year 2017, week 36.

what’s next

Monday

Last week’s exploration of the shift I see for the future was inspiring for me to continue to explore concepts in my writing. Maybe it is lack of sleep that is fueling the creativity. Maybe it is the lack of work on my other creative project. Whatever it is, I am going to ride the wave.

This week I want to talk about the thing I think I want to focus on as an environmentally aware artist. Air quality.

Air quality is not solely air pollution but rather a sum of many parts. I want to focus on the overall quality and how it is changing in New Mexico. I see it changing and it really scares me. From natural gas leaking to particulates in the air from an ever increasing dry desert. I am not an expert on this topic but I will do my best to become more educated along the way.

Tuesday

The biggest reason that I want to focus on air quality right now is because for most of the year Albuquerque has been hazy. From dust being blown around in the spring to haze from forest fires, it seems as if the sky is faded. The sky used to be a shade of turquoise in the morning and then slowly would turn into a deep blue.

And I miss that. But maybe it is just me. Maybe it is has been a more gradual shift in color. That is what is making me want to explore it. In abstract but also in fact.

Wednesday

Contemplating home. Still. This project that I was so interested in earlier this year has started to sink in to my subconscious. And I think letting it live there for a while is my best bet. Down there it will work it’s magic and after a while I will see that the project is ready. I will probably make photos for it without knowing. Like these? Maybe.

Thursday

AIRNow.gov created the image you see above. It shows the AQI (Air Quality Index) for the Albuquerque area. I will be following this website more as I explore my air quality project. So far the images I am making don’t really look scientific, they are more fine art, but I am an analytical person so we will see how it all goes. Sites like this that show what is being monitored are all over but it is interesting how we only find them when we are looking for them specifically. Why are these common discussion? Especially if we are in the moderate level (yellow). I will keep on asking questions.

Friday

This morning I asked myself another question. This one really made me stop and think about my criticism of development. “Where do you draw the line and tell people they can’t have what you have?” This is in regards to me living on the westside and having my piece of the pie but then complaining that other people want the same thing. “Who am I to tell them they can’t have it?” And my career is to design their subdivisions.

So wow, what a complex discussion to have with oneself before 8 am.