Story From the Kiln: The Lady and The Snowman

This picture needs a story.  These two ceramic pieces were made by the same student artist.  I appreciated her attention to detail and the care she took in their creation.  You can see this by looking.  Placing them in the kiln they looked like they needed a story.  Actually, the picture demands a story, and it asks us to write the words for The Lady and the Snowman.   Pretty strong to say that a picture demands a story, but this one has been yelling at me since placing them in the kiln! An odd sensation to say the least.  The two pieces are joined for me by their maker and I cannot separate that commonality of their origin.  When I look at this picture it tells me story, as art does when we let it work its magic.

Here are a few starts.  Maybe you can write one/some of your own.

*In a matter of hours the lady and the snowman would be transformed.

*Looking on, the snowman did not sense the lady behind him.

*Worry filled the lady, a worry that she would not see the snowman again.  Their journey to this point had been evolving by the hands of someone else.  Now they were on their own, wondering what would come of them in the next six hours.

Enjoy!  Would love to hear your stories!

Packing for SAL: The Best Book for the Trip

My journey to NAEA School for Art Leaders 2017 began just before NAEA New York 2017 via am email.  The email piqued my interest for SAL.  In New York I made a point to attend one of the SAL 2016 cohort presentations which confirmed my desire to be a part of SAL.

Fast forward to the first week in July.  I am packing for a week at Crystal Bridges facing my fears and uncertainties as well as a fair amount of imposter syndrome.  To allay my fears I knew I had to take a Robin McKinley book.  It didn’t really matter which one, although the cover for Chalice speaks to me with its warm, comforting colors and William Morris feel to the border.  In high school, I won a copy of "The Hero and the Crown".  After an enjoyable read, "The Blue Sword" followed and I was hooked on Robin McKinley and her female “I’m not ready to fill these shoes but here I am to push forward blindly” hero.  I wanted to bring a McKinley book to SAL because I felt (and still do) like an imposter.  Thinking of myself as an “Art Leader” was the same thing as the heroine of The Blue Sword leading her fighters against unbeatable odds into a future she could not envision.  McKinley’s female hero’s speak to me like few heroine’s.  I can associate with their feeling out of place, not fitting in, coping with a new reality.  Feeling like they do not have the skill or know how for the job at hand.  Yep!  Totally bringing a McKinley because I needed to have hope for that heroine who for all their haplessness conquered the villain, accomplished the deed and found themselves in the end.

Why Draw Circles?

This week must be full of realizations.  So my mountains have changed this week.  I do love the mountains, the perfect escape from reality, from electronics, from me.

I draw these little circle drawings to escape from my reality.  I can "build" these small in size pictures with rules that I create with a math thought here and there.  Fibonacci Numbers to divide the plane, because I need some structure, then random circles that float around.  I can draw my lines in ink to hold everything in place.  They (the lines) allow me to respond to the randomness of the circles with decisiveness and a plan thought of in advance.

My escape in art is to build my own world that looks and feels like no other.  It is safe and I understand the rules because they are mine.

Infinite Mountain

I used to think that life was a series of mountains.  In my mind the mountains were all the same altitude.  They represented the ups and downs of life and my psychological state.  This morning my thinking has changed.  My mountain range is different.

I think that my mountain range is now infinite in altitude and really may only contain one mountain.  That thought is a little fuzzy, I can let that be imprecise.  This morning I realized that I will never reach the top.  This is a little stressful, it makes me feel that goals I am working toward my be unattainable.  I do take comfort in the fact that the virtual terrain of my mountain has altered.  It is no longer straight up and down.  My mountain is now a series of plateaus between steep parts, nicely graded paths that are gentle in their height gain mixed with steeper, rockier sections.  Every once in a while the path even heads back down, losing altitude.  The path itself is a mix of groomed walkways, clear of rocks making for smooth traveling.  Sometimes it is craggy and technical and in the worst case non-existent.

Such is life, sometimes smooth and straight forward other moments are fraught with tension and worry about the outcome.  You know, I don't mind that my mountain range has changed and is infinite.  The views are breath taking.

There are some pictures in my head that go along with these words, later maybe.

Choices

This past weekend brought a wonderful getaway form the everyday grind of life.  A few days lost in Arkansas.  So, maybe not lost.  I knew exactly where we were located, Devils Den State Park outside of Fayetteville, AR.  Sleeping in a tent.  No cell phone signal beginning about 6:30 pm Friday evening.  A total disconnect from many things pressing day to day.  I did connect with friends and family, connected with nature and my mountain bike and in turn myself.  I realized how much I missed this simple kind of get away that we took so much more of ten years ago.  This realization brought about reflections on my time choices.  Right now, I am reassessing choices having to do with how I use my time.  (I think I need to do this with my food choices also!) 

Are the things I give myself to adding value to my life?  I do know after the weekend, I miss my family.  I miss feeling like a mom.  I miss putting care into my home.  Definitely feel a need to reassess.

The Seed

As a child I played with the seeds on my grandfather's farm.  Collecting them, stacking them, probably throwing some at my siblings.  This memory was forgotten until a year ago when I came across a pod of these seeds on a trail ride.  My childhood memory returned along with the sense of play and wonder only a child naturally has.

A seed.  A seed represents potential.  Potential for the future plant it is capable of becoming.  Under the right conditions it can achieve its goal of maturing and passing information on to future plants.  I have this potential, you have this potential.

I want to create an atmosphere in my classroom that allows students to envision and work towards their own potential.