i am an artsy-craftsy kind of artist. most of what i do you can learn to do too, make things extremely similar to what i make, without too much trouble or talent. there is a line between craft and art, faint but shimmering.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care!
IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
OK, we do have a diary schedule. But, when you are ready to write that diary, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMOM a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FloridaSNMOM is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern.
Monday: BadKitties
Tuesday: ejoanna
Wednesday: Caedy
Thursday: art ah zen
Friday: FloridaSNMOM
Saturday:broths
Sunday: loggersbrat
i mostly fall in the craft category. there are some exceptions to this rule. for example, i sculpt humpback whales, orcas, and dolphins that are truly MY ART, not teachable to others. i consider my zen inspired drawings to be of that same nature, although the technique is easily usable by most people with good results.
but regardless of the art or craft value of the items i make, they are all up for adoption for a small, voluntary donation. every penny that someone donates to me goes to the los angeles food bank. i pay for all materials as my contribution, beyond my time, towards the work the food bank does. they are able to serve 4 meals for $1, which is a hell of a feat in my estimation. in recent years, i have not been able to contribute much, donations have been slow. but i then go to the food bank warehouse in vernon and work on saturday. i need to go back again. the work is never ending and always needed.
the last day i worked there, we processed tons of fresh fruit into boxes, onto pallets, shrink wrapped and tagged for pick up by the local food banks for distribution to the local people in need. it was a huge task. there were lots of volunteers. some were from local schools, students needing community service on their collage resumes. one young man was there to celebrate his birthday with a bunch of his friends. one father had his 2 young daughters working with him and he told me he brought them every saturday morning. i suppose some people may have been under sentence to perform community service for fines to the courts, but no one was singled out so if they didn't tell,i wouldn't know. it felt good to work for 3-4 hours, better to stop and know it was done for the day, spectacular to know that your work will help many other people.
if you have a chance to volunteer at your local food bank, or if your church hands out groceries from food banks, i urge you to give a little time to the cause. it is rewarding, needs doing, and looks good on the eternal resume the powers that be keep, moving those beads back and forth on the abacus of karma. or not. it may just be good for you.