but wait! there's more!

I had one of those odd little experiences the other day while out and about in the big city of Brewer, Maine. While the rest of my party was making a bee-line for one of those 'let's-see-how-many-imported-from-who-knows-where-useless-cheap-plastic-$1 objects-we-can-fit-into-one-store' stores, I felt an overwhelming urge to head next door and pay a visit to the Winterport Boot Shop- a locally owned and operated, hands-on (they actually measure your feet!) boot shop. Not that I actually needed or could afford new boots- but a girl can dream!

Anyway... I got to talking to Donna (who owns the shop with her husband, Mike) about my (apparently futile) search for American-made footwear. Her ears seemed to perk up when I mentioned that I flat out refuse to spend any more of my $$ on imported STUFF! Conversation quickly turned from boots to weightier issues like recycling and mass consumption- This is when she asked if I had seen this great little on-line film called 'The Story of Stuff'. I had not! But this kind and like-minded woman sent me off with a sticky-note emblazoned with the web address and an emphatic "You must watch this film!". And I did. Over and over.
This 20 minute diddy about 'stuff'- "From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view" is described by its creators as a "fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever." It did and it has. Thanks, Donna!
I wasn't sure what I was looking for when I walked into that boot shop, but I left with the answer.

the responsibility of stuff

January 1st has always been my day to purge my overflowing file cabinet of all outdated and totally unnecessary paperwork, receipts, and clippings. However, it is now the second week in April and I am still at it! The file cabinet project was finished about the same time the leftover New Year's Eve champagne was, and resulted in a very large bag of paper and a really giggly trip to the recycling center. But I have since shifted my focus to, well, my entire home and studio! Not as overwhelming as it seems considering I live and work in a 1200 s.f. structure, and have never been much of a pack rat. What I do seem to be is more like a squirrel.

Boxes, within boxes of neatly wrapped and packed, no squirreled away... stuff! Little stuff, mind you. Not big stuff- which might have made it a little easier to deal with. Someone might have wanted a working toaster, lamp, foot massage machine. But does anyone really want to take on the responsibility of my sea glass collection? Mismatched and chipped tea cups? Mardi Gras beads? The word responsibility might seem a little weighty to use in this situation- but that's what it is. Big or small, if you choose to bring something (new juice glasses, wide-screen TV, a collection of vintage match books...) into your home, you are taking on the task of storing, caring, cleaning, and ultimately disposing of all this stuff. Responsibly.

Which is why I now have a nice big box of 'collectibles" destined for the local thrift shop, a finely curated assortment of trinkets for future crafty projects, and a big jar of colored glass which will go with me on my next trip to the ocean.

sum of its parts

Where does your mind go when someone starts spewing statistics? If it's anything like mine, it goes numb. Although, not so when viewing photographic artist, Chris Jordan's vast, emblematic images.
In his 2005 series, Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption, the impact of our collective consumption (seas of discarded cell phones, crushed automobiles) is breathtakingly documented, and shockingly comprehensible.
Jordan's newest collection of mind expanding images- Running the Numbers - seeks to make real, and humanize, the seemingly faceless sums and totals that we'd otherwise never see.
Prepare to have your perception altered.