Oh Controversy...thy name is mud!

I know that I have a past blog post named "Controversy"...it had to do with the new Fire hall that needs to be built on our sweet little island. The reason it caused such an incredible public stir was the fact that there was absolutely no public consult. And I felt that the ones upset by that had a valid reason to be so...the monies for the new hall come out of property taxes, and the proposed hall was going to cost a minimum of $4.5 million. So, yeah, that is totally understandable. If I was paying big bucks for a massive project, i would want to be in the know and be part of the whole process. Come to an agreement with everyone, to make it a comfortable discussion for the whole community. There was a lot of hatred spewed over it all. Threatening comments made and just a whole bunch of bullshit on both sides of the fence. It ended with a referendum that just happened only weeks ago. The vote was 54% in favour of the big expensive plan. Great, it's over...next chapter.

(still needs finishing work on the pencil)

The latest uproar is all about public art. (although, I suspect there is some ill feelings overflow from the whole "fire hall" episode...let it go!) The Gabriola Arts Council made a decision to make 2012the year of making public art. We are known as the "Isle of the Arts"...but there is not much art to be seen when you drive onto the island. (besides the artistic work of nature of course...which is beloved by all) Grants have been written and subsequently approved in order to make this happen. One of the projects the Arts Council came up with, was to paint some of the Hydro poles around the island. Brilliant!! What a wonderful idea...painting the ugly eye sores with some colour and cheer. Something for peoples of all ages to enjoy...something for the tourists to cherish as a memory from their visit to the beautiful island of Gabriola. For the last few months there have been newspaper articles about the project, Facebook posts and a flyer that everyone received in their mailbox. All of a sudden, when the first pole is being done, a few people decided they were uninformed of all of this happening and are against it. That's fine...everyone has a right to their opinion. But in reality, what is SO wrong about a 30' pole getting the bottom 8' of it painted?? I can not see the problem myself...as they will be painted with the artistic integrity of this island. No monies are being taken away from this community nor does anyone have to personally pay for it through taxes or what have you. It is fully supported by the Arts Council here, who has gotten permission from BC Hydro to paint "their" poles. (as we all know, the poles are 100% the property of BC Hydro.) None of the painted poles will be in view from some one's home. And approximately only 12-15 of, let's say 10,000 poles on the island will even be touched. I think some people just like to get their knickers in a knot and spew their negativity against something so positive. On top of it all...my super duper talented husband is one of the artists involved in this pilot project. He is feeling under attack by these negative Nancy's. Brutal. Our house is full of anxiety, tears and a ton of frustration over this. Clint came up with the brilliant idea for one of the "feature" poles. It is a big pole when you get up the ferry hill. And now it looks like a big ass pencil! It is so cool. While the four artists involved with the project were painting the pencil on Saturday, about 100 people passed by...ALL of them with thumbs up or hoots through their windows while driving by. Positivity reigns!!! And that is all that matters. There is no need for public consultation on a project such as this. There will never be 100% approval of something so beautiful and all about fun and imagination and most of all community. I have heard so many people also say..."My kids love the pencil...they are so excited!" And isn't that the main thing...what we want to hear? The children are our future...let's make it bright and cheery for them!!

All righty...12:12 project. (I hope nobody tries to shut my project down! lol)

Saturday April 28 12:12 pm
Where else do I spend a better part of my days...le tub!!! The sun was trying so hard for the most part of the day to shine upon us all. As long as I can sense it...i am happy. As you can see on the left...I have a Hummingbird feeder set up. ;o) I love to watch them feed as I lay in the warm relaxing and soothing water. It's nice to be in that state of comfort and still get to enjoy the beauty of all nature outside my window. I feel so lucky to live in this home.

 Sunday April 30 12:12 pm

I had to get to the pencil to see the ground detailed work that Clint did. Loose leaf!! I love how the pencil looks smashed into the paper. How witty! How can you think this is terrible. Clint spent 2 hours cleaning the sight up...garbage, dirt, weeds, dead squirrel...trashy little piece of land. Now look at it! Fun!!

Today...May 1 12:12 pm

I got nudged off of the computer. This NEVER happens. Clint hates the computer...he is old school. (I love him that way!) But the sad part of this photo is that he is feeling attacked by the very community we cherish and have grown to love. We moved here to get out of the city. To be in a place where we didn't need tons of $$ to live happily (like millionaires). A place where he can be the staring artist working from home and being a caregiver to me...because I need that. I came here for peace and to have a life that I can still enjoy even though I am unable to do most things that I used to. Right now...it feels so terrible. My tears right now over all of this negativity and pain are too much. Time to take Maggie for walk in the meadow of wildflowers.

Peace.