C. S. Alexis hunting driftwood on Wells Street Beach

The week in Chicago had to include a driftwood gathering. C.S. loves to hunt for the driftwood she uses to make her artwork and some of her handcrafted jewelry. Combing the beaches is so enjoyable. C.S. says it is one way to put life into perspective.

The impact of the Gulf Oil spill is weighing heavy on her mind. She could not help but think of all that black goo making death a certainty for the innocent victims, the wildlife. The tragedy was center stage in her thoughts as she gathered the driftwood.

Growing up near a lake like Lake Michigan and spending countless hours combing the shoreline has marked this artist for life. Marked in a wonderful way, C.S.has an outstanding positive attitude about nature, the elements and all that life on the shores of a Great Lake have to offer. She remembers when you could not walk on the beaches because the pollution was killing the fish and the dead fish bones were impossible to cross in bare feet.

Lake Michigan is so much better now that we humans have taken some actions to protect her. More could and should be done on Lake Michigan and around the world to protect and nurture our Mother Earth. Shout it from the top of your voice, learn as much as possible, teach our children and practice healthy environmental conservation on a routine agenda. Join forces and walk the talk. It is all about the love.

 

Watch for this piece of driftwood in a future post as C.S. transforms her feelings through her mixed media makings.

PBPFish

The water is a place to fish a place to relax a place to gather driftwood from the shore, C.S. Alexis loves the water, refreshing, cooling, calming, crashing waves

 

Long days playing in the sand, walking on the beach, catching fish and swimming

 

She likes to take her dogs to the water's edge, chasing sticks and biting waves, running hard and fast, kicking sand and shaking it all over everything

 

The children love to wade and they never mind the warnings about getting their shoes wet, let alone their clothing

 

picking up sea shells and laughing in the sun, wind blown hair the going style

 

they imagine giant monsters living in the deep blue sea, sharks and whales the size
of ships

 

finding bits and pieces of passers from another day, another lifetime spent upon the sands

 

no thoughts of darkness lurking, boiling, burping

 

miles from the beauty basking on the beach

 

storming, thundering thick and black and dark so dark

 

aweful, ugly, oozing, seeping sadness

 

devastation pouring pounding drifting draining out

 

pretty bad pretty bad pretty bad

 

going black, killing everything in it's path

 

PBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPB....Go Fish