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I am so inspired and excited by the popularity of the Barack Obama themed jewelry that I designed! Because of the popularity, I’ve added a few new designs such as a pendant necklace and a new bracelet with the word “Hope” spelled out in beautiful silver beads. I’ve also taken down the EBAY items because it is just too costly to continue to list there. My Barack Obama Jewelry site is up and very easy to use. As before profits from the sale of the jewelry will go to the campaign, you can go to my fundraising page on the Obama website to see how much I’ve made so far.

I know that as an artist I must have a presence in cyber-space.  Why then do I struggle so much when it comes to writing in my blog and posting pictures at least once a week?  The same dread that I feel when I know I must work out, do the dishes, laundry and etc…is what I feel about blogging.  I would much rather be working at my table making things with my hands.  My head knows that the reluctance and dread I feel is attached to some deep-seated feeling.  Fear? Laziness? Perhaps I need to stop wondering why and just do.  Listen to my inner Yoda, don’t try, do.
Some of you may have noticed that my website of the same name Polymer-Clay-Art.Com is gone.  My plans are to transfer everything from that site to permanent pages in this site.  Please keep an eye out for additions as they come in.

n my post “Visiting HQ and making phone calls” I made mention that the phonebanking location at the SEIU in Columbus, Oh was not accessible.  I had no intention of calling out the Obama campaign for this oversight.  I was simply pointing out my experience and how I handled it.  Blogging can be such a personal experience sometimes it’s easy to forget that someone might actually read and respond to yoru post.  It took less than 24 hours for a representative from the Obama campaign to contact me and offer to make accommodations.  I was surprised and impressed to say the least.  Usually in situations like this, an apology is offered and usually mention is made about lack of funds.  The ADA is often seen as an expensive and inconvenient mandate.  This was NOT the case with the Obama campaign.  I was invited to phonebank at HQ (where the atmosphere is electric these six days before the primary) and assured that for the general election, if Obama is the nominee, the phonebanking access will be re-evaluated.That’s not the end of the story.  Yesterday I went to see Senator Obama at St. Johns Arena here in Columbus, Oh.  I called ahead and asked about accommodations for wheelchair users and was assured that there was an ADA section and that if I was stuck in line in 20 degree weather I could come inside to wait.  I arrived at St. Johns several hours early and indeed was allowed to come inside with the volunteers for the event.  I was also recruited and consulted with regard to helping people in wheelchairs get to their seats etc…My experience may not sound remarkable, however, after 22 years in a wheelchair I have to say that it was the BEST experience I’ve had in MANY similar situations.  In other similar situations I and my disabled cohorts are NOT given the opportunity to participate or offer suggestions.  Yes, we are given respect, but in my opinion the valuable first -hand knowledge we have isn’t sought nor is it welcomed.

There was an interpreter and a section for the deaf or hard of hearing, something I’ve not seen on other campaign events (which will remain nameless). There was a general sense of belonging that was incredible.  I mentioned to another volunteer that I felt like “one of the cool kids” at last.  She laughed and agreed that is was definitely a time to celebrate the inclusiveness and unity that the Obama campaign elicits.

True to my word, I visited the Obama headquarters here in Columbus, Ohio last Saturday. It was absolutely incredible! Not being one to become involved in politics, I had a preconceived notion of what to expect. I’m generally a shy person when in comes to crowds, not to mention that being in a wheelchair can put most people ill at ease. I thought that I would feel very uncomfortable, that people would do their best to “not see” me or look right through me, but this just wasn’t the case.

First of all, there was on street parking which was awesome. Then as we approached the building, there were several people walking in and out, most looked like myself. Jeans, sweatpants, t-shirts and the like. They were all happy and friendly. The windows of the building were decorated with handwritten signs announcing “yes we can”, “Obama ‘08″ and other encouraging words. We went inside and there was a mass of people signing up, finding their precinct for volunteering, working on laptops, organizing papers, gathering signatures; everyone was busy and happy. The walls were decorated with the same handwritten signs as the windows, each enthusiastically proclaiming “win Ohio”, “make the calls to win Ohio”, “Obama 08″ and so forth. We felt very much at home and at the same time couldn’t wait to jump in and help out.

As it turns out the call center for the Obama campaign is at the SEIU local headquarters in Columbus. This is the place where many organizations use their phones for phone banking purposes and it is also not wheelchair accessible. It was pretty disappointing to say the least. I’ve been doing this long enough (living life in a wheelchair) that I don’t get angry like I used to. However I do feel a great deal of disappointment in the lack of access STILL TODAY. Sure I can phone bank from home (and am doing so), but I won’t get to feel the comraderie and team spirit of the phone bank volunteers at the headquarters.

For the entire week I’ve been making phone calls from home. Most campaigns make this pretty easy to do, computer databases allow a person to access phone numbers and call scripts. I find it easy talking to strangers, especially about my enthusiasm about Barack Obama. It is very surprising to me how many voters are undecided and have paid little or no attention to the race thus far. Those people are challenging to me. I rely on some bit of knowledge of the race thus far to educate the people I call. For those with no interest, or not enough interest to pay attention it can be difficult. I usually direct them to the barackobama.com website and I educate them about his legislative and civil rights experience in Il.

So today begins a day of calling.

For most of the primary season, I’ve said that either Democratic candidate will serve our country well, I’ve been torn between Obama and Clinton for some time. I share this feeling with many people, both candidates have a host of good qualities, and their weaknesses are exactly the strengths of the other. However, I’ve made up my mind that Barack Obama has my unconditional support from here on out. Deciding has freed me up to actually work on his behalf, whether it’s making phone calls, writing about it in my blog or putting a sticker on my car. I encourage you to take the final step and support one candidate over the other, that way you can put your boots on and do the work they need.

What tipped me over into the Obama camp? So many things. Some of you know that I truly believed that he was the only candidate that could rise above the fray of Republican smear, we don’t know that much about him and his history in the world of politics is relatively short, that the Republicans have mountains of material on the Clintons to use in the general election and so on. While this is true, my devotion and support for Obama go much deeper today.

Hope and change. As a recovering child of an alcoholic, a recovering racist and bigot from Texas, and a recovering disabled person I know alot about hope. Contrary to the media and the Clintons (who used the word Hope alot during Bill’s campaign), the word hope is packed with quite a bit of depth. If it were not for hope, I might be dead or otherwise absent from engagement with the world. I have lived my life hoping that things will change, knowing that without hope I would be useless and lifeless. Hope is what decided my future when considering college, hope is what propelled me through the door of my first Al-Anon meeting, and hope is what got me up each day for the first 5 years after my Spinal Cord Injury.

Hope is what we need as a country. Aside from his profound message of hope, Mr. Obama brings honesty and truth to the political arena. How many african american leaders have the integrity to name the homophobia and anti-semitism that exist in their community? How many candidates back up their anti-corporate rants with a pledge to take no campaign $ from corporate America? Critics maintain that he is inexperienced, and unless we investigate his record we are tempted to agree. After all, he’s not been in the spotlight, the poliitical fray as it were. That’s a bad thing? In our media soaked culture, those who make it to the headlines are almost always there because of some discretion, not good deeds.

Mr. Obama has written two books that reveal his transgressions and shortcomings in no uncertain terms. He chose to work in the area of civil rights instead of working for the corporate interest, he served in the Illinois legislature for 8yrs, he is a father and he has lived as a black man in a country where racism is the norm. He has built a campaign that celebrates the grassroots, has influenced thousands of Americans to get up off their butts (no easy task) and actually work for no pay. This is not the work of an amateur.

It seems to me that he has had plenty of life experience and professional experience to lead us out of business as usual and into a new century.

And finally I want to share something I saw last night. It’s a sit down interview with Mr. Obama and the journalists at the SanFrancisco Chronicle. His depth and candor convinced me to join the 1,000 other volunteers (look at this) in Columbus and get up off my butt and take our country into the next century with Mr. Obama.

Over 1,000 volunteers showed up to lend their support and time to the Obama primary campaign in Columbus, Oh.

I’ve spent the past couple of days revising my website - polymer-clay-art.com, three solid days at the computer typing, pasting and doing my best to learn CSS and how to style my pages to look like this blog. My neck, back and brain all hurt. I don’t know how webmaster do it, seriously. I’m so tired by the end of the day I can’t think. I’d rather be making art, but I knwo this has to get done. I’ll be very happy when I’m finished. I’s emabrrasing right now to refer people to my website, it’s in such disarry, but just you wait soon it will be awesome.

Jonny’s Birthday was on the 26th and we had a great day. I usually try to plan something special for the day and today was no exception. I surprised her with a magnificent lunch at the Hoover Grill in Westerville. It was funny because when I told her where we were going, she said that she had wanted to take me there as a suprise too. The food was awesome, I had the goat cheese pizza and she had the fish and chips. Our appetizer was the brie, which is Jonny’s new favorite food. Did I mention that Brie is pretty much all fat ? yummy. Then we came home had a long nap and watched The Gymnast a very good coming out movie with a happy ending.

I ordered the Hillary Nut Cracker for her as a present and it never came. I’m so angry at the company, they have been unresponsive to my requests for information and I finally filed a complaint with PayPal and did get my money back. I mention this as a warning to others who may purchase things from this site. So I ordered another one from another site and it should come soon.

I love the thing and I love Hillary too. Although I will vote for Obama over Hillary. I just think he’s more electable, I can’t stand the though of another 8 years of the republicans investigating the Clintons again.

I’ve finished my Valentine Fairie Bottles and they beautifully red and passionate!! Since I’ve started using Swarovski Crystals and glitzy Fire-polished Czech glass for embellishing, the Fairie Bottles have gained alot of sparkle and BAM! Because the materials cost a little more, I charge a bit more, but not to fear I’ll continue to make a more affordable version for my art shows. Here are a few pictures of the Fairie Bottles sold exclusively at Hayley Gallery:

As an artist making it in the retail trade, I always recognize holidays and other special days that we set aside to celebrate. Sometimes this prompts me to leave my comfort zone, especially when it comes to my color palette. I’m known for my use of earth tones and really prefer the colors I might find deep in the forest bed. Valentine’s day challenges me to use red, fuschia and pink; that little love fairie Cupid suggests a Fairie Bottle complete with Fairie Dust to enchant someone you love !

These are some of the things on my tables today: