Beautiful Rebellion

If you’re new around here, welcome to this little slice of cyber space! Here’s what to expect:
I post articles on my website and email them out three times per month. (Make sure you’re on my email list!)
You’ll get WORDS on the 3rd of the month, PICTURES on the 13th, and SOUND on the 23rd.
In them, I talk about art… or whatever is on my mind that day. 😉
Thanks for being here — I appreciate you. ❤️

Celebrate People the Way You Know How

Yesterday we had a party to mark my oldest sister’s 60th birthday. (You’ll see her in the last photo.) She’s a helper-connector-listener, someone who brings people together in beautiful ways. You know — the person who’s always throwing parties for someone else. Creating and holding space for others.

I wanted to gather people in her honor to create beauty the way I know how, and that I knew she’d appreciate: by making a mosaic mural with all of our hands working together. It will hang in the garden outside her kitchen window as a reminder of the people whose lives she has touched, and whose have touched hers.

The project isn’t finished yet, but here’s a peek.

It’s one of my favorite ways to rebel.

There’s this thing called emotional labor that refers to all those behind-the-scenes acts of organization, responsibility, care-taking, and thoughtfulness that keep families functioning and hold communities together. Emotional labor often goes unrecognized, and is almost always unpaid. It’s not seen as “productive” enough for capitalism to count as “work.”

Women do the lion’s share of it.

Join the rebellion by honoring the ones who do this work. Who gather folks together (when vaccinated!), who send cards, who bring snacks. The ones who reach out when they know you’re having a tough time, or text just because they were thinking of you.

These folks will tell you, “It’s nothing; I’m happy to do it.”

Thank them anyway. They didn’t have to do it, but they did, and it made your world better.

Oh, and make art together, in joyous rebellion.

With love,
Pam

P.S. I’m still sort of on sabbatical, taking a wee break to be a student and volunteer. However, I’m loving doing mosaic with friends, and I offer mosaic kits in my shop if you’d like to try it at home. I made some how-to videos to walk you through the process, too. They’re here on my YouTube channel, and they’re free to watch. 🤓🙌🏽