Deal of the Day! For today only, I am offering a very special deal... this signed 8x8 custom print from my Water Abstracts series, for only $25** (plus $10 shipping - anywhere in the US).RESPONSIBILITY OF OWNERSHIP
As I sit pondering the current state of our economy and the upcoming elections, I find myself uncertain about the future of this great nation. 
I don’t know if our economy will recover and I don’t know if I can trust our elected officials to “do the right thing” . One thing I do know, however, is that we are the stewards of this planet, like it or not. And, as stewards, it is our responsibility to take care of the world in which we live.
People have often asked me if I’m an environmentalist. I’m not sure how to answer that. I love Nature. I love to see the massive forests, the wide-open plains, the tree-lined and snow-capped mountains, the swamps and wetlands, the sweeping deserts, and the diversity of the seashore. I love seeing such a vast array of wildlife in their natural habitats, from the tiniest shrew burrowing into the warm earth, and the herds of elk grazing the highlands, to the largest grizzly catching its lunch in a run of spawning salmon. And, I adore the idea of this land as it was two hundred years ago, teeming with uncountable forms of life.
But, that bountiful landscape is only a memory. When humans began to significantly populate this country, Nature was forced to take a back seat while we shaped the land into something more suitable to the way we wished to live. And, it will always be that way. As a very dear friend of mine noted, "Human beings have to come first. Otherwise, we'll become extinct." That may be an oversimplification, but I believe the intent is correct. We put ourselves at the top of the food chain in order to survive. But being at the top of the food chain comes with responsibility.
For, as long as we’re kings of this mountain, as long as we're in charge, we’re changing the face of our nation to meet our needs -- for good or bad, right or wrong. We continue to grow, and we have to continue to unabashedly accommodate that growth.
In my travels to big cities and small towns, I've talked with people from all walks of life, and have gotten opinions as varied as the species on this earth. But, regardless of who a person was, or where they lived, one common thread ran through the pattern: Management. More specifically, management of the natural environment. In essence, we can continue to grow as a nation, without destroying the planet or restricting our personal freedoms, by managing this land we call our own.
It's very difficult to do, but there has to be balance in order for both man and nature to thrive. And, since we’re the ones taking over, we must be the ones to take that responsibility. We must be the ones to manage the forests so they don’t go up in uncontrollable wildfires. We must be the ones to manage the herds and their range so they don’t overpopulate and destroy their lands and themselves. We must be the caretakers. Not zookeepers, but caretakers.
Long ago, we decided we wanted this country as our own. Now we must take Responsibility of Ownership.
STAINED: Supporting the Gulf thru Art
The new book is finally here!
The song is out! Drew Landry's newest single BP BLUES, made famous at the Oil Spill Commission Hearings, is now on sale at iTunes. 75% of the proceeds go to the Gulf Coast Waterkeepers.
But things have changed. I'm beginning to take it personally now.
In my many journeys out on boats, helicopters, ATVs, and on foot to see the damage done, the cleanup efforts and the areas yet to be hit by the oil spill; in my many conversations with residents whose lives have been affected by the oil spill; in my own personal direct observations of how clean a place can LOOK without really being clean I've come to the conclusion that we are in a serious mess indeed.
I've walked along beautiful beaches with fresh sand and soaring gulls only to stumble upon tidal pools bubbling with buried oil. I've gone swimming in the "safe" waters off the coast of Mississippi only to find that I'm swimming in dispersant and emulsified oil. And I've watched with utter disbelief while the media and the government that is supposed to protect us tells the nation that everything is okay.
Everything is not okay.
As I stated before, I didn't want to get this deep into the situation here, but I have no choice. The waterways, coastlines and wildlife all look normal, but they aren't. They aren't. And I can't sit idly by while we're told that they are. I'm not an activist... I'm an artist. But I've seen things here that make me sick. If this isn't Vanishing America, then I don't know what is.
In that vein, I've started a new series of images to parallel my portrait series, People of the Spill. This series is called Accountability. What you see in the hands of these people is a plaque that every boat over 26 feet is supposed to display. The statement is issued by the US Coast Guard and reads as follows:
DISCHARGE OF OIL PROHIBITED -- THE FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT PROHIBITS THE DISCHARGE OF OIL OR OILY WASTE INTO OR UPON THE NAVIGABLE WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES, OR THE WATERS OF THE CONTIGUOUS ZONE, OR WHICH MAY AFFECT NATURAL RESOURCES BELONGING TO, APPERTAINING TO, OR UNDER THE EXCLUSIVE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED STATES, IF SUCH DISCHARGE CAUSES A FILM OR DISCOLORATION OF THE SURFACE OF THE WATER OR CAUSES A SLUDGE OR EMULSION BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE WATER. VIOLATORS ARE SUBJECT TO SUBSTANTIAL CIVIL PENALTIES AND/OR CRIMINAL SANCTIONS INCLUDING FINES AND IMPRISONMENT.
The water, the marshes and the beaches are not clean yet. They may look clean, but they are not. And until someone is held accountable for the cleanup -- the ENTIRE cleanup -- our coastline and our wildlife will continue to disappear.
Many of you may have been seeing on the news that the worst of the oil spill is over and the beaches are clean, the water is clean, and everything will be back to normal soon. I understand the point of view from where many of the reports are coming. The journalists are only reporting what they see. But that's exactly the problem. You can't judge a book just by looking at the cover. The Ocean is a tremendously varied system. The winds, the waves, the currents, etc. all do different things in different places.
Here in Louisiana there are stretches of clean beach, but there are also stretches of nasty beach. There are sections of clean marsh, but there are also sections of oily marsh. It just depends on where you look. I was out on the beaches today and found oil that wasn't there yesterday. I also found oil a foot under the sand that was deposited by the latest high tide.
Low tide, high tide... the beach is always changing. So, yeah, of course there are clean places. The entire Gulf isn't a pool of oil. It just has oil IN IT. And that oil will wash up in some places, settle to the seafloor in other places and not show up at all in still other places. That's just the way it is. It depends on where you look.
But you can be sure that the oil is out there, it IS still washing up, and it WILL continue to do so for quite some time. It's naive to think that it won't. If you are brave enough to want to see the TRUTH, go to www.pcolagregg.com. He's tied in with everyone who is trying to tell the truth. Yeah, there are a few eco-nazis that go over the top, but it's easy to separate them from the real storytellers. Gregg is the real deal. Visit his website. You will be treated with a very clear picture of what's really happening. Don't turn your backs on this. It ain't over.
Looks like Channel 9 Baton Rouge reporter, Rick Portier, did such a good job on the video of The Vanishing America Project that it made The Weather Channel! It's called "Beautiful Images of a Disturbing Place".
Two nights ago I attended a town hall meeting about the Vessels of Opportunity program and then went to a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 men lost in the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. After the vigil, local musician Drew Landry serenaded the crowd with his raw style of Dirty Cajun blues. Great songs, great voice, great sound. Look for Drew on upcoming Vanishing America video clips and at www.bandryland.com.
I've been looking for some good to come out of this -- maybe communities pulling together, millions of dollars being raised to help clean up the mess... but I'm afraid there is little good to be found. People are trying, they are pushing, they are calling out to their leaders for help, but help is slow in coming... if it comes at all.
So, this is the beach. Grasses blowing in the breeze, blue skies dappled with a puff of cottony afternoon clouds. So beautiful and clean. A great place to take off your shoes and just stroll through the breaking waves softly washing up on shore.
For the past few days I've had the artist's version of "writer's block". I'm frustrated with the current lack of creativity in my work and I wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that the places I currently want to shoot are "off-limits"...
For a list of helpful charities, visit:
http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Gulf_Oil_Disaster.html
For a list of helpful charities, visit:
http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Gulf_Oil_Disaster.html
For a list of helpful charities, visit:
http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Gulf_Oil_Disaster.html
For a list of helpful charities, visit:
http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Gulf_Oil_Disaster.html
For a list of helpful charities, visit:
http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Gulf_Oil_Disaster.html
For a list of helpful charities, visit:
(Click on any image to open them up in the slideshow viewer)
n, and I was lucky enough to be included in the latest group. And on my way in, I met Jean-Michel Cousteau and his crew from Ocean Futures Society. Talk about timing!
Venice, Louisiana
Oil, oil everywhere...
I wanted to try to make my trip to the Gulf a positive one -- I was hoping to show how America is pulling together to fight this disaster and protect our shores from one of the largest man-made catastrophes in history. I wanted to show that. But I can't. It's unfortunate, but I haven't seen much progress being made to stem this black tide. Maybe in the upcoming weeks that will change. I hope with all my heart that it will. And I will show it to you when I find it. But, until then, know that just because these stories have fallen off the front pages of the news, it doesn't mean that this disaster is over.
I mentioned in the last post that I'm waiting to hear from the Coast Guard about getting on a media vessel to check out the oil spill. I should hear something by Monday or Tuesday. But, it's just as well I'm not out there running around because the local wildlife here in Venice has temporarily grounded me. Don't ask me how it happened, but I noticed a couple of bug bites the other day -- two on my waist and one on the bottom of my right foot (yeah, go figure). When regular topical ointments wouldn't relieve the itching, I took a closer look at the bites. Turns out they aren't your garden variety mosquito or no-see-um. I don't know what it was, but I do know that it is bad. As you can see from the photo, the little red lines radiating from the swollen red bite mark on my sole indicate that whatever is in there is spreading through my bloodstream. Not good.
So, I'm on antibiotics and taking it easy until the infection goes away -- which it already seems to be doing. (Don't worry, I feel fine.)
And, while I'm laid-up, I will be editing my interview with Kindra Arnesen -- local activist and rising star in the fight to protect Louisiana's precious coastal wetlands.
Stay tuned...
And, if you haven't already, you can help me bring you images and stories from the gulf by donating to the project at www.donatevanam.blogspot.com.
I just found out that the Coast Guard is happily offering rides to the media to go see the oil spill first hand. So, I contacted them yesterday. As I wait to hear back from them as to whether they can take me up in a plane or a boat, I decided to do a little strolling around to see the bayou myself and get some images of what it looks like before the oil makes it up into these parts.
Yes, YOU can help with the oil spill disaster without having to leave your seat... Just click on this link to find out how you can make a difference:
We all know it's bad out there, but it's a lot worse than the mainstream media is letting on. And, for as little as $5, YOU can help bring the truth out of the Gulf and play an active role in saving our country's precious coastal wetlands and beautiful gulf waters.
Don't just sit back and complain. Become part of the solution!
New video from New Orleans coming tomorrow! Jason Mraz and filmaker Josh Tickell protest big oil...
I've finally made it to the Gulf. A couple of days in New Orleans working to make some money (one of the many ways I support this project) and I'm off and running -- looking for stories and for any way I can help with the cleanup and protection of America's Gulf Coast. I've listed myself and the project with all the states' volunteer websites, I've been in contact with the Deepwater Horizon Response and various states' tourism boards, and am woking hard to get you the information you need without the standard media spin we've come to distrust so much.
I've been doing a lot of research about what beaches have been affected, who is in charge of what programs and where the volunteer efforts are being concentrated. Any information or contacts you can send my way would be greatly appreciated.
In the meantime, if you would like to help with a monetary donation, please click on this link:
Whether you can afford $5 or $5000, any help is appreciated and goes directly to The Vanishing America Projects efforts in the Gulf. And... it's tax deductible!
The Vanishing America Project is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of this project may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
So, please help out. Remember... if we want ownership of this land, we must take responsibility!
