hospital artwork is cool + (some) daily urgings

Dear bots, 

I want you to feast your eyes on what I've been admiring lately: hospital artwork. Hospitals are not known for their glamorous collections of local art but, I am recently convinced, our failure to recognize these subtly placed nature scenes is a grave disservice to the art industry. This four-panel watercolor of the Salmon River in Riggins, ID is an excellent example (did not copy the artist's name, shame on me).


And since I have no expertise in this matter, I feel it is only appropriate to say that hospitals are excellent art galleries. After conducting some preliminary research on the matter of art at St. Lukes Hospital, I found this article and this article on the locally famous installations. Super!  

Now, today was Thanks-taking, as Evie Shockley calls it, and also this person who appeared in my Google search. Let us all do each other a favor and contemplate how we can engage in anti-racist and anti-colonial discourse and action on a daily basis. Some ideas: 

- Donate to the Indigenous community/ies whose land you're sitting on if you are able. There are a number of COVID relief funds and if you live on Shoshone-Bannock land, a scholarship organization you might consider donating to. 

- If you have Instagram, follow @bluejackethandcraft and other Native artists, educators, and activists who share resources!  

- Encourage your friends, family, and school boards to discuss the impacts of colonialism and the genocide of Native peoples respectfully and accurately.

- Read books, watch movies, and listen to music by Indigenous folx--and make sure any money you spend on these materials benefits the creators and/or their communities (ie. anti-capitalist capitalism?). There are many Native cultural contributors (more than you think and less than there should be). The U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo has a number of great books that you can (hopefully) find at your local independent bookstore or library as well as a list of resources on her website. 

- Think more. And when you've overthought everything, learn when to think less. And then consider sharing your secrets because I think about when to think or not think all the time with very little success.   

As for my hiking adventures, I took a well-known and loved trail this past Saturday called the Who Now Loop (#51) with the dog. Caught the tail end of the sunrise. Struggled to take get a picture without buildings. 



Some bops for the week: 

- Literally everything by The Cheetah Girls 

- Gianni Schicci: "o mio babbino caro" performed by Giacomo Puccini, Renée Flemming, and the London Philharmonic

- Green Eyes by Arlo Parks 

It is my sincere hope that you, bots and friends, are as safe as you can possibly be and have communities you can rely on for collective support and power. 

With love from your Lettuce leaf. 

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