ounce (this is why jewelry is so much more expensive),
- our daughter has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a research scientist at UC San Francisco studying viruses.  We are older, Dad is still working, I'm retired,

- Twitter is now X, Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta (I've got some things to say about that, scroll down),

- Covid changed all of our lives, and now we're watching and waiting on H5N1 bird flu.

My original MOO card

This is my 257th blog post - that's a lot of words - and I'm continually surprised at how many of you read them.  I will probably keep writing these things, not because I expect them to be read, but because they are a way to exercise, and often, clear my mind.

Much like taking metalsmithing classes to make - and then sell - jewelry, the blog started as a means to an end; to put myself out in the world in a new way.  Then Covid came along and shut that down. 

Post pandemic, jewelry classes and the blog have become ends in themselves.  I'm learning new things, but not making that many new pieces.  I'm thinking, writing and connecting, but in a very different way.

Which brings me to social media which is - legitimately - taking a beating right now.  Social media and the ability to connect online was a godsend during the pandemic.  It was a way to engage with like minded people when in person contact simply wasn't an option. One of the best parts about coming through the other side of that experience has been the opportunity to connect in real life with people I got to know through their presence on Instagram.

Instagram's parent company, Meta, has made some announcements since the election that are indeed, troubling.  But, it's important to remember that Meta (and its predecessor companies) have never been there FOR US - although that's what they want us to believe.  Without users, there is no Metaverse...they are a parasite that cannot live without a host...but the relationship still has some potential benefits to us.

I understand why some people are considering leaving, or at least reducing their use of social media (I left Twitter because it lost all value for me, and I've never had a TikTok account), but do we really want to abandon it altogether?

I saw a post (on social media - I wish I'd saved it so I could give credit) that asked what if the powers behind Facebook and Meta are trying to drive open minded people OFF the platform? What if they are actively trying to destroy the communities we have created because they are afraid of our power.

I put up a series of Instagram stories (you can find them all in my highlights) asking these questions - and a fair number of people responded saying they were thinking the same thing.  

Even before the election, I tried to be thoughtful.  I did my own fact checking (everyone should have Snopes bookmarked).  I blocked suspicious accounts and scrolled past ads without clicking. Post-election I've used the block option even more, and unfollowed people whose values are not in line with my own, even when I had previously enjoyed their content.

As I said in my stories, social media is a tool - and like any tool - can be used for good or for harm.  Our voices matter, our ability to share information and build community matters.  There are other platforms, and I follow content creators in multiple places - but some, like Substack (which has its own problems) aren't always free to access. 

Instagram isn't free - we see ads, the app harvests our information - but it is accessible without a financial commitment that not everyone can afford.  For me, for now, the good - promoting small and women owned businesses, sharing useful (and properly vetted) information as well as discrediting misinformation, and learning from others - makes it worth staying.

Food for thought - and I welcome your response.  Leave a comment here, or on Instagram.

Until next time.