We are so fucked, but we gotta make art

Let's do this

I, like many, was horrified to see the results of the presidential election last Tuesday, and with the endless stream of appointments, the horror continues. It has been a hard year, with Ori losing his job, and these results made everything suddenly harder. I am extremely privileged, and I recognize that, but I am still angry for those who will be directly impacted by new legislation or executive orders, though I assume in some respects everyone will be impacted. Lately I have been pricing out hot water heaters, in case they become more expensive due to tariffs. Our hot water heater is on borrowed time, and maybe it makes sense to replace it now, rather than waiting. I don’t know. It’s hard to tell, exactly, how anything will be impacted, or how best to prepare. On a smaller note, I think about things like: do I need to buy a lightbox, to photograph ceramics? That’s an imported good. I had been using the one at the community college, but I’m not currently enrolled in a class there, so maybe it’s time to get one. I cancel subscriptions, see what can be re-used or upcycled. I want to make everything smaller, neater: the book, our apartment, the cups (lately throwing shot glasses/demitasse), my wedging table for pots, our new health insurance, our financial life.

Making a lot of joy cups lately, we need it. Also anxiety mugs, of course. Working on grief, despair, anger. I make all my feelings.

The sorts of paranoid thoughts I’ve had: with deregulation and elimination of federal oversight, should we install a whole house water filtration system? Do we need to get chickens? Buy beans in bulk? What does one do to prepare? Perhaps more importantly: what are we preparing for?

I’ve been trying to keep moving. To make the work, the writing, the ceramics, to do the emails, apply for jobs, fire the pots, write the letters of recommendation, to help in whatever direct, specific ways I can. Last week, I attended a seminar on YIMBYism, to try and support the construction of affordable housing in our neighborhood, and I’m trying to join a local committee on this too. I am hoping that this will help. That everything will help. This weekend, we have soup night in our neighborhood: a monthly dinner that rotates through our houses and apartments. I think I’ve written about this before, but the gist is this: whoever is hosting makes two soups, one veggie/allergen sensitive and one not. Everyone brings a bowl and a spoon. We talk about very local politics for two hours, and then everyone goes home. It’s pretty ideal: whoever is hosting won’t be stuck with dishes beyond what was required to make the soup, and we all get a chance to connect locally, in person, with other people in our community. It doesn’t last more than two hours. That’s what I want more of. More soup nights. More mutual aid.

And more art.