Dear Reader,
Neither ToolBoxEarth nor I utilize any social media. Since MySpace back in middle school, I haven't trusted it. I knew I didn't like the feeling of being bumped out of someone's Top 8, especially someone I loved. And I knew that feeling was something I could avoid.
ToolBoxEarth began in Portland, OR during the Spring of 2021. It began as a name. Simply it's name brought it forth and I couldn't just leave it. Just let it sit there for the rest of my life. Just let it sit. ToolBoxEarth is my Other, a guiding light.
It is unfathomable to then hand my art, my Other, my guts to a platform with the likes of Meta or TikTok. Something I don't trust. It'd ruin it, and my whole self along with it.
But I want for us to meet, too. And I've been down. Feeling as an island does.
Dependably, lightning always seems to strike eventually.
I realized it is necessary not to get down, but simply to get better.
I'll be releasing my first collection later this week.
V., formerly Eve Ensler, referenced the coined term 'glimmers' by Deb Dana, a licensed clinical social worker specializing in complex trauma, in her latest article with the Guardian where she discusses being triggered during E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial. Glimmers being the opposite of triggers. They are cues to bring us back into a state of calmness, not survival.
This is my goal as an artist. I want to make art that calms. I want to see people's shoulders drop.
'Glimmers' is an eight piece collection and will be released Friday, June 9th.
Offerings right from my guts to your guts.
Thank you for being here. It's going to be alright.
Kindly,
PS- 'When the system starts to crack,
we have to be ready to
give it all back.'
- Chumbawamba*, song Invasion, 1986
(You really can't expect me to go a whole post without expressing frustrations with the United States of America, can you?)
*'Chumbawamba? ew. Aren't they that band that sings that one song about getting kicked in the shin?' I know, it's a risky quote to pick but if you like surprises check out 'Pictures of Starving Children Sells Records.' I know, I really do.