My husband found a possum today, alone, in the openness of our yard, struggling on the ground in the midday heat. Maybe most people would’ve just walked past her. But I couldn’t.
She was scared and possibly hurt and didn’t belong out in the open like that. She was suffering. So I immediately set a bowl of water near her and called around for help. Got disconnected. Sent to websites. Nobody wanted to deal with her.
I cried thinking no one would care. But I stayed calm for her. Because she deserved that. Because she mattered to me.
But eventually, someone said yes. If I could bring her. So I did.
Half an hour’s drive away, she deserved to be seen. To be helped. To not die alone.
When I was a kid, a dog killed a mama possum and scattered her babies. We tried to save them, but no one would help then either. Eventually one by one they all died and I was devastated. I’ve never forgotten them and I never forgot how people turned away.
That pain still lives in me. And maybe that’s why I couldn’t leave this one behind.
The world is full of beings who are hurting, people and animals both, who are left to suffer because they’re “too much trouble.”
But they matter. She mattered. And I’ll keep saying that. Even if I’m the only one.
*For Educational Purposes Only. Do Not Handle Wild Animals. And Please, Seek Professional Help, If You Come Across A Sick Or Hurt Animal Suffering.
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Everyone deserves to collect a paycheck from the work they do and just like any other industry, you pay for material, labor, skills, and time. Whether or not one can budget for something doesn’t make it any less valuable. And though you typically can’t eat art, it provides sustenance to the mind and soul, which physically supports the body, especially during trying times. A good example of this is that art therapy helps heal and soothe minds. It helps calm and regulate the nervous system. Art is a tool used by therapists and psychologists to treat patients with Complex PTSD, anxiety, grief, and a whole host of other debilitating issues. Art gives purpose and hope. It also fosters community and emotional intelligence. Both of which, benefits society.
After my mother passed away, I used art to process my grief and heal childhood trauma. Here I am painting a pumpkin during a visit to my favorite park.
Simply by acknowledging people can “just use AI” to create “art”, proves how necessary art truly is. It proves how invaluable art is. That art in general fulfills an important purpose and role in society.
It’s apparent that AI’s easy access will and has already taken jobs away from artists, that huge cooperations want free labor to boost their profit margins, and that it hurts regular people, hurts families. It’s taken away vital money from human artists and their families, making it more difficult for them to live, survive, and thrive in an already challenging society.
To place little or no value on the importance of art is uninformed at best, callous at worst. Art is everywhere. It’s on the shirts we wear, the packaging on our favorite products, it’s in the cars you drive, the decorations we put in our homes, the movies you watch, the music you listen to. All touched by human hands at some point. Life is art and for many, art is life.
In my opinion, it’s foolhardy to believe AI “art” could or should ever truly take the place of human created art that comes from skilled hands, minds, and souls. Art that comes from lived experiences and deep wells of emotion and thought. Art is passion.
AI “art” lacks humanity, nuance, and soul and was built off the backs of human artists by being trained off of stolen art from human artists on the internet. Artists not paid for their work by these questionable practices. Art they’d tell you has no value or meaning and yet, they absolutely need it to feed their machine and make money off of.
Supporting AI “art” is supporting theft by the predatory corporations who are pushing it out to the masses. Not to mention how destructive AI is to the planet by gulping up one of our most precious resources, water, to cool the servers and all the power it needs taxes an already heavily taxed, fragile power grid.
AI may not be going away, but it absolutely should be regulated to protect humanity and the planet. Everyone needs to be made aware of the impact it has on themselves, their friends, neighbors, and loved ones.
For Human Made Art & Tutorials, Please Visit My LinkTree
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*For Educational Purposes Only. Statements Made Here Contain Opinions. To Learn More, Please Talk To Artists. Do Research. Thank You.*
Let me start by saying how incredibly grateful I am for the wonderful people in my life. Family, art friends, and kind people on the internet. I never want to take them for granted.
I haven’t been as active, artwise, this year, as I’ve been in previous years, due to heartbreaking life events.
As you may or may not know, I suffer from chronic illnesses. Every day, every moment my symptoms can change. Dealing with health problems is time consuming, expensive, and draining on your mental health. It’s devastating and isolating. I’ve really taken the year to focus on my mental health and heal past childhood traumas, in hopes it helps my overall health.
June wasn’t a good month for me and my family. My dog became extremely ill and we spent all we could to try to save him, last October. And we did. We got around eight more months with him, before he became ill again. We made the excruciatingly painful decision to ease his suffering. He passed June 8th. He was my bestest buddy and I’ve been mourning his loss a great deal.
My beautiful, sweet boy, Bones
Then, last month, August, I was painting, when my brother called to tell me our mom was in the hospital. She was dying. She was moved to hospice, where she passed away. It all happened so quickly and unexpectedly. But I was by her side, when she passed and we got to say our “I love you’s” to each other, before she went.
My mother’s passing has hit me hard. I haven’t painted anything in the past month. I just wasn’t able to bring myself to do it, until today. My mom would always see my Instagram posts and tell me how much she loved my artwork. She’ll never get to do that again and it hurts so much. I just didn’t feel like creating, but I also know art heals the soul.
I decided, despite everything, to take myself out to lunch and then to go paint in the park today. I’m so glad I did. I actually had some fun and I hope my mom was there with me.
Painting pumpkins in the park on my mom’s blanket
I’ve had a few of my art pieces on exhibit earlier in the year. And I was recently asked to join an exhibition at The Lil Blue Goat in Mansfield Texas. The artist’s reception is October 14th, with details in the above link. I’ve been thinking of joining a biweekly artist get together to get out more, also.
Both watercolor pieces are on exhibit at The Lil Blue Goat in Mansfield Texas. The top piece has sold. The bottom is available.
I’m still here, though. I post on TikTok pretty much daily. I’m on Instagram and YouTube also. As well as Facebook and Pinterest. I also have loads of work available in my Society6 shop and some in my new Threadless shop. You can find everything through my LinkTree.
This beautiful design of mine is available in my Threadless shop. Link above.
Thank you so much for supporting me, my work, and this little blog of mine. Take care of yourself and hug your mom, if you can.
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Misty Blue Arts 