I understand you might be a little burned out on my posts about Diabetes Art Day. I’ve blogged, twittered, facebooked, tudiabetesed, diabetes dailyed, and dLifed it into the ground. I get that, so if you’re done reading about it, I hope you’ll come back tomorrow to see what new topic du jour I have on tap. I really feel like we need a little closure though, so I want to share some final thoughts about it.

I never imagined so much participation, and am so grateful to everyone who joined the effort. You are the reason Diabetes Art Day was so magnificent. I wanted it to be a community event of sorts, and it truly was because so many of you posted art. I can and do post art, and will be doing more of that this month since I’m participating in NaBloPoMo and the September theme is art, but had it just been me posting art for Diabetes Art Day, it wouldn’t have made for much of an Art Day. With so much participation, certainly more than I imagined, finding all the participants has been a project. I’ve tried to track down all the blogs and websites that participated, but if your link and/or artwork isn’t posted on the Art page, and you would like it to be, I encourage you to leave a comment or email me.

Speaking of finding all the participants, anyone who did participate is eligible to win the No-Sugar Added Poetry book. I’m making a list of the participants, from which I’ll draw the names of the five winners. Before I do that though, I want to feel confident that anyone who made art, wants to be included in the raffle, and doesn’t have their artwork or website listed on the Art page has notified me. I’ll give it a couple more days to see if other artwork surfaces, and then I’ll do the drawing.

For those who didn’t participate for whatever reason, maybe you didn’t have a good opportunity to make something, or maybe you don’t consider yourself artistic so figured you’d enjoy it from the sidelines. I hope you were able to participate as an observer. I know several bloggers who posted art mentioned that their page hits were off the charts last Wednesday, so I can only assume that there were a lot of viewers. If you’d still like to add some art because you have extra time this week, or because you’re feeling extra inspired by others’ art, I encourage you to do so. I don’t want anyone who wishes they had participated to feel like they can’t. I picked September 1st because I thought it would be more effective to have it all on a single day, but Diabetes Art Day is more about the experience of making art to express something about diabetes, so in the end, I’d rather you make art any day than not make it at all.

I think it’s fair to say that there were a lot of emotions generated from both viewing and making the art. If you haven’t had an opportunity to reflect on your experience with Diabetes Art Day, whether as a viewer or an artist, I hope you will. If you want to post about it, I know I’d be interested to read it, but mostly, I think it’s a good thing to do for yourself, whether it’s posted, whether it’s something you write and keep to yourself, or whether you just sit and think about it. Not everyone will feel the need to do so, but I think there’s value in doing so.

Looking ahead, I am now the happy owner of www.diabetesartday.com. It’s not anything to look at now, but next year, I hope Diabetes Art Day will be bigger and better, with even more participation. I don’t have any specific plans for the website, but I want the art to have its own home, and I’d like to find a better way to post it so the experience of browsing through it is less overwhelming and more enjoyable. I also want to transfer the art on the Diabetes Art Day 2010 page to the website. It’s a project on my to-do list that I’m hoping to get together in early 2011.

Thank you from the very bottom of my heart to everyone who helped make Diabetes Art Day spectacular. The range of art, the materials used, the ages of the artists, the relationships to diabetes – it was all represented. I thought it very much reflected our Diabetes Online Community in that each piece was so different, much like each of us, but all had something in common, the connection to diabetes. Looking at the collection of art says so much about diabetes, us and our community. I’m proud of us, and I hope you are too. Thank you.

'Misnomer' by Lee Ann

I wish I could give you some better insight into where this came from. As I’ve said, I don’t have a plan when I sit down to make art, at least when it comes to paintings. I started putting paint down, decided I needed some diabetes trash, saw the Comfort infusion set label and grabbed it, and once I had that element in place, I decided to add something appealing and contradictory, so I grabbed the heart sparkles. I didn’t think of the name until after I was sitting here looking at the image on my computer. It’s called “Misnomer”.

'All There Is' by Lee Ann

I’m having kind of an emotional evening. I don’t really want to write a post about it right now, but this is my painted response to the feelings that have been stirred up. I don’t normally read a lot of the blogs written by parents of D-kids, but in trying to see all of the art, I have been. It didn’t feel like anything I wanted to rush through, and since a lot of the blogs aren’t familiar to me, I’ve read some of them. Basically, it’s gotten to me. I may or may not write a post, but here is a painting. It’s teeny-tiny, 3″ x 3″, but speaking of all stirred up, that’s kind of how I’d describe it. Funny how art can truly reflect our emotional states, isn’t it? I call it, “All There Is”.

The “No-Sugar Added Poetry” book contest is complete! In order to be entered, a piece of original art had to be submitted. Every time I received a submission, it made me so happy, and to see them collectively makes me that much happier. I wish I had enough books to give to everyone who entered, but I truly hope that everyone, regardless of whether or not they won, enjoyed making their art. I also hope that everyone continues to find opportunities to be creative, whether it’s making art or some other avenue for being creative. At the very least, I hope each entrant will be participating in Diabetes Art Day, which is two weeks from today!

I had this wonderful plan to make a vlog out of me drawing the names, but I didn’t quite get my act together, and I didn’t really want to wait yet another day to post, so no vlog. If I had vlogged, what you would have seen was me mixing up index cards on which I’d written the names of each entrant, and then drawing two cards from my little pile of upside-down names. The artwork of those not chosen is what follows. All I have for a consolation prize for those whose names weren’t chosen is my gratitude for playing along. It’s not much, but please know it’s heartfelt.

'Tipping the bigD Tightrope' by Heather Leide

'Powerlessness' by Elizabeth Arnold

'Oscar the Grouch' by Lauren Colao

'Real Numbers' by Mike Durbin

'Parenting on the Glycemic Tightrope' by Sherry Roberts

'dIABETES' by Virtue

Congratulations to Virtue from Naturally Born Cyborg, and Sherry from Jenna’s Pet Monkey (email me your snail mail addies so I can send the books!), and a big thanks to Heather from Beyond Your Peripheral Vision, Elizabeth Arnold from Pieces of My Life, Lauren Colao (a Temple University grad like me!), and Mike Durbin from My Diabetic Heart, who all took the time and invested their hearts into making a piece of art for this. I love each and every one of these, how each one says something personal about life with diabetes, how they each evoke different feelings, and how each one is so different despite common themes.

Lastly, one person submitted a written piece, but since I specified visual art, I felt obligated to stick to the rules I made, as tempted as I was to include her name in the drawing. Thanks to Alyssa Rosenzweig for sharing her writing. Although I had said that to qualify for the drawing the entries had to be visual art, Alyssa’s submission serves as a reminder that art comes in many different forms.

I’m in a fight. Every second, I’m at the frontline. Many lives have already been taken and there will only be more. Young, old, and everything in between, all left in a terminal limbo to fight. We are innocent, unwillingly drafted to fight for a victory today that only earns us another tomorrow to fight. We try to understand the rules, they are complicated and their consequences overwhelming. The language is nearly unintelligible and we have no words to explain the little we comprehend. They say the strong will survive, but they cannot fight with us and we are too few. We are frustrated, tired, scared, alone.

The enemy, I study its every temperamental move, vigilantly monitor its progress. It is unpredictable, it does not rest. It attacks in moments quiet and loud, joyous and sorrowful. It is bold, striking when I stare it in the face and when I look away. Its resistance, indifference, and insensitivity humble me. It feeds on weaknesses, showing no mercy, no forgiveness.

I have become numb to it, surviving only on instinct. I try to be normal, to forget, but it refuses to be ignored. I do what it demands without knowing why. I reject its restrictions so that despite it, someone inside of me I do not know can live. I hide behind a callused armor of independence, confidence, and control. I give it my best, I seek peace. I offer my love, my tears, my blood, but it wants more. It wants my life. But while I live the fight has no end, for the enemy lives inside me.

The entries for the No-Sugar Added Poetry book contest are starting to trickle in, which is very exciting! In talking about the contest and the guest post I did for DiabetesMine on Monday, it seems some people were inspired to do more than just make art for the contest though. My friend, Cherise, had the brilliant suggestion of an art day. I was a little wary because of concerns about participation, but Cherise’s excitement was infectious. Also, I recalled talking with Karen about how she was worried when she announced her idea for Diabetes Blog Week that no one would be interested in participating. As it turned out, she could barely stay on top of the participating blogs, and was overwhelmed in a good way by the response.

With these fine diabetes blog ladies as my muses, I am initiating the very first official Diabetes Art Day. If you would like to participate, between now and September 1st, I’m asking you to break out of your linguistic comfort zone, bust out some art materials, and make a piece of artwork – painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, an installation piece, a mixed media something or other, or whatever you can imagine. I’m sure most of you don’t consider yourselves artists, but I think that you are, and just haven’t discovered it yet. Then, once your masterpiece is complete, post it on September 1st. If you want to get your family involved, maybe each of you can create something, or you can even do a group art project. The possibilities are endless if you use your imagination!

When September 1st comes around, if you want to say something about it – what it was like to make it, if it turned out the way you expected, what it means to you – then go for it, but if you just want to post a picture of it, and let it speak for itself, the magic of art is that words are optional. If you don’t have a blog, and still want to participate, post it on one of the diabetes online communities. You can even send it to me if you want, and I can post it. I just don’t want anyone who doesn’t have a blog to feel like they can’t participate because the more people that jump into the art-making action, the better. Whatever you create, wherever you post it, just link back to me because you have no idea how much I am looking forward to seeing what you’ve made!

Here’s a badge to show you are participating and help spread the word. Then all that’s left is tuning out that inner-critic, tuning into your instincts, sense of adventure and playfulness, making something fantastic, and posting it on September 1st. This is a community art project like no other for a community like no other, so help me make it fabulous!

For additional information about how and where to post your art on September 1st, please check out: Where the Heck Do I Post My Art?

If you’re concerned about how to get started making art, what materials to use, or worried that you’re not “talented”, please check out: So You Say You’re Not an Artist?

A few more tips, inspiration, ideas, and information about a raffle for all Diabetes Art Day participants: Extra Inspiration