We're Mad As Hell

We're unhappy, and unfulfilled, malnourished and ignored. We are Americans, we are the humans of this earth, and we're all feeling this pervading sense of discontent. We watch as our leaders, our corporations, our public servants act dishonorably and against human interest, and we feel weak and helpless.

We know that our neighbors feel the same outrage when a company, yet again, stands on the side of profit instead of health and welfare... and get away with it. We feel the same shame when our countries act against our wishes and lay thousands of human lives to rest. We feel the same depression when we see millions needlessly dying of starvation or illness when any one of the 1% could reach out a hand and stop it: when any one of these companies could spend a fraction of what they spend on PR on actually doing good instead of just convincing us that they always have been. We all feel the dread as we see fewer and fewer regulations to guide the people and companies in power to do what's right and not just what is profitable.

We are justifiably angry.

We feel separate and alone, and none of us know the first damn thing to do. We're killing our planet, and starving our people, poisoning our food and water and dumbing down the next generation. I try not to look at it, because our future looks bleak. It looks bleak because somewhere down the line, we stopped holding people accountable. We stopped standing up for ourselves and we began to be ruled by fear. And in doing so, we do nothing. And each day it gets worse.

It is now crazy to expect a big company to act in the favor of people. It is nuts to think that human life would ever outweigh the value of the dollar. It is bad business. Why? Is this right?? How does that make any logical sense? Companies grow and die, governments rise and fall, but in the end, the only consistent thing we have is ourselves and each other. It is what we fight for, what we live for. It is never in debate. Our lives are always the most important, but we've let ourselves believe differently. The bottom line has a dollar sign on it. That's bullshit, and at some point, we need to start acting like we are seeing this travesty, that we notice and we feel the shame when our people act against us. It's reprehensible, and it's only sane to stand against it. It's our lives, and the only one we have, and we devalue it by allowing it to loose value for others. We are letting our world die in every way.

My people are sick, but cannot get medical help. We are hungry for knowledge, but have a failing education system. Our quality of life has gone down, and it feels as though every day, there is more taken away from us. We are dependent on this structure to be as comfortable as we are, despite the fact that this same system is tearing it apart. We are being lied to, and we are expected to buy into it, and we too often, do.

When did we forget to stand up for ourselves? When did government and corporations become more important than us? We are not hurting anyone by holding these people accountable, but we are damning ourselves by continuing the pattern to let it go unchecked.

I'm mad as hell, and I don't know what to do about it. I'm tired of being mad, and I've seen enough of my people scream and yell and share their anguish about the state of things, but I feel that the screaming has stopped being beneficial. Now that we know we all agree, that we're all angry and that we can't stand for it anymore, what are we going to do about it? How do we get our voice to have power again? How do we get meaningful regulations in place? How do we set standards that value human life beyond all else?

What do we do now?

26

This week, I am turning 26. Not a mile marker in life, not a turning point, historically speaking, but my birthday nonetheless. I'm personally quite happy with this year so far and am looking forward to the next one. Let's see a recap:

I finished my Perpetual Motion series (yay!), my husband, best friend and I opened up our first gallery, which happens to be next to an awesome coffee shop (Anna Bannanas), I've met a group of wonderfully artistic friends up here and am absolutley loving Portland life, and I'm now working on a comic book about zombies, which is something I've always wanted to do.



Last and not least, my amazing husband and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary just last month, and we continue to be a contradiction to the normal idea of a married couple.



I don't know what more I could ask for, really.So instead of a gift for me, I'm offering a gift to you.

This week (starting at Saturday Market), I will knock off 15% off everything when you buy two or more prints. Moreover, for just this week, I will bring all my online prices down to my special booth prices. :) These are found at www.SiennaMorris.Etsy.com and www.FrogFaith.com/gallery At the FrogFaith Gallery, you can order to pick up at our gallery while avoiding shipping and handling.

You get the 15% off at our gallery as well at 1216 NW 21st ave. We open at 2pm and stay open all night. We work upstairs, so feel free to holler if we don't come down.

Have an awesome week and happy Friday the 13th!

12

A year ago, I started a series that became the most challenging and rewarding artwork I've ever had the pleasure of working on. Yesterday, I celebrated the completion of this series at the soft opening of our gallery in NW Portland.

"Perpetual Motion" came out of necessity. I needed the reminder to live in the present. Knowing that my life is a collection of "now", I had to motivate myself not to waste a single moment of it. It was the worry and anxiety that was ruining it for me, and I needed to replace that with gratitude and wonder.

So first came the concept, and then out of that came the technique. How could I draw a moment? How could I illustrate just how fleeting it is? I wanted to show the singular point in which the moment exists and how the procession of time is constantly taking effect and moving that moment to the next, always reinventing the "now".

So, I decided to capture the fleetingness of time in a moment by drawing the piece entirely with the numbers of the clock, 1 - 12, so that my pieces could depict all 4 dimensions in how we experience life. That is how Numberism came to be.

It all started with anxiety. I imagined that my first piece would be wrought with it. Instead, something beautiful happened. The first drawing was Falling To Pieces, and instead of an anxious, panicky piece, it was wonderful, showing the beauty and potential of a moment. I look at them and see a couple who are truly alive, living for the moment and taking everything from it that they can. It's clear that the moment is temporary, that it's already going away, but instead of worry, I feel calm looking at that piece. It's okay that it's passing; in fact, it's wonderful.



Each successive piece that followed brought me closer to being at peace with now. To have hope and determination for the future, but to be actively a part of what's going on around me now. It seemed the most honest thing to do.



If I found a way to actually be present for each moment in my life, in the end, despite what happens in my life; if I fail or succeed at each venture, in the end, it would be MY life. I could not ask for more.




We are here for such a short time, and I'd hate to waste this one great opportunity with meaningless things as worry, doubt and busy daily life.


For the past month, I have been working on the 12th and final piece to "Perpetual Motion". Last night, I showed it for the first time. It is a 19" x 24" full color numberism illustration. This piece breaks away from the rest of the series as it is the first to completely come from my mind. No photos were used for this piece. In a way, that makes this piece more intimate for me.

This final piece, which is still unnamed, seems the perfect end to the series. Showing the changing colors of fall, it depicts the passing of time in a way we all know well. The leaves turn yellow, red and brown, allowing the tree to survive the coming winter by falling off it's branches. This gives it new life, new opportunity. Rebirth, if you will. The passing of the leaves allow the tree to go on.

I think this is an important part of the piece to focus on. If those fleeting moments hadn't passed, and if we were not able to let them go, then we could never reach the opportunity of the next moment. It's with each passing moment that we get a new one.




So when I look at this piece, I am grateful for the chaos of our lives, for the constant stream of opportunities laid before us with the death and birth of each new day. Each person you meet, each project you begin or disband. Each success and failure. Each time a moment passes. I'm here for the next.




That frame, by the way, is a window frame I painted. When you think of fall, don't you think of watching the leaves fall outside your window?

Thanks to Hassy, we have good scans of this image and are working on making prints now. (Small prints will not be available for this, because the numbers are too small to begin with).

We hope to have prints of this tomorrow at Saturday market.




Click on the close ups for a better view.

FrogFaith Gallery Opening!

It's been a long time coming.

The humble FrogFaith gallery is opening it's doors for the first time this First Thursday, November 5th, and you are all invited! I'm very excited about this. Not only are we opening our gallery for the first time, but I've decided this is the perfect opportunity to show my new piece.

It is the 12th piece in "Perpetual Motion", and as you know that is the end of the road. I can't believe I'm finished already...

It's bittersweet. I feel a sense of accomplishment, but at the same time, I've grown quite attached to this series and don't feel ready to put it down. I have a few ideas for my next series, but that can wait. First, let's give the series a good show!

My new piece, which I have not named yet, will be on display in our gallery along with the first ever prints of it. There are also some little-known pieces that never seem to make it with me to art walks that will be shown, as well as some new work from Tabulanis.

So come see us on
Thursday, November 5th

at

1216 NW 21st ave @ Northrup.

We open our doors at 5pm and will be open all evening.

*Click to view larger, printable version*

Enjoy a cup of coffee next door at Anna Bannanas Coffee House. I recommend the Joel and the Do Do Do.

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