This morning, I was making bread. Looking out the kitchen window I saw a dove, on the ground, sorting through the dry leaves of winter. It flew away with a long twig, sharp as a needle. And I wondered. Who invented sewing? Who built the first tree house?

I also wondered: would this be a good approach to a QuestionRelay about the disappearance of species? To a climate change awareness session? To a review of how much of human knowhow belongs somewhere between heaven and earth, acquired way before mud morphed into man, somewhere still unknown. Universal gratitude, individual modesty, a dose of science and lots of foresight may still spark into respect, a deep sense of reciprocity and reverence. Or is it time, again, to fear the wrath of nature as did our ancesters’ ancesters? They built alters tall as mountains to show their veneration for mother earth. Then, why did they turn around, and continue their unconscionable destruction? Why did Nature keep feeding them reliable seasons, lush forests and surfable tides? Until today that is. Because today, neither the adoration of a cyber-Golden Calf nor the rule of techno-fascism will do.

As more and more territories and their populations are annihilated and America grows its deficit attempting to put Humpty Dumpty together again so it can pretend a little longer that climate change is not real, … will reality overcome denial  and lies? Can we wait for an answer which will need to be collective, massive and convincing. Meaning good for all, mind and soul. We will not be able to claim ‘Democracy has been saved’ unless Democracy 2.0 is definitely better and stronger than Democracy 1.0.

03-10-2025

This morning, I should really have made an effort and taken notes from the Creative Sync Zoom session. There were two good bits of news that Victoria shared: One was about the seizable sum granted by Donnelly for operational expenses. The  second concerned the contacts she had consolidated with three Black young generation, local, movie makers who have interacted with TINYisPOWERFUL lately. And then, this afternoon, Marcus had organized a Zoom meeting with a group of Latino artists for future collaborations.

Three occurrences and yet, in my eyes, not a shared sense of how TINYisPOWERFUL

differs from other groups in its approach to community work. To be fair, Victoria has defined for herself a very clear path to present the collective’s approach to art in/with community. Yet, she still has to pass her clarity on to other members of the collective. As for my part in the group, I have marginalized myself at this point, because it is obvious that it has become a mostly women-led, Black-oriented, still intergenerational, inter-racial and grassroots collective of artists, activists and educators, which does not need an old white guy to constantly brings his two cents worth everywhere he is invited! All I really can do for the group is give away my experience and my passion for deep and coherent thinking, and to proclaim the role of art, art making and the spirit of the arts in the strengthening of all cultures.

This morning, I insisted that, with all these connections with other artists or groups of artists, the role of TINYisPOWERFUL and Victoria in particular, was not to “do all the work” (as I suspect she sometimes is afraid to be left with), but to find and define a strategic space and modus operandi specific to TINYisPOWERFUL.