From New Orleans to Hopedale
From New Orleans to Hopedale
37+ miles and two water crossings
14-15 February 2009
Orleans and St Bernard Parishes, Louisiana
++++++++++
with special thanks to all at
A Studio in the Woods :
. Lucianne & Joe Carmichael
. Ama Rogan
. Cammie Hill-Prewitt
. Anne Mueller
. Dave Baker
Monique Verdin
Mollie Day
Selina & Joe Gonzalez
Matine and Xavier Verdin
Capt Mike Williams
Ken Wells
Bob Turner, Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East
Stevan Spencer, Orleans Levee Board
Lake Borgne Basin Levee Board
Chris Gilmore, US Army Corps of Engineers
Randy Boudreaux, Southern Scrap Recycling
Bayou Bienvenue Flood Gate Operator :
Mark Theard, Orleans Levee District
Bayou Dupree Flood Gate Operator :
Captain Russell S Gelvin, Jr., Lake Borgne Basin Levee District
Supervisor, Pumping Station :
Peter S. Bauer, Lake Borgne Basin Levee District
Jan Gilbert
Dawn M. Barrios
Ryan Prewitt
the porpoise of MRGO
that donkey on the levee
the snake that didn't strike me
and the coyotes of Hopedale
and all the folks who came to Open Studio
thank you.
anne
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Labels: connecting, fabulous, love, luck, memory, MRGO, proximity, spontaneous, translation, walk, water
the journey of a letter (two)
Dear Peter,
I know that you are very very tired now. Maybe too tired to read, so you & Sally are together and she is reading this aloud to you. You know how much I love you two, my dear friends, and I wish I could be there right now to spend time with you – to be present, with compassion and love, to keep you company & to be together. You are always in my heart Peter. That may sound corny but it is true! Maybe because I live so far away I always carry this lifetime of experiences, moments, memories with me – so for us it is folk mass (long ago), catching up in the driveway, sitting at the kitchen table, walking our dogs, the hole in the hedge between our houses --- the little moments, the Big moments. I kept the wrapper from the Stollen cake you brought me last Christmas – here – wrapping your letter- because it makes me smile – you make me smile Peter! Thank you for being my friend – I cherish our friendship always.
I found something recently while walking the dog at Half Moon Bay – the beach we walked when you came to visit – yes in August I was walking and when I came up from the beach I stopped with the dog to take my shoe off & dump the sand out. When I leaned on the fence post to stabilize myself, I saw this stone cross inside the fence post – someone left it there.
I don’t always know why I find things but I
CAN recognize their significance – things stick out to me and sometimes they really do
STICK OUT, as in this case! I thought you might like to have it now you know the story and how it reminds me of you, of us, of our walk there – our day together. The stone – I forget what kind it is – it as a nice feel to it and a little weight, feels good in the hand, if you hold it.
I have enclosed some photos from my
Florida walk in April – when I jumped out of a plane & walked 24 miles by myself in the dark on the Canaveral
National Seashore. It was grueling, exhausting, difficult, and at the same time, enlightening. When I was really really tired and maybe a bit concerned about being washed away to sea or stopping and not getting up all by myself, I
found a
letter on the small strip of beach, at my feet while walking, it was tied to a balloon and the wind carried it hundreds of miles then it washed up on the shore at my feet, and I found it in the dark! It made me so happy to know there was communication from a stranger, that this synchronicity happened. I was so tired I could not break the plastic string to open the letter while I was walking in the night but I tied the balloon to my backpack and it knocked around keeping my company. Also, the moon was near full and cast my shadow ahead of me in the sand as I walked. I could now see the shadow of the balloon cast in front of me as well – it really cheered me up and I didn’t feel so alone on my exhausting journey.
I hope this letter cheers you up like the one I found on the beach – and like the balloon I may not be in your direct line of sight but you know I’m with you wherever your journey takes you.
I love you very much Peter – I know you know that!
I will be home Friday ----
Labels: death, fabulous, letter, love, mail, memory, moon, night, ocean, sea, walk
what is she thinking ?
hi Dad, hi Mom!
i had a great day, mailed off my application for the Changing Landscapes residency in New Orleans, the 6-week environmentally-themed one that pays a stipend/materials. You asked me when we were talking last week Dad what i was doing with my new $$ art education, and i guess
i am proud to say i am proposing things like this - and, i feel, looking even more prepared, qualified, connected thinking & action etc. all the works i submitted in support of my application were done since CCA and included
major works from Banff and of course
my performance in FLA. i know it is a GOOD ONE!! it is really great for my process and for my thesis (all underway) ... and if i got chosen, that would mean in less than 12 months i went from paying for a residency to being paid for a residency. that is a great maturing of my work. even if i don't get picked, i know i am a perfect fit for this residency and my ideas and application are stellar!!!!!!!!
I want to share this with both of you because i know sometimes (ok maybe many times, over the years!) you might wonder, what is she thinking ???
Its what i do, right?
These projects make me very happy, even just proposing them! i guess it is how i interact with the world. and they help me "connect" my thoughts. ideas with others -some may make a difference i think, even just in little ways. and, in the long run, add to my scope as an artist - where things really are coming together!
Love,
Anne
Labels: banff, fabulous, mail
