Insert Something Witty about Imitation and Flattery Here

a chill photo from a recent vacation for the vibes.

May was a year and June was a rollercoaster! I've shared a bit on IG about some of what I'll be writing about here but I'll expand a bit on some things as this post will be a bit more like a journal than a thing with a clear lesson. I've been making a lot of work recently as I've found a way to play with watercolor and started doing meditative blob/spot/boob paintings and things since May. The inspiration came from my nervous system being totally overloaded after my son had a medical emergency that ended up with us staying a few days in the Pediatric ICU. Everything is fine now but the trauma and lingering anxieties of that kind of experience are what me and my husband are working through right now. In the midst of all of that, I'm also having *~*~deep thoughts*~*~ about my career, where I see my personal practice going and all those fun existential related things that come up when life forces you to see what is most important without your permission. As a result, I've "hunkered down" a bit more and am focusing on me and my family and stopped doing as much yearning/planning for community focused projects as I had. 

In the midst of ALL OF THAT, my work has been stolen and imitated and it's just made me reflect on all of the let downs I've experienced over the years and how to mitigate those into the future. It's also made me simply not want to work with or trust other people beyond what my job requires. My work has been copied or presented without my knowledge or permission a two times this year alone. And it's not AI or some foreign entity profiting off of it -- in both instances my work has been co-opted by people I know and trusted and who didn't take the time to reach out and ask or share their plans with me. I'm not sure why and I have reached out to these individuals and have either not heard anything back OR have had folks gaslight me. 

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