Looking through the glass of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Photo of woman in Michigan with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

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This is me blowing a kiss to my husband outside while he is doing yard work, thankful he is able to do it and wishing I could join him.

At times with my illness it’s just like looking thru glass “literally.” I can look out the windows and see neighbors being able to enjoy their yards. I can sit in the car in front of a store and watch people come and go without being able to go in myself. Eating out is sitting in the car to eat and looking thru the car window at everyone in the restaurant. So using this effect on this picture “glass” I can totally relate to it, the world can seem very distorted! I wish people knew how damaging chemicals are and what they are doing to us. I totally enjoy and am thankful for the times I don’t have to live behind the glass, not many can relate to this and the ones that can (there is hope).

Photo by Live With MCS at flickr

See the whole photostream here

About Live With MCS: I’m free spirited, love exploring and adventure, love beautiful places, people & things (such as rocks! Ha Ha!). I totally LOVE finding places with clean air, being Environmentally ill it’s getting harder and harder to find. I’m certainly not a pro photographer but photos are fun for memories, no doubt!

Nature Knows

“Nature Knows”

Here’s a simple slide show set to an original song composition I wrote and recorded back in 1999. Best viewed with headphones on, and when there’s time to relax. The song was inspired by a dream I had. The lyrics have been published by 3 different Poetic Societies! (My dear friend Marylynn La Gier assisted with some lyrics.)

Photos are mostly mine- taken over the years at various beaches up and down the Pacific coast from Mexico to Oregon; with a couple from Hawaii tossed in for good measure. The underwater photgraphs are not mine; but are in the public domain. Most are unattributed. The deep space images are from NASA.

“…Footprints side by side provide the proof,
With every stride they’re nearer to the Truth…
All things paired, for Life’s to be shared, and so it goes,
It’s right it’s real, it’s Love that you feel, Nature knows…”

All right now, Deep breath… heavy sigh… Okay, you’re good to go. Hit the play button. :oD

Paul

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Trees in Winter

“Trees in Winter”

Photo by Ruth Ruddock

January 2007, at the Schoenstatt Retreat Center, Wisconcin, after a big snow fall.

Ruth is one of our flock and loves to take photos during her walks. “This is a lovely place to walk during any season of the year, and I feel so blessed to have it close to my home,” she says.

Artist uses pollution as canvas

Reverse graffiti artist Moose makes a big statement about clean in San Francisco’s Broadway Tunnel.

San Francisco’s Broadway tunnel is a highly traveled thoroughfare in the heart of the city. Over 20,000 cars, trucks, and motorized vehicles pass through it per day. Its walls are caked with dirt and soot, and lined with patches of paint covered graffiti from days gone by. It set the perfect canvas to create a beautiful work of art showcasing the talents of reverse graffiti artist “Moose”, and the power of Green Works plant based cleaner.

Shot by documentarian Doug Pray. For most information visit www.reversegraffitiproject.com

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A shot of fresh air: Holy Hill Steeples

Holy Hill Steeples

Holy Hill, Hubertus, Wisconsin

By Ruth Ruddock

Oct. 6, 2008

Here’s another beautiful photo of Ruth’s. “It was a gorgeous Fall day, gentle breezes, and I
found my way out there via winding roads, lots of hills and gullies,” says Ruth. “Worth the trip!”

This church is one of the most photographed in Wisconsin, she says, and pilgrims come by busloads to see this sacred place.

Volcano Garden Arts

Volcano Garden Arts, photos and vid by moi, Susie.

On Sunday, I went south to Volcano Village for the annual art tour held on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Volcano is a beautiful little village, close to the active volcano, that over the years has grown into an incredible artist community. The annual art tour is set up so you can walk or drive to several homes in succession and view the artwork, visit with the artists, and purchase things if you like.

The weather was perfect, but the vog (volcanic emissions) was very bad, so my husband and I did a combination of walking and driving so I could catch by breath. It wasn’t the best environment for a person with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, but I was willing to risk not feeling well because we have so much fun visiting people’s homes, enjoying the art and looking at the beautiful gardens.

Our favorite stop each year is at artist Ira Ono’s place, Volcano Garden Arts, where he has a large gallery filled with not only his fabulous creations but also many other local artists’ work. Ira (at left) is the most gracious host you could imagine, and it’s been fun watching him grow his business and his gardens over the years. He has a brand new art studio, a cafe, living quarters and B & B, and our favorite part: a beautiful garden filled with eclectic art of Asian to whimsy. Everywhere you look, there is something fun and beautiful to see.

I took almost 100 photos and made this video to share Volcano Art Gardens with you. The mask on the tree trunk at 1:33 is Ira’s work.

Thanks, Leslie, for inspiring me to make videos like this!

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The Green Planet

A beautiful but disturbing interpretation of a piece of music. What does it look like to you is happening around the Green Planet?

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A shot of fresh air: Bench under tree

Bench Under Tree

October 2008

Ruth Ruddock

This is the second in the series of photos from Ruth, one of our flock and frequent commenter at The Canary Report.

“I’ve found that when one has MCS, it is good to have a passion for something that distracts you and that you can do without too much difficulty,” says Ruth.

This photo was taken at the Schoenstatt Retreat Center, Wisconcin.

Fall Reflections on the River

Fall Reflections on the River

October 2008

“Taken during my walk on the Fox River in my home town of Waukesha, Wisconsin.”

Ruth Ruddock

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You are all in for a very special treat! One our flock, Ruth Ruddock, who’s a major contributor to our discussions here on The Canary Report, has sent me a catalog of her beautiful photos that she’d like me to share with you. This is the first in the series. Isn’t it beautiful?

Hi, I’m Ruth Ruddock, and I live just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I have had MCS since October, 2002…at least that is when it first reared up enough to notice. After my husband died in Feb. 2005, I was at a loss for what to do with myself, not being able to go out and work regularly….my daughter gave me her old digital camera when she got a new one, and I started experimenting with it. I found that I really had an eye for photos and this is some of what I have been doing.

I started gluing the photos onto card stock and selling them to friends and family members….and branched out to shops in the area. It is very small scale, but has helped with food and gas costs over the past three years. I now attend a monthly photography club meeting and have met some really nice people through that.

If anyone would like to see more, or order some cards from me, drop me an email at ruthsansmcs(at)hotmail(dot)com and I will get back to you.

I’ve found that when one has MCS, it is good to have a passion for something that distracts you and that you can do without too much difficulty.

My best to you all,
Ruth

The most natural of art: Forest Sprite

This is art about as natural as you can get.

I put out a request on Twitter for photos of art made from nontoxic materials, and this is by far the most interesting response.

This is “Forest Sprite,” discovered and photographed by Morrie, who lives in SW Western Australia. He calls it a natural sculpture.

“It is actually a piece of bark,” he says, “shed from a karri tree (Eucalyptus diversicolor, in the background) that was caught hanging from a branch as it fell.”

Morrie is a chemical engineer, “the good kind,” he says. Well, he can’t be all bad if he takes walks in forests such as this one and thinks of hanging bark as art.

You can follow Morrie on Twitter here.

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Reflections of fresh air

From Autumn Set

By Meredith Farmer

October 16, 2008

Fort Klamath Junction, Oregon

Nikon D40

Happy Hallows’ Even!

Did you vote yet?

Do you want cleaner air? Go vote!

Do you want better health care? Go vote!

Do you want safer food and nontoxic household products? Go vote!

Do you want change? Go vote!

I’M NOT KIDDING. VOTE.

Photo by On Bradstreet.

Leslie Richard: Organic Painting, Part 5

Leslie is cranking these out so fast, I can barely keep up!!

A personal message from Leslie:

Now that I am learning how to use the paint & hair brushes, I can get more detailed -

This is part 5 in the Poke Berry & Turmeric painting series - using 100% recycled paper sewn together to make the canvas & hung with scrap fabric on a red bud tree branch. The brushes are made of human & horse hair (both work really well but horse hair holds the paint longer), the hair is secured to a stick with a rubber band.

NO chemicals are used what-so-ever, the poke berries & turmeric are boiled down for about an hour with some kosher salt & filtered water.

Super de duper fun !!!!!! Tell me what you think…

Links to Leslie Richard: Organic Painting Parts 1 & 2, and 3 & 4.

Link to vid on YouTube

Radiation treatment inspires nontoxic papier-mache art

Artist began crafting her sculptures while she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

At left, artist and cancer survivor Marion Behr of North Branch Station poses with one of her sculptures on display at the Steeplechase Cancer Center in Somerville. MATTHEW APGAR/ MyCentralJersey.

While undergoing radiation treatment, the equipment surrounding Marion R. Behr brought her inspiration.

“To me, the cradles looked like abstract figures,” Behr said. “I started to think that it would be a challenge to use these cradles, which are just disposed of, as cores of shapes that could encourage others to get early detection.”

So creating nontoxic papier-mache sculptures using those contraptions became part of her recovery.

That’s fascinating enough, but what really perked up my ears is that she and her husband have patented a nontoxic method for etching and printmaking.

Behr works in several mediums. She and her husband, Omri Behr, traveled to Mexico in March to demonstrate a nontoxic method for etching and printmaking they invented. The couple’s etching method, patented in 1992, has taken them to Morocco, New Zealand and the northwest territories of Canada.

Interesting woman.

Link to full story at MyCentralJersey.com

Leslie Richard: Organic Painting, Part 3 & 4

Here is the third and fourth video in Leslie Richard’s series on Organic Painting. Part 1 & 2 are here. Enjoy!!

Part 3:

Self Made organic paints from poke berries & turmeric -painted on paper sewn together, and hung with organic cotton on a tree branch. This is non toxic, chemical free art, and the color stays bright!

xoxo- Leslie

And Part 4:

Hey!!!

Can’t stop now, I am totally obsessed with these chemical free paints - this is another Poke Berry & Turmeric Painting, but this time I added natural charcoal from burned logs - the brushes are made from human & horse hair. The “Canvas” is 100% recycled paper, sewn together and hung with organic cotton from a tree branch.

I found out that the Declaration Of Independence was written in fermented POKE BERRIES! So, these will actually last at least a lifetime or two

xoxo-Leslie

Be sure to check out Leslie’s The Oko Box Blog and her natural fabric clothing shop at The Oko Box!!!

Organic painting with Leslie Richard

Leslie from The Oko Box Blog (and one of our flock!) is putting out a series of videos on nontoxic organic painting. Here are the first two. Very fun!! Leslie, you go girl!

These videos are of the paintings I did with self made organic paints using poke berries (magenta) and turmeric (yellow), a paint brush made with a stick and human hair, paper sewn together for a canvas, and hung with organic cotton from a Red Bud branch. I am super de duper excited about it, check it out!

Link to The Oko Box Blog, Leslie’s eco-friendly interactive blog on organic clothing, environment, pollution, health, organic food, fair trade and organic farming.

Link to The Oko Box, Leslie’s hip online shop with clothing and accessories made by eco desginers who use only high quality organic, sustainable and natural fibers such as organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, wool, silk, and soy.

La-li’s and a Cool Breeze

La-li’s and a Cool Breeze by Ray chel.

I make pictures from felt, knitting and embroidery. [This piece] is Embroidery on Felt. When I was little I used to call flowers “La-li’s”. This picture is a memory of going to the sea with Roo and having an icecream. There was a lot of seaweed and big white daisies.

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Link to set of photos of more beautiful artwork by Ray-chel

First breath

First breath after a water birth.

Link to Natashalatrasha’s photostream at flickr for the series.

Sewing with local organic cotton

Leslie (left) at The Oko Box Blog practices what she preaches about the importance of organic clothing, caring for the environment, and taking care of your health. I’ve become a big fan of Leslie’s. She runs The Oko Box, a fabulous online shop featuring hip, beautiful clothes made from natural & organic fabrics.

The Oko Box Blog is an extension of the shop, “an eco-friendly interactive commentary on organic clothing, environment, pollution, health, organic food, fair trade and organic farming,” an inspiring weblog that shows Leslie’s creative flare in every post.

Yesterday she wrote about sewing a dress from a beautiful blue organic cotton fabric. Is she a cutie or what? It’s the sheer guts of tackling a free-form dress pattern, combined with the addition of those darling patches on the sleeves, that make this dress a work of art.

This is the first time I have sewn sleeves, and they made me so nervous I actually had sewn one of them inside out at first and had to rip it back off and re-sew it on again. Never-the-less sleeves are not as hard as I had imagined - I just made the dress sleeveless then made two tubes which I added in after the body was finished.

To make the body of the dress, simply take your exact measurements and make a tube going up and then form a tank top sleeve line. Continue the neckline upward by keeping the fabric very wide and long, like a giant cylinder that comes almost to the end of your shoulder.

The elbow patches were something given to me by a creative friend, who had a big collection of appliques she’d collected & made. These are handmade drawings of stripper playing cards printed on fabric, and I hand sewed them on, very tightly.

Yay for local & organic!!!

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Soon I’ll tell you more about a contest I won on The Oko Box Blog and about how Leslie has offered The Canary Report readers FREE SHIPPING for any purchase at The Oko Box!!!!

From the Magpie’s Nest

I found a charming blog today called From the Magpie’s Nest, authored by Magpie Sue, a gifted stitcher and quilter who makes darling things (at left is a “postcard” about her pup, so cute!) .

Her bio says she was “born and raised in Michigan, I have been playing with needle and thread since my youth. Now that I am confined to home because of chemical intolerances it is one of the few things left that I CAN do!”

The blog focuses on her craft, but peppered into her posts are glimpses of her life with chemical sensitivity:

I’m don’t practice the ‘paper arts’ but I do enjoy brightening up my outgoing mail and the pages of my journals. I’ve had a package of these sequins before and have used them so often that when I saw these I snatched them off the peg without a second thought. This was one of those rare occasions when I was actually in a store. (I don’t spend a lot of time in stores. I can’t. There are too many fumes and fragrances. It’s not worth the price I have to pay in terms of the effects on my body. I hurry in, grab what I need, and hurry out. I miss browsing.) The rest of my purchases have been made online. Fabric, overstocked calendars at a huge discount (which I bought mostly for the pictures), and a couple of paperback novels to read. It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve lost myself in a book. I’m looking forward to that. But first I have a quilt to make…

She’s cultivated a lovely community of stitchers and crafters. I know I will visit Magpie’s Nest often!

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