Healing Arts

We were awaken at about 4 am when the power went out. We did not regain power until about 11 am. (a surge problem) It really got us thinking about all the people affected by hurricanes and disasters and how trying it gets when the lights go out. A few hours were enough for us and it really impacted the kids when they realized how long the power has been out in some of these hard hit areas. We tryed to imagine all those evacuees that had been in their cars for 12-20 hours, just trying to get away, not to mention, WHERE DID ALL THESE PEOPLE GO TO THE BATHROOM? With carloads of small children! Man, it leaves me speechless.  It was 95-101 degrees in most of those areas. We really felt sad for everyone going through this.

We decided to turn to art. Art Heals. Retta wanted to make something out of our nature collections from yesterday. Our library is decorated with different suns from many different cultures. We decided to make a sun picture. Retta said, "Suns are bright and bright makes people happy, if we make a sun from nature and put a crystal in the middle everything will be happy."

So we set to work. We used some embellishments that were not from nature, but most everything came from the Earth. When we finished Retta decided she wanted to make a picture that would make everyone "giggle with glee." So she set to work....several hours later, Googaly, Boogaly Giggly was born. We are so happy with our creations we are going to spring for some nice frames. They will allways be a reminder of the year of the hurricanes.

                                        

Musa worked on some beading projects. He says he feels frustrated that he can't do more to help the hurricane victims. We had a long talk...he came up with some great ideas. He is thinking some more before he makes a final decision. He is thinking about trying to adopt an animal, or maybe working on a few projects to raise some money to donate. He is worried that if everyone gives all their money to Katrina/Rita/? (god forbid) that no one will give to the local people that are already hungry. He thought about giving some food to the local food banks. He has decided to immerse himself in the playstation tonight, to have fun, less worry.

Musa cooked dinner since the artists were tired. He made a fabulous salad and raviolis. He even helped clean up before and after dinner.  Retta made strawberry milkshakes for dessert. What a crew.