Tree Garrison, the Artist.

Well there ya go folks, yep. That is me in the middle of that picture.
I'm kinda shy so don't expect to see too many photos' of me. My face brakes camera's.
Any who, My Uncle Chuck is on one side and my Aunt Sharon on the other.
What is so cool with this? My aunt is an incredible artist who lives in Mazatlan, Mexico. Man that woman can make a dogie puddle come to life with her pen and inks.
She is truly amazing and yet has no idea as to how wonderful she is.
My Uncle? well he plays the guitar ( yep my aunt does too ). He is really good at it too, he is also a photographer like my aunt, and he makes these like really cool nail people and is as artistic as they come.
My Uncle is such a good writer as well, he could run circles around other writers.
He is truly gifted. He is just an amazing person to know and to love.
My aunt is the same. One big ol' bundle of colour that just sparkles like the rainbows.

The both of them are and I have so much to thank them for.
For their encouragement and love. For their guidance and incredible care and love man...so much love that they gave to me to heal me and help me.
Because of them I see this world in a totally different way. I have hope, I have love, I have forgiveness, and faith in the beauty of this world and hope for our people. I refuse to give up and have made my home and set my roots here in New Orleans. My heart, my home, my own private Idaho that I could never personally live without.
This is what this blog is going to be for me, and if you have not figured it out yet, well then. Baby get to it...because this is life man.
I will start myself off first to get yawl going.
so here it goes....

Tree Garrison - 40 something artist who's work sells at Kako's Gallery in the French Quarter, as well as on line at the www.HelloNewOrleans.com sight.
I am the only girl in a family of all boys. I am of Cherokee & French heritage...there is some other type of Native American Indian in there some were, we are just not sure were. My guess is it is in my toes man.

I am a bundle of love and peace. I'm sensitive, stubborn and hell I'm just one big ol' cannon ball of fire at times.
I don't know what else to say because I do this blog as much as possible and I'm sure you all already know enough about me and my way of thinking.
But needless to say this is my art.
I make it out of what ever is around me and what ever I find. Yep, I find some neat things around here man. Heck my office table I found out in the street after Katrina, man and has it come in handy when you have nothing left to use.
so here is my work.
The wood piece I painted on..." fire dancers coming home"
It is painted on a piece of wood found from a home destroyed by Katrina / Rita and the Army Corp of Engineers. It was the first piece of wood I painted on and was found at the home of a good friend of mine. That was all that was left. It was heart breaking. So I made something positive to help us. Unfortunately my friend has moved away and can not look back. It is too sad for her.

The tambourine my Aunt & Uncle sent me. Man I got this wonderful box of noise as I called it from them. A wooden musical instrument that ya hit with a stick, my tambourine and a few other goodies. Well that tambourine was what I had left after Katrina. Hence I made it into a positive and hang it on my wall to remind me of life.
It is decorated with Native American Shaman symbols.
Then there ya have two ink sketches from my wee little sketch book.

Now some were in this blog I have a couple other inks that I did post.
But I do believe that they are also on the hello new Orleans sight.
I also have pictures of around town if you look back through this blog.
I want to hear from everyone here. We are all in this together, we need to heal ourselves and help each other in order to build this wonderful place back up man.
So let me hear from yawl and tell me what you think about New Orleans, why you love it and why it is home, and about your artistic abilities etc.
Tell us what you do for a living to make ends meet like before Katrina and after.
What has changed for you and how.
It doesn't have to be all art man.
Heck we know our cooks are great artists too, as well as our bartenders man, and yep...those hoochie mamma dancers as well man. Some of them only look hoochie for the job dude, but have other things going on. Like paying their way through college.
And yes we do have the prudy boys doin' the same man. And boy can they swing!
You see, New Orleans is just so incredible to me.
The art, the colours the style the mixture. We have everything you could ever ask for except for a good darn government and let's not get started about Wonka and the Umpa's man...
let's let this world see our colours regardless of what other's think man.
Let's shine once again and show this world just how wonderful and beautiful we really are...Let our city and people shine once more man and walk with pride.

OK now...I'm sure some of you are thinking about sending a few dirty things in..I already have my head going on that one..I can only imagine, but hey man, let's try...TRY to keep it somewhat clean man. I know, this is New Orleans, and man we love our dirty water!
So in closing...I would like Ann Delorge, Karla Hunt, Jeff Passage, Jan Keels, Terry Gaskins, Darryl Dean, Stephanie Weaver,Cheryl Crow,Isabelle Jacopin and all the other wonderful artists to send in their reply man and send in a couple pictures of their work man.
Send them on in..tattoo artists, i don't care. let us know what is up with you man.
So people pass this on to your neighbors etc...and let's get this going man and make it a brand new Gumbo ya-ya man.
I also extend all other's to submit to me what they do for a living,before and after Katrina and how it has effected your lives and what you do to confront those problems you must deal with day in and day out. Let's reconnect New Orleans.
Let's help to heal ourselves.
So all you Fire Fighters, Police Officers, Sheriff's, City Workers, especially all yawl who work for SDT and all our paramedic's, Doctors, Nurses, etc...
Let's come together for once and start out on the right foot this time man.

May we all have Peace in the city, Peace in the valley, and peace in our souls to invade our homes.
Tree Garrison
~ `Usti-`itlv-`gv. = Little big Tree =