FTP

Nap time has gotten shorter and shorter for my kids! But today I had just enough time to patch my old jeans. They are wearable again!

Also, check out the great design on my t-shirt. It is by a friend from Greenpeace Action Camp.

Castaic, CA

So I'm getting re-acclimated to life in the South. Getting all that time away has me wondering, how did I manage such a busy schedule before? I can't seem to keep up now.

At the Greenpeace Action Camp, I stayed in a cabin with a number of other girls. I used my domestic skillz to make it look like this:

Tidy, eh? And I kept my self fairly tidy also. I washed my hands a few times every day, anyway. For whatever that's worth.

This is a good time to say that the food was better than good. It was amazing. And I was super hungry thanks to long days and lots of sun. I ate like 3 times my usual amount, y'all. 

There were around 160 folks at the camp. We were split into four tracks: climbing, boating, blockading, arting. These are (most of) the Arts in Action campers and the giant condor we made:

We also made a snake, a number of banners and signs, some puppets, t-shirt stencils, etc. We learned interesting techniques for DIYing that I'm already implementing here at home. We learned about telling a story through our art, making our text on banners readable and getting across the intended message. Someone gave us tips for getting our political art out on the streets. Another trainer led a four-hour street theatre workshop. We played some fun improv games (right up my alley, you know :) and did an intense role play in which I was the CEO of a coal company. 

I met a lot of people from all over the place and made a number of friends. I hope we stay in touch and encourage each other in our various projects. 

For me, the greatest outcome is that I now have a clearer vision of my own path than before and I can see it stretched out ahead of me. Here in Greenville, SC I had never seen anyone be a non-corporate graphic designer so I didn't have first hand knowledge that such a career could even be possible. Now I have that validation and I can apprehensionlessly* dedicate myself 110% to Arts in Action!

There was so much more than this at camp, but for now, just this much. I have homework to do. 

*It works because you knew what I meant. 

Home Again

I'm back from California! I got back Sunday night, but have been so confused with all that time changing. It's good to be back in the South, back with James and these babies.

I learned so much and gained so much in just one week that it's pretty overwhelming. But s'tch-k because I took mad notes. The entire time. I wrote down everything, even my meals. Well, almost everything. Let's not get boring with our descriptions, right?

My homesickness was only kept at bay by the intense camp schedule and powerful winds of Castaic. It's a really beautiful place and I'll show you pictures later if you want. In fact, I think I will show you pictures over the next few days and tell you a lot about what I learned and how it inspires me.

Here's what I came home to:

Here's what else I came home to: a clean house, a bunch of sweet letters from James, an organized studio, an unrelenting amount of homework and the first Darger Pop show in years on the books for April 19th!

Action Camp: Next Week!

Action Camp is less than a week away now and I am starting to get excited! Campers got an email today with tons of links. I have so much reading to do! All about understanding how sexism/racism/privilege and divide-and-rule strategies of the 1% play a role in activism.

(That's not the only reading I have to do. James and I are sourcing a lot of books for an info shop we are putting together. Most of the books will come from lists found through ZNet. That's my go-to for leftist reading. They have all kinds of lists so that you can find just the right book depending on your area of interest such as feminism, labor history, race relations, and my personal favorite left program and strategy.)

Besides reading, I have to get ready! This will be the farthest I've been from South Carolina and the longest I've been away from James and the kids. I'm talking to the kids about it so that they know I'll come back and don't think I've abandoned them. But Am just clings to my neck and says, "I wanna go to California." Only it sounds more like, colly-foun-ee-aaaaah, with the emphasis on the last syllable because it is a wail. Poor guy.

Other than that, I am making packing lists and trying not to be nervous about the logistics of cross country travel. Yikes.

Update, you guys!

UPDATE: I have reached my fundraising goal! (take that, ETV radio!) In under 24 hours! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! A million thanks to all of you who support me in this. I promise I will keep you up to date on my trip and give a full report when I return.

Support My Cause!

So, nobody likes asking for money, but I'm going to do it anyway! I'm super pumped about the Greenpeace Action Camp and need to buy that round trip ticket like ASAP. That's all I have to pay for; Room and board are provided!

Look over there, on the right side bar. See that donate button? That's for you. Go ahead and click it and enter any amount you want to give. I appreciate every dollar! And I only need to raise about $380.

THANKS!

A Light in the Middle of the Tunnel

So right smack dab in the middle of the semester, I will be gone for a week.

:)

I got accepted into the Greenpeace Action Camp! This girl's going to California, baby!

I'm excited and daunted and overwhelmed and excited again. All of my teachers are really supportive and will let me work ahead to make up for what I'll miss. (One teacher even high fived me when I told her today.) James is also supportive and will keep the kids while I'm gone.

The frightening thing is that I have to arrange my travel plans by Monday or my slot will be given to someone else. Yikes! I guess I'll fly out. Maybe sell a guitar or two to buy the tickets. If I had my way, I'd take my time about coming back so as to see a bit of the country. But, oh, well.

Greenpeace

I applied for the Greenpeace activist training camp. It's in California in March. During a school week. Well, not just any school week; It is the week right after Spring Break.

When you sign up, you choose a track out of four possible study areas: Arts in Action, Climbing, Blockades and Boating. All these are specific protest tactic areas. I chose Arts in Action. You have to put your second, etc. choice as well. But really, if I don't get into my top choice, I won't go. It's too far and too expensive. And Art Activism is my track, so there.

Will you cross your fingers for me? It's a long, time consuming application and then you are told about a possible waiting list. But this girl holds out plenty of hope. :)

Also, I already emailed one of my teachers who not only approved of the idea, but agreed to be a reference on my application!