from Altered States Library- http://www.montevistaprojects.com/current.html

1. Katie Herzog- Favorite genome from the day was this artist from LA. She works in multiple painting styles, including these library paintings (it seems her day job is as a librarian) which vary a bunch in their levels of abstraction and the way she is making her marks. I thought the paintings were interesting, but I liked her even more when I read interviews with her where she openly discussed having a baby daughter, being a feminist, and continuing to work in the art world. Preach, lady. It bugs me when professionals, especially in the art world, are hedgy or deceptive about being parents, so I love that she confronts it and moves through it.

2. PEPS Walks- I started volunteering for PEPS last week, and I tried to get my group started doing things together outside of our meetings. It didn't turn out to be a wild success (2 out of 8 came), but I feel like wheels are turning and they have already started inviting each other to things, which our group never did until the whole thing was over. Hoping to serve the group well, and I feel excited they are connecting.

3. Single Use Packaging Alternatives- I have been trying to study up on more ways we can reduce our waste as a family, and single use plastics (shampoo bottles, food packaging, water bottles) seem to be one of those ways we can really be doing better. We are looking into where we can drop single use plastics from our life, and I have found some great resources, in case you want to cut down on this stuff too. I have yet to see a way that these changes wouldn't also improve your life, even if they are a little less convenient. It started with turning down plastic straws (no one needs them!) and reusing produce bags, but these sites gave me good ideas of other small changes we can make:

http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/04/how-to-stop-using-plastic/

http://lifelessplastic.blogspot.com/2007/12/ten-tips-for-avoiding-plastic.html

http://myplasticfreelife.com/plasticfreeguide/