After Earthquakes

We've had a series of moderate earthquakes here in the Bay Area lately. Nothing big, really, especially for people who are from quake territory, but big enough to frighten me for sure. Part of the issue is that most of the recent earthquakes have been centered just a mile or two from school, so the shaking feels especially strong.

It's terrifying during the shaking, but the disorientation and feeling of "seasickness" that I get afterwards is nearly as bad. It's similar to the feeling you get after a day spent boating, when you step back on dry land but still feel as if you're on the waves. I can feel false quakes for days after the real thing, and the fact that there really *are* aftershocks makes it even worse. I often don't know whether my mind and body are playing tricks on me, or if its honest-to-god shaking. Sometimes I have to look around the room at other people's faces to determine if something is happening or not.

This quake-sick feeling is so bizarre, by far the closest I've ever come to wondering if I'm going a little crazy. I decided to try and capture it in a panting for my Chromophobia class, as we're putting on an exposition this week about phobias. The title of the show is "Horror vacui", which means fear of empty space (and is just a very cool-sounding phrase). I wanted the painting to be really busy and visually disorienting to look at.

The end look is definitely different from what I'd originally envisioned, but I am okay with letting the process dictate the result. Here's a bit of the evolution. I think I'm one layer away from being finished, maybe two.

("Seismic", acrylic on canvas, 36x36")







(sorry for the poor image quality. I'm content remembering to take *any* process photos of my art these days.)

Ali Lately

One of my favorite chill-out-post-studio-madness activities is to watch Chelsea Lately. I am sort of surprised I like her program (and her!) so much, but I do. Why fight it? I've long accepted that I like trash tv, so in comparison to something like Cheaters or Coco Loves Ice, I suppose Chelsea Lately is highbrow...

Anyhow, it is the perfect thing for relaxing after a crazy week, which this one was without a doubt. I had late nights in the studio at school (3:30 and 4:00 AM), late nights at my home studio (2:30 AM) and plenty of early mornings in the mix.

I got both of my projects done, which was a good feeling. One was a 5-piece suite for Production that was loosely based on vertebrae and done in silver with gold hinge pins (I made a bracelet, long earrings, a pendant necklace, a chunky ring, and stacked thin rings) and a personal identity piece for Jewelry 3A that involved a bejeweled floral/coin piece that fits into various objects. Hard to explain in a nutshell, but I'll post on it (and the production suite) once I get it back from my professor and have a chance to take photos.

There were several earthquakes last week. Two on Thursday that were the biggest I've felt since moving here (4.2 and 3.7, I believe, but these figures may have been modified by USGS). I distinctly felt rolling/shaking, which is different from the "a huge truck just hit the building" feel of the previous earthquakes I've experienced here. I actually got under my jeweler's bench at school for the second quake on Thursday. The epicenter was a mile away in Berkeley and that thing was scary. Jangled nerves, thankfully no damage. There have been several aftershocks, and I've felt all of them. I feel anxious, like I'm anticipating and can almost feel the next one before it actually happens. I guess the best way to describe it is that I feel sort of seasick, like when you get off a boat and can still feel the swaying long after you're on firm land.

I've been trying to counter all the stress with exercise, which is my go-to stress management solution. Running, cardio dance classes, personal training, and today I tried rock climbing for the first time with some girlfriends from school. We did bouldering at a rock gym in Oakland, and I can honestly say it was better than I'd anticipated. I am somewhat afraid of heights and don't enjoy climbing, but it was good to do a new activity and get out of my comfort zone for a while.

So that's what I've been up to lately. I'm really looking forward to getting a couple of days off during Thanksgiving. I'd like to sleep a lot, hang out with Rico and the cats, and do a whole lot of nothing. :)

Urban Destruction from Earthquakes

In the wake of today's news that a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Chile, I found this image, published on Feb. 25th in The New York Times, even more interesting than the first time I analyzed it. Many of you may know that I am slightly obsessed with earthquakes and earthquake preparedness, especially now that we live in a seismic zone here in Casa Cali.

In the map above (created before the disastrous quake that hit Haiti last month), you can see the cities predicted to suffer major damage in an earthquake due to shoddy construction. There is, not surprisingly, a strong correlation with poverty and a lack of enforced building codes (the latter a sign of functional, organized government).

Port-au-Prince made it on the map, but in my opinion the prediction was conservative given what we now know as the utter devastation that occurred in that city. Obviously earthquake prediction isn't an exact science, so all the circles should be taken with a grain of salt.

That said, I find it extremely interesting that none of the Chilean cities made it to the map. Chile is a very seismic country, having registered the largest earthquake in registered history (magnitude 9.5 in 1960) as well as now the 7th-largest as well (tied with a 1906 quake off the coast of Ecuador). I know that Santiago's modern buildings are all constructed according to strict earthquake retrofitting guidelines, but the older buildings are not. Hopefully the map's predictions will ring true in this instance and Chile will be spared the massive loss of human life that one might expect with an 8.8 quake.

I also find it intriguing that other prime urban areas prone to big quakes aren't on the map, namely Mexico City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. An oversight, or a bit of encouragement??

Haiti

School is great - I'm really enjoying it despite sore hands from hard-to-bend wire I'm fashioning into a baobab tree - but all I can think about is Haiti.

I've donated to relief efforts and I'm praying, but that seems like such a small drop in the bucket of the help - both physical and spiritual - that Haitians, residents of Haiti and all of their loved ones need right now.

You can donate $5 through Wyclef Jean's foundation by texting YELE to 501 501. You can also donate via the Red Cross and multiple other relief organizations and NGOs that work on the ground in Haiti.

This is a good reminder to make sure you are ready for a potential earthquake if you live in an area of seismic activity. I'm going to review the earthquake preparedness manual I picked up at Home Depot the week we moved here to be sure we aren't overlooking anything major and that our preparedness kits are updated and complete.

Remember, the safest place in an earthquake is underneath a sturdy desk or table. There are reports of a Brazilian who survived the Haiti quake because she was under a table - everything else around her collapsed. If you are in bed when a quake hits, hang on to the bedpost or bed frame and try to cover your head with a pillow. If you are driving, try to pull over and set the parking break. If you are in a theater, stadium or other public building, don't panic and don't try to leave until the shaking has stopped. As counter-intuitive as it seems, the safest thing is not go outside your home or any other building until the shaking has stopped.

This is part of the reality of living in Casa Cali. All we can hope for is that we are prepared and lucky.

God bless Haiti and all those affected by this disaster.