Paper Wall Pockets

I enjoy doing art in Procreate on my iPad as well as taking photos on my iPhone. Here are some recent examples of each, with an unenjoyable focus on the recently updated dire predictions on climate change. (Also, read the Sierra Club's article here.)


Earth Madonna

(I brought Earth Madonna to life in Procreate. Her image made me think deeply about the latest environmental assessments and predictions, and those who are not yet working toward solutions, however small.)

What would it take
For the people to see
That the gift of life
Is not just you and me
But the whole of the Earth
All the land, sea and sky
Mother nature is hurting
Do not make her cry
For the tears that she weeps
Will fill up the oceans
And when the floods rise
Too late your devotions
Take heed here and now
And do all that you may
To balance the scales
Else you will rue the day
When you chose to ignore
Stuck your head in the sand
For the outcome will not be
What you thought you had planned.

Altered photo I took in Gainesville, FL. Water reflection, crescent moon, fog added in Reflect app. Some colorization adjustment in Procreate.

I took the original for this altered photo while evacuated from the Gulf Coast of Florida for Hurricane Michael. Thankfully Homosassa and Gainesville did not flood during this storm. My home was at risk and under mandatory evacuation; Gainesville was not at risk of flooding, therefore safe haven. Nevertheless, flooding was on my mind when I created this altered image.

After returning to my home (no damage from tropical storm winds) I learned that my house, that I thought was at very low risk of flooding, is actually at risk for a Category 3 hurricane right up to my back steps, and in a stronger storm is likely to flood. Had the front that was hanging north of Michael moved south any sooner we could easily have had a direct hit of a category 4-5 hurricane. Homosassa had flooding in Hermine. Homosassa also had some minor flooding in Michael, though not my home specifically, and it was not a direct hit. Thankfully. This time.

My history with hurricanes: I was born and raised in New Orleans. The first hurricane I remember is Audrey in 1957. I had just turned 4. Actually, I don't remember the storm, but its aftermath - my older sister and I had planted cantaloupes, and our little crop was ruined. I was 12 years old when hurricane Betsy roared through town, and we caught the edge (!) of Camille four years later. And in 2004, the year before Katrina, my Florida home was under mandatory evacuation 3 times within a 6 week period, thanks to el Niño. I was already living in Florida when Katrina hit, though two family members there lost their homes of 50+ years with flooding up to the eaves, and many other family members and friends' lives were disrupted.

Hurricanes happen. They have for as long as we know. What is changing, though, is the intensity and frequency of the patterns, and the degree of flooding. Both are stoked by warming/rising oceans that, even without major storms, are causing flooding, including coastal flooding at high tide in places that never flooded previously.

Well, I know this was supposed to be about art, and the fun I have with it. And art can come from the destruction of storms. Take Walter Anderson, for example, whose many works were lost in Katrina. Prior to his death in 1965 he enjoyed the wildness of the storms and made art from what lay in their wake.

Personally, I do not like hurricanes - their inconvenience, their cost, their destruction. But I do love how art and nature can compliment each other. And hopefully we can learn from words and images about nature gone out of control before it is too late for us to curb our contributions to the ravaging forces of storms, fires, floods, droughts, etc. Life on earth is too precious to waste. It is not good stewardship to put financial gain over preservation. Not good stewardship of the treasure we have been given. Not good stewardship of the inheritance we will leave for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come.

Note: All original photos, images, and text on this page are my own, copyrighted by me. If you want to add them to a social website such as Pinterest, please only do so if you credit the photographer (Randi Kuhne) and if you link to this page, I appreciate it! If you want to use my photos in your blog, please ask permission first.

The images on this page are not for sale in my imagekind shop - at least not yet. If you see one you want, add a comment and I'll set one up for you.