Tomorrow my husband leaves for Russia. He will be gone for 2 weeks. In the 20+ years we have been together this will be the longest and furthest we have been apart.

He is going to Russia as part of the Fort Ross/Kashaya Expedition marking the 200th anniversary of the 1st Russian settlement in the continental USA - which just happens to be in our neck of the woods. Sus (hubby) will be traveling with 24 other people to St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tot'ma (the home town of the founder of Fort Ross). As the executive director of the Gualala Art Center, Sus is representing our local art community and traveling with some descents of the "first artists" of the area. Part of the reason for this trip is for the Kashaya (native American Pomo tribe) to see and identify artifacts and artwork that was taken back to Russia when the fort was disbanded - over 150 years ago. They will be touring museums, meeting with dignitaries, participating in a parade, and doing home stays while in Tot'ma.

He was trying to figure out what gifts he should bring with him. The idea of tote bags came up and immediate we thought of the Green Bag Lady. We called Teresa and she sent us some Silent Stumps Sateen bags as well as some other solid bags that we could screen print the Gualala Arts logo on. Teresa ROCKS! In less than a week we had the screen printed bags. Tomorrow they make they voyage overseas.

I can't tell you how happy these bags make me! The trilogy of Green Bag Lady + Gualala Arts + Harmony Art = BIG LOVE.

I hope the Russians like (and use) them and I hope Sus gets home safely with lots of good stories to share.

This picture was taken by one of my favorite artists/activists, Chris Jordan.  It was not staged or altered in any way.  You can see more of his pictures from the gyre on his web site.  Big thanks to Laura of Meadowsweet Organics for emailing me this link. 

The video for the week is another Chris Jordan moment from TED.  It's 11 minutes long and, in my opinion, well worth the time.  Chris is as eloquent with his words as he is with his photos.  Credit and thanks for the video link goes to The Green Bag Lady, who by the way, is currently running another bag giveaway.  (Deadline is midnight Wednesday so better get over there quick and get your free bag.)

I met Harmony Grace for the first time in the Albany airport. Did you know the Albany airport has an art gallery in it? The first thing Big Harmony & Little Harmony (and Mary!) did together was check out the current display called Material Witness. It is all about discarded materials being reused to create art. So, Harmony's first art show at 9 weeks old was recycled art. How cool is that! It couldn't have been more perfect. Here's a photo I took of one of the sections. Sorry, I don't have the name of the artist to give credit to but the show was produced in cooperation with the Rensselaer Schools of Architecture, and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.