Questions for Crystal Ybarra, Art Activist | Interview by Paullette Gaudet
Photo by Kyle Johnson
What do you do for American Friends Service Committee?
Through AmeriCorps VISTA, I assist the Regional Indian Program director, Jeff Smith. My current project involves bringing the truth-in-advertising laws of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to the state legislature, so reported violations can be addressed more efficiently. [Visit doi.gov/iacb to learn more about this law protecting Native art markets from fraud.]
What is your favorite part of your job?
Educating people, while helping Native artists maintain economic sustainability.
What are the best five minutes of your day?
When I get to work, turn on my computer and think that anything is possible.
Blog Digest
Loss of Innocence: Molly Norris writes on QueenAnneNews.com: “We no longer have the luxury . . . to live like we did in the ’60s and early ’70s. Back then we did things like pour paint down the drain, have unprotected sex with strangers, take Sunday drives to nowhere and puncture bags full of garbage and throw them over the side of our boats with ease.”
Haul Ass: On a new blog, Running From Camera: “The rules are simple: I put the self-timer on two seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can.”
Boat Still Floats: Richard Hugo House announced on their Web site that they have chosen a new director. Sue Joerger, formerly of the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, used to write poetry while living on a sailboat. No doubt she can keep the local writing mecca from sinking with her eyes closed. Ahoy!
Eight-Carat Tentacles
Jewelry designer Candice J. Lathrop sympathizes with Timothy Treadwell (subject of the film Grizzly Man): he may be “a little wack-a-doo, but we all get a little crazy about our animals.” Lathrop certainly has, since she was an East Coast kid with a pet cricket. Now she dreams bears, gators and sea creatures into handmade necklaces and crazy rings. See her whole animal kingdom at egokitten.etsy.com or visit her OK Hotel studio (212 Alaskan Way S.) during First Thursday Art Walk. —Bond Huberman
