This is a little different from what I usually share here. This space is most often filled with glass, color, jewelry, and the work of my hands, but every once in a while, something feels important enough to make room for.

Here on Vinalhaven, we are living through a drought. Wells are low, gardens are struggling, and water is suddenly something many of us are thinking about differently. That has made the water crisis in Puerto Rico hit particularly close to home.

The circumstances are different, but the larger questions are connected. What happens when reliable access to water can no longer be taken for granted? Who is most vulnerable when there isn’t enough? And what happens when increasing scarcity becomes something that can also be priced, traded, and speculated upon?

I’ve been reading and learning a great deal about this, and it feels necessary to share some of it here. The glass and color aren’t going anywhere, and neither do I want this space to exist entirely apart from the world around us.

Swipe through, follow the sources, stay, curious, and pay attention to the water.