One Earth Blog

Honor Women and the Earth

2010-09-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

"Holding Up the Sky" by Charleen Touchette 1987

Honor Women and the Earth

by Charleen Touchette-September 1, 2010

"Calling Home the Bees-Maiden, Mother, Grandmother"

by Charleen Touchette 2009

Realizing the Dream's Liesette Paisner, Charleen Touchette and Martin Luther King III in 2008

"Peace" Photograph by Jennifer Esperanza

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“A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors or strong its weapons.” Cheyenne Orator

“I have found that those who do achieve peace never acquiesce to obstacles, especially those constructed of bigotry, intolerance, and inflexible tradition.” Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007)

Women are the source and nurturers of life. Nobody alive came into being without having been born of a woman. Yet since the overthrow of matrilineal cultures over 2,000 years ago, women and their children have endured oppression and dominance by men in most cultures, religions and political systems across the globe. At the same time, our Mother Earth that gives us everything we need to live has been violated, poisoned and disrespected. Indigenous values of living in balance and right relation to each other and Earth, Sky and Water have been replaced by the unbridled lust and greed for money and power of the super-rich minority. The conquering mind has colonized the land bases, bodies, hearts and minds of the world's people and each conquered nation has been plundered for natural resources, work forces, knowledge and ideas. Conquered and colonized people are turned into consumers of the products of the military-industrial complex and become complicit in the devastation and exploitation of the remaining intact indigenous peoples. Media instills fear and fuels the fires of discord into wars that make big bucks for arms manufacturers and merchants, as well as the companies that rebuild after the destruction. People around the world want Peace. But leaders who teach Peace, Love and Human Rights are targeted as dangerous to the status quo. They are hunted down, harassed, surveilled, threatened, or assassinated like Jesus, Sitting Bull, Aung San, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Robert F. Kennedy, John Lennon, Sister Dorothy Stang, Ingrid Washinawatok, Lahe'ena'e Gay, Terence Freitas and Benazir Bhutto.

"The men of today are a lot less intimidating than the women around. Might have to turn that statement around these days." Walter Crane

As if. Unfortunately, too many men today blame the Second Wave of Feminism of the 1970s and women and People of Color entering the workplace for curbing their previously unfettered privilege as white men. Don't let anger at an unreasonable woman boss or a controlling wife or mother blind us to the continued oppression of the majority of women worldwide. Don’t think that situation comedies full of men portrayed as silly and incompetent who have to be bullied by overbearing wives and moms portray reality for most U.S. families. In fact, in most of the world, including the West, women continue to be oppressed.

"Women in whole of the world own approximately 1% of the world's real estate. Women are still suffering because of our economic and patriarchal systems, particularly indigenous women and women of colour. Do not judge us by a few token women of privilege." Shar Starr

The stark reality is that women are still, as John Lennon wrote, "the niggers of the world."

Those who ignore the facts of women's oppression and think "...men of today are a lot less intimidating than the women" should try telling that to the 75% of women in the U.S. military today; the Sabine women, the Armenian, Salvadoran, Cheyenne and other North American Indian women, the women of Croatia and Herzegovina, the women workers in the Mexican maquiadora, the women of the Congo and those around the world through the centuries who are victims of rape and genocide as a weapon of war. Tell that to the women in India who are burned with acid for refusing arranged marriages and the widows sacrificed on funeral pyres, the girls in Afghanistan who are gassed, poisoned and doused with acid and otherwise terrorized for going to school and the Islamic women who are forced to cover with burqa and buried to the neck and stoned to death for violating Islamic "laws". Tell the women and girls in America who are denied control of their own bodies and safe contraception, the mothers and daughters among the over 40 million living below the poverty line in the U. S. that things are so much better for them than for their mothers and grandmothers. Tell the millions of women around the world who have no access to clean water, air and food, or dignified employment and women everywhere who are subjected to toxic chemicals, hormones, GMOs, herbicides, chemicals, plastics and petro-chemicals in the environment that women are "more intimidating than men". Examples of women and children's historic and continued oppression go on and on and on. Rich men start wars for power, plunder and profit and women and children pay with their freedom and lives.
The oppression of women and their offspring is directly connected to the violation and disrespect of Mother Earth. When men everywhere grow up and stop resenting their mothers telling them what to do; when they start holding rapists, plunderers and war profiteers accountable and begin to protect women, children and the Earth and all our relations, then, and only then, will the world be a safe place where women are honored, respected and able to live productive lives as free people on equal ground with their husbands, fathers and sons sharing a fruitful and nourishing Earth. Human rights for everyone will never be a reality as long as women, who comprise over 51% of the world, are second-class citizens and too many remain victims of oppression, genocide, environmental degradation and poverty.

Stand up for Peace and Human Rights for everyone everywhere. It always was, and still is, dangerous to teach Peace and Love, but it is still essential and even more crucial in these times of fear and violence. Take heart in the inspiration courageous peace activists provide and know that, as Dr. King said, "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal."
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Additional Resources-

"Heroines of Peace-The Nine Nobel Women"-
Wikipedia-"List of Assassinated People"-
"Of Woman Born" by Adrienne Rich-
"Backlash-The Undeclared War Against American Women" by Susan Faludi-

"A Tribute to Ingrid Washinawatok El Issa-
"Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn-

Work-Sacred and Profane

2010-07-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

"Holding Up the Sky" painting by Charleen Touchette 1987 with detail of Navajo Woman Weaving.

"Work-Sacred and Profane"

by Charleen Touchette

OpEd on EcoHearth.com

Re-Humanizing Work Is Essential to the Success of the Green Movement
Monday, 26 July 2010 | Charleen Touchette | Commentary
Work is central to our lives as human beings. It can be essential for physical survival to provide basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter and fuel—and is for many an essential requisite for emotional survival. While work is a part of most people’s experience, when that work is purposeless and dehumanizing rather than creative and uplifting, it causes unhappiness worldwide.
In indigenous cultures, work is integrated into daily life within the community. Creativity flourishes and is encouraged for the information, invention, innovation and beauty it contributes. Indigenous people from the Sami, Innuit and Y’upik in the Arctic to the Maori in Kenya, the Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia and the Lakota in Pine Ridge use available natural materials to make things for use, gift-giving and trade....
Read More at http://ecohearth.com/eco-op-ed/1456-re-humanizing-work-is-essential-to-the-success-of-the-green-movement.html

I look forward to your comments and ideas.

Restoring a Dance Shawl

2010-07-13T10:09:00.001-07:00

Restoring Felt Appliqué on a Dance Shawl by Charleen Touchette

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by Charleen Touchette, Summer 2010
Last week I worked on restoring the felt appliqué on this Vintage Woman's Dance Shawl our son got for his fiancée in Pine Ridge in 2007. It is a spiritual and meditative experience to appliqué the design of the unknown Lakota woman who originally stitched the felt shapes to form the bold design of tri-colored arrows, eagle feathers and whatever colors used to be where only black thread and remnants of glue remained with bits of old felt still attached that outlined double crosses flanking a center symbol with Native American feather shapes. The Cross of Lorraine design was used by silversmiths during the North American Fur Trade(1680 -1820)and incorporated into Native Art to signify the dragon fly, which our takes prayers to the Great Spirit.
After treating stains on the aqua shawl with hydrogen peroxide and castille soap and washing it in a sink of hot water and 1/4 cup of vinegar to set the colors, I cleaned the glue and pulled out the threads and felt pieces that were still stuck to the shawl. I used tracing paper to trace the original shapes that I cut out of old felt I had from the 1980s when our older sons were boys, then washed the felt shapes in a fresh hot water/vinegar solution to pre-shrink and make sure the colors won't bleed. I made sure to pre-wash some extra pieces of the same colors in case I had to add more as the work progressed.
Sewing the colorful felt shapes onto the shawl reminded me of Brownie projects where I cut and sewed felt and of the reasons why felted wool is such a great material that lends itself to creativity. Felt is made by washing and shrinking fiber, usually wool, until it is matted and dense. Unlike woven cloth that has a warp and a weft with edges that can unravel, felt can be cut anywhere and sewn together anywhere to make a shape.
The fun of working with felt inspires me to at last gather up all the lint from the dryer, take out my paper-making screen and make felt with all the muted, organic colors of our family's clothes blended together. I will use the felt for my next appliquée dance shawl.
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Watch for my how-to make an appliqué felt dance shawl with lint from the clothes dryer on my new blog-"Messages from the Earth:Indigenous thinking for everyone everywhere" at www.EcoHearth.com.

URGENT-Message from The Grandmothers-Connect with the Net of Life

2010-06-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Charleen Touchette

URGENT-Listen to The Granmothers call to connect our prayers to the Net of Life."You Are Desperately Needed"
"We ask you to cast, anchor, and hold the Net of Light steady for the Gulf of Mexico," the Grandmothers said. "This crisis is affecting the entire world, and humanity is asleep. Wake up!" they cried. "Animals are... dying, plants are dying, and your Mother is writhing in agony. If you hold the Net of Light steady at this time you will help stave off further catastrophe.
Just after the turn to the 21st century I saw a vision of a web of light energy spread over the earth as seen from above the atmosphere. There were brilliant centers of light that pulsated with life and weaker fainter spots connected with less vibrant threads. I sensed the brighter lights were light workers and their prayers and energy would ignite the fainter lights resulting in a brilliant net of light energy overlaying the earth like an intricately woven spider web or lace shawl. Today, I ask each of you to connect your light with the Net of Light as The Grandmothers instruct with prayer and love to help heal and balance the earth and all our relations. As the Hopi Elders said, "Now is the time, and we are the ones we have been waiting for."
Thanks to Brian Frisina for sharing these urgent messages from The Grandmothers and Chief Looking Horse on the BP oil spill. Brian writes, "I want to thank Celestial Dancer from Amplify.com for sending this along to me. Here is the message from the Elders, they ask that we pass it along: "You Are Desperately Needed" "We ask you to cast, anchor, and hold the Net of Light steady for the Gulf of Mexico," the Grandmothers said. "This crisis is affecting the entire world, and humanity is asleep. Wake up!" they cried. "Animals are dying, plants are dying, and your Mother is writhing in agony. If you hold the Net of Light steady at this time you will help stave off further catastrophe.

"You have been lulled into a false sleep," they said, "told that others (B.P.) would take care of this problem. This is not so," they said. "And this is not the time for you to fall into oblivion. Determine now to stay awake, and once you have made that commitment, think of, cast, and hold the Net of Light. Hold it deep and hold it wide. Amplify its reach to penetrate the waters of the Gulf and dive deep beneath the crust of Mother Earth. Anchor it at the earth’s core and as you hold it there, ask it to unify with the mineral kingdom of this planet. It will do this and will harmonize with all the solid and liquid mineral states on earth-including oil and gas. The Net of Light will call these minerals back into harmony.

"Whatever human beings have damaged, human beings must correct," the Grandmothers said. "This is the law. We repeat: This is the law. You cannot sit back and ask God to fix the mess humanity has created. Each of you must throw your shoulders to the wheel and work. We are asking for your help. Several years ago we gave you the Net of Light so you would be able to help the earth at times like this. Step forward now. This is the Net of Light that will hold the earth during the times of change that are upon you," they said.

"First move into your heart and call on us. We will meet you there. The Net of Light is lit by the jewel of your heart," they said, "so move into this lighted place within you and open to the Net of which you are a part. Bask in its calming presence. It holds you at the same time that you hold it.

"Now think of magnifying your union with us. We, the Great Council of the Grandmothers, are with you now, and all those who work with the Net of Light are also with you. There are thousands, even millions now connected in light," they said. "Along with this union, call forth the power of the sacred places on earth. These will amplify the potency of our joint effort. Then call on the sacred beings that have come to prevent the catastrophe that threatens to overwhelm your planet. We will work together," they said, nodding slowly.

"Think of, cast and magnify the presence of the Net of Light in the Gulf of Mexico. See, imagine or think of it holding the waters, holding the land, the plants, the sea life, and the people. Holding them all!" they said. "The Net of Light is holding them steady; it is returning them to balance. Let the love within your lighted heart keep pouring into the Net of Light and hold, hold, hold. Calmly and reverently watch as the light from your heart flows along the strands of the Net. It will follow your command and continuously move forth. As soon as you think of it, it will happen. We ask you to practice this for only a few minutes at a time, but to repeat it throughout the day and night.

"We promise that this work with the Net of Light will do untold good," the Grandmothers said. "We are calling you to service now. You are needed. Do not miss this opportunity. We thank you and bless you."

Read the message from the Peace Chief of the Lakota Oyate, Arvol LookingHorse at- http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=404289357708&id=641882884&ref=mf

“Write, Publish and Thrive with the Democratization of Media – Finding a Publisher” by Charleen Touchette

2010-05-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

You've written and rewritten your novel or outlined, researched and finished the first few chapters of your non-fiction book and now you are ready to approach literary agents and publishers to get your book in print.
There are few experiences more exciting and gratifying than holding your own printed, published and bound book in your hand for the first time. But the road from finishing and editing your manuscript to having your published book in hand can be long and arduous. Remember don't get give up after the first, tenth or even 50th rejection letter. Literary history is full of esteemed authors whose manuscripts were rejected multiple times. Stephen King who kept his numerous rejection letters impaled on a nail on the wall, J.K. Rowling got over 100 rejection letter for the first Harry Potter book and James Joyce wall-papered his entire room with rejection letters. Seminal writers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine self-published their important books.
Congratulations on your writing, hard work and perseverance. Having a passion for writing, art and creative pursuits can give a strength and purpose to navigate life’s challenges.
I mentor writers and authors informally through TouchArt Salon and encourage you to join the conversation at One Earth Blog or on my Facebook page to connect with people who write.
To find a publisher, look for publishing houses, small presses and literary agents who publish work like yours. Research their websites for submission guidelines and identify individual agents and publishers whose bios show they have published similar books and writers and/or have interests and backgrounds that intersect with your subject matter. Send query letters and follow-up with a letter and phone call. Interested publishers and agents will ask for sample chapters or the whole manuscript.
A Query letter is a 1-page cover letter, introducing your book and you with 4 short paragraphs - the 1-line hook with your book’s title, word count and genre, a brief plot synopsis, a short writer’s bio and a closing paragraph with your contact information.
1) The Hook - a concise, one-sentence tagline about your book that includes your book’s title. This is the sales pitch to get the reader’s interest. One approach is the “when formula”, e.g. “When this happens, the main character faces this conflict and triumph in this unique way.” Include word count and genre at end of this paragraph.
2) Brief Synopsis: 50-150 word summary of your book. Expand on your central characters, their motivations and conflicts and how their experiences change them.
3) Author’s Bio – 75-100 words focusing on your writing experience, education, publishing credits and credentials that show why you are the right person to write about your subject.
In Closing Paragraph, thank the agent or publisher for their time and consideration. For non-fiction, mention you have attached an outline, table of contents and sample chapters for review. For Fiction, let them know the full manuscript is available on request. Close by saying you look forward to hearing back from them and include your contact information.

Writers write because they must. Publishing and becoming an author is not guaranteed or even considered a desired goal by many writers. But for others, the creative process is not complete without publishing and getting their work read. It can be a long arduous path from writer to author, but don’t give up. Believe in yourself and cultivate perseverance, pluck and chutzpah, like Jack Kerouac whose 120-foot long manuscript for “On the Road” was rejected at first, then defined a generation of American literature and made Kerouac an icon of the Beat Generation.
You have something unique to share to the world, you wrote it down, polished and perfected it. Now share it with the world and future generations by publishing your book. If your story is authentic and resonates with others, your book will find its audience. Good luck.

Additional Resources:
http://www.hiwrite.com/queryletter.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=gzLFXGj158IC&dq=book+proposal+query+letter&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=Qf_7S--IOIG78gbZs_DPBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CFIQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=book%20proposal%20query%20letter&f=false

http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx
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by Charleen Touchette
One Earth Blog 2010

Good luck with your good work.

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Charleen Touchette is the author of "Ndn Art" (Fresco, 2003) and the award-winning, critically acclaimed banned book "It Stops with Me - Memoir of a Cannuck Girl". For a signed copy of Touchette's memoir with award foil, send a check for $20 to TouchArt Books, 15 The Red Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505. If you’d like a 2nd signed book for mother, sister or daughter, we can give you a discounted price of $35 for 2 books. "It Stops with Me" is also available on Amazon.com at https://mail.google.com/mail/?account_id=charleen.touchette%40gmail.com&shva=1#inbox for $21.99 each.

Eco Laundry by Charleen Touchette on EcoHearth.com

2010-05-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Charleen Touchette is the new Ecology Writer at EcoHearth.com.
Check out her first article for EcoHearth, titled "Eco Laundry" at www.EcoHearth.com.

http://www.ecohearth.com/eco-zine/home-and-renovation/1379-eco-laundry-low-energy-and-natural-washing-drying-dry-cleaning-and-moth-prevention-tips.html

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"Mimi Fait la Lavage" pastel by Charleen Touchette 1985

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Eco Laundry: Low-Energy and Natural Washing, Drying, Dry Cleaning and Moth-Prevention Tips
Wednesday, 12 May 2010 | Charleen Touchette | Article

"My favorite day of the week when I was a little girl was Saturday, laundry day with my grandmother. Mimi’s washing machine sat in the middle of the basement of the tenement where she lived above the landlady. The shiny white metal monster with a handwringer and big gears shook and moaned while Mimi wrung sheets and I scrubbed stubborn stains on an old-fashioned washboard. Afterwards, we lugged the heavy baskets of wet laundry up the three flights of stairs and got a good workout. Mimi told stories while she leaned out the kitchen window to hang sheets on a clothesline attached with a wheel to the side of the house. I can still hear her voice today when I hang my laundry outside and smell the fresh scent of sheets dried in the wind...."

To continue reading, go to
http://www.ecohearth.com/eco-zine/home-and-renovation/1379-eco-laundry-low-energy-and-natural-washing-drying-dry-cleaning-and-moth-prevention-tips.html

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Look for more articles, blogs, commentary, interviews and reviews by author and photographer Charleen Touchette on EcoHearth.com. Touchette creates fresh and original content on a wide variety of environmentally focused topics including; home and garden; food and diet; the arts; handwork; lifestyle and leisure; and travel. She documents stories with original photographs of projects and step by step instructions, patterns and/or recipes. Touchette believes everyone can make small, simple changes that together can heal the earth and build a sustainable future for all.

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Share this article with your friends and social network at

http://www.ecohearth.com/eco-zine/home-and-renovation/1379-eco-laundry-low-energy-and-natural-washing-drying-dry-cleaning-and-moth-prevention-tips.html

Spring Snow by Charleen Touchette

2010-04-24T04:45:00.000-07:00

Spring blossoms,

sudden snowstorm.

Covers mountain.

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Spring blossoms,
sudden snowstorm.
Covers mountain.

Photos and Low-ku by Charleen Touchette 2010

Making Maple Syrup, Gathering Pinons, Gifting and Storytelling

2010-04-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

Come Hear
“Making Maple Syrup, Gathering Pinons, Gifting and Telling Stories”
An informal conversation with
Authors and Artists
Charleen Touchette and Jim Northrup
At Two Rivers Gallery
Minneapolis American Indian Center
1530 East Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota
On Sunday, May 2nd at 10-11:30 a.m.
Free and Open to the Public.
Followed by booksignings.
Documented by Sage Paisner, MA, CalArts.
Thanks to Juanita Espinosa and the Minneapolis American Indian Center.
May Day Parade starts at 2 p.m.
Call # 505 470-7754 for more information.

http://www.maicnet.org/

http://www.nativewiki.org/Jim_Northrup

http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

One Earth Blog Poll on Star Quilt

2010-04-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

So the question is, Do you prefer the black center or the yellow? Remember the shapes are placed loosely and will be the regular eight-pointed star whether black or yellow.
Thanks for answering my poll.

Making a Star Quilt - Part Three

2010-04-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Figured out the pattern for eight-pointed star and corners and triangles.

by Charleen Touchette 2010

OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Making a Star Quilt - Part Two

2010-04-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Once the colors are picked, I place them to form the points of the eight pointed star. Quilt-making like many handarts done by women depends on an understanding of geometry and number. Eight-pointed stars are, as would be expected, are based on the number 8, so each row of the star is cut in multiples of 8. Eg. 1 black in center of point is multiplied to 8 to form the eight-pointed star and 5 red diamonds in a point means I cut 40 red diamonds. One point times eight equals 8 black diamonds, 2 white equals 16, 3 yellow equals 24 and so on, 4/32, 5/40, 6/48, then reduces to 5/40, 4/32, 3/24, 2/16 and 1/8 for the pale yellow outer points.

The corners of the quilt are big squares. To include the 8 directions, I cut 8 triangles in colors from the eight-pointed star and put them together to form the square.

The point starts to emerge with 1 black diamond in the center.

I liked this version with 6 green, but I didn't have enough green for the last two points. The solution was to replace the inner two green diamonds with an indigo brocade that I had bought to make Sage a vest when he was a boy.

It took trying out several different versions to get the final design of the eight-pointed star.

From the center, each point of the star is 1 black, 2 white, 3 yellow, 4 red calico, 5 red, a row of 2 green, 2 indigo brocade and 2 green, a row of 2 turquoise, 1 fish batik and 2 turquoise, 4 yellow craddleboard prints, a row of 1 yellow baby print between 2 lavender calico diamonds, 2 sky blue, 1 yellow.

Like putting a square of batik with fish in center of corners. It works with the fish batik diamond in each point.

The triangles between the star points are black and sky blue for night and day.

A few options for the triangles that make up the four corners. Once I pick one, I will make all four corners the same.

Part Three is to sew the diamonds together into strips of six, then sew six strips together to form points.

But first, because lots of my material is almost 30 years old and not colorfast, I need to wash quilt pieces in hot water with vinegar to let them bleed and shrink, then dry and iron flat.

Watch for Part Three of Making a Star Quilt as it happens.

Photographs, text and quilt-making by Charleen Touchette 2010.

OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Making a Star Quilt - Part I

2010-04-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

The first step is to decide your colors. I picked the six sacred colors - yellow, white, red and black for the four directions, blue and green for earth, sky and water. Since this Star Quilt is for our second son Sage Daniel, I added the colors

lavender and pink from the Holy Man Dave Swallow Jr.'s prayer flags.

The diamonds are cut from fabrics left from garments, gifts and other quilts made for Sage and family members. The solids are from my Star Quilt and calicos are small scraps left from cutting pattern pieces for ribbon dresses and shirts, craddleboards and baby quilts for Sage, his sister and brother and cousin Jasper. The black and white are left over material from placemats I made Sage's grandparents and aunts and uncles year's ago. The pastel solids are from cloth brought to share at Inipi ceremonies. Some were gifts from dear sisters who have known Sage his whole life. The red was gifted to me and Sage by a generous and wise woman at Bear Butte to pray. Part of the red cloth, I gave to Nila Helper whose grandfather was saved from the 1890 Massacre at Wounded Knee by a beaver who sheltered him in its den. Each piece of material holds a story.

I cut over 300 diamond shapes to get the 288 diamond shaped pieces for the eight-pointed star
in the right colors.

It is quite a workout to lay out the colors. I lay another finished star quilt down on the bed and put down the colors the way I sketched out in my planning drawings. Had to change them around several times before it worked.

In the next blog, I show the colors I chose for the eight-pointed star.
Part Two is to choose colors and cut triangles for the 4 corners and the 4 triangles in middle of each side.

Photographs, story and quilt by Charleen Touchette 2010

One Earth Blog

One Earth -Making Art Without Borders

2010-04-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

One Earth Golden Dawn 2010 One Earth Blue Waters 2010

Borders are artificial lines that disregard the natural movements of people, animals plants, water and air. Crossing the border from Canada to the U.S. in the mid-1800s didn't make Quebecois, Acadians and Metis, Americans. Across the U.S. Canadian Border tribes from Mik'maq, Abenaki, Mohawk, Anishinaabe, Lakota, Blackfeet to the Northwest Coast continue to assert their land is on both sides.
Today hi-speed internet makes it possible to communicate, cooperate, share and collaborate with people across borders all over the world.
This series of art titled "Brings Water to Desert" started in early 2010 when I saw some photographs of Niagra Falls by Yotanka Coicou who lives in Quebec Province. Yotanka graciously gave me permission to combine some of her photographs with my own photographs and art from different times and places in an alchemy of light and time art.
These paintings combine the light of the southeast with the water of the northeast to create a kinetic connection between them.
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Art by Charleen Touchette with Yotanka Coicou 2010

Art by Charleen Touchette 2010

2010-04-13T08:38:00.001-07:00

Printing. Painting. Photographing. Connecting. Collaborating.
Layering.
Light and Shadow.
Water and Sun.
Quebec and Santa Fe.
Waters pour on liquid light.

Layering.

Manually with paints, hands and brushes.

Digitally with moving finger connected to electric light energy.

Layers of light and shadow.

Illuminate and define.

Or mystify.

Layers of color, shape and form.

Emerge.

Layers of light and shadow.

Illuminated.

Earth without borders.

Yotanka and Elk.

Wolf and Cougar.

One Earth. One People. One Love.

Waters of Niagra Falls meet Santa Fe's liquid light.

A girl suspended above the falls.

A hand clapses her ankle.

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Art, Text and Photos by Charleen Touchette 2010

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Art above - is mixed media/rag paper

8.5 x 11".

Inquire at TouchArt@aol.com for sales.

"Why Death of Old School Feminism is a Good Thing"

2010-04-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

By Charleen Touchette

In response to the question posed by Lainie Alexander in Santa Fe, New Mexico –
"Is feminism still relevant in the 21st century?"

I feel as though the old school sisterhood feminism from the 1970's and 1980's is almost non-existent these days." Lainie Alexander, March 7, 2010

Calling Bees Home by Charleen Touchette 2009

In some ways, yes, the “old school sisterhood feminism” is gone, and in a lot of ways that is a good thing. The "old school sisterhood" turned out to be as exclusive, hierarchal, and classist as the "old boy network."
"Old school sisterhood feminists" in the ‘70s and ‘80s generally excluded women of color or invited us to be their handmaidens, do the work and not get any credit. Then when they write the history, they are the (s)heroes and leave out the rest of us.
Unfortunately, the "stars" of the feminist movement never learned that the core of patriarchy, which is hierarchal thinking that elevates some over others, must be abandoned for women to have true equity.
Ask Patricia Spear Jones about how it felt to be a crucial part of The Heresies Collective in NYC, then to be omitted from the recent Heresies documentary which focused on three women who are considered "gatekeepers" but who weren't there to do the hard work.
This is not just a race issue however, but, is one equally rooted in class. Sabra Moore who was instrumental in the Heresies Collective was also initially excluded from the documentary, which she attributes to her pride in her East Texas blue collar roots. Sabra was able to get herself and two women of color into the Heresies documentary, but many others who were instrumental to this work remain excluded.
This is how today's "herstory" is being written, with the same twisting of fact and exclusion of people and their stories that the second wave of feminist writers in the 1970s accused history of doing to women's stories.
Unfortunately, the "stars" of the feminist movement never learned that the core of patriarchy, which is hierarchal thinking that elevates some over others must be abandoned for women to have true equity. Until they change their faulty thinking and return to the egalitarian thinking and action of matrilineal thinking at the core of indigenous societies, they have just replaced a system run by men with one run by women who think like men and continue to oppress others to elevate themselves.
Women from outside the mainstream have often complained that "Feminism" neglected the fact that women outside of the white, middle and upper classes do not share the same need to oppose their men, sons, brothers, uncles and fathers who are often as oppressed as they are.
What is hopeful is that the women coming of age today are generally more open-minded and aware of race and gender and their complexity. I would like to see a new wave of feminism that returns to the core belief that no one should be discriminated against because of sex or any other real or perceived difference. "Old School sisterhood feminism" served few besides the "stars." I hope New School Feminists will think about looking back to our intact indigenous communities where women have real respect and freedom that depends on mutual respect, sharing and love of all our relations.

I hope New School Feminists will think about looking back to our intact indigenous communities where women have real respect and freedom that depends on mutual respect, sharing and love of all our relations.
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By Charleen Touchette 2010
www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com.

Building a Solar BathHouse - in progress

2010-04-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

by Charleen Touchette - Spring 2010

For years, we have been planning on building a solar bathhouse in a private sheltered area below our home and patio. Over the years we gathered water and beverage bottles intending to create our One Earth BathHouse with adobe bottle walls with mud and sand from the arroyos.

Laziness combined with inertia until we had lots of plans and sketches and lots of piles of bottles that looked more like trash than an earth friendly green bath house with water heated by the sun. This year, the high cost of propane (more than doubled since 2001) and the dire state of the economy put urgency behind our plans to cut energy costs and switch from fossil fuels to renewable solar energy.

So we took out the shovels while the snow melt was sending waterfalls down the arroyos separating sand from clay on the banks and built a sample bottle wall.

Next we dug the outlines for a solar shower basin, round hot pool and lower pools and wetlands, built up a retainer wall of rock and bottles to level the area we will top with sand from arroyo and flat stones from hillsides.

Solar hot water collector will be on hillside below pools and employ thermosiphon principles to send hot water up to shower and hot pool above.

Connecting streams with rock and sand filter water as will the wetlands planted with cattails, reeds, horsetail, willow and other water filtering plants transplanted from our koi pond.

Our Solar BathHouse is a work in progress and will take some time to figure out and get working smoothly and ecologically. But now that we've begun digging and putting our ideas into practice, it's clear there will be multiple benefits from our project including the joy of playing in sand and mud and enjoying springtime on the mountain.

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One Earth Blog

Text, plans and photographs by Charleen Touchette 2010

Thanks to Temple Grandin on National Autism Awareness Day

2010-04-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

by Charleen Touchette 2010 OneEarthBlog

One Earth - Bottle Wall by Charleen Touchette

2010-03-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Stacking glass bottles with adobe mortar is an economical way to recycle bottles and create retainer walls to curb soil erosion. In an afternoon, we built this 3 bottle high, 9 1/3 foot retaining wall to stop erosion on a steep hill and create a terrace for planting.

I've been designing a One Earth Bottle Home and brainstorming how to make it sustainable using renewable energy for years.

Our family started collecting bottles when our four children were still at home and I couldn't bear to see all the glass bottles not be recylcled. We've been gathering bottles for fover 17 years, so we now have a collection of thousands of bottles sorted into color and size.

This bottle wall is made of clear, green and cobalt blue glass bottles in honor of our daughter who was an afficiando of mineral water in her teens.

We dug a shallow trench a little wider than the length of the bottles parallel to the contour of the slope between two pinon trees. Then we put down a loose layer of small flat rocks, which we covered with a layer of gravel dug from the arroyo. Then we spread a layer of fine sand from arroyo, smoothed it and placed the first row of bottles alternating top to bottom. Tip - point open ends of bottle slightly downward to avoid water, bugs and algae getting inside. We forgot on this wall, but will do it on the next wall. Make sure bottles are placed on an even plane. Mix adobe mud mortar in pit or wheelbarrow. Combine 50-70% sand dug from center of arroyo with 30-40% clay mud dug from edges of arroyo and some straw and/or crushed pottery shards or small stones and add water until mud is good consistency to adhere and pour slowly. (Note - we should have added more water to adobe mix.)

If the earth at your place not suitable for making adobe, you can substitute concrete. But I like the idea of using the earth itself like the indigenous people in the southwest have done for millenia. Using earth from your own land is ideal. You eliminate energy and greenhouse gases spent to bring in store bought materials. To test if your earth will work, fill up a clear glass jar with dirt, cover with water, shake and leave overnight. The soil, clay and sand will separate out and if your sample has 30-40% clay, it should work. Using adobe from your own land is simple and you can't beat the price.

This bottle wall is a good first try. We may put on another layer of mud and a cap of flat rock to protect the adobe from rain. It is rough, but will make a good retainer wall and taught us what we need to do to make stronger walls that will eventually be used to build the sauna and the One Earth Bottle Home prototype.

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Photos, text and bottle wall by Charleen Touchette 2010

www.OneEarthBlog.Blogspot.com

Tipi of the Soul and DNA Girl

2010-03-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

New Art by Charleen Touchette - Spring 2010

"Woven into Four by Four"

"Woven into Star"

Movement of water and vibrating light catalyses healing. Light and dark limit and define each other with millions of slight variations that ignite and illuminate.

"Circle into Eight-Pointed Star"

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Tipi of the Soul emerges woven of threads of light in layers of time and place, light and water, falls and ascensions. Panther's piercing eyes illuminate and reflect the rising sun.

"Tipi of the Soul"

"Tipi of the Soul Meditation"

"Golden Tipi of the Soul"

"Meditating Mother"

"Maiden Butterfly Transformation"

"Golden Triangle Meditation"

"DNA Girl Metamorphosis"

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Centering, going deeper within reveals DNA Girl in the center in butterfly metamorphosis, flanked by dancing spirals.

"Jaguar Peers through Golden Threads"

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Art by Charleen Touchette 2010

Finding our Way Back for the Future

2010-03-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

by Charleen Touchette 2010

Indigenous elders often tell us to remember our original instructions.
These instructions, wherever you live, are to live in balance and harmony on this earth.

At the core of most spiritual traditions is the belief in the Oneness of all as it is expressed in the diversity and multiplicity of Creation.

The Diné call this harmony, Nizhoni, which is also translated as Beauty.
Diné healers perform the Beauty Way Ceremony to re-establish balance.
This concept is expressed in ancient Asian philosophy as Tao, or The Way, which embodies the dynamic relationship between, yin and yang, female and male, dark and light.

The Medicine Wheel or Four Directions symbol embodies teachings of how to achieve balance and wholeness by learning the lessons of each direction and bringing them into the center.

Our original instructions are to live in balance and harmony with ourselves and all our relations, whether human or animal, animate or inanimate.

We can choose to overconsume non-renewable energy, or choose sun and wind power that are clean and sustainable.

This balance is not easy to achieve, but it is not impossible to strive for and attain from moment to moment.

Inherent in the balance for which we work as individuals, families and societies is the reality that it is not static and requires awareness and constant readjustments to maintain and renew continually.

The Lakotah say, Mitakwe Owaysin, All My Relations to acknowledge our relatedness to all life and pray not only for all the colors of two-leggeds, but as well for the four-leggeds, winged, insect, crawling people and the grandfather rocks, plant people, stars, clouds and all beings, everywhere.

Indigenous people of the Plains call this path, The Red Road, and contrast it with the Blue Road of violence and addiction.

The Diné Beauty Way, Plains’ Red Road and the Tao,
embody dynamic balance that is constantly upset then realigned back into balance by action, prayer and ceremony.

Indigenous ways emphasize responsibility as well as freedom for individuals, families, clans, and nations.

Thinking is based on the circle which acknowledges the circular movement of the stars and planets and the cyclical nature of the seasons and all life. In this way, indigenous thinking is diametrically opposed to the linear thinking of the Western world, which is not sustainable and depends on conquest and inequity to survive and progress.

Indigenous societies are organized to ensure survival of the people and the environment that makes life possible. The earth changes the world faces today were long ago prophesized by visionaries in many different indigenous nations across the globe including the Mik’maq, Six Nations, Hopi, Blackfeet, Navajo and Maya. While these prophesies may seem magical, such as the Hopi foreseeing the landing of a man on the Moon and the two birds flying into the twin towers,
But much of what was seen was seen just by using common sense. Our indigenous ancestors knew long ago that if we took more than we gave, destroyed the cleanliness of our own earth, sky and water, and mistreated our fellow human beings and animals, birds, plants and other living things, there would be dire consequences.
It is a no-brainer. Every culture has stories about when people forgot their original instructions and were greedy, violent and selfish. And every culture has stories about the consequences to human actions from floods to tornadoes to earthquakes, plagues, famine and disease.

So when asked, what is the biggest challenge people in the world face today? the answer is, that we have lost our way.

The solution to world problems is to shift our minds back to the wisdom of our indigenous ancestors who knew that living in balance is the key to sustainability and survival for human beings and all our relations who share this marvelous finite planet earth.

If we want to have a healthy future for ourselves and the next generations, we need to find our way back to the fundamental teachings of living in right relationship to assure sustainability and survival. Our ancestors knew by direct observation how to live in harmony and balance with the earth, sky, water, animal and plant beings and each other because their survival depended upon it. Now, more and more everyday, so does ours.

One Earth. Think About It.

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Text and Photos by Charleen Touchette 2010

http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Affordable Simple Solar Solutions + Update

2010-03-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

The sun emerges from behind Overlook Mountain on the northeast slope after Vernal Equinox.

At Winter Solstice, the morning sun appears just above the rock outcropping far down the southeast slope of the same mountain.

Mountain covered with snow on Vernal Equinox.

Bright sunshine and over 300 sunny days per year make the southwest a perfect place for solar energy.

Spring snow quickly melts with strong solar gain on southwest side of home.

Spring snow and high cost of filling propane tank makes urge to switch to solar energy strong.

Affordable Simple Solar Solutions
By Charleen Touchette Spring, 2010
http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/
Spring Equinox sunrise on northeast shoulder of Overlook Mountain reminds me of how far the sun has traveled towards its summer home from the frigid day of Winter Solstice when it rose far down the southeast slope of the same mountain. Day lengthens and night shortens each day as we move towards Summer Solstice and the Sundances in mid-June. The movement of the sun brings thoughts of how to turn our energy use for space and hot water winter heating from non-renewable propane gas to solar. The high cost of $1200 and upwards to refill the propane tank makes these thoughts more urgent. So, I have been researching and brainstorming about different ways to switch from non-renewable energy sources to renewable sun and wind. The good news is that there are plenty of resources and websites out there worth looking to for information and supplies. The difficulty is finding sites that present simple, affordable and easy ways to make this earth friendly change. I've listed a few of the more interesting and clear sites on solar energy solutions. Will continue this research and update you on what I find on future One Earth Blogs.

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Passive Solar

http://web.me.com/davidbainbridge/Waterwalls/Solar.html

Solar Water Heating –

at Build It Solar – The Renewable Energy Site for Do-It-Yourselfers
http://www.builditsolar.com/
Welcome To Build-It-Solar
Plans, tools and information to do renewable energy and conservation projects.
Hundreds of projects -- from changing a light bulb to building a solar home.
Design information and tools for building renewable energy projects.An Experimental section for backyard inventors.

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm#1KSolarWater
http://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/PEXColDHW/Overview.htm
An attempt at a $1000,
cold climate,
high performance,
long life,
low maintenance,
easy to build
solar water heater.

This system can save $300+ per year in energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions by 2 tons. Full and free construction plans provided below -- it will cost about $1000 in materials.
As of late April 2009 we have lived with this system for 8 months. It has been trouble free and provided a solar fraction of 94% over the cold Montana winter. Aside from the failure of an off the shelf controller, it has required no maintenance. The drain back system has seen temperatures down to -30F with not even a hint of a problem.I believe that the system has been and will continue to be the functional and thermal equivalent of commercial systems that seem to be going for around $7000+ these days.

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm#Example1KSystems

Solar Space Heating

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/Space_Heating.htm

Solar Space Heating for radiant heat using $1,000 solar water heater system and 6 4 x 8’ collectors or 24 x 8’.

This Solar Water Wall sounds perfect –
It combines all we need for the One Earth Bottle Home –
1) Simple
2) Low cost
3) easy to build
4) use inexpensive materials
5) low-maintenance
6) no need to use energy to work

http://web.me.com/davidbainbridge/Waterwalls/Solar.html
Water wall passive solar buildings
By David A. Bainbridge

The most economical solution for heating and cooling most buildings is passive solar design — using the elements of the building to collect and store solar energy for heating and using climate resources for natural cooling.

Passive solar systems use energy from the sun and climate resources to provide both heating, cooling, and ventilation.

They do not rely on auxiliary energy sources to function. Because there are no pumps or controls, they will work even if the power is off.
They are simple and relatively low in cost.

They combine collection and storage. They have a long life and need little maintenance. They use energy-inexpensive materials.
They can be built and installed by the regular construction trades without special equipment.

Water wall passive solar buildings are usually the most attractive type of passive solar home. The key element for a passive solar home is thermal mass — and water provides this mass at a lower cost than either concrete or phase change salts.

This site by Solar Roofs has lots of good info on buying their solar systems and do-it-yourself help as well.

http://www.solarroofs.com/SolarSpaceHeating.html

Bob’s brilliance again – simple and elegant – this can be the prototype for the OneEarth Bottle Home – once it is made beautiful by a woman. A home based on an ice house - appropriate for a Canuck girl.
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/SolarIceShack/SolarIceShack.htm
Bob's Solar Heated Ice Shack

This is a really simple, efficient and cost effective way to heat an ice fishing shack using solar. It appears to work very well.
Thanks very much to Bob for providing this material!
If Bob can heat an ice shack with solar, what are you waiting for!

From Bob:

Being retired and already having installed Solar Domestic Hot Water and an active Solar Air Heater on our house I was impressed with the ability to capture meaningful heat even in frigid conditions. Since I ice fish on the Lake of the Woods and have a friend who owns an 8 ft X 12 ft ice fishing shack I began thinking about how I could heat the shack with Solar. It came to mind that such an application would have some key considerations in its favor.
1) There is no need to worry about buildings or trees blocking the panel’s exposure to the sun.2) Since the ice shack is portable a southerly alignment is not an issue.3) The use of the shack is typically only during the daylight hours.4) The reflection off the snow should give an added boost to the panel’s performance.

The insulating, sealing and installation of the panel was done on dry land last summer.I was fortunate to acquire 8 used 4 ft X 8 ft boards of 2” foil faced polyiso insulation so I insulated and sealed the shack first.

Interior of the ice shack. The 2 X 6 plank resting on the barbeque is to stabilize the shack during transport.
For the Solar Panel design I decided on Gary’s double screen mesh passive design.Since this was to be a low cost/ no cost project the glazing used was 6 mil poly rather than the more durable, better looking but more expensive clear corrugated polycarbonate panels.
The treated 2 X 4’s were recovered from a deck replacement project.Even the black paint used on the shack was only $10 because it was a wrongly mixed tin that I just had them add black coloring to.The only other actual expense was for the 4 ft X 7 ft times 4 bug screen that was used for the flow through absorption surface.The construction of the panels was very simple using 2 X 4’s on edge for the frame and 2 X 4’s ripped in half to support the bug screen.

This is an interior view of the panel wall with slot cut through for the thermal siphoning heated air to return into the shack.

There are 4 identical holes under the bench to allow cooler air to enter the bottom of the panels.
Back draft dampers are installed over the top holes to reduce back flow on non sunny days.
I initially used 6 mil plastic for the dampers but found they were too heavy and impeded the weak thermal siphoning forces.
As suggested by Gary these dampers have since been replaced with light weight garbage bag plastic which do work better.
This interior wall was left uninsulated to take advantage of the radiant heat emanating through the wall which appears to be quite significant.

Results
Yesterday February 18th on a beautiful calm sunny day with an outside temperature of 31 F I was pleased to find temperatures in the shack varying from 90 F at the ceiling to 55 F at the floor. Midpoint temps were perfect if not slightly too warm at between 70 and 80 F.
Tips
When installing the plastic glazing it is important to do it on a sunny day otherwise it will stretch and become baggy.Sealing and insulation of the structure being heated is very important.Overall this was a simple cost effective and satisfying project that I hope others like minded fisherman will find useful.

Bob

Bob will answer email questions -- you can reach him at:

Bob Allan: ballan AT kmts DOT ca (replace AT with @ and DOT with a period).
Kenora on beautiful Lake of the Woods in Ontario Canada

Gary Feb 20, 2010
Contact/About Legal Disclaimer Copyright 2005 by Gary Reysa
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Build an Outdoor Solar Shower

With propane prices at an all time high, I decided to build an outdoor solar shower.

The most simple solar shower is a coiled garden hose place high in a tree in full sunlight. I am clearing a spot in our outdoor bathhouse that is under construction for a solar shower. The plan is to dig a basin with a drain into our garden to irrigate with runoff from shower. I will tile shower floor with stones and pebbles from the surrounding area.

Check out these websites for ideas and plans to make solar showers.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/Solar-Shower.aspx

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/1979-09-01/A-Homemade-Solar-Water-Heater.aspx

http://www.motherearthnews.com/uploadedImages/articles/issues/2009-06-01/MEN-JJ09-lore_outdoor_shower_2.jpg

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Build-Your-Own-Outdoor-Shower&id=3472317

The article below is a good explanation of how to build a solar water heater that is simple and affordable. Thanks to author William Weber for doing the research and figuring out how the average person can make an easy affordable solar water heater.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/1979-09-01/A-Homemade-Solar-Water-Heater.aspx?page=2
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These are just some ideas to get you started. I will post more information on future One Earth Blogs. In the meantime, go to the sites mentioned here to learn more and get on your way to taking your first steps to sustainable solar energy for the health of the earth and everyone living here.
One Earth. Think About It.

One Earth Blog by Charleen Touchette Copyright 2010 by Charleen Touchette

Forest Beings - Art by Charleen Touchette

2010-03-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Forest Beings - Art by Charleen Touchette - Spring 2010

The view within this tangle of pinon tree branches became the inspiration for a new art series.

When I layer images from earth and sky, then play with them, faces, figures, animals, plants and energies magically appear and change as the eye travels across the image. There is a kinetic energy within the image that interacts with the viewer. It appears from my initial observations that different people see different unique faces and entities looking at the same piece of art.

As I repeatedly double, flip and manipulate layers of the forest image, geometric shapes and structures emerge resembling complex mosaics, Navajo and Persian rug patterns and Medieval stained glass windows.

Bringing focus to center reveals a complex geometric hexagon, the number six. The hexagon, or Jewish Star, combines two triangles, the three of the isoceles triangle representing male energy with the inverted female triangle, thus embodying balance of male and female or yin and yan.

Multiplicity distills into eight points radiating from four directions out of center circle.

The core is the number one at the center of the number four. The oneness of being at the center and crossroads of the four directions. Creation manifests outward in diversity and multiplicity and is at its center one. God is One.

Forest Beings - Art and Writing by Charleen Touchette, Spring 2010

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http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

We Are Destroying Our Mountains by Charleen Touchette

2010-03-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

We are the "they" who are destroying our mountaintops around the world.

Hopi Home Dances at Hotevilla send the Kachinas back to these sacred mountain tops outside Flagstaff, Arizona named the San Francisco Peaks on the maps.

As consumers of electricity produced by coal-fired electric plants, we help fuel a market that endangers lives and environment everywhere and affects everyone.

San Francisco Peaks seen from I-40, March 2010.

Doko'oosliid - San Francisco Peaks is the southwest of the Four Sacred Mountains. The Navajo land Dinetah is defined as enclosed by the four sacred mountains:
East: Tsisnaajini' - Mt. Blanca east of Alamosa, Colorado.
South: Tsoodzil - Mt. Taylor near Grants, New Mexico.
West: Doko'oosliid - San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona.
North: Dibe'ntsaaa - Mt. Hesperus west of Durango, Colorado. (Learn more about the Navajo at - http://www.ausbcomp.com/Redman/navajo.htm)

The San Francisco Peaks are sacred to Navajo and Hopi.

Mountain destroyed by mining east of Flagstaff.

Mining entire mountain east of San Francisco Peaks off I-40 outside Flagstaff. Arizona.

West: Doko'oosliid - San Francisco Peaks, near Flagstaff, AZ

Mining pit off I-40 east of Flagstaff, Arizona.

Electric Towers across Navajo Nation Send Power to Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Coal-fired Electric Plants on I-40 in northern Arizona can be seen from space.

There is a lot of blame to go around for the deterioration of earth, air and water today.

Much human energy is wasted assigning blame, and either overblowing or denying the obvious dangers of overconsumption, greed and living out of balance.

Today's earth changes are no surprise to most indigenous and indigenous-minded people.

Many indigenous peoples from this continent and others have stories of times when their own ancestors faced the consequences of living out of balance and the people had to relearn the importance of living in right relation to each other and to the earth, air and water that make life possible.

Blaming "them" for polluting earth, water and sky is easy, but hypocritical, and useless. We are "them" whenever we flip a light switch or boot up a computer with electricity powered by coal-fired plants that poison lungs in Navajo Nation and Four Corners that are fired by coal mined by cutting off mountain tops in view of the San Francisco Peaks, sacred to Dine and Hopi.
We are not blameless, but we are not powerless either. We consume electricity produced in these destructive ways and our demand for electricity fuels investment and greed in non-renewable fossil fuels. If we reduce our use of electricity, it can make a real difference.
We can do something. We can reduce our use of energy and resources. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle can be more than a slogan. Its practice can lessen the damage to our home and environment one small change at a time.

Don't think that moving open pit mining and mountain top destruction from outside Flagstaff to China or West Africa is the answer. Those mountains they are destroying there are sacred, as well.

The water and the air are one. You can't put poison one place without it finding its way everywhere. That's why the earth, sky and water have storms, fires, earthquakes, cyclones and tornados to cleanse and reestablish balance.

The good news is our traditions have stories and ceremonies to reestablish balance when it is disrupted and examples of how people in other times of challenge and change brought their words and actions back into right relation with earth, sky, water and all our relatives.

Our western ancestors were warned by our indigenous ancestors about the inescapable consequences of overconsumption, polluting earth, air and water and living out of balance that we see today throughout the world. It is time to stop blaming and making excuses and work together to set things right.

One Earth. Think About It.

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Photos and text by Charleen Touchette

http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

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See -
BBC News - Rio Tinto signs mines deal with China's Chinalco
news.bbc.co.uk
The Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto says it has signed a deal with China to develop a massive iron ore mine in West Africa.

TouchArt Books Gift Offer

2010-03-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

TouchArt Books Gift for You - Offer good until March 31st at midnight.

1 - Order 1 copy of "It Stops with Me - Memoir of a Canuck Girl" from Museum of New Mexico Shops and we'll send you a free signed 11" x 8" giglee print of Touchette's "Nursing Mother's Circle."

"Nursing Mother's Circle" appears on back cover of IT STOPS WITH ME and in b & w in "100-Artists Book" edited by Sabra Moore in MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) Book Collection, NYC.

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2 - Order 10 or more copies of "It Stops with Me" and you get an 11..." x 8" original mixed media painting by Charleen Touchette.

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"Calling the Bees" mm/paper 2009 by Charleen Touchette - an example of small mixed media gift.

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3 - Order a case - 28 books - for your university classes, bookstore or community and we'll give you a 40% discount on price of books and send you a signed 11" x 8" giglee print of Touchette's "Nursing Mother's Circle."

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Just purchase books online at http://newmexicocreates.org/product.php?fromsearch=true&id=8689&cat_id=&sub_id=&searchpage=1&searchcolor=&searchcat=58&searchgenre=&searchstring=touchette&searchpriceMin=&searchpriceMax=&viewAll=- Send receipt with your name, email, mailing address and phone number to TouchArt@aol.com. Allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.
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IT STOPS WITH ME author/artist Charleen Touchette signs books at New Mexico Women Authors Book Festival at Museums of New Mexico in September 2009.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, great poet and publisher of City Lights Books, called "It Stops with Me" a "beautiful book." (handwritten postcard, 2004)

Powerful PhotoArts Exhibit by Sage Paisner

2010-03-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

"Spider Rock Overlook Where We'd Play at Sunset"

"Castle Rock from Our Backyard

"Temporary Space" (l) "Permanent Space" (r) Wind Cave, Black Hills, South Dakota Silver on Gelatin 22"x 18"

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"This Does Not Belong to You"

by Sage Paisner

CalArts MFA PhotoArts Thesis Exhibition was shown on March 4, 2010 with an opening lecture by American Indian Movement Leader Russell Means at CalArts.
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[Sage Paisner's MFA 2 Photography and Media graduate thesis show was at CalArts - California Institute of Arts at 24700 Mc Bean Parkway in Valencia, California, 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles in Gallery D301 on Thursday, March 4, 2010 with an Exhibition Opening from 7 to 11 p.m..]

Sage Paisner's powerful exhibit includes large format 4' x 5' black and white photo portraits, small black and white landscapes, projections, video photo montages and video interviews with the subjects of the portraits.

Sage Paisner photographs American Indian Movement leaders, mothers, grandmothers, warriors, and relatives on Alcatraz Island, in the Black Hills and on the Pine Ridge and Navajo Indian Reservations nearly 150 years after the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty with the Lakota and 40 years after A.I.M. takeovers of Alcatraz and then, Wounded Knee Village in 1973.

"David Swallow Jr. - Medicine Man"
Silver on Gelatin, 7' x 5'

Paisner juxtaposes larger than life portraits with triptychs of resevation landscapes tied to his subjects and childhood home reduced to an intimate size.

"Navajo Nation"
Silver on Gelatin, 3' x 6'

Paisner’s iconic 4 x 5 foot black and white photographs portray the humanity, dignity and diversity of American Indians in the 21st Century. Identity and photography have a complex role in the way American Indians are portrayed and viewed by the outside world. By photographing family friends who he has known from childhood and their relatives, Sage Paisner brings an intimate perspective.

"Vanessa Brown - Shoe Sale for Angel House Foundation"
Silver on Gelatin, 7' x 5'

A video loop on a television on the left side of the gallery shows 6 interviews with American Indian leaders Amber Two Bulls, Billy Soza Warsoldier, Shirley Waterhouse, Smurf, Vanessa Brown and Norman Patrick Brown. Vanessa Brown spoke about her Lakota grandfather who inspired her to become a Sundancer and join A.I.M. in her teens.

"Vanessa Brown talks about the teachings of the Sacred Medicine Wheel.

Paisner repeats footage of Navajo filmmaker Norman Patrick Brown telling the story that gives the exhibit its name. Norman's father, who he describes as "ancient school, not old school" told his son, "Those don't belong to you. Your creativity, your mind and gifts, those belong to the Creator, those belong to the People. Be careful what you do with them."

"Fresh Fry Bread Served Daily"
Chinle, Navajo Nation
Silver on Gelatin 3' x 6'

Like 19th Century photographers, Paisner takes a large format 4 x 5 foot camera out to Indian Reservations, but unlike Edward Curtis who took wigs and costumes to make his subjects reflect his idea of authentic Indians, Sage Paisner photographs family friends who choose their own clothes and reveal their authenticity on their own terms.

"Pearl Means - Activist"
Silver on Gelatin 7' x 5'

"Alcatraz and Navajo Code Talking"
Silver on Gelatin 3' x 6'

Gallery View (left)

Gallery View (right)

Paisner's work connects to the tradition of black and white portraiture of the Western Landscape and American Indians through his training at the University of New Mexico (B.A., Summa cum laude, Honors, 2005). But Paisner creates a reciprocal relationship with his subjects who are finally given voice through videos of them talking about their portraits Indian Identity, Census Numbers, A.I.M. and reservation life today.

Shirley Waterhouse Interview on television.
"Pearl Means - Activist" on left.

Three screens show Lakotah Medicine Man David Swallow Jr. speaking with photos and video of reservation life alternated with video of an upside down U.S. flag - the universal symbol of distress - blowing in the wind.

Gallery view on right with television showing montage of landscape video and text about growing up on the rez in Chinle and Tuba City, landscapes, portraits and projectors.

Video and audio of David Swallow Jr. sets the tone.

"My name is Wowitan Yuha Mani. I am a TetohLakota of the Wa Naweg’a Band and I live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota."

Wowitan Yuha Mani speaks about the Black Hills and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

"This is the way my Grandpa Najutala told me, a long time ago. He was a teenager when the 1868 Treaty was signed. He’s gone now but this is how he told me about the sacred Black Hills."

David Swallow Jr. tells the story of how his wife Nila Helper's grandfather survived the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 by a beaver who called him to safety into his den where two other Lakotah boys who had fled were already hiding.

Paisner juxtaposes photographs of American Indian Kitch at tourist traps on highways in the West with his photos of real people and places in Indian Country.

"I-40, U.S.A."

Silver on Gelatin 3' x 6'

"Norman Patrick Brown - Film Maker, Activist"
Navajo Nation
Silver on Gelatin 7' x 5'

In “This Doesn’t Belong to You,” the audience hears directly from American Indians today who repeat their stories of dedication to the people.“This Does Not Belong to You” is what Norman Patrick Brown’s father said to remind him that his creativity and mind belong not to himself, but to the people and the Creator.

"Returning Home Stop"
Silver on Gelatin 3' x 6'

Three projections are shown on the back wall of the gallery with two photo portraits of Uncle Billy Soza Warsoldier, one in front of his tribe's Morongo Casino and one in front of his red truck and a painting he did of the U.S. flag flying upside down to signal distress.

"Aztec Medicine Man - Sunrise Ceremony"
Alcatraz Island, California
Silver on Gelatin 7' x 5'

"Ayisa, Jarel, Navea

- The Seventh Generation"

Porcupine, SD, Wind Cave, SD, Tuba City, AZ

Silver on Gelatin 3' x 6'

Process is a crucial part of Sage Paisner’s art practice. He takes his camera, traveling darkroom, trays of chemicals and video camera out to the community, involves them in the whole process and makes the magic of photography accessible.

"Smurf"

Porcupine, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

Silver on Gelatin 7' x 5'

"Mantra - Uncle Billy Soza Warsoldier - Painter, Activist"

Projection of 3 Images with Audio

This series by Sage Paisner also includes more portraits and/or video of Russell Means, Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Pearl Means, Billy Soza Warsoldier, Norman Patrick Brown, Willie Long Reed, Shirley Waterhouse, Vanessa Brown and other American Indian leaders and more landscapes and ndn kitch photos of the Black Hills, Pine Ridge and the Navajo Nation.

"Russell Means Holds 'Lakotah Toilet Paper'"
Screen Print 30" x 22"

Republic of Lakota Leader Russell Means - Guest Lecturer at Opening

American Indian Movement Leader Russell Means was the guest speaker at the opening of "This Does Not Belong to You" - by Sage Paisner, CalArts MFA Photo/Media Arts Thesis Exhibition on March 4, 2010 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. to an attentive audience of CalArts President, Provost, Dean, Faculty, Students, Administrators and Guests.

Mr. Means with his silkscreen portrait by Sage Paisner 2010.

Sage Paisner and Russell Means at CalArts on March 4, 2010.

Pearl and Russell Means with Sage Paisner and his fiancee Scarlett Widgeon.

Russell and Pearl Means, Barry Paisner and Charleen Touchette at Sage Paisner's Exhibition, 2010.

_______________________________________

Sage Paisner's art is available for exhibitions and sales. Dealer inquiries welcome.

Contact SagePaisner@aol.com

'March E-Newsletter'

2010-03-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

'March E-Newsletter'

Painting with Charleen Touchette

2010-02-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

"A day painting is better than a day doing anything else."
by Charleen Touchette

" One Love, One Heart" 2010 (Birthday Gift to Everyone)

"One Spirit"

"Yin/Yang (Vesica Piscis)"

Painting in Public at The Station trackside at Santa Fe Depot.

Painting in Public at Saveur in Santa Fe.

Drawing table at TouchArt Studios.

TouchArt Drawing and Painting Studios

Three Circles - sketching charcoal drawing for new painting.

"Calling Home the Bees" by Charleen Touchette

TouchArt Drawing Studio with "Connections" mixed media painting on wall.

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A day painting is better than a day doing anything else.

Painters, understand that statement.

Artists everywhere of every kind understand it too.

Painters know the state of bliss when the sound of the paintbrush is

one with the beating of the heart and the flow of blood through veins.

Painters feel joy when the strokes of hands, tilt of fingers holding brush or charcoal

bring forth the image in the mind to light.

From empty white canvas, a simple circle. The One. Undivided and whole.

One circle, then two, then three.
Draw the Vesica Piscis. Two circles intersect to create the mandorla sacred shape.

One circle, then two, then three, again.

A maiden, a mother, a crone. Honor the women. Call the bees home.

Three Graces. Three Sisters - Corn, Beans and Squash.

A rainbow and a whole universe emerges.

Black and white, yin and yang, light and dark are all contained in the one.

A circle carved in rock, painted on wall, inscribed in heart.

A day painting circles is better than a day doing anything else.

___________________________

by Charleen Touchette 2010
OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Call for Ideas for TouchArt One Earth Bottle Home

2010-02-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

Call for ideas for TouchArt's One Earth Bottle Home design.

Think many of you may have brilliant ideas for embodying sustainability in the design and knowledge about renewable energy, water catchment, gray water systems and plants for the green roof and kitchen garden.

TouchArt's One Earth Bottle Home is a project for a sustainable beautiful home built by communities for women, children and families using recycled glass and plastic bottles, cans and tires.

The home would use solar and wind energy and have a green roof, water catchment and gray water system.

The idea is an earthship like up in Taos, but in a sustainable thousand square foot size.

I have been envisioning the TouchArt One Earth Bottle House since 2000 and now I'm doing a call out to all my talented artist, scientist and designer friends to help design a sustainable, energy independent, affordable family home made out of recyclables.

My plan is to give the TouchArt One Earth Bottle House design to our communities so badly in need of housing and energy and food independence.

Write Charleen Touchette at TouchArt@aol.com with ideas for a sustainable, low-cost, beautiful 1,000 square foot home made of recyclable bottles.

TouchArt One Earth Bottle Home will be simple, sustainable and inexpensive to build and easy for our families to operate and maintain.

Birthday Gift to Everyone

2010-02-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

Every year on my birthday, I give a piece of my art to everyone to use for women, children and families. One year, a birthing center in Atlanta, Georgia printed my "Nursing Mothers' Circle" on tea mugs and doubled breastfeeding among their new mothers.

This year, the art, "One Love, One Heart," is inspired by the practice of compassion and forgiveness. The hands form a heart to symbolize that action and compassion are essential to forgiveness.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that Peace is not only the goal, it is also the way to achieve that goal. Hatred and violence lead only to a never-ending spiral of violence and destruction.

We can choose to forgive and to practice unconditional love and compassion to everyone everywhere. We are all related.

Peace Now Everwhere,

Charleen Touchette

OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Relocatee Shima's Grandchildrens' Shoes

2010-02-06T07:34:00.001-08:00

Relocatee Shima's Grandchildrens' Shoes, originally uploaded by artist_charleentouchette.

Barry took this photo in the late 1980s when he worked to Navajo Tribal Justice representing the Navajo Relocatees from the disputed lands near Big Mountain. This hogan is near Teec Yah To.

The grandchildrens' shoes set on the roof to dry in the sunshine reminds me of the challenge of dealing with Chinle mud caked on our boys' shoes when we lived there.
_______________________________
Charleen Touchette
One Earth Blog
TouchArt ltd

Gitchegame Woman Offers Water

2010-01-02T17:15:00.001-08:00

gitchegame-woman-offers-water, originally uploaded by artist_charleentouchette.

Painting by Charleen Touchette 2009.

Hate Kills Love, So...Love Can Kill Hate

2010-01-02T12:46:00.005-08:00

"Hate Kills Love" Painting Series by Charleen Touchette 2008-9
9, originally uploaded by artist_charleentouchette.

What can bring a man to kill a mother and child?
I painted 10 paintings of this appropriated photograph from World War II. I titled the series "Hate Kills Love" and took 10 months to paint and repaint the soldier aiming and the mother cluthching her child over and over again struggling, but never nearing any understanding of how such cruelty is possible, not only possible then, long ago, but in every age and country and repeated daily somewhere in the world often paid for by our U.S. tax dollars without any ability to stop the violence done in our name.
But if this image and the rampart violence against women and children embodies how hate kills love, then the converse can be true or can be made true. Loves kills hate and is the only thing that can overcome hate as Dr. King said. Only love and light can overcome hate and darkness. War and violence end only in an escalating spiral of death and despair. When I painted the woman, I felt her fear and the certainty of her death, but mostly I felt her powerful will to live and even more, for her child to live. Somehow in these paintings, she and her child are forever alive at the moment before the soldier makes his irredeemable choice to pull that trigger. He is frozen as well, forever facing the choice to kill innocents.

Click here for all 9 paintings in Hate Kills Love series - http://www.flickr.com/photos/touchart/sets/72157611973754232/
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Art and text by Charleen Touchette 2010

Make Something, Give it Away, Watch Joy Grow

2009-12-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

Make Something, Give it Away, Watch Joy Grow

LDK Signature Fingerless Gloves in Black Alpaca

LDK Ribbed Line Toque

Make Something and Give it Away
Chilly winter temperatures, long cold nights and days so cold it can't snow make warm handknits especially appreciated this season.
Knitted LDK Signature Fingerless Gloves in black alpaca and LDK Ribbed Line Toque in brown alpaca the last few days and gave them away.
Nothing like the joy of making something from just yarn and time that someone can wear to keep warm and feel loved. The making of the gift and the giving and receiving fill both with joy.
Try it. It takes surprisingly little time and money to handknit or crochet someone a knit scarf or other winter garment, but the warm feeling you both give and get is priceless.
Make something and give it away. Watch the joy grow.
__________________________
Knitting and Photos by Charleen Touchette 2009.

Touchette Talks on Nurturing Creativity at Wellesley in NM

2009-12-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

At Museums of New Mexico Women Authors Book Festival

Charleen Touchette signs books while daughter Liesette Paisner serves homemade pie.

Reading from "It Stops with Me - Memoir of a Canuck Girl."

Apples for pie.

Knitting/Walking practice in New Mexico, on beach in Santa Monica or wherever I travel is a moving meditation that makes people smile and tell stories about creative people in their lives.

Knitting in front of New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts

Painting al fresco at The Station trackside at Santa Fe Depot

Charleen Touchette talks on "Nurturing Creativity for a Life of Purposeful Fulfillment" at Wellesley in New Mexico Club Event this Saturday, December 5th at 2-4 p.m. at Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe at 401 Old Taos Highway, Santa Fe, NM #505 982-8539.Wellesley in New Mexico announcement -"Meet Charleen Touchette, class of 1975, and share in an afternoon presentation of her books, art and activist work for peace with justice. Touchette is the New Mexico Coordinator for Realizing the Dream, Martin Luther King III's Poverty in America Initiative, host and producer of Mixed Blood Radio Archives and author of "It Stops with Me" and "ndn art."

Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe is at the former Plaza Resolana on Paseo de Peralta and 401 Old Taos Highway in Santa Fe.

Click here for mapquest of address - http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Santa+Fe&state=NM&address=401+Old+Taos+Hwy&zipcode=87501-1203&country=US&latitude=35.691888&longitude=-105.938546&geocode=ADDRESS

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Review by Jessica M. Laccetti for WomenWriters.net of "It Stops with Me".

It Stops With Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl
www.womenwriters.net
Approaching Charleen Touchettes latest textual offering for the first time, readers will be drawn to the unusual cover design. With a smudged grey background, reminiscent of kindergarten pastel-drawing ...

http://www.womenwriters.net/summer06/stopswithme.html

_________________________________

http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Turkey Stuffed with Cornish Game Hen Stuffed with Cornbread Sausage Stuffing

2009-11-27T08:29:00.000-08:00

Stuffing turkey for Thanksgiving. This year, we couldn't get one big turkey, so we stuffed two 13 pounders, one with cornbread, chicken sausage, onions, oyster mushrooms and sage and the bigger turkey we stuffed with a small cornish game hen stuffed with the cornbread sausage sage dressing. Homemade whole wheat mini-brioches were made day before and frozen overnight, then thawed before being baked on Turkey Day. Cutting butter into flour, rolling pastry rounds for apple and apricot pies. Our son sliced the apples for pie, then made his Curried Pumpkin soup for a delectable first course. Roasted turkey comes out steaming from oven covered with sage, rosemary, lavender herbs harvested from garden. Golden and deep red beets roasted in pan with turkey juices, then sliced and served. Mashed potatos, glazed cranberries, giblet gravy and red chile complete a delicious Thanksgiving dinner made by everybody in the family and enjoyed by all with lots of love, storytelling and laughter with flaky apple and apricot pies for dessert. Hope your family gatherings were blessed with love and sweet time spent together as well.

__________________

Photos and text by Charleen Touchette 2009

www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Thanksgiving Still Life

2009-11-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

Trips to Farmers Market and La Montanita Coop for Thanksgiving dinner bring subjects for harvest still life home to our kitchen. Colors and textures of fall vegetables are a visual feast as well as being delicious ingredients for family dinner for children home from college for holiday.

Thanksgiving is a complicated holiday. It began as a celebration of a massacre of 700 Pequot Indians in the northeast, but has been turned into a holiday perpetuating the American myth using the doctrine of "Manifest Destiny" to justify the conquest of the Americas.

Despite Thanksgiving's dubious origins, for generations, indigenous families have used the Thursday off in November to gather with family, share food, stories and laughter and celebrate the harvest more in keeping with the spirit of the Green Corn Dance held by American Indians for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.

__________________

Photos and text by Charleen Touchette 2009

OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Easy Winter Meal for a Snowy Day

2009-10-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

Whole Wheat Bread
& Raspberry Jam

Easy Lentil Soup

Aroma of Baking Bread

Bread Is Moist and Chewy

No Preservatives, Chemicals

or Plastic Packaging

Use Any Vegetables On-Hand for Soup

Bread Dough Should Be Sticky

Kneading the Dough

Water, Lentils, Oil, Salt,
Pepper and Bay Leaves

Rinse Lentils in Fresh Water

___________________________________________________

"Easy Winter Meal for a Snowy Day"
by Charleen Touchette, 2009
One Earth Blog

Cold snowy mornings are the perfect time to bake bread and cook a vegetarian lentil soup in the crock pot. Baking bread is a lot easier than it looks and simple if you are at home on a snowy day. If you think you do not have time to cook, try these easy simple recipes and surprise yourself and your loved ones with a wholesome healthy dinner that costs next to nothing.

I began baking whole wheat bread in a farmhouse kitchen in Clinton Hollow in upstate New York while still in college. The first time, I killed the yeast and my bread was as hard and flat as a brick. My boyfriend, who learned to bake bread from hippies in Eugene, Oregon, taught me yeast is a living organism. Everything it touches has to be lukewarm so the yeast can grow. Anything too hot or too cold will kill the yeast and the bread will not rise. Once I learned that it was easy to take any bread recipe and modify and tweak it to knead and bake any kind of bread.

Whole Wheat bread is simple and easy to make and tastes so good, as well as being good for you with no preservatives and chemicals. There is really no reason to buy store bought bread in plastic wrapping.

Vegetarian Lentil Soup is a nourishing inexpensive and easy soup to make for busy young mothers or anyone who needs to make a quick dinner in an hour for pennies that is loved by children and people of all ages.

All you need is a stock pot or crock pot, a bag of lentils, water, a bay leaf, oil, salt, pepper and whatever vegetables you have on hand. Serve with short grain brown rice. This lentil soup is a perennial favorite with our four children and their friends from toddlers to adults.

Lentil soup can be cooked on the stovetop for 1 hour or slow cooked in a crock pot for 4 or more hours. This soup is perfect for days when you need to put dinner in the crock pot in the morning before going to work and come home to a hot meal.

For variety, pour the lentil soup atop fresh washed beet greens or spinach leaves from the garden just before serving. The hot soup cooks the greens instantly. It is a delicious variation rich in iron and other good nutrients. I also sometimes ladle the lentil soup into bowls and top with barbecued or roasted beef, chicken or fish and steamed vegetables.

Baked Apples are delicious and soothing for dessert on a cold winter night. Place 4-6 apples (pricked with a fork) in a Pyrex oven-safe dish, add ¼ inch water, juice or wine and pop into the 375 degree oven with the baking bread to conserve energy. Bake and drizzle honey on top or sift or sprinkle powdered or brown sugar on apples when done and serve.

This easy winter dinner warms the tummy and heart on cold winter nights when snow outside makes you want to cuddle by the fire with a bowl of steaming soup wrapped in a blanket by yourself or surrounded by loved ones.

_____________________

One Earth Whole Wheat Bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
4 cups warm water
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1 T brown sugar
8 cups whole wheat flour
1 T salt

- Stir brown sugar into 4 cups warm water. (Sugar feeds the yeast.) Water should be lukewarm, warm enough to grow yeast and not so hot that it kills it. Sprinkle yeast on top of sugar water and cover with a dishcloth until it has bubbled up (about 7-10 minutes). Measure out 4 cups of flour into large bowl and add water/sugar/yeast mixture with wooden spoon. Add remaining 4 cups flour plus 1 T salt mixing with wooden spoon then kneading with hands until dough is elastic but still somewhat wet and sticky.

Oil bowl and return dough to bowl turning it to coat with oil. Cover with dishcloth and put in warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 -2 hours until doubled. Punch down. Separate into 2 sections and form into loaves. Let rise in warm place for about 20 minutes until dough is above loaf pan. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes.(Optional glaze - Paint loaves with beaten egg or egg white diluted with eggshell of water after 20 minutes of baking. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Return to oven for another 20 minutes.)

You can put up this bread dough before leaving for work in the morning and put it in fridge to rise slowly all day. When you get home, remove, cut into 2 parts and form loaves, put in warm place (oven with pilot light on or sunny window work well). Let rise and bake for 40 minutes. If it is not ready for dinner, this bread makes a great dessert with butter and is delicious with raspberry jam and honey from the Farmers Market.

One Earth Vegetarian Lentil Soup

Combine in big soup or crock pot the following ingredients -
2 cups lentils (rinsed)
~ 16 cups water (stock pot or crock pot full)
1 T salt
2-3 T Oil – olive or safflower
2-3 bay
ground black pepper
Add coarsely chopped vegetables - I use whatever I have in the refrigerator or pantry.
1-3 potatoes
1-3 carrots
1-2 onions and/or leeks or shallots
1-3 celery stalks (optional)
1-3 tomatoes or 18 oz can (optional)
1-3 garlic cloves (optional)
Optional - Add 2 T Fresh Chopped Herbs as available. I add fresh basil, homegrown, organic, Herbes de Provence (basil, sage, rosemary, lavender, thyme, tarragon, or dill depending on what is growing well in the garden.)
Mix all ingredients into large soup stock pot and put to boil on stove, cover and simmer for 1 hour or place in crock pot for slow cooking all day. Serve over steamed brown rice or noodles.
Vegetarian Variation – Pour over ¼ cup fresh beet greens or spinach in bowls just before serving.
Meat/Fish Lovers Variation – Barbecue chicken, steak or fish and place atop lentil soup in bowls and serve. Steamed fish also works well.

One Earth Easy Baked Apples

Prick 4-6 apples (core, if desired)
Place in baking dish with ¼ inch water, juice or wine.
Bake 40 minutes to 1 ¼ in 350-375 degree oven.

Test for doneness with fork.
Optional – drizzle with honey, sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg and/or confectioners or brown sugar.
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Text, recipes and photos by Charleen Touchette 2009
http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Three Generation of Woman Painters at The Golden Dawn Gallery

2009-10-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Fun lunch and visit with fellow painter Margarete Bagshaw on Friday, October 16, 2009. Margarete is from a long line of artists and daughter of the late great Helen Hardin and the late Santa Clara Pueblo painter Pablita Velarde. Hardin returned home to New Mexico this past August from three years living in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

To the delight of ndn painting aficionados, Margaret and her fiancé Dan opened The Golden Dawn Gallery just in time for Indian Market to feature the paintings of three generations of her family and a few other select established and emerging painters. The gallery is located in the bright, airy space previously occupied by the Joyce Robbins Gallery on the east side of Galisteo Street near the corner of Water Street. The space is a wonderful venue for the bright, intricately drawn, expertly painted and totally original art of Pablita Velarde, Helen Hardin and Margarete Bagshaw.

Pablita Velarde, who passed last year in 2007, was one of only two women students at Dorothy Dunn's Studio School in the 1930s. Pablita defied the Santa Clara prohibition against women painting to become a prolific beloved artist and the first American Indian artist awarded the Women’s Caucus for Art (WCA) Honor Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts in New York City in 1990.

Helen Hardin gained early success in the Indian Art world painting in a traditional style, but stunned collectors by creating her own brilliant original art style that combined intricate geometry, precision drawing, and luminous application of multiple layers of paint to evoke her deep personal understanding of Pueblo spirituality and culture. Helen Hardin was at the height of her career in the mid-1980s when she was struck with cancer and tragically died when Margarete was just 19 years old. Her art was featured in the historic Women of Sweetgrass, Cedar and Sage exhibit that toured the United States in 1985-1987 and was dedicated to Helen Hardin’s memory.

Margarete Bagshaw whose complex ancestry includes her Santa Clara indigenous ancestors on her mother’s side and Daughters of the American Revolution on her father’s side, grew up surrounded by daily art-making by her mother and grandmother and witnessed their courage and tenacity in pursuing art despite adversity and pressure against women making art in their culture. Margarete observed their practice of challenging and breaking boundaries and has shattered boundaries in her own right as an artist with her own unique sensibility.

Margaret Bagshaw has developed a personal painting style that draws from strengths of both her mother and grandmother to create an impressive body of luminous complex geometric large paintings that embody the spirituality and power of stained glass cathedral windows and the primal understanding of light and shadow and experience of earth and sky of ancient American Indian pictographs as well as the complex symbolic geometry of Pueblo pottery.

This year, Margarete has created a new body of work in clay from New Mexico that she paints with the intricate, very personal iconography of her paintings. These clay pieces, which Margarete has collectors hold in their hands to experience, are provocative challenges to the closed mindset of many used to the ordinary distinctions accepted and expected in Indian Art. Are they paintings or sculptures? They appear like vessels, but are much too shallow to actually hold anything the way traditional Pueblo pottery can. This new work evokes the memory of pottery shards that inspired Pueblo potter matriarch Lucy Lewis to revive Acoma pottery and that many Pueblo potters still grind and knead into clay for new pots. With these new three-dimensional painted sculptures, Margarete Bagshaw continues in the tradition of her grandmother and mother of breaking with tradition and shattering boundaries to create art that is at once rooted in tradition while evoking and critiquing it, and something totally fresh and new.
The Golden Dawn Gallery, named for Pablita Velarde’s Pueblo name, has a serious collection of important historic works by Pablita Velarde including her traditional Pueblo life paintings, storyteller images and her innovative pictographic sand paintings made with natural earth pigments she collected and ground herself.
There are also several significant original paintings by Helen Hardin that have been unavailable for decades, but are now being made available again for collectors as previous owners have passed on, as well as the rare, only remaining lithographs of Listening Woman and Changing Woman still available on the market.
Golden Dawn also has a wide selection of Margarete Bagshaw’s luminous work that gives the collector the opportunity to acquire the art of an important American artist continuing and expanding the impressive legacy of three generations of art-making in the United States.
Visitors and local art lovers looking for a feast of color, line and texture displayed in a professional museum-like setting should make The Golden Dawn Gallery a not to be missed stop on their itinerary. It is rare to see so much important art in one place in Santa Fe, and reminds us that this work by three generations of New Mexican painters deserves its own museum and support by collectors, arts administrators, Museums of New Mexico and the people of New Mexico, America and the world.
________________________________________
Text and Photos by Charleen Touchette 2009
http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Facebook | Your Photos - October Saturday at Santa Fe Farmers Market

2009-10-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

Facebook Your Photos - October Saturday at Santa Fe Farmers Market

Knitting/Walking Meditation on Santa Fe, Me and Miss O'Keeffe

2009-10-02T07:51:00.001-07:00

First day of October brings brisk winds and biting cold that makes colors of sky and mountains bright and crisp. Pass morning workers as city of Santa Fe wakes up on morning meditation knitting and walking across town. Pause to knit in front of Museum of Fine Arts, a reminder that artists in Santa Fe are living, breathing creatures not all hidden behind adobe walls sequestered in private studios. Visitors from California offer to snap a photo of artist knitting with dog. Turns out the charming, intelligent tourist was born in New Mexico, but raised in California and her great, great uncle was archaeologist Adolph Bandelier, namesake of Bandelier Monument and infamously banned by the Pueblos. The ladies were on their way to see the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and we conversed about how irritated Georgia would be about the irony of a museum of her art in Santa Fe, which ignored and denigrated her paintings when she first lived here.
Walk continues while sun warms up city streets until I arrive at Miriam’s Well where bright fall flowers are an array of colors in the sharp morning shadows and light. Miriam, who is elated that the current U.S. President has arrived in her native Denmark, greets me with a smile and the second batch of Chunky Baby Alpaca to continue knitting Sage’s LDK Cable Line Blanket.
Taj and I bid her goodbye and retrace our steps across town while I knit until we reach Saveur for a lunch meeting with Jacques about TouchArt Books publishing plans and marketing strategy, then return home to the studio for an afternoon of painting.
Think about choices artists and women make and am grateful. Remember that Miss O’Keeffe was famous and paintings collected for millions, but died alone in her nineties at her gated estate on Old Santa Fe Trail after being tricked by Juan Hamilton into signing away rights to much of her art thinking she was signing a marriage contract to her decades younger assistant who bedecked the mansion with flowers for a sham wedding. Art-making is a constant in my life, but it is woven into a rich tapestry of joy, laughter and sharing stories and food with husband, grown children and many diverse and interesting friends. Painting is at the center of all my work and life in Santa Fe, but it may take my death for the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts to hang my paintings on its adobe walls. Figure I share that with Miss O’Keeffe, but thankfully, I won’t share her lonely end.
Photos and Text by Charleen Touchette 2009
www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Santa Fe's Bureaucratic Laws Restrict Artists

2009-09-22T06:48:00.001-07:00

Mid-afternoon at The Railyard visitors, Native New Mexicans and commuters await NM Railrunner on a sunny day after rain the previous night.

Italian native Cavallero Carlos Gislimberti paints en plein air by railyard. Gislimberti who has lived in New Mexico in Taos and Santa Fe for 25 years is one of the rare artists who, like me, paint in public. When I asked if the police bothered him when he paints on Santa Fe streets, he replied, "I keep moving from place to place."

Makes me sad that Santa Fe has become so fascist with so many unconstitutional laws enacted by the corporate controlled city government and city council that artists, street musicians, performers and Indian artisans are nearly absent from our streets.

Santa Fe claims to be the third largest art market in the U.S., but its city government chills creativity, makes true artists feel unwelcome and supports middle men who feed at the public trough and get much of the funding supposedly intended for artists.

Native New Mexican visitors come up on the train from Albuquerque and report they feel shunned and unwelcome at overpriced galleries where gallerists treat them like thieves if they are not Anglo and well-dressed.

It is a struggle to nurture creativity in a town which claims it supports the arts, but in reality, uses rules and regulations to stifle any unsanctioned art practice.

Dr. King said "disciplined nonconformists dedicated to peace, justice and brotherhood" were the hope for the future. Same could be said for the arts, which flourish when unconventional creative people are allowed the freedom to make art without boundaries.

Santa Fe has become a caricurature of a place that touts itself as an art center while enforcing arbitrary laws that stifle creativity.

My grandmothers taught me that a free person does not ask permission to be free. Freedom of expression, assembly and movemnt are inherent human rights endowed by the Creator. Governments should protect these rights instead of restricting them with growing bureaucracy and legislation.

Remember that Georgia O'Keeffe, who now has a fortress like museum dedicated to her art, complained often about Santa Fe whose Museum of Fine Arts refused to collect her paintings, and chose instead to live and paint up north in the village of Abuiqui. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Still, artists will find places to express their creativity despite restrictions. It is just unfortunate that young people and children don't get to see art made in public when artists are forced inside behind closed doors.

__________________

Photos and Text by Charleen Touchette 2009

TouchArt Ltd

http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Poverty Rate Continues to Rise

2009-09-10T17:05:00.003-07:00

New Grafitti or Free Expression in Santa Fe, New Mexico

(Left- Fascito tag has appeared, been covered up and reappeared on the new State Capitol Garage under construction that is more expensive and better built than most homes in this poor state. Right -Pancho Villa's Face and various slogans have been tagged recently on adobe walls on Santa Fe's wealthy North side.)

Photographs by Charleen Touchette 2009

Poverty Rate Rose Again in 20089/10/09
_______________________
Nearly 40 million living in poverty in 2008 and more in 2009 is obscene.
Greed has reached intolerable levels in the U.S. and throughout the world. That the super rich and powerful take millions and billions more than anyone needs is horrific when 13.2% of Americans live below the poverty line and there are also nearly that many millions who are working poor families that struggle to make ends meet everyday.

The New York Times reported today that the percentage of people living in poverty, defined as a family of 4 with an income of $22,025 or less, has increased again as measured by the 2008 census. With rising unemployment, decreasing rates of Americans with health insurance, this percentage is sure to increase to an even higher rate once the date for 2009 is recorded. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/us/11poverty.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss )

Remember the percentage of people living below the poverty line reported by the New York Times represent the total nation. Urban ghettos, Indian reservations and rural areas have much, much higher percentages of people in poverty as well as much higher unemployment rates.

As Martin Luther King III, Dr. King’s oldest son, predicted at our 2007 Realizing the Dream Summit in Washington D.C., the number of people living in poverty in America will reach over 40 million by the 2009 census.

The mega-rich and powerful must stop congratulating themselves on their philanthropy and community good works. (http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Opinion/Our-view-Pi-amp-ntilde-on-Awards-Tuesday--see-you-at-Lensic- )

CEOs of bankrupt investment firms like the now defunct Thornburg Mortgage in Santa Fe, New Mexico, whose clients lost their life savings, should not make over $188,000 per month - $2 million, 256,000/year). (http://sfreporter.com/stories/where_s_the_money/5007/)

We have returned to the greed makes right mentality of the infamous Robber Barons of the 1800s. Each year the ranks of the poor swell while the world’s wealth is consolidated in the hands of less than .5% of the world’s population.

If the mega-rich would cease using their influence and political power to make it nearly impossible for the average family to survive and stop lobbying for laws that destroy small, independent and family businesses in favor of multinational corporations, the middle class would have a fighting chance. If they and their multi-national corporations paid fair living wages and didn't exploit the poor with pay-day loans, environmental devastation and unfair labor practices, there would be far less need for their selective giving that usually benefits the "charity" administrators in the upper middle and upper class far more than the families and individuals in need.

All people deserve human rights of clean air, water and earth, freedom of speech, assembly and movement, fair living wages and the right to work with dignity.

When 1.5% take millions and billions more than they need and steal natural resources that belong to all, and refuse to pay taxes by moving their multi-national corporations off-shore, it is common sense that the poverty rate will continue to grow and the middle class will cease to exist creating the climate for the fascism and corruption that is growing at every level of government from local to state and nation.

Until excessive greed is treated like the crime it is, the violence and crime rate will continue to rise as more millions are forced into inhumane conditions of poverty and hunger.

Wake up, America. Fairness benefits everyone and creates a just society. As Dr. King Jr. said, I can not truly be free until you are free.

Equal rights and justice make peace possible.
We are all related. It is way past time we acted like it.
_____________________________
Charleen Touchette
New Mexico Coordinator of MLK III’s Realizing the Dream Beloved Community
TouchArt - http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Public Art Practice

2009-08-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Santa Fe claims to be the third largest art market in the U.S., but it is rare to see anyone besides tourists in workshops painting in public. Across America, people rarely see anyone make anything with manufacturing outsourced abroad. So, a few times a week, I do a public art practice where I knit LDK Handknits while walking to different wireless cafes or parks and then paint in public. People come and tell me their stories, children smile as they see a garment grow or a painting created in front of them. The look of joy in their eyes is my reward. Who knows, maybe one of them will be the next Frida Kahlo, George Morisson or Robert Rauschenberg one day.

Paula Persechini-Petitti Embodies Love - Paula Wants Us to Volunteer

2009-07-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks Denis for writing about Paula Persechini-Petitti’s incredible spirit, good work and serious accident that has quieted her inspiring voice for the moment.
Our son Sage and I were blessed to spend much of the last two weeks with Paula in the Black Hills and to hear her stories, laughter and plans for future good work the night before her car accident as she graciously let Sage wash and dry his photo negatives on a clothesline in her sun porch.
All night, Paula talked with an urgency, telling stories that are just now beginning to make sense.
Paula embodies love, generosity and inspires everyone who meets her to be more of who they are meant to be. That night, Paula told us that when she was a teenager waiting in line to dance at Studio 54, an eleven year old boy begged her for help. Paula said she was frightened and chased the child away. Later that night, Paula still in her teens, had second-thoughts. She described how she rushed through the NYC streets searching for the young boy, then to shelters and hospitals, but she never was able to find him. I asked her if she ever regretted it. Paula looked deep into my eyes with those amazing violet-hued orbs of hers, and said, “I never, ever said no to anyone who asked for my help after that night.”
That’s Paula, the biggest heart and the best example of love, generosity and sharing in a world that needs her example so much. That night, Paula spoke nearly non-stop, telling us stories about her childhood, adventures in Cambodia, Africa, Jamaica, Pine Ridge and a helicopter ride into Havasupai Canyon with Russ and Pearl Means. Paula wanted to return to the Havasupai people and bring her diabetes clinics and medical supplies to the Chief and his tribe. She made me and Sage promise to meet her in Navajo and go down to the Canyon floor in a few months. Just before we parted near dawn, Paula said to me, “I want to inspire people to volunteer, especially young people.” She said she tells youth to notice opportunities to help others. “Little things. Start with little things. I tell them, ‘Maybe the grandmother down the street needs help bringing her garbage can to the curb, or someone else needs help weeding their garden.’” Paula is about the big things like bringing medical care, diabetes clinics and education and refugee camps to those in need around the world, but Paula is also about little things that change people’s lives like giving a quiet teenager a journal because Paula just knew the observant girl will be a writer, and planning to buy a young boy a drum and signing lessons since she saw the joy on his face when he sang at the Sun Dance. Send prayers and healing energy to Paula Persechini-Petitti, so she will wake up and get to read that girl’s stories, listen to the young boy’s singing and drumming and get back down to visit the Chief in Havasupai before the end of the year.
Thanks, Mercis, Wopila, Migwetch, Todah Rabah, Gracias to everyone who prays for Paula Persechini-Petitti and helps another in Paula’s honor.
Peace,
Charleen Touchette
www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
www.TouchArt.net
_______________________________________________________________________________________

UKProgressive.co.uk

Lead Story
An Open Letter to President Obama and Congress – Help Bring Paula Home

Posted on 02 July 2009 by Denis Campbell

life-flight
By Denis Campbell

The healthcare debate rages across Capitol Hill with lobbyists fighting against a ‘single payer’ option as if it were the moral equivalent of the anti-Christ. Before you blindly accept any bill, please examine the very real (and ironic) face this debate has taken on for this journalist.

Paula Persichini-Petitti is a woman to whom I once joked, “you would be what would happen if Mother Theresa, Joan Jett and a drug-free Janis Joplin merged.” Paula is one tough, rock and roll loving, hard living, Boston-area born and bred “broahd” with a “haht” (heart) of pure gold. Listening to her thick Boston accent you would start with a first impression that would be one of the absolute biggest mistakes you could ever make.

Paula was born a rebel. She graduated from the nursing program at Blue Hills Regional Institute and became a radiology specialist at a time where technology was evolving and most said she could not do it because she was too young. If you have a death wish or desire physical harm, merely suggest to Paula that she ‘cannot’ do something.

Ironically, she now lays with tubes coming out of her body, a respirator helping her breathe and in a coma in a Rapid City, South Dakota hospital. She has spent nearly every summer of the last several years, working with Russell and Pearl Means helping Native Americans of the Lakota Sioux Nation in Pine Ridge Reservation. There she counsels and teaches indigenous families about the twin health threats of alcohol abuse and diabetes in one of the USA’s poorest communities.

Several years ago Paula visited the island of Jamaica and was involved in an automobile accident. She’d been an emergency room nurse and when she saw the dreadful conditions people in that rural hospital (near the Black River) lived under, she returned home to Massachusetts and started BlackRiverProject.org. Most appealed to her saying, “that’s just the way it is Paula, nothing can be done about it.” Remember the old Three Stooges short where someone says “Niagara Falls…” and then “slowly I turn…” Step back please, human freight train coming through.

Her leadership has seen her beg, cajole, plead and threaten just about every doctor, medical school, pharmaceutical and medical supplier in Massachusetts and across the globe to help her bring free medical supplies, used machinery, doctors and nurses to some of the most ravaged 3rd world hell-holes on the face of the planet.

Paula and I grew up two blocks from each other in the southern MA town of Avon. I went to school with her big brother Ricky and, as usual, everyone went their separate ways after graduation. My friend Terri said, “hey you’re a journalist, are you aware of Paula’s project?” That began a series of visits, phone calls, Facebook and Twitter exchanges to develop, research and tell this one woman’s story.

And what a story, everything from threatening Cuban prison guards suspicious of why she was there (providing medical help) by saying she was “Raul Castro’s mistress and there would be hell to pay if he found out she was being held there” (it worked, she was set free)… to being dragged from her hotel room at night, convinced she would be shot and flying in Soviet era helicopters across Laos and Cambodia to meet the ruling generals (think “The Killing Fields”) to demand they provide mosquito netting to protect their citizens against malaria.

This woman’s life is bigger than any Hollywood screenplay. And she shrugs it all off with a laugh that would filled any room. Most of us live fractions of a life. Thoreau, another Massachusetts native said, “I wanted to live deliberately, deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.” Paula lives in a way that most dream of doing.

She was driving in a car that was rear-ended at speed by a pickup travelling at 60 mph. The impact severely jarred her brain stem causing damage to the thalamus, the part of the brain which is the centre for speech, body temp., sight, hearing and smell. While she can today squeeze the ICU doctor’s hand on command, the hope is her brain will form connections around the damage and more or less repair itself. The good people in Rapid City have taken her as far as she can go there and she needs now to be med-flighted to Massachusetts General Hospital where she will be under the care of a top neurosurgeon.

Paula has health insurance and… (you know where this is going before I even type it)… it does not cover life-flights. Speaking to the Life-flight despatch office in Rapid City, South Dakota, the flight is 1,600 air miles in length and will cost $30,000 and that’s just for the flight. Then there is tended ambulance service to and from the airplane at both ends which adds even more not to mention the longer term care she will require to heal.

Buddy Persichini, 78, is Paula’s very proud Dad. He has numerous health issues of his own and Paula has been his rock since her Mom died when she was in high school. Buddy is resigned to taking out a second mortgage on his paid off house to get her home. Were the same to happen to me under the right’s very publicly maligned UK ‘socialised’ NHS medical programme plus my out-of-pocket add-on, I’d already be ‘home’ in the UK in a local hospital with family by my side.

And there, Mr. President and Congress lays the rub. Why should a 78-year old man, who clearly loves his daughter, be forced to bury his fierce New England pride and go deep into debt to bring her home? Why too should Paula now risk losing her home to pay for long-term care when she returns?

This is what needs fixing in the health care system. Not providing the same profit margins for those who can most efficiently lobby but inefficiently leave a broken system essentially intact with some window dressing tweaking around the edges and then everyone calling that “ground breaking change.” For Paula and many like her, I urge you to bring in a public option to bring true competition and transparency into this opaque nightmare of a scenario.

Mr. President, you were quoted two days ago in the New York Times as saying: “What we’ve been doing over the last six months is getting people back into fighting trim. This is a town where there was just a belief that nothing could get done… I’ll use just the workout metaphor, and that is… when you start training again and you’re pushing your body a little bit harder, sometimes it hurts. But if you keep on at it, after a while your body adjusts. And I think that’s what’s happening to politics in Washington.”

Well sir, it’s time to end the training and start the marathon. It’s time Congress to put some real political capital and action behind those words on everything from this issue to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. You came into office promising change we could believe in and this is important not just to the nation, but to every one of us who sees a true Mother Theresa in need. Please consider it for all the irony-filled Paula’s out there, not just the ones who tell the best story at your town hall meeting and help bring her home without bankrupting her or her Dad in the process.

My own deep regret is that during my most recent visit to the USA in May, I cancelled our scheduled meeting because of my time considerations. I now have to live with that. I promised to come back and see her in the fall. Now I must pray she will be home, solvent, conscious and well enough to recognise me.

(Please contribute to “The Fund for Paula Persichini-Pettiti” by following the tipjoy micro-finance/contribution link and sending money to the e-mail address: info@bringpaulahome.org, at the website: BringPaulaHome.org or via Twitter @BringPaulaHome. The family and her friends are moving very quickly to establish all accounts to life-flight transport her home and provide for her long term care needs.)
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Denis Campbell is publisher and editor of UKProgressive. He is an investigative journalist and businessman whose instincts lead to breaking political and business stories on everything from: election machine voting fraud, political party misdeeds and the scandal ridden Mind Body Spirit business that fleeces many of its followers. His work has appeared in many international news publications across all media platforms including: The BBC, The Huffington Post, Western Mail, The Guardian and PokerNews.com. He writes from very cool 600-acre farm high above the cliffs along Wales' historic Glamorgan Heritage coast.
Email this author All posts by Denis Campbell
Comments

1.
Noah G. Hoffman July 2nd, 2009 at 1:21 pm

Thank you for this beautifully written piece on our friend, Paula.
Her spirit is so mission driven that even in her hour of personal survival, she continues to bring people together and make things happen.
I am so lucky to have known her though we just became acquainted not terribly long ago. I have posted this piece on FB.
Thanks Denis,
Noah G. Hoffman
2.
Judy Oshansky July 2nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Thank you, Denis. Paula has always been modest about her accomplishments. It is nice to finally get the word out about all she has done for so many others. She has touched thousands of lives with the projects she has started. It’s time to do all we can to help her now. This was a wonderful article, and I hope it is read by millions. Something must be done in the healthcare system so that people aren’t forced to deal with the agony of financial hardship on top of the stress, anxiety and heartache that comes from someone being seriously ill. Thank you for helping get the word out.
3.
cheryl duprey July 2nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm

Denis,
Thanks much for posting this significant news article, regarding your seriously injured, yet amazingly courageous friend,Paula’s, ongoing, difficult medical and health insurance issues to the forefront.

Paula has dedicated her life to helping others;and now, her painful battle to recover; and fight to secure vital coverage for a Life-Flight;will hopefully inspire others, to petition our President and Congress, for vital U.S. health care reform SOON.
4.
Harold "Butch" Frick July 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 pm

I am saddend by anyones pain and by your story. I must point out however that International Insurance including evacuation is readily available, provides evacuation coverage for limits from $25,000 to as high as $500,000 and can be purchased either individually or as a group policy. Just google international coverage including evacuation and you will be surprized how many sites exist. This part of health care is not broken. We simply need to be informed before traveling abroad. Paula sounds like a wonderful person and I wish the best for her and her family.
5.
Denis Campbell July 3rd, 2009 at 2:08 pm

Thanks for all of your comments and please do note “Butch” that although we have, as a nation, treated the Native American community poorly and separated them from their lands, Paula is trying to get from the US state of South Dakota to the US state of Massachusetts so that type of cover would not apply. As the writer, I am located in the UK which could have caused the confusion.

Best,
_____________________
License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Morning Mist and Rain on Mountain

2009-06-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

101st One Earth Blog from Charleen Touchette
June 10, 2009
Mist, clouds and rain transform the mountains at dawn in Northern New Mexico. A gentle female rain drenches the thirsty earth, makes the pinon and ponderosa trees vibrant and softens the soil for new seeds and plants to sprout and thrive. Grateful for the beauty and life-sustaining gifts of earth and sky.
________________
One Earth Tip of the Day
Our indigenous ancestors tended and cultivated the land to create a cultivated forest by encouraging useful plants and weeding less desirable ones as they moved. They also created swales and moved earth and rocks to direct water to useful plants and trees and slow the erosion of soil into arroyos and down steep slopes and mountain sides.
We can do the same at home and on our hikes on the land. Just use your hands to clear out wells around young trees and plants you want to encourage to catch water and line with rocks. You can also use your feet to create swales to direct water to useful plants and slow the water flow down arroyos so it nourishes nearby plants and prevents soil erosion. You can also move rocks in the arroyos to build small obstructions to slow the flow of water during storms.
Little changes can help plants grow and slow down soil erosion down the mountains. The little changes I've done over 15 years of hiking up and down our mountain have made our land greener and our trees bigger than our neighbors. Little changes, but the difference is now visible on google.earth.
Love the earth like your mother. Listen and watch earth and sky and learn how little changes in the way we walk on the earth can make big changes to help heal our home.
_______________________
Another One Earth Tip of the Day
After an early summer rain is a perfect time to plant seeds, transplant seedlings and gently sculpt wet earth into dips and swales to direct water to plants and trees and slow down erosion of topsoil. Ever see children and puppies enjoy playing in the mud after a rain? Dig your hands into the wet earth to remember and recover the childhood joy of splashing in summer rain puddles and squishing wet mud between fingers and toes.
One Earth. Think About It.
__________________
By Charleen Touchette
TouchArt ltd
www.OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com

Call Back the Bees

2009-06-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

Call Back the Bees
Photos, Art and Writing by Charleen Touchette 2009

"Calling the Bees" art by Charleen Touchette 2009

Photos of Bees by Charleen Touchette 2009

http://current.com/items/88844280_bee_queen_births
Disappearing Bees on Current TV
"Where have all the bees gone? Hives all over the UK are emptying of bees. One theory is that mobile phone signals are affecting their ability to find their way home. Einstein said that 4 years after the bees die, humans will die. This pod investigates this phenomenon and Einstein's prediction. "
Actually, there is no proof that Einstein actually said the often erroneously attributed quotation about bees, but even if he didn't say it, it is true that human life depends upon the survival of bees that pollinate important plants in the food cycle.
See the pod at this link at Current.TV -
http://current.com/items/76404222_disappearing-bees.htm?xid=76?_________________________________

Bees at TouchArt ltd in the mountains in Santa Fe, New Mexico in June 2009.
Scientists think there's a new virus or parasite causing collapsed hive syndrome.

Some think cell phone towers emissions may be the cause.
Others blame the unnatural conditions corporate farming inflicts on bees when they are transported hundreds of miles to pollinate commercial fields.

Whatever the cause, the death of the bees is alarming.
Bees disappearing is like the canary in the mine dying.
We need to pay attention.
We share ONE EARTH. Think About It.
What if each day, each person did ONE thing to heal the earth?
What if each day, each person stopped doing ONE thing that hurts the earth?
ONE x Billions - do the math.
Consume less, Recycle, Regift, Reuse, Conserve.
Or more simply, try one step at a time to lighten your footprint on the earth.

We reduced our water use by 75% last year by implementing many little changes.
Every little change helps heal the air, water and earth.
by Charleen Touchette - TouchArt ltd in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Members - The Gandhi-King Community

2009-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Members - The Gandhi-King Community

http://gandhiking.ning.com/profile/LeslynWong

May 25, 2009
From Charleen Touchette
New Mexico Coordinator Realizing the Dream

_Santa Fe, New Mexico -

_ ---Leslyn Wong who does such good work at Realizing the Dream Inc sent this link to The Ghandi-King Community.

Please consider joining this group dedicated to "Continuing a tradition of nonviolent transformation inspired by the ideas of Mohandas K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice. " Dr. Martin Luther Jr

"Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit." Mohandas K. Ghandi

"Peace, is not only the goal, it is also the way." Martin Luther King III in a Jun2 1007 speech to Israeli Knesset.

"If there is to be peace in the world,There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,There must be peace in the heart."
Lao-Tse - 6th century bce

The words of Dr. King Jr., Ghandi , Lao-Tse and Martin Luther King III echo the teachings of indigenous elders throughout the Americas.

Lakotah elder Black Elk said "The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us."

Work for justice. It is the path to peace.

New Review of It Stops with Me by Charleen Touchette

2009-05-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.marjoriesimmins.ca/blog/?p=10

Posted on Marjorie Simmins - Memoirs and More

Memoir Journal: I
MSVU Memoir Journal

by Marjorie Simmins

18 May 2009
"The latest: It Stops with Me: Memoirs of a Canuck Girl, by Charleen Touchette. Finally, some solid writing. Touchette is also a gifted visual artist and includes black and white and colour prints of her paintings in the book. As well, she is a curator, an educator, an activist and freelance writer. She has numerous book titles to her name, many with feminist perspectives, others that explore issues of cultural, religious and historical identities.
I don’t think Touchette and I would be best friends; this woman takes her politics very seriously and for all that she says she loves to laugh and enjoy life, her childhood was so bleak, violent and confusing, that it takes very bit of her sane self to keep the tortured self from imposing permanent depressions and mental and physical dysfunctions of all sorts.
That said, I have huge admiration for someone who has done as much as this woman has done, and succeeded in so many areas. I also admire someone who, as a young adult, chose a resoundingly sane and loving man with whom to share her life and make a family. If anyone could be forgiven for having chosen an unkind life partner, it would be Touchette. And yet she bypassed entirely the common pattern of abused children growing up to choose abusive partners. Now that’s a person who somehow protected her absolute core of sanity - against all odds.
It was a lovely and at the same disturbing read. My only criticism is the odd coyness about revealing the extent of her father’s sexual abuse. She builds up the tension in this regard again and again - in the art work and in the prose - but never flat-out says that she was raped, although this is intimated.
Likewise, she often repeats that the time was not right to tell her parents about the abuse (that would be tell her mother and confront her father) and the reader is left to guess that she never did tell them directly, but did show the art work around the country and beyond, and of course publish the memoir.
Again, you feel as the the entire book is building towards a showdown with the father - and yet this never occurs. Mind you, I don’t blame her for avoiding/putting off a showdown. The father remains a right prick throughout her life, for all that his violent ways tone down with age. It’s just that the story feels strangely climax-less - especially for a book that builds towards a climax almost from the first page.
All of which makes me sad. It seems that no matter how successful Touchette is, how brilliantly she has created and maintained a happy and healthy family life of her own, her fear of her father still dictates major decisions in her life. There are too many points I end up guessing about. Did she decide the pain of confrontation was not worth whatever good and liberating feelings she might receive back? Did the love she had for her mother get in the way of confronting the father? Was her mother’s role in the abuse (pretending it didn’t happen, looking the other way, blaming Touchette for the violence her father metes out to her) far too upsetting to explore in a meaningful way?
In the end consideration, I am not sure how I feel about the book."

___________________________

Posted May 21, 2009 by TouchArt Books

It Stops with Me by Charleen Touchette was banned at her hometown library in 2005. Touchette's Memoir of a Canuck Girl was on the ALA (American Library Association) 2006 Banned Book List. Bard College President Leon Botstein advocated for the book ban of It Stops with Me writing in December 2005, "it does not deserve First Amendment Protection." The ALA, PEN, USA, PEN American Center and the R.I. ACLU disagreed and launched a letter-writing campaign in support of It Stops with Me and against censorship and the book ban and It Stops with Me was reinstated to circulation at the Woonsocket Harris Public Library.

Mother's Day Painting for Everyone

2009-05-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Painting for Everyone

Every year, I give a painting to everyone to use in their good work for mothers and families.

"Mothers Call Home the Bees" by Charleen Touchette 2009

One year, a Birth Center in Atlanta, Georgia put my painting of Nursing Mothers on a mug they gave to new mothers to encourage breastfeeding and increased breasfeeding in their community by 50 %.

Hope you will use 2009's Mother's Day painting "Mothers Call Home the Bees" for mothers and families in your community.

One Earth. Think About It.

Wish all mothers and their families a day and year full of light, love and laughter.

Peace,

Charleen Touchette

http://www.touchart.net/

http://www.oneearthblog.blogspot.com/

Realizing the Dream Remembers the Honorable Jack Kemp

2009-05-06T15:42:00.001-07:00

Chantal Pierre at Realizing the Dream in Atlanta just sent this message from Martin Luther King III on the passing of the Honorable Jack Kemp.
______________________________
Posted by Charleen Touchette NM Coordinator Realizing the Dream
______________________________

Realizing the Dream Remembers
the Honorable Jack Kemp
Realizing the Dream Remembers the Honorable Jack Kemp

There are few leaders that see truth and justice as ideas not only to be respected, but also lived. The world has lost one such leader in the passing of the Honorable John "Jack" Kemp. He leaves behind a 40 year legacy of public service highlighted by his passion for advocating policies that benefit, not just the average citizen, but also America's forgotten many who live on the margins of our economy.
Secretary Kemp was a good friend of my mother's and one of the few politicians who understood and practiced my father's belief in putting the people before party or self-interest. He was once quoted saying, "I wasn't there with Rosa Parks or Dr. King or John Lewis. But I am here now and I'm going to yell from the rooftops about what we need to do." He remained true to that promise pushing race relations and anti-poverty initiatives when it was unpopular to do so, supporting affirmative action and sanctions against South Africa's apartheid government.
Kemp was an active member of Realizing the Dream's Advisory Board, lending his invaluable knowledge to the dialogue on redressing poverty at this past October's annual Summit to Realize the Dream. His perspective as a conservative politician genuinely concerned with the plight of the poor and oppressed is a testament to the belief that truth knows no racial, partisan or class barriers.
Never one to shy away from controversy, Kemp was adamant about his party's need to be more inclusive to minorities and underrepresented groups. He remained a supporter of civil rights throughout his career, counting leaders of all faiths, parties and ethnicities as close friends and allies. Kemp utilized his resources as Secretary of HUD to stem discriminatory tactics by lenders and insurers, advocate for poor tenants and equal housing opportunity. He recognized that the American dream could not be divorced from alleviating poverty, inequality and injustice.
There are many ways to remember Jack. A wizened few might remember his stellar career as an NFL quarterback, where off the field he defied bigotry, treating his black teammates with respect and humanity. Some will remember him as a tenacious congressman challenging his party and the American government to make good on its promise of equality for all by signing the legislation that would officially establish the King Holiday. Many will remember him as an advocate for economic empowerment as Housing Secretary under George H.W. Bush. I will forever remember him as a close friend of my family, always eager to help when called upon and an ardent supporter of Realizing the Dream.
Jack Kemp will be greatly missed by his many friends, family and all of us here at Realizing the Dream. He leaves behind his wife Joanne, two sons, two daughters and 17 grandchildren, to which we extend our condolences and prayers.

Martin L. King, III
CEO
Realizing the Dream, Inc.
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IAIA Today

2009-05-05T13:28:00.001-07:00

IAIA TODAY
story and photos by Charleen Touchette
2009
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IAIA Professor Charlene Teters critiques in Painting Class

Audience included IAIA Foundation Director Susan Crowe (center) and Marita Hinds (on left).
Susan Crowe center

IAIA President Bob Martin announces re-naming.

Sculpture by John Hoover

View of Mountains from road to IAIA.

"IAIA Today"
Photos and story by Charleen Touchette
for Mixed Blood Radio Archives

More Photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=252684&id=795010092&saved

May 5, 2009
Santa Fe, New Mexico
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IAIA Re-Naming Reception
Speakers
Bob Martin - President IAIA
Loren Kieve- IAIA Board President
In audience -Marita Hinds - IAIA Foundation , Susan Crowe - IAIA Foundation, Chad Gaspar - IAIA Foundation and Ramus Suina - Center for Lifelong Education
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IAIA Reception
Drove out to the new IAIA Campus out past Santa Fe Community College on Avan Nu Po Road this morning. The well-attended reception was to announce the re-naming of the 47-year-old institute to IAIA Institute of American Indian Arts - College of Contemporary Native Arts, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and Center for Lifelong Education. Emphasizing the IAIA commitment to "honoring our past, embracing our future" IAIA President Bob Martin explained how the name change was consistent with the institute's founding mission to promote Contemporary Native Arts through the College, the Museum and the Center for Lifelong Learning. IAIA Board President Loren Kieve and IAIA College of Contemporary Native Arts Dean Dr. Ann Filemyr, and Hayes Lewis Director of the Center for Lifelong Learning spoke to a diverse audience of IAIA staff, instructors, students and longtime supporters.
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Bronze Sculpture by John Hoover at entrance to Library Technology Center and Dance Circle and new IAIA Library
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Buffalo Sculpture by Alan Houser
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Student Mural 2001
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The Academic Building Art Studios has lots of student art exhibited in the halls including some proficient and interesting work
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Dropped in on Char Teters' painting class where Char was conducting critiques - intriquing small paintings by three students.
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Stopped by the Primitive Edge Gallery, which now occupies the space where the library and the room I taught Native Art History II in 2001.
The new library by the Auditorium in IAIA's Library Technology Center is spacious and full of great books and documention on ndn art.
The IAIA Campus is surrounded by views of mountains in all four directions and is a beautiful spiral drive that provides vistas of the Jemez, Ortiz, Sandia and Sangre de Cristos Mountains.
Coffee with Char at Lucky Bean, a cozy wireless cafe close to the IAIA Campus at Rancho Viejo. Santa Fe Community College is just up the road from the IAIA Campus. Caught up with Char and news about her family and new grandbaby Monika who just arrived with her parents in Santa Fe for a visit with her G-Mom and G-Dad Don Messeck. Char is grinning ear to ear and plans an Honor Dance for little Monika at this Saturday's May 9th Spring Pow Wow at IAIA Campus.
Tomorrow night, Wednesday May 6th, Santee Frazier, other recent IAIA Graduates and 2009 Graduates will host a booksigning or their recent publications. Check out the work by students of IAIA's renown Creative Writing Program.
Winona LaDuke will speak at IAIA Graduation Ceremonies next Friday morning, May 14th. Graduation, which is always inspiring is followed by a feast for graduates and families.
Support IAIA and Santa Fe Community students while in Santa Fe and once many return to their reservations and home communities.
A good time for IAIA Alum to return to New Mexico is the 3rd weekend in August or the annual Santa Fe Indian Market. Apply to Indian Market for an entry fee of $360 or sometimes the most innovative IAIA alum artists show in the IAIA Museum Courtyard where the fee is less. You can also donate a piece to be in the IAIA Indian Market Alumni Exhibit and Auction at the IAIA Museum. Marita Hinds at IAIA Foundation is the person to contact.
IAIA President Bob Martin pledges to continue outreach to IAIA Alumni in reservations and home communities far from Santa Fe's Indian Art Market. Contact IAIA Alumni services for support and information on programs for alum. Tribal communities and colleges interested in creating American Indian and Alaskan Native Art Markets in their communities can seek assistance in planning and implementation through IAIA. http://www.iaia.edu/
Charleen Touchette
Mixed Blood Radio Archives
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Photos and story by Charleen Touchette for Mixed Blood Radio Archives 2009

Philip Vigil - TouchArt May 2009 Artist of the Moment

2009-05-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

TouchArt Artist of the Moment May 2009

Phillip Vigil
www.myspace.com/highendart

Philip Vigil - TouchArt May 2009 Artist of the Moment

Went to Phillip Vigil's exhibition at the BellaDonna Condo Exhibition Site last night at 111 Santa Fe Avenue in Santa Fe's Historic South Capitol neighborhood and were glad we did. The drive through the rain down Old Santa Fe Trail was a magnificent display of light and shadow with the sun setting among magnificent clouds in the west shooting rays through the raindrops to create a spectacular double full rainbow over the Sangre de Cristos Mountains in the east.

Phillip Vigil's art is superb. The evening light pouring into the second floor gallery showed off his unique palette and technique. Displayed throughout the upper floor tacked to white walls with simple push pins, Vigil's bold pastels on paper are a treat to those who hunger for something new and powerful from young ndn artists.

Phillip Vigil paints his contemporary pictographs punctuated with provocative text while listening to jazz in his bedroom studio on his Rez in Dulce, Arizona on the Mescalero Apache Nation. Vigil's is inluenced as much by my old late friend Jean Michel Basquiat and our friend and Phillip's mentor Gronk as by the 4 generations of artists in his Mescalero and Jemez families and his great-grandfather Vigil who was the last traditional chief of the Mescalero.

At the opening of his exhibition, Phillip wore a tee-shirt with a graphic design by Basquiat and spends summers with his mother's people at the very traditional Jemez Pueblo. Fresh and original, Phillip Vigil is an artist to watch.

Local Santa Fe realtor Malissa Kuhlberg has a passion for art and mentoring young talent and she and business partner Joshua Maes created a new and promising venue for seeing new and interesting work by up and coming artists in this elegantly updated 1920's compound just blocks from the New Mexico State Capitol.

Catch this exhibit of Phillip Vigil's Art through the end of May by appointment. It's well worth the visit.

Contact Phillip Vigil or Maissa Kuhlberg and Joshua Maes on Facebook

Hosts:
Malissa Kullberg & Joshua Maes
Location:
The Bella Donna Condominiums
Street:
111 East Santa Fe Ave. (Between Don Gaspar and West Booth on north side of street just up from corner of Don Gaspar. Up outside staircase in front of streetside building in front of complex.)
City/Town:
Santa Fe, NM
View Map
Phone:
505-231-7598
Email:
mailto:mkullberg@prusantafe.com