January 5: Ocean Life ATCs

No matter how much my mom loves them, I've never been inspired to make artist trading cards. But the fascination of jellyfish, sea fans, dolphins, coral, pufferfish, diatoms, skates, and general teeming alien biodiversity of the sea drew me in to this swap of ocean life ATCs. When I signed up I thought I'd just dress up some lobsters (oh no! That was figuratively speaking; I hadn't thought of actually dressing them up like Little Bo Peep or Peter Wimsey - I sense some more collages coming on).

But I can never stick with the most obvious thing. That's why, my mom said, other kids made fun of me when I was growing up, because I was weird and all over the place with my non-linear thinking. I always thought she was just saying that, but now I'll claim it. At least, if a general snapshot of the depth and breadth of the people who do like me as an adult means anything, I think she was right. I mean, my beloved friends are weird, weird people.

So on this one I had to go with honoring ocean life by highlighting its destruction and wrath. Industrial fishing is as heinous and dangerous as big box stores and agribusiness, and as much a result of the prosperous world's senses of entitlement, dominion, and blind faith in technology. Even this Greenpeace video about bottom trawling refers to "our oceans" (at :54); where the possessive indicates that the oceans are ours to do with as we please. Also? Orange Roughy? Used to be called slimeheads, but no one would eat a slimehead. They had to make people eat something other than cod, because the cod were disappearing, so the renamed the slimehead. Now? The slimeheads are disappearing.


The set of ATCs depicting the re-taking of the ocean floor (from tourists anyway) went to one swap partner. The collages are mounted on that kind of picture, which must have a name, that appears to move when you tip it back and forth, cut from an old placemat. The set of ATCs immediately above, with the always/never list (and some runaway paste) on back of both went to another partner. I hope neither recipient feels bad that they didn't get something cute, but, my mom was right.