Hello, friends! For the past month I’ve been planning to get back to writing in this blog, hoping to jump back in on a positive note, with an upbeat missive for the new year. Well. Let’s just say 2026 has gotten off to a rocky start. I spent a lot of last year feeling apprehensive about showing up on social media – one part of me wanted to advocate for my values on whatever small platform I have, and felt inauthentic if I showed up without addressing the terrible policy changes and human rights violations I see happening here. The other part felt that we have all been so over-saturated with bad news and virtual vitriol, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to heap on more of the same, or face the inevitable trolling that comes with speaking one’s mind online. I felt exhausted, and honestly kind of alone in my grief and anger. So I really didn’t show up here much at all.
But now we have arrived at a point where not speaking up really isn’t an option. It’s clear to me that staying quiet – even online – in the face of cruelty, racism, unwarranted (but apparently sanctioned) murder, along with a laundry list of illegal and unconstitutional actions, isn’t an option. Although what has happened over the past few weeks in Minneapolis has been devastating, watching the uprising and community actions there have filled me with such hope – and hometown pride! – that I’m starting to remember how every small voice speaking together can make a roar. As an artist, my work reflects my life and my experiences. Offline, I am a very political and involved person, and I need to have my business feel integrated and authentic to myself. So I will be showing up here, hopefully often, and with opinions.
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