Tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada are a reality now, irrational as that is. The oilcloth fabric I use for market bags, pouches, bookmarks, etc. comes from Mexico. One of my favorite magazines is produced and printed in Canada. And if tariffs are imposed on goods from Europe, the price of the cork fabric I import from Portugal will likely also go up. What these facts mean for Tallulah ArtHead remains to be seen.
With the firehose of dreadful news coming from Washington, D.C. these days, I have pledged to myself (and now to you) that I'll use this space to pass along stories about the local impacts of the new policies that are being implemented.
If you have a personal story that you'd be willing to share, please respond to this email.
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August 2023 was Black history month for me, when I learned about the sit-in at Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City in 1958, five years before the Greensboro sit-in at the Woolworth's lunch counter. That month I caught a Story Corps interview with Ayanna Najuma, who was seven years old when she and her friends occupied the lunch counter at Katz Drugs, an action that resulted in the desegregation of all of Katz's lunch counters in several states. The story was so moving to me, I quickly stitched one more piece for my show at Coconino Center for the Arts, Regarding Privilege*.
One day last summer I received an email saying, "Please call me." I looked at the sender: Ayanna Najuma! I called her, of course, and since then we've spent hours on the phone talking about politics, activism, and so much more. She's lived a full life of activism through her writing and consulting, and her brain is chock-full of ideas. I'm blessed by this new friendship, even though we've not yet met in person.
It's fine to focus on Black history (or women's history, etc.) for a month, as long as those stories aren't suppressed from what we teach as our full history.
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Enough politics for now.
Last month, Mike and I spent time camping at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Even though it was cold, I still managed to get myself out of bed early the morning after the full moon to capture the moonset at sunrise.** I'm not much of a photographer, but I like doing it, and every so often I capture a good one.
On that trip we also visited the Palm Springs Art Museum to see the David Hockney exhibit. Many of the artworks were from David's inventive and playful iPad drawings. I have been a fan of his for a long time. And in my studio there's a photograph by Jacob Sousa of Hockney with Joni Mitchell, taken at a gallery where he was showing his work. There are two of my heroes holding hands and looking like they've been best friends forever, though they were barely acquainted. (Here's a link to an NYT article that calls the image a "joyful postcard".) I'm desperate for joyful anything these days, so I wanted to share this with you.
Be safe, take care of yourself and each other,
*Regarding Privilege included nine embroidered quotes from Black writers, poets, activists, Supreme Court justices, and politicians on hand-dyed fabric. The backs of the embroideries were displayed as the "fronts" so viewers had to use a hand mirror to read the quotes. As a white woman in our society, I'm compelled to use my deep privilege to work toward righting injustices, especially these days, when diversity, equity, and inclusion are under severe attack.
