Art is a little less familiar to me. When I take a photo, I compose in the moment and then it is finished almost instantaneously. I want to see if I can play with photographic images much the way I play with words when I compose poetry. I want to make sure I keep that playful, childlike mindset. I hope this artful adventure will teach me something new about the creative process. As I age, I want the world to stay fresh. I want to keep my curiosity.and youthful perspective.
Tag: Writing
Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman
Recently, a good friend told me about Nell Painter’s book, Old in Art School. I knew immediately that I had to push it up to first on my summer reading list. I am indulging in Nell’s journey from Princeton history academic to an BFA at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of Visual Arts to an MFA from the prestigious Rhode Island School of design. Much of Nell’s book is familiar because she is a Jersey girl and I also attended Rutgers as both an undergraduate and graduate. The essential questions of what is art and who is an artist repeat as a refrain in this memoir. I took a long slow read, trying my best to experience what Nell had lived.
Working in the Wonder Studio: Creative Spirit
I have noticed in the last few years that the 5th grade students love to fabricate small intricate items during their final Wonder Studio sessions. I’m not sure if it’s because they want to be able to quickly complete projects that they can take home as mementoes of their Primary School years, or that they are working on a math PBL unit on Tiny Houses, so their minds just naturally go to the miniature. However, most of the students are making objects other than items for their tiny houses, even though I bought materials that would allow them to construct tiny furniture and other accoutrements.
Handmade Mother’s Day
Sometimes, I think - "No one cares, this is a lot of work, maybe I should stop doing this." But then there are days, when I see fifteen eager faces at the front door clamoring to get in and start their work - their work of mess and industry and love.
Stormy Weather: Celebrating Poetry Month
I loved stringing words together. I loved the way they formed in my mouth and rushed out into the air. Poetry was magical, and I felt I had some of that magic in me. Now, as a poet and teacher, I enjoy bringing that love of the spoken word to children. This month, Deborah, my friend and dear librarian at the school where I teach, invited me to be the guest poet during her library times with 1st through 4th graders.
Cooking Inspiration from The Pasta Queen: Poetry and Passion
I have been binge watching Nadia Caterina Munno, the Pasta Queen. She is incredibly passionate about Italian food. Her show is a treat alternating from places in Italy to her kitchen in Florida. She is smart, funny, and spicy. What a personality! I love watching and listening to her.
Mindfulness in Teaching: Be Where Your Feet Are
The author, Suzanne Dailey, noted that she and her girlfriends play a game called “Where are your fee?” in which they send each other photos of their feet to check in with each other about what they are doing and how they are feeling. This game helps each person consider where they are in the present moment. It helps them reflect and shift their attention. It’s a gentle reminder to “Be where your feet are.”
Sitting With Darkness
Now, she’s gone, and I’m trying to find my way in the wake of this darkness. How do I walk on towards old age? How do I live fully with joy and optimism while holding pain and anxiety at bay?
In Memoriam
In Memoriam Queen Anne Small, delicate - a girl who loved to read all the classics and murder mysteries too. Feisty in her smallness she stood her ground, she knew her own mind. Blossoming like a flower with all manner of ideas. She didn’t need an elaborate name or special place to bloom. She could twist her way around and fit in wherever she wanted, beautiful in her wild way, Forever. This is maybe the hardest post I’ve written to date. I’m trying in words to honor my mother-in-law who died last week at the age of 86. She was small in stature but had a large, quick-witted personality. She was a historian and university librarian, and amazed me with the depth of her knowledge. She graduated high school early, and went to the University of Chicago at the age of 16. I was truly in awe of just how smart she was. We would spend hours talking about literature and historical events. She taught me so much about history, and I loved discussing Jane Austen, Tolkien, Kenneth Grahame and multitudes of other authors. Wind in the Willows was one of her favorite children’s books, but she also adored Winnie the Pooh and Paddington. My mother-in-law was also a dog lover and over the years had four active terriers, the naughtiest being Penny, a Jack Russell, and the most devoted and her last dog, Charlie. When I’d come to visit, we spent time playing with her dogs and watching black & white films from the 1930’s and 40’s. Two of her favorites were Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948, Carey Grant and Myrna Loy) and Christmas in Connecticut (1945, Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan). I loved visiting with her on December nights and binge watching these films with her. The movies she loved were always hopeful with a happy ending. She requested to be buried in a yellow floral summer dress, which she wore when she lived in Hawaii. I smiled when I saw the list of her requests: she wanted three books (Persuasion, Wind in the Willows, Lord of the Rings), photos of her four dogs, a copy of a speech she gave to the American Library Association one year, and that yellow dress. I think she had written her own happy ending. I hope she is truly at peace wearing that beautiful flowing yellow dress, looking out into the Pacific Ocean under palm trees with a stack of books by her side, and small terrier dogs in the distance yapping at the waves.
A Jury of Our Peers: Part 2
Exercising my civic duty is not as exciting as I thought it would be. Mostly, it is waiting and trying to keep myself entertained. I purposefully did not bring my laptop, and I’m trying not to engage my phone. I want this day to be more reflective and in the moment. I spend too many days rushing around from one task to the next. Today, I have an opportunity to stop and reflect.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 