Closed until further notice

I want to begin by saying I am NOT political.  I try to not take sides, and I try to keep anything political off my blog.  However, I can no longer stand by without making a few comments.

Many of you are probably aware that Alison/Craftytrog is our host this month at Art Journal Journey.  Her theme is Geometric Shapes and she has asked us to make any art as long as it includes something geometric.  

While looking for something entirely different in my stash, I ran into this page from a slick (a magazine with a slick coating) that showed Washington D.C..  Anyone who has tried to photograph a slick knows how difficult it is.

Back to the subject at hand, though.  I noticed how many of the buildings were geometric in shape, therefore that's how this spread was born.

The caption reads Closed until further notice, the title of the piece.   For those of you who don't live in the states, you might not be aware our Federal government has shut down.  It's the longest shut-down in history.  All Federal buildings are closed, all National Parks, all National Museums, and the National Zoo.  These employees are not working, and they didn't receive a paycheck on Friday.

That's not the worst part, though.  ALL air traffic controllers and all TSA agents (those people who scan you before you get on an airplane) are required to report to work, but got no pay check on Friday, either.

I don't care what your political affiliation is, or even if you live on my side of the pond.  Ask yourself: if you were required to come to work, yet told you would not be paid for it, how would you feel?  Would you feel like you were being used, made a pawn, or had become a serf?

This is all because of a damned wall, a wall that minds smarter than mine, and engineers smarter than me, have shown doesn't work.  We all saw what a wall did to Germany.

Eight prototype walls were recently built in San Diego, CA, near the Mexico/U.S. border.  Every one of them had problems, including shape, cost, and materials.  Many agree that a single wall design will not work over the entire 1954 miles of border.  There are fault lines that must be considered, there are specifications that must be followed, there are barriers that must be repaired or replaced over time.

In the meantime, Federal workers and their families are paying the price, as are people who these families must answer to, like their utility suppliers amd their mortgage lenders or landlords.  Others affected include the people who offer services, like dry cleaners, grocers, and food service employees, to name just a few.  I'm off my soap box now, but I hope you understand why this means so much to me.  I would NOT feel like reporting to work if I was told I was working for FREE (even though I'm known as the Queen of FREE)!

All these buildings

have geometric components.

For this page, I spent more time on my diatribe than I did on the actual journal page.   To the image I found in a slick magazine, I added the moon and the sentiment.  

Thanks for visiting. I'm so grateful for your support and understanding of both my art and my beliefs, political feelings aside.  I hope to see you at Art Journal Journey.  Bleubeard and I would love to have you join us, too.