STAINED

STAINED: Supporting the Gulf thru Art

Jewelry Topaz Gallery is pleased to introduce a new collection of work by Atlanta artists Shondra Leigh and Rochelle Nation. The collection incorporates tar from Grand Isle, LA.

The artists were inspired by the recent tragedy in the Gulf, and wanted to “turn something ugly into something beautiful.”

This unique jewelry collection is derived out of the frustration and anger of the artist to the appalling corporate and government reaction to the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion on April 20, 2010. As oil began washing up on the beaches of the Gulf Islands National Seashore in June, the magnitude of this catastrophe was evident in the extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats along the Gulf, as well as the resulting blow to the fishing and tourism industry. This is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

The abstract “tar paintings” of "Stained" are created from the oil of tarballs collected during the summer of 2010 from the beaches of Grand Isle, LA. The actual presence of oil in jewelry is meant to serve as an important reminder that the oil does not dissipate just because headlines disappear. "Stained" is created with the optimistic hope that all will be inspired by this reaction to the Gulf tragedy to act more responsibly for our environment through both conservation efforts and cleaner technologies.

We will also be presenting photos from the Gulf by Holt Webb, founder of The Vanishing America Project. Join us on the weekend of Friday and Saturday, October 29th and 30th to see the collection. Meet the artists and have refreshments on Friday, from 6 to 9pm.

20% of all sales will be donated to the advocacy efforts of Vanishing America and the Gulf clean-up. For more information on Vanishing America, go to www.vanishingamerica.net

The Oil Spill is over. Bullshit!

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.

Gulf Oil Spill Images

"Beautiful Images of a Disturbing Place" -- A new slideshow of imagery from The Vanishing America Project illustrating the effects the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has had on Southern Louisiana.

© www.vanishingamerica.net

Beautiful images of a disturbing place

The above are abstract images of the patterns formed in the oil that has been washing up on the beaches here in southern Louisiana. And, if you look closely, you can see hermit crab trails cutting through the surface skin.

Vanishing America on The Weather Channel!

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".

Here is the link: http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/tropical-update-6584#17889

Remember, it's about the people, too.

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.

This second shot is a portrait of local fisherman Brian Zito who, despite his best efforts (and the efforts of the community around him), has somehow been left off the list of fishing vessels available for helping with the oil cleanup. Because of the oil spill, Brian can't fish for a living... and now he can't even help clean the places he calls home.

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.

What you don't see

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.

...or is it?

THIS is what lies just beneath the surface right at the water's edge. Going more than a foot deep, we discovered sand soaked with oil so thoroughly that, at first glance, it could easily be mistaken for mud. But mud is the last thing it is. THIS is oil. This is ruin. This is here forever.

What have we done?

Just out of reach

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"...

Tonight, I think I found out.

I'm 50 yards from a beautiful beach, but it's closed off. As I sat on the dunes with the wind blowing across the waves, all I wanted to do was walk along the shore, get my feet wet and feel the sand squishing between my toes.

I feel I'm being teased with so much beauty that I just can't reach.

But I have to keep at it in order to break through. And I will break through. Even I can't wait to see what I create. :-)

Stay tuned...