I'm a broke artist, living @ home with the parents.
I'm forced to keep my art in the basement (maybe to avoid embarrassment, who knows..)

last night.. we had torrential downpours here for hours.

our house was cheaply built.

the basement flooded.


i don't know how, but i'm so grateful that none of my work was severely damaged (or damaged at all)
the floors are uneven, so water collected only in those dips, while my work was higher.

some of the things i've been planning on moving out got soaked...

... my organ... needs to be moved to the other side of the basement that did not get the rain... if i lose that instrument...

i'm distraught... we were told the damn place was sealed off now and we'd never have to worry about this again.


i can't afford storage, and i can't afford a second chance either..


i leave for montreal this morning and i'm sure i'll have this knot in my stomach for the whole trip...

i'm scared, i'm angry... i'm just shocked.


that's all.

So sorry to hear that!
At least your art is safe

PANDURITO said:

thanks, pandurito

At least your art was not damaged .

Serious said:

i know.
i'm waiting for my boyfriend to get here to help me move my organ to the other side... im scared it may not work ever again

it's barely an inch of water (more in other places), but to be sitting in that all night...soaking it in...



my parents seem so unmoved by this - but i guess they don't have anything on that side, and they really wouldn't have been too upset if my work perished... either that or they're just tired of this happening all the time...

i am too.


i want to go mop but i don't know what help that'll do - the rain isn't done with us yet... i at least want to get my work elevated, or just moved to the other side before i go..

i just don't know what else to do.


our dehumidifier is working overtime, it'll never get the job done.
[Edited 7/23/08 4:14am]

Update(for myself really, judging by the response):

everything has been moved to the other side and elevated...
it smells, and a lot of things had to be thrown out.

my shepard fairey poster is soaked while i thought of buying a new one, i'll just get this one laminated - it doesn't look too bad.


the organ is fine - thank the universe for that... and for saving all my art.

i really can't express how grateful i am that i do not have to part with my art... i'm debating taking all canvas works off their stretchers and storing them that way, the stretchers will be safer if they're bare...


i should still be sleeping right now, preparing to get up at 8:30am to leave by 9:30am to mtl, i'm just going to stay awake now.


yeah, this'll sink to the bottom of the org pit, i'm sure, but for those who actually liked my art, it's all safe.

sorry to hear about your flood.

water can be so destructive.

at least your art is okay.

angelcat said:

thanks

and such little water too... i can't even believe what a few hours unattended can do to so much..

i put too much trust in this house... i need to find somewhere else to put them..

like a fireproof, waterproof, indestructible titanium hangar... yeah.

awwwww honey, like others have said least ur ART is ok, makes you wonder what u would do without it.

got me thinking - ive got to get back to the things i looooove doing, writing poems, listening to music, reading books, thanks sweetie

i wonder if my room flooded or was damaged by something, and my books/notepads were destroyed what i would do.....

yay glad the organ is ok!!!!! can u maybe get someone to keep them safe for you or find a place in the rooms above the basement?

"yeah, this'll sink to the bottom of the org pit, i'm sure, but for those who actually liked my art, it's all safe."

im glad its all safe

4 u OTHER ORGERS PLEASE keep this up ther for a while, cause we do care bout Sammi and her ART!


love M

missmad said:

ha, thanks mad

there's nowhere else to store anything, that's why they're all in the basement in the first place, and no matter how much i love my art my mother will never comply with my storing them upstairs - heaven forbid someone sees them...


they should be alright for now

and really, i don't know what i'd do if i lost all of that hard work, it would seem only in vain that i had made that work...
...i'm just so happy they're fine, and it's made me reconnect with everything i had.. my portfolio was soaked through and through, but the work inside? fine.

i don't get it.. but i won't question it
just going through all of it and looking back on stuff i did even back in early high school!! i fell in love with it all again..

i see a lot of what's happened in the past 24 hours as a sign to me... (much more happened, but i won't get into it)

kind of like a purpose? but not really, all i can say now is that things make a lot more sense to me.

sammij said:

look on it like a warning of what could have happened. at least you know what is important to you and you can maybe protect them for the future.

angelcat said:

like my very own children i will.

I know it means jack shit to you, but maybe selling some to pay for storage isn't a really bad idea ? Can't you take illustration jobs or something (maybe even web art stuff ??) to get some sort of an income to keep ur art safe ?

I'm sorry for you hun, hope you can keep those babies dry ?

sammij said:

ur welcome hun. am glad its all ok!

awwwww, i know how u feel, when no one cares about what u do and they don't c it as something 2 be proud of.

im glad it made u reconnect to things u love!

id c it all as a sign 2! ur work on the inside was fine but on the outside it was all wet, maybe a sign that ur beautiful on the inside and worthy of all u will and r receiving but that others r tearing u down with negativity? and that it is the heart, the passion, the content that counts and that u should keeep doing what makes ur heart burst?

love M

BlueZebra said:

you make it sound so easy
i can't get a job here unless i have a degree, hence my current disposition
and they're not getting sold, if i sold them i'd have nothing to show for how i got here in the first place
but thanks for the suggestion..

and plus, if i sold enough for storage, what then would i store? lol

sammij said:

Take from this ordeal those positives, sammi, and build on that momentum. Perhaps this experience truly was destiny's way of guiding or nudging you, or giving you clarity.

I'm very glad your artwork and your organ are alright.

WillyWonka said:

i will
my stomach has been in knots since 6am, but i'm slowly winding down and just realizing all that's happened and seeing the connections
i think it needed to happen, everything that happened during that storm needed to happen... it really cleared my vision...

thank you sir wonka

since I am late to this I'll just send you a and a suggestion


listen to what the others have posted seems like they are on to something



hang in baby, you know it's all worth it, you know it

Oh no

Good Luck.

Hi sammij..
I have been through the same sceanario...

2 summers ago we got a few inches in our basement (sewer backup b/c rain fell SO quickly)
We lost alot of stuff..it was the citys fault & eventually got a cheque for $700-, but we had to sign a paper saying we would NOT SUE the city..

the city is replacing the sewers...or so they say.

I remember when we first moved into our house (20 yrs ago) we got 3 ft of water in the basement..& i was walking in it un-pluging stuff~~ I didnt realize what could happen...shame on me.

I hear that winona & grimsby got it real bad last nite.
Buy some shelves & store your are on them...it could happen again~
Ta

Sammi...I am so glad you work is safe. It would have been awful if anything would have happened to it, you are such an amazing artist...someone upstairs was watching out for you.

I'm glad your stuff was ok in the end Sammi

If you were closer I'd offer you space in my warehouse but it doesn't sound like you're near the west coast... Put your stuff up on cinder blocks and if you can, get a sump pump...



I feel for you, I lost a ton of my personal history thanks to a rain storm one year... wedding pics, THE wedding video (that one really hurt...) a ton of books and so on...

Funny how things happen and the messages we take from them! I'm glad your art is okay!

I'm glad your stuff is OK. When I read the title, all I could think of was carpal tunnel syndrome.

sammij said:

Well, to be fair the thread title made it sound like something catastrophic happened, and it turns out that it didn't happen.

I'm glad nothing happened to your art, but the thread title makes the actual story sound a little like a non-story.



That might have something to do with you not getting the level of response you wanted.

FunkMistress said:

... ok


thanks to all for the well wishes, i'm jus chillin out in montreal now, i think my mind is totally settled..