I was so looking forward to this week's piece. It's the culmination of the show and the song. It's an absolutely beautiful moment on stage (or in the movie if that's what you've seen). If you don't leave the theatre feeling hopeful, well, I can't help you. Even if you've only heard the 5th Dimension's version of the song, you felt some feelings at this point in the song. Also, can we discuss how amazing they look in this video? I'm all for matching band outfits.
When I decided to do this series several weeks ago, I could not have predicted all the things that would happen in the world, specifically within US politics. Maybe making this series helped put some kind of spirit out into the world. Who knows. This song is about hope. Yes, it's sad and mournful at the beginning, but the Tribe ends the song and the show in a place of hope. They believe in change and that something better is coming. In the last few weeks, a lot of people have started to feel that way again. There's hope that maybe we can move forward and be better than we are today. With MVP Kamala Harris securing the nomination and naming Tim Walz as her VP, I was feeling so many things. Joy, hope, relief - maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't fuck this up after all.
So I shared a funny picture of Governor Tim Walz on my Facebook page. It was a funny picture. It wasn't about politics or anything else. Just a picture of the governor of Minnesota holding a piglet at the state fair. It's legitimately one of the most Midwestern thing I've ever seen.
Someone I haven't spoken to in 20+ years took the posting of this photo as an opportunity to insult me and call me a genocidal monster. That because I'm supporting Harris/Walz I'm supporting continued genocide and general horribleness around the world. That I'm being brainwashed by pithy sayings and cute photos of piglets. This person did something similar when MVP Harris became the nominee and I ignored the comment. I couldn't ignore it this time. Yes, I know I shouldn't argue with people on the internet, but comments made me so angry.
I was polite in my responses (there were two exchanges), sharing that I respected their opinion, but didn't agree with them. I talked about my own volunteerism and community activities. I talked about the fact that we haven't spoken in over 20 years and it's not fair to characterize a person based on one post. And then I unfriended this person.
But I keep thinking about this exchange. I wanted to revel in the joy of "Let the Sunshine In" and it just wasn't working. I can support Harris/Walz and push for more action in Gaza. I can support Harris/Walz and criticize them - that's what you're supposed to do with elected officials. I'm so tired of people believing that there's a "perfect candidate." That person doesn't exist. As I said to another friend this week, Democrats have to be perfect, Republicans have to be alive. That's the bar we've set for candidates in this country. People like this person on Facebook are exhausting. I asked for solutions and suggestions and got called a genocidal monster. Eventually, I'll let this go, but today is probably not that day.
I loved every minute of stitching this series within the 2024 stitch journal. Living in a song that I love for five weeks was interesting and made me think about a lot of things. I loved telling the story of Claude and the Tribe as they moved through this last song. I'd absolutely do this again.
Here's this week's piece:
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| August 4 |
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| August 5 |
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| August 6 |
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| August 7 |
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| August 8 |
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| August 9 |
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| August 10 |
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| Week 32 |
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| Weeks 28-32 |
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| Weeks 1-32 |
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| Week 33's color is camel. |
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| The Stitch Book - Weeks 1-32 |
Other Stuff: Artist Trading Cards and Another Mushroom
I spent most of my evenings this week working on a set of artist trading cards. I've never participated in an artist trading card swap, but decided to join one this month. I created 10 cards, featuring a mix of painting, embroidery, and lettering. I hope the people who receive them enjoy what I created.
I transferred the third mushroom in the Mushroom Farm Energy series to the fabric, but I haven't started working on it yet. I hope to get started tomorrow. I'm going to try the fabric medium again. That seemed to keep the paint bleeding to a minimum.
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