Postings from January

January was a busy month - preparing for our February performance in Chester CT, and more work at the Beacon School! I still wrote blog entries, but never got around to posting them. So this will be one big posting of all my January blogging!

Still Life

We are drawing from life in my art class this week. Today I brought my favorite objects for the kids to draw, and the session was a hit. One of the hip-hop boys joined in and drew a great portrait of my heavy old black 1950's desk phone! I also brought my small gargoyle and the antique cast-iron apple peeler (with a fresh apple). Sky Hawk peeled the apple and drew the peeler and then all the kids at his table shared the freshly-peeled Empire apple, each taking a bite!

And for tomorrow, I'm thinking about an edible still life on a small table draped with a colorful tablecloth. I try to make every day unique so it is alive both for me and for them.

We're All Students

Because today was relatively warm (mid forties) I had Spring in my thoughts as Bill and I walked to Beacon School together. Bill used the school's internet cable connection to upload my documentary photos while I was in class. I brought watercolors and the children's books of Lisbeth Zwerger to my classroom; she's a fantastic illustrator and watercolor artist. I got so inspired looking at these books that I painted with watercolors last night and before and after school today. I love teaching. I love to see the kids bust through their fear and turn on the lights. I am a student absorbing them and they are students absorbing me! I have never wanted to have children of my own, but having 27 teenage students is fine.

On the way home from school, Bill and I stopped at the Asian market to get fresh garlic (five heads for a dollar!) and fresh bean sprouts. Later in the afternoon I took Honey for a run through the city. She has been waiting for so many days for a BIG RUN!! On the jog home with Honey I stopped by GiGi's. GiGi has been rearranging her store this week. She introduced me to a local potter who for 28 years has taught pottery in a long-term care program at the State hospital in Burrillville; a fascinating link of art and care-giving.

It seems to be getting lighter earlier, and my "transmit" energy is returning. I am having a bit more fun with the music for our Feb 9th show. Rehearsing the music makes US students!

Tangy Twangy

I'm letting my dough rise in the basement next to the boiler since our house is so cold! When I lose track of time the dough ferments and becomes a TRULY sour dough. After baking, the bread is so sour it tastes like sourdough rye bread, and the sourness intensifies over the week. I actually put jam on it to balance the tangy flavor!

Mouse House

When we are asleep there is a mouse running loose in our house. He chews up the bar of handsoap and eats the candlestick wax drips on the tablecloth and eats the flour dustings near my dough mixer. That's not a healthy diet! This makes me want to leave out a nice home-cooked meal for him on a little mouse plate with a little mouse fork and little mouse knife and a napkin for his lap! I loved mice when I was little like them. I had a mouse house which was essentially a one-room house for toy mice.

A Desire to Give

I just photographed the kids at Beacon School in their dress rehearsal for the Woody Allen farce they are performing Friday and Saturday night at the Stadium Theatre. The kids are so great. I'm amazed that I have landed a job in education and it seems inevitable even though I never saw it coming. I love the kids, and all my desires to be a social worker, a therapist, or to work in a prison have all come together being here doing THIS. I am a student and a teacher in this process and I feel blessed to be part of it. Adults are still most often painful to deal with. Why is that?

A Snow Day!

We had a storm that left heavy snow on every tree branch. It was one of the most beautiful snowstorms I've ever seen. We took Honey for a run through the cemetery and she ran and ran with sheer dog joy! Her brown fur showed up against the white powder. Everywhere we looked were spectacular views of snow-covered trees, with silver glittery hills in the distance. The hydrangea bushes in the cemetery looked like hilarious hairdoos. Some of the bushes looked like icy white fireworks frozen in time.

Photographer-in-Residence

I am now in day three as the new documentarian photographer at Beacon School (in addition to being an artist-in-residence). Students need pictures of themselves for their digital portfolios, which are necessary for graduation. So I've been hired to poke my head in all of the classes. I'm getting a taste of all the teaching styles, and seeing more students while I snap photos. Yesterday I was in the senior art class and they were working with clay. It was fun to see them slamming dense slabs of clay on the table and then rolling and cutting it into shapes. In math class kids were taking a test (not a great photo op!) but a few had calculators so that made an interesting graphic at least. The culinary students were in their white chef's jackets ladling, pouring, removing big pans of bread pudding from the oven. I also peeked in on the science and film classes.