You are currently browsing the Daily Life category
Displaying 21 - 30 of 71 entries.

Garage Sale Find: Old Poem

  • Posted on July 30, 2012 at 1:18 am

Blue Angel Wings by Katherine Svoboda

Last weekend my son helped me set up for a garage sale.  Many of you know that I used to be a full time potter.  I would go to art shows and sell my pottery.  I have many little books or journals that I tend to jot things down in.  I have also written little poems on scrap paper as well.  Josh picked up an old Anne Geddes journal and tossed it in the trash.  I quickly captured it from its pit of death and exclaimed that there might be something profound in it.  My son just laughed because I tend to keep many things that seem worthless to him!  I just want to share something that I wrote in that journal and if you have a piece of my pottery please think about me.

You take a piece of me home with you

Do you feel my presence in each piece you touch?

I am not plastic or cold like steel

But molded with love and God’s holy seal

The earth is my family

The fire is my friend

Mixed with humility and God’s tempered hand

I feel close to my maker as I lovingly drink from the cup of benevolence

And a bowl of fine wine

Drink and be merry with my pots so strong

Feel each loving stroke of God’s holy hand

Keep each piece close to you year after year

Remember the maker that brought you such cheer

Yes, I know.  It is truly a bit sappy but it was a moment I remember long ago when I was watching someone in my booth picking up my pottery and caressing it, trying to make a decision.  Just know when you are in any potter’s booth, there is a bit of the individual in each piece you touch!

Continue reading Garage Sale Find: Old Poem »

3 comments on Garage Sale Find: Old Poem »

Reading is Fundamental with an Emphasis on the “FUN”

  • Posted on April 20, 2012 at 9:58 pm

My son bought me a Kindle for my birthday last May.  I was really busy taking some online courses so I just didn’t get into it until after the summer.  Then I purchased an Ipad.  I have really enjoyed reading this year and I love the fact that I can virtually have any book I want within a matter of moments.

In school we are focused on improving reading scores for our students.  There are many students who just don’t like to read.  It doesn’t matter how many times I tell them, “The more you read, the more you know.”  Some just don’t care or read at such a low level that they are frustrated.  If you or your child is a frustrated reader, my advice is to work harder at finding something that is interesting for you or him/her to read.  If you are reading for information, find things that you want to know.  If you are reading for leisure, find a book that helps you create the “movie in your mind” of that book because then you can compare your version with the soon to come real version in the theaters!

I have made many comparisons this year and I have discovered that movies just cannot possibly beat reading the book!  This year I read many series of books from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series to “The Hunger Games”, and even the Harry Potter series.  Yes, I had never read the Harry Potter books!  My sister Colleen, who passed away six years ago, loved Harry Potter.  She even took her grandson to one of the midnight book extravaganzas when she was alive.  Sadly, she didn’t live long enough to read the entire series.  She had given me one of the books years ago and I had never read it because I knew I needed to read the first ones to understand it.  I had only seen the original movie, so I didn’t have any real preconceived ideas about the books.  I decided, as a tribute to my sister, I was going to read that series this year.  I ended up buying a set of the movies and as I read the books, I eventually watched the movies.  I discovered that most movies leave out a lot of details.  If you are waiting for the movie to come out for any book, read the book first.  If you only watch the movie you are getting one interpretation for the book and you are allowing yourself to be manipulated in your thought process.  Movies can be, and are in fact, altered.  In Harry Potter I was surprised when the loyal elf, Dobby, had some prime activities that he had done to help Harry usurped by Neville Longbottom.  Maybe Neville’s agent wanted to give him a bigger part.  I don’t know why movies veer off from the original book, but I prefer the book as it is what the author created when he/she wrote it.

In the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series I was able to watch the Swedish version of the books on Netflix.  All three movies are there and like the American version there are some changes.  The movie that I find most frustrating however was “The Hunger Games.”  In the movie version I detested the crazy, shaky camera that ran over all the violent scenes of the movie and swiftly panned the opening scene of District 12 in such a way that anyone who didn’t read the book would never realize how desperate things were in all of the districts let alone District 12.   In the book there is a real sense of how manipulated the people are by a government gone amok with controlling the masses through these “Hunger” games.  The kids in the games were really reduced to animals, set on each other, and this was truly shown towards the end when Katniss saw Rue’s eyes in the genetic makeup of the wolf like dogs that attacked her and Peeta.  This didn’t even come up in the movie and the Hollywood “interpretation” of the book missed a lot about what the Hunger Games really was about.  It’s more like what’s happening today with the 99% and the 1% than some kind of clever reality game that people “want” to participate in so they can be set for life!  NO one wants to be picked because the reality is your chances of living are slim and none.  It’s like sending lambs to slaughter!  Did I really get all of that from the movie….not a bit!  The violence was smoothed over so Hollywood could make more money by not getting that dubious “R” rating.  Shame on them!

A teacher friend suggested I read “The Help”.  When I first started it I found the narrative to be quite demeaning to the black women in the book but I kept with it.  I felt like it was a white woman writing how she thought a black woman would think and write.  That was why I was turned off.  In the end, I did enjoy the book but once again the movie is not quite the book!  Surprise, surprise!  After reading the book and watching the movie I knew that the author, Kathryn Stockett, was influenced or inspired by “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Harper Lee.  This may seem strange, but I had never read the book, so I decided to get it on my Ipad and read it.  Many years ago I watched the movie but I didn’t remember all of it as I was young.

To Kill a Mockingbird is by far one of the best, if not the best, book I have ever read.  Reading the book through the eyes of Scout I was taken back to when I was a kid living in Kingston, Michigan.  I remember running by spooky houses and stories about strange people that lived in the community.  There were two old sisters that ran a candy store/restaurant.  I was scared to death of them!  I could imagine my brothers daring each other to run up to some old house and touch the door because some spooky person lived inside.  Harper Lee captured all of those feelings and thoughts from a kid’s point of view in such a magical way that the true innocence and horror of prejudice can be seen in a light that is clear to all that read it.  Even though there were changes to the movie, I believe the movie did capture the basic essence of the book.  The book is better but Gregory Peck was stellar in his portrayal of Atticus Finch.  In fact all of the actors were wonderful in the movie and I appreciate the black and white of the movie because that aspect really brings home for me the black and white issue of prejudice whether it be about skin color or idiosyncrasies that individuals have that make people pre-judge them.  Many quotes from the book are in the movie so the movie was able to capture Scout and her viewpoint in a positive way.

I know I’ve rambled on a bit but I hope I have convinced anyone that bothers to make it to the end of my thought process to pick up a book and read.  If you start with “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Continue reading Reading is Fundamental with an Emphasis on the “FUN” »

2 comments on Reading is Fundamental with an Emphasis on the “FUN” »

The Toledo Museum of Art and Thoughts of My Sister

  • Posted on April 6, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, the 5th of April, my sister’s birthday, had she survived the deadly cancer that raged through her body.  I’m currently on spring break.  While many have found ways to escape the stresses of daily life, I have found myself reliving a spring break six years ago when I went to visit my cancer stricken sister.  We celebrated her birthday on Thursday and she died by the end of the week.  My father followed her in death shortly after.  Thankfully, I decided to do something that would delight my senses rather than dwell on what could have been.  However, I am mixed with emotions of loss, love, and a sense that our country truly has turned into the two Americas that John Edwards always talked about.  There are the privileged and everyone else.  There are those like Dick Cheney, who have wonderful health care, and those like my sister, that didn’t and don’t.

There is an “America” in Toledo, Ohio where everyone can participate because it is free.  I drove to Toledo to visit the Toledo Museum of Art.  I had only been there once before and it was back in my twenties.  I can’t understand why I haven’t sought this gem out in the past thirty years.  I just have to say that if you are from Toledo, or the surrounding area, you are a fool if you are not visiting this museum.  I didn’t have time to make it over to the glass museum, so I’ll be going back this summer and devote more quality time to both.  The museum has many galleries loaded with unusual pieces of art and there is absolutely no cost to attend.  Imagine a quality museum with wonderful art and it only cost me $5.00 for parking.  That, in itself, is amazing!  When I went to Chicago and parked underground it was nearly $30 so I was thrilled to think that anyone can attend this museum, any day, for free!  I’m just going to touch on a few artworks that really stood out for me.  Art inspires me and this seemed like the best of days to get inspired!

Morrison Triptych

I was drawn to the Morrison Triptych because of its beauty and clarity.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/96/30/invno-asc?t:state:flow=65b98ef0-38ed-4165-9fe8-8abf0503ce71

The artist is unknown.  Morrison was the person that owned it last.  In the painting one can see great effort at every little detail from the feet, to the rug, and even the background that gives a feeling that it could go on forever.  When I was looking at all of the Christian art in the museum, I had a sense of how inspiring it must have been for people to see this artwork at the time it was created.  I could see how spending time where the art was at, say in a church, could be the most beautiful part of your day.  I’m sure the art was used to control people in some form or another through story telling with strong moral meaning.  Whatever the case, it is easy to see how people would be drawn to places of worship just for the inspiration that would be provided.  Today, religion needs more than a beautiful picture to inspire people to want to participate in daily devotion!

Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal

Another piece that I was drawn to was an artwork by Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice, 1905.  I have never paid much attention to the artwork of Seurat or Signac as tiny little dots just doesn’t really appeal to me.  They almost seem too painstaking for me to find them interesting.  I can appreciate them but I have always liked art that is faster and more expressionistic with quick brush strokes.  However, my perception has been changed by this delightfully colorful piece by Signac.  It is made up of rectangular brushstrokes of wonderful bits of color.  From a distance it reminded me of some of Monet’s work but up close it is much more colorful and less subdued.  My pictures were taken on my cell phone so they lack quality.  My battery had died in my little camera and I didn’t check it before I left home so I snapped some shots off my phone.  Here is a link on Flickr to a better shot so you can see the wonderful color and brushstrokes that I am writing about.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/noctilux-mingqi/4658392020/lightbox/

Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I

Another piece that I found inspirational for its composition is a piece made out of wood by Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I.  I loved the fact that she took scrap wood and made something so magically beautiful from it.  Each box alone is a wonderful composition but seeing them altogether is like different chapters to a book.  They each tell a little story.  It really made me wonder where she found all of the different shapes.  The way she composed each piece is interesting as she put curvy lines next to straight lines and they work harmoniously together on the whole when you see them as this huge piece of art.  It’s quite dramatic due to the black color and the size of the piece.

Juan Schnabel, Portrait of a Freedom Fighter

I also really enjoyed “Portrait of a Freedom Fighter” by Juan Schnabel.  It is an artwork created from broken ceramic plates and oil paint.  I was drawn to the three dimensional aspect of the piece and the broken fragments that up close just looked like a mess, but when I stepped back came into focus.  It served to remind me that things are not always what they seem to be whether it is with art or in life.  Some things need a closer inspection to fully understand.

The artwork, “The Salutation of Beatrice” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was just beautiful in a romantic way.  It seems the artist was named after the poet, Dante.  This was a tribute to Dante and his unrequited love for Beatrice.  A portion of Dante’s poem is inscribed in both English and Italian on the frame.  It goes like this:

My lady looks so gentle and so pure / When yielding salutation by the way / That the tongue trembles and has naught to say / And the eyes, which fain would see, may not endure.

You can see the piece up close here.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/121/34/invno-asc?t:state:flow=adf30bba-874e-4a61-a6d3-f4c986b75cd8

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Salutation of Beatrice

The piece is beautiful but it is the look of longing in her eyes that really drew me into it.  I loved the softness of her pale skin and the way the fabric drapes around her almost as though she was an “angel”.  She just needs the wings and a halo.

An artwork by Paul Gauguin made me forgive him for leaving his family.  He really didn’t belong in the business world.  He had a gift for color and I am so pleased to have come across this image of a road that reminded me of the road he took which was so different from the road he was originally on!  The piece is called, “Street in Tahiti”.  It is full of color and a sense of a different world where people are at peace.  I loved the brushstrokes of the palm tree.  At the museum I could get right up to almost every painting.  There were no barrier lines around most of them.  You could breathe on them.  That was amazing for seeing the brushstrokes so closely.

Paul Gauguin, Street in Tahiti

Another artwork, or should I say artworks, that stood out for me was “The Party” by Marisol.  Here is a link to a Sotheby auction that says a bit about it. http://www.thecityreview.com/s05scon1.html

This piece made me smile.  There was an artist statement about feeling alone even at a party.  What I could see was the many looks of party goers.  Some are looks of boredom, some of thoughtful reflection, like how can I escape?  Some looks seemed to mock the haughty “elite”.  I found this piece to be sophisticated and humorous and I loved the fact that Marisol said they scared her when she was working on them.  I kept picturing waking up in the night to these crazy life size pieces!  This is one reason I love art.  I can be inspired, laugh, and take from it what I want.  Art allows me to make my own interpretations.  They may be what the artist was thinking but often art just makes me think!  If you have the opportunity to visit an art museum in the near future, it just might make you think as well!

I will close with pictures from other artworks that I enjoyed on this fine day in April when I was thinking about my beautiful sister and missing her deeply.

Continue reading The Toledo Museum of Art and Thoughts of My Sister »

Care to leave a comment? »

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  • Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:10 pm

I’m coming to the end of my holiday break and feel compelled to have my simple say on the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I’ll start with the good.  Over the holiday break I visited with family and also bought a new car.  Yes, I am helping this sluggish economy by doing my part.  Of course this wouldn’t have happened if my brother-in-law hadn’t passed on his GM discount to me.  My car is the “good” in this little piece of reflection.  It actually ends up being “good” for my son as well because I’m giving him my low mileage Taurus.  Even though my Taurus is ten years old it only has around 82,000 miles on it.  It has been babied by my old lady driving habits, meticulous care, and the fact that since my dad passed away in 2006, I haven’t put on as many miles as I used to traveling up north to see him.  I bought a Chevrolet Impala LTZ and it looks pretty much like the picture.  I have to say it has great pick up for passing.  I also love the heated seats and the remote starter.  Having “On Star” is interesting.  I went from loving it to hating it to figuring out that it just doesn’t always work!  Hence, the Allstate commercial!  I love the Bluetooth connection for my phone as it works great.  I love the Sirius-Xm radio but it serves to remind me of the “bad” that happened over the holiday break.

Christmas Eve my absolute favorite radio talk show host passed away.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/nyregion/lynn-samuels-radio-talk-show-host-dies-at-69.html

God bless Lynn Samuels who was a radio talk show host for Sirius “left”.  I loved hearing her raspy New York, Jewish voice with all of its toasty, warm, goodness.  Lynn had a sense of the world that is unlike any other voice on the left station.  She loved Hillary and couldn’t stand Obama and she let people know this on a regular basis.  Lynn’s show was the only one that I ever actually called in on.  I can’t believe she is gone now.  I would hear something on her show and call my sister up and refer to Lynn as the “bitch”.  I did this out of a form of endearment as I loved her.  It had more to do with her voice and her cranky attitude than me actually thinking she’s a bitch.  I thought she was awesome and her voice reminded me of a woman that I know and feel close to in many ways.  I will miss Lynn and Sirius left better do some serious thinking about finding someone to replace her.  In the morning I can’t stomach the Alex Bennett show because he is so sexist.  I like Thom Hartman and the fact that he has Senator Bernie Sanders on.  However, the only reason for me to ever really tune in to the left channel was Lynn!  I will forever miss Lynn Samuels and I wish more people knew this wonderful individual.

Moving on to the ugly, I just have to say I can’t believe the crap people will buy.  I was watching TV during my holiday break and was assaulted with this crazy commercial entitled, “Forever Lazy”.  At first I checked the station to see if I was on the “Comedy” channel, but to my surprise this is a real product.  I can’t imagine the team that set around dreaming up the product and then the promo for it.  Was this a product that was developed by accident and now they have to get rid of the results or what?  I don’t believe I know a single person that would want to buy something so gosh darned ugly or that proclaims a lifestyle of laziness.  Yahoo, I am forever lazy!  Just what I have always aspired to be…..the “lazy” one.  Not!

We may live in a society that wants to be comfortable in their faded jeans and t-shirts but this is a real stretch.  When I saw the zippers so you can open the “drawers” up so to speak all I could do was laugh!

I think developing quality products is in itself an art form.  However, in my mind this product belongs with the dust bin of crazy collectibles from the past.  I decided it was time to look up some old favorites to share.  While these products may be unique they probably won’t inspire most people to purchase them, except for a joke.  What follows are pictures of real and imagined products, a picture of Lynn and the car are there because they are in my gallery post.  Do you know the difference between real products and a joke?  Don’t feel bad if you don’t because some things are made that you really have to wonder about!

Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly »

Care to leave a comment? »

My Art Student, Occupy Wall Street, and those Pesky Politicians

  • Posted on December 10, 2011 at 1:11 pm

I had a student recently create a work of art that really made me think about how easy it is to understand the 99% versus the 1%.  So many of the pundits that I have watched on television have said that the Occupy Wall Street group doesn’t have a clear message, or a spokesperson and this is why they won’t be successful in whatever they are trying to do.  That’s the media, the machine that is trying to douse the flames of this current movement.  I want to share the painting that my student created.  First of all, she is a seventh grader of Mexican heritage.  She recently moved away and I’m sad to see her move as I would love to have worked with her more to see what inspires her.  The painting was the result of an assignment I had given.  She was working with a group of students and they were learning about Pieter Bruegel.  I challenged them to create a small painting inspired by the artist they were studying but to put their own “twist” on it.  Yareli did not let me down.  Below you will see the piece that inspired my student and you will see what she painted.

Pieter Bruegel, The Misanthrope

She had to write a reflection statement about her artwork.  This is what she said, “My artwork is pretty good.  This project helped me know what colors can make a different color.  My artwork could have been better but I wanted it simple.  It’s a better version of the artist I copied from because now days it’s the poor who are being robbed and that brings more attention to the one looking at it.”

Her artwork can be seen so you can make a comparison between the two pieces.

Yareli's Artwork

I think it is interesting that so many pundits and politicians profess to just not understand the Occupy Wall Street group when a little seventh grade girl can see what’s happening in the world today!  Newt Gingrich even suggested some ridiculous idea about taking a bath and getting a job.  I think the politicians and the pundits have a pretty good idea why people are so fed up with the way things are run in Washington.  They are just trying to get us off topic by changing the subject to bathing and trying to make people think the Occupy group is just a bunch of hippies.  You know those pot smoking, sex driven, street people, that are dirty.  Most of us are tired of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer because of those Washington policies that favor wealth and corporations over living wages, education, and jobs.  There is always enough money for Wall Street bankers and private corporations tied to our military industrial complex but there is never enough for the little guy.

I, for one, am thankful for the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  It takes a lot of guts to go out and really protest.  I can write on my little blog and say some of what I’m thinking but these people really put themselves out there, day after day, taking the abuse for the rest of us.  I couldn’t believe the way those young college students at UC Davis were pepper sprayed.  The video that everyone has seen shows how abused they were by the campus police.  It was surreal to watch as the students innocently stayed calm in the face of real adversity.  It must have seemed like a torturous nightmare to them that the police would spray them over and over when they were being so compliant.

UC Davis Students from LA Now from the LA Times Blog

What prepared those young students for the ability to sit still like that?  These are kids that have grown up with computers and comforts that their parents might not have had but they are still able to reach down into the well of what is right and wrong and take a stand!  I commend them and anyone else that is out there trying to make a difference in this screwed up world where up is down and down is up!  It’s almost like we have reached the Land of Oz where nothing seems to make sense.  We are facing a nightmare with the richest one or two percent controlling the lives of the rest of us.  I would like to see a change in our government but I don’t see it happening.  Too many that have the power to make the change are living in the world of the 1%.  They don’t care enough about the rest of the people.  If they did, they would stop playing these political games and get something done to get this country moving again!

I was watching C-Span today and there was a woman on talking about tax breaks for making energy improvements to your home.  A guy called in about transportation and how we should be creating a high speed railway system across our country.  I couldn’t help but think about all of the jobs that could be made from such a move.  The other day I was telling my new trimester of sixth grade students that we don’t know what the jobs will be when they grow up.  A tech guy had been in the room fixing a computer.  I told them that twenty years ago his job didn’t exist.  I went on to say that if jobs continue to be so difficult to find that the people getting the jobs will have to be innovative, inventive, and creative.  Unfortunately, politicians are the same old, uncreative, uninventive lot that they have been for years.  While they are sitting in their ivory towers of inequity telling the rest of us how to live, the creative innovators are being silenced.  They are silenced by this class of lazy, stale politicians that only live for one thing, their own greed!  My last post I pondered why the choices for president are so damn bad.  Unfortunately, the 1% and 99% don’t have a lot in common, one is looking for a hand up onto the boat and the other is pulling the ladder up and saying the boat is full!  I think the politicians are already in the boat ready to set sail.

Continue reading My Art Student, Occupy Wall Street, and those Pesky Politicians »

Care to leave a comment? »

MEAP, Stress, and Life in General

  • Posted on October 24, 2011 at 8:32 pm

Every school in Michigan knows what this involves!

Last week at school we finished giving the MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program).  Everyone could finally let go of a collective sigh of relief.  I personally think it is pathetic that as an art teacher administering a math test, I didn’t sleep well the night before.  I kept waking up and every time I did I kept thinking “Katie, remember to give the second part first.”  Why you may ask was this the case and what was stressing me out?  The fact is that I had a large group of students and I wanted to make sure that they were comfortable in my room.  The group I had was advanced math students but there is still that nagging pressure to perform.  Everyone at school from the administration on down to each and every student understands that we have to perform well or face some kind of “consequence”.  All of this results in the first month of school becoming some kind of crazy world where every bit of scheduling is about preparing students for the tests that they will be taking in October.  I almost feel like this week is the first week of school, except that we are now meeting with parents for parent/teacher conferences.  With all of the interruptions that I have had in scheduling, it just doesn’t feel like we have been in session for six weeks of school.  My seventh hour advanced art class had at least two full weeks when I barely even saw them!  This week is the week when everything will finally get back to normal, well sort of normal.  There are also many individual student schedule changes which are very annoying to me and probably to every other teacher that is involved.  I’ve had students switched from one art class to another and their grades are lost, so I have to go back and find all of their artwork and resubmit their grades.  All of these things are the housekeeping part of teaching that I really don’t enjoy.

When we were administering the MEAP tests we seemed to have very short planning times.  As a result, I am so far behind with everything from grading, Artsonia and every other aspect of my school and home life that I haven’t even been able to blog at all!  So tonight I figured I would let people know that I am alive and kicking but so very stressed out that I cannot even imagine how tired I’ll be at the end of this week.  Our parent/teacher conferences are on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 4:00-8:00p.m.  Normally we would have Friday off.  However, since we are going to have the Wednesday off before Thanksgiving, we will be at school on Friday.  I’m thinking that the students better be on their best behavior because there are apt to be some tired and grumpy teachers in school on Friday!

These bears were at the Gerald Ford Museum in Grand Rapids during Artprize. I don't know if they are still there but they were made with a chainsaw and are very whimsical.

So, in the past month there has been a lot happening in the art world here in Michigan with Artprize and with my inspiring students and in the “real” world of politics with the death of Mummar Gaddafi and the announcement of the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.  Of course there are also those Republican candidates that just don’t seem to create much excitement beyond the confines of the Tea Party movement.  With what is happening in most of our lives, it’s hard to get excited over politics these days.  It’s tough deciding who to vote for when most of the candidates seem like Pete and Repeat!  President Obama has kept all of the Bush policies going and so he’s a Bush repeat and the Republican candidates sound like broken records when they repeat the same thing over and over.  It’s usually something about taxes and health care.  I feel worn out listening to them.  The one thing they all need to do is figure out the job situation.  The lack of leadership on this issue is appalling.  I do hear the president talking about his job’s plan.  The only problem is he still lacks real conviction.  It seems like a game to try and get ready for the 2012 election.  I hate being so cynical, but after being promised change and discovering that change only really meant we now have a black president, I’m disappointed.  I was ready for a black president.  After all, I got used to one watching “24”.  The president being black should not be the only thing that defines his presidency.

Fariha, an eighth grader, who dazzles me with her mixture of the merging of her life in Bangledesh and her American life.

Several months ago my brother asked me if I was going to vote for Obama.  Honestly, I don’t know who I’m going to vote for, but I remember telling my brother that Obama needed to get us out of these two wars if he wanted my vote.  (We weren’t involved with Libya at the time.)  I also told him that it couldn’t mean just taking troops out of one country and putting them in another.  I wanted a president that was more like FDR and less like GW.  So far, I feel like Obama lives in the shadow of Bush.  Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, even reminded us on Sunday that the schedule for troop withdrawal was actually the time table that President Bush had set up!  Imagine that!  When President Obama sent those troops into Osama Bin Laden’s compound, he once again gave credit to President Bush.  Yesterday, I heard Pat Buchanan singing the praises of President Obama on foreign policy.  Anyone that knows the politics of Pat Buchanan has to understand why some of us just don’t get Obama.  It makes me think of that country song about being country before country was cool.  With Obama, I feel he was Republican way before he was ever any kind of Democrat!  Maybe Democrats just aren’t cool.  I don’t know if Obama lost his way or if he never had a true path to begin with.  I just feel like he doesn’t understand what many people are going through that have lost their jobs, taken a lesser job, or have given up looking for a job.  Talk is cheap.  We have been taught from little on that actions speak louder than words.  The politics of Washington is deafening silence as each politician turns a blind eye away from the poor, the disheartened, and the disenfranchised.   I saw a statistic scrolling on the bottom of my TV screen the other day.  It basically said that 50% of American workers make less than $26000 (I don’t know the exact figure.) a year.  That is a shocking statistic and I’m not sure what study it was from but we all know that the top two or three percent control almost everything.  Politicians in Washington need to wake up to the reality that is facing our country.

Cory, a seventh grader, who is quietly creative and a model student!

We have great wealth, but alas we have many people that are struggling at the bottom trying to get ahead.  We keep telling our kids to go on to college only to discover how saddled with student loans they have become.  It’s a glass house those student loans are built on.  Hopes and dreams are easily shattered much like the dreams of our youth when they struggle to find fulfilling work after they have committed to years of indebtedness.  Will they get bailed out when they can’t fulfill their financial commitment?  Probably not but, rest assured the bank they are dealing with will get bailed out!

Lela, a 7th grader, a young girl with a thousand things on her mind!

These artworks were created by a few students this year in my art classes.  This is why I teach.  I love working with these young people full of creative energy!  They are the reason I am so frustrated by our political system that rewards cowards and destroys and deters innovative thinking!

Continue reading MEAP, Stress, and Life in General »

2 comments on MEAP, Stress, and Life in General »

Cattle Call….I mean jury duty!

  • Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:56 pm

Today has been one heck of a day.  I was selected for jury duty along with many, many other people for a big murder case here in Michigan.  I have to say it was not a pleasant experience.  After going through the metal detector and signing in with the clerk I received a piece of paper to give to my employer saying I would be compensated $12.50 for a half a day of work.  Okay, everyone can stop laughing now.  Then, like cattle I was herded up some back stairway where furnace filters and other things were stored to finally reach a large room, not a typical courtroom though.  This one was not set up for a jury and wasn’t as ornate in décor as a normal courtroom.  The room had stenciled designs on the wall and a painted backdrop of marble behind the judge’s chair as well as a painted eagle on the ceiling.  The seats we sat on were wood that flipped down and these had iron leg castings that were anchored to the floor.  They were very low seats and after two hours of sitting on them, very uncomfortable.  The set up for the case was very strange but it may have been done the way it was because the case is high profile.  The reason I say we were treated like cattle is there was no sense of urgency or concern for us for at least two hours or for that matter much of the day.

We all arrived at the designated time of 8:30, really earlier than that because we didn’t want to be late.  We sat there for two hours waiting for something to happen.  Nobody really wanted to be there, but we knew that someone had to be picked for the jury.  When the judge and lawyers finally came in the judge gave us the basic speech about what case this was for and so and so on.  Then he said if anyone had a hardship like a medical reason or had already purchased tickets for a trip, to get in line.  This was after he told us that whoever was chosen for the jury would be committed to 3-4 weeks.  Needless to say half of the people in the room got in line.  The judge and the lawyers went to another room.  I think it was called the “History” conference room.  The rest of us sat in disbelief because we were stuck once again with nothing to do.  We were told that we couldn’t get up or leave or talk.  Well, I must say after a time many of us stood up to stretch and we did talk.  I went over to see if I could use the bathroom again, anything to get a chance to move out of that room and stretch my legs.  We had to get in line and go one at a time.  I think it was now around 11:30 that they came back in because they were finished dealing with those people.  Now the judge asked us if anyone had ever heard anything about the case from the media to get in line.  Truthfully, if you hadn’t heard anything about this case and didn’t get in line you are either, pretending and want to be on the jury, or you are woefully under informed.

After waiting in line for what seemed like forever I was finally the second one from the DOOR, otherwise known as the door of freedom, when they told us all to go back and sit down as the judge wanted to make an announcement.  It was now around 12:30.  Several minutes after sitting down, he finally arrived.  He told us we were breaking for lunch.  Since it was now 12:45 we would have to be back at 1:45.  So I went outside to discover what a beautiful day it was, went to McDonalds and drove over to a park in town to enjoy the outdoors.

After getting back on time like everyone else, well, except the judge and lawyers, we went through the same screening process.  However, I was able to get my spot back in line and I finally reached my destination.  I have to say I am not normally a nervous person, but I found myself picking my tongue up and wondering what gibberish was coming out of my mouth.  The judge asked how I knew about the case and I told him the Sturgis Journal and Channels 3 and 8.  He wanted to know if I could put the media stuff aside and would be able to sit on a jury.  I told him that I thought I could but I felt in fairness they needed to know by background and that a psychologist might disagree.  I told them I was divorced and had been threatened by my ex-husband.  I also told them that I had sat on a jury before.  The judge was curious about that and the outcome.  I told him the prosecuting attorney had not proven his case.  The prosecuting attorney decided to let me off the hook and the defense lawyer agreed.  I found my freedom.

Truthfully, I would not want to sit on a murder case.  That’s a heavy burden.  I have not mentioned the case in name because there may be more potential jurors out there and I don’t want to pollute the pool.  Strangely, I felt sorry for the accused simply because I’m a mom and he is somebody’s kid.  This is a case where no one wins much of anything.  I was finally able to leave about 2:15.  During one of our long, tiring wait times I joked that this was like “Survivor”.  Those people that could withstand the long uncomfortable hours on hard wooden chairs and who could survive the boredom were the ones they figured could sit on the jury.  I commend anyone that has ever had to sit on a lengthy trial.  There seems to be a lot going on behind the scenes that we weren’t privy to.  I’m sure there was more going on in that two hour wait period in the morning than a group of bored potential jurors sitting and waiting.

Continue reading Cattle Call….I mean jury duty! »

1 comment »

Google, GAP and Art in My Life

  • Posted on February 4, 2011 at 4:46 pm

Google has partnered with some great art museums to create an online website where anyone can take a trip or tour around the world’s great art museums.  It’s called the “GAP” for short.  http://www.googleartproject.com/ It’s a wonderful site and I encourage everyone to check it out.

When I came across this website today I was taken back to my beginnings as an art student at Michigan State University.  It really is amazing that I even ended up remotely connected to the art world.  I never had an art class in all of my K-12 education experience.  This is one reason I so fervently believe in art education.  I feel like in many ways my young life was deprived because I missed out on the creative playfulness and unique perspective the arts provide in a world ruled by math and science.  The most interesting and intelligent people I have ever met are “creative” people.

I remember thinking I was going to college from around seventh grade on.  It seemed to be a “given” that I was planning on attending college, even though I came from such a large family.  My older sisters did not have that “given” in their minds but they were ten and twelve years older than me and times were tough.  I, being the youngest, had more opportunities than they did.  I think I probably knew I was going to college because many of my older brothers had gone to school.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  However, for a few years I wanted to be a veterinarian like my brother Joe.  I really looked up to him and I wanted to be like him I think.  Well, until I saw him go down to Ed and Jessie’s place up north and do something unspeakable to a cow.  That sure put a kibosh on the idea of becoming a veterinarian.  I never even thought about anything in the art world because I never even knew what it was.  Nobody in my family was connected to the arts.  You might be wondering how in the world I ended up involved in art.

Botticelli, The Birth of Venus

I liked to draw.  I didn’t obviously have any training and I simply used a pencil and whatever paper was around.  When I was a senior in high school I can remember not sleeping all that well and staying up late and drawing.  I remember drawing a picture of President John F. Kennedy from our “World Book” encyclopedia.  Of course I sort of left my pictures out for my parents to notice like any kid might do.  I remember them thinking they were nice.  There was no real encouragement to pursue art at any time in my life from anyone when I was young.  I took all college prep classes peppered with a lot of math and science.  I didn’t have any room in my course schedule for art until my senior year.  I had one free hour.  I chose choir because I like to sing and because I was afraid to take an art class.  I would have to take the beginning art class and be put in with freshman students which I didn’t want to do but really I was afraid that my secret would be out.  The secret was that I had never had an art course and felt inept!  Heaven forbid that I could take a course that I knew nothing about!  Isn’t that the point of an education?  To learn about things we don’t know?  Oh, well, I digress.

Botticelli, The Birth of Venus Detail

I moved on to college not knowing what I wanted to do.  I was an “undeclared major” college student.  I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do possibly because I hadn’t been exposed to what my true passion would become.  Back in the seventies the first two years of most college education was liberal arts anyway, so I took a lot of different courses.  I took quite a few philosophy courses which is amazing because I don’t consider myself to be very logical in many ways.  You know the old “If, then phrases”?  They never made a lot of sense to me.  However, as time went on I continued to draw.  I remember putting up my drawings on my bulletin board in my dorm room.  One drawing I did I really remember well.  I don’t know how I was exposed to the picture, maybe it was through a humanities class.  However, I fell in love with the painting by Botticelli, the Birth of Venus.  I loved the face on Venus so I drew it on typing paper and put it up on my bulletin board.  That one drawing probably created a turning point in my mind to consider taking an art class.  Other students kept asking me why I wasn’t taking any art classes.  I started thinking maybe I should.  I still didn’t have the confidence to take an art course but it kept nagging at me.

During my sophomore year I finally got up enough nerve to take a beginning drawing class.  The first day of class I can remember sitting in the art room waiting for our instructor and listening to the other students.  Most of them were bemoaning the fact that they had to take this “dip shit” beginning drawing course before they could take anything good.  I was petrified.  I thought what have I got myself into.  I was looking for an exit.  The first class was just an introduction.  After class I went up and talked to the instructor and told him my dilemma and how the other students were obviously much more experienced and how maybe I thought I should drop the class.  He asked me if I was willing to do all the assignments and come to class.  I told him of course I would do that.  He encouraged me to stay in the class and he offered that some of those students would end up dropping out because they wouldn’t be willing to do the work.  His “pep talk” worked.  I stayed in the class and never looked back.  I went on to take many art courses, much more than I needed for my B.A. so I earned a B.F.A.

Most people that I know today in education don’t realize how precious I feel a well rounded education is to the development of the whole person.  I think art is crucial in my life and opened up my imagination in ways that never would have happened otherwise.  As a teacher I have high expectations and hopes for my students.  I want to share with them my love of art and creativity.  The feeling I get when I create something with my hands, brain and heart connected cannot be measured on a test.  The push to create something new and original is always in the back of my mind.  As a teacher, I try to help my students reach their full potential and hopefully see that there is more to life than just looking at things through the eyes of some test that they won’t remember thirty years later anyway.  I see the value of creativity.  In our world today people must be creative just to survive in the high stakes of unemployment.  The world of the future will depend on the innovation and creativity of our youth.

Technology today is a wonderful tool for art education.  There are so many resources online that it is amazing what can be learned about art.  Many people even openly share their knowledge on sites like YouTube.  You may have to watch a few bad videos to get to the good ones but it is all worth it.  Here is a man creating a Greek/Roman style vase on Youtube.  It really is exciting and educational to watch him work.

Art touches everyone.  Even people that profess to not care about art carefully pick out their car, clothes, jewelry and furniture.  We all live in a society where we want to be surrounded by some element of what we think is beautiful.  When I watch those “Hoarding” shows, I even see people collecting items that they think are beautiful.  The items may get lost in all the surrounding trash, but they are there.

I encourage everyone to get involved in the beauty of the world of art.  If you cannot leave your home, travel online all over the world and view art from your own private perspective.  If you have always wanted to take an art class but were afraid, go ahead and face that fear.  You might be surprised at how wonderful you catch yourself feeling when you create something with your own brain, hands and heart!  If you don’t have access to an art class, make your own class up.  Go on Youtube and learn something new.  Many people are sharing all of their wonderful artistic talents online.  You can learn about everything from drawing and painting to basket weaving.  The world we live in is amazing and shrinking in many ways.  FDR said the only thing to fear is fear itself.  Don’t be afraid to discover your creative side.  Your brain is more than willing to create new connections to learning as you discover the beauty of pushing your creativity beyond the scope of what you thought possible.  We are all creative beings even those people that profess to not be very creative.  Push yourself to discover all the beauty art has to offer.  You might be surprised to discover your hidden talents and when you do, it will be a wonderful feeling of mental self satisfaction and fulfillment.

Continue reading Google, GAP and Art in My Life »

1 comment »

Shattered Dreams and Our Violent Society

  • Posted on January 11, 2011 at 8:59 pm

Shattered Dreams

After the last couple of days of hearing non-stop news about the shooting in Arizona, I have decided to say what’s really on my mind.  The pundits started the blame game early on and seem content to want this to be more about getting ratings than anything really useful.  From my perspective as a teacher, I don’t really see what is so different about this act of violence than the violence that schools have had to deal with since Columbine.  Every school administrator, teacher, school personnel and even students across our nation all know about the routines schools go through every year since Columbine to be prepared in the event of an emergency.  Prior to Columbine, we all felt safe.  Safety in schools is kind of remembered as before and after Columbine.  That one violent day changed our schools forever!

At Sturgis Middle School every teacher has a “Go To” box.  This box has a first aid kit, flashlight, class lists and a book of procedures to use in the event of an emergency.  Each year we practice drills with our students where we go into a “lock down” phase.  We have had in-services with police officers visiting our school and training us in the proper procedures to use in an emergency as well as what to look for when students seem troubled.  Students cannot wear long trench coats to school for fear that they might be hiding a weapon much like Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris did on that fateful day.  Students aren’t supposed to take their backpacks to their classes for essentially the same types of fears.  The point I want to make with all of this is just to let the rest of the world know that learning about the shooting in Arizona this weekend wasn’t shocking at all to me.

I feel very strongly that many people are troubled right now.  Some of our youth are even more troubled.  I’ve said this many times on here about how my life as a youngster was a lot less complicated than most of my student’s lives today.  To top all of this off, we have record unemployment, woeful economic conditions, record costs to go to college, not to mention those hefty student loans when a kid is finished, and a society seemingly filled with hate and violence.

All during the fall we heard about bullying.  We couldn’t turn the TV on without hearing about some poor young person that just couldn’t take it any more.  They committed suicide because they just couldn’t take being harassed any more.  There is meanness in our country and a total lack of civility when dealing with each other.  It’s not just in politics, but it starts from the top down.

Yesterday, I came home from school to hear Chris Matthews on Hardball talk about how this could give President Obama and opportunity because he’s always been above the fray.  This might give him a chance to show some emotion.  This could be a good moment for him.  One again Chris Matthews speaks before he thinks.  I had to turn the TV off because it was appalling to me.  President Obama may appear to be civil but he has had his nasty moments as well.  Most people will remember his comment about bringing a gun, if the other side brings a knife to the fight.  http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/06/14/obama-if-they-bring-a-knife-to-the-fight-we-bring-a-gun/

At the top of our food chain of people there really isn’t the civility that we need.  Ronald Reagan believed in that trickle down economic crap, however, the only thing that I think has trickled down is the lack of decency people show each other on a daily basis.

At our school we have embraced a program called “Rachel’s Challenge”.  Rachel Scott was a young student at Columbine who didn’t expect to live a long life but who wanted to make a mark on the world.  After she died her parents went through her journals and also found a statement that she had put on the back of her dresser.  They were moved to have something positive come from her death.  Her family goes all over the country challenging students to commit to Rachel’s Challenge.  Rachel wrote an essay and she wanted to start a chain reaction of kindness.

http://www.rachelschallenge.org/LearnMore/RachelsEssay.php

When the Rachel’s Challenge program comes to our school students are challenged to do these five things:

– Look for the best in others – Eliminate Prejudice

– Dare to Dream – Set Goals – Keep a Journal

– Choose Positive Influences – Input Determines Output

– Kind Words & Actions = Huge Results

– Start a Chain Reaction with Family and Friends

These are not earth shattering concepts, but if you think about it many adults could benefit from following these five principles.  They are pretty simple and could actually be life changing.

The sad truth is there are many troubled people out in the world today.  We can choose to put our hand out and help each other or we can continue following the shrill, violent path to destruction that we are currently on.  Our government could start by creating people friendly programs instead of just business friendly programs.  It seems like our current government policies leave many people without hope.  If you are at the bottom of the economic food chain, life can be dismal as you face hardship after hardship.

I had a little boy come to school the other day because he was upset.  His mom had a car accident and he was worried about how they were going to pay for everything.  One hardship can break a family.  We all know families that are struggling in debt, or unable to find a decent paying job, worrying about how to pay their utility or health care bills or buy shoes for their kids.  These are hard times and some people crack under the pressure of hopelessness.  I’ve heard some pundits talking about Jared Loughner being mentally ill.  Of course, we all think he must be mentally ill because of what he did.  Chances are that he is mentally unstable but with the cost of health care how would some kid who worked at several big box stores afford that care?  It was probably cheaper just to buy the gun!

It seems to me that the American people have been failed by government officials and the government policies that they vote for because those policies don’t do a lot for the poor, the middle class and the disturbed.  In addition to this, we are assaulted daily by TV and radio pundits that drive the agenda and constantly bombard our homes with hatred and violence.  I remember that show “Crossfire”.  That was a hateful show and Jon Stewart was right then and he was right this fall when he talked about the political discourse at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

If people want to see a change in this country on the issue of violence, then it must start from the top with the president and government policies that help create a climate of economic hope.  However, we can’t sit back and expect the government to do everything.  If each of us does whatever we can to help each other in these trying times by just following the simple guidelines of Rachel’s Challenge, we could change the world.  We must change government policies, but we must also listen to each other.  It doesn’t matter if you are right or left leaning, an independent or non-political, we all need to find a way to talk to each other in a civil manner.  If we want to change our nation, violence isn’t the answer.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream and he had hope and he demonstrated through peaceful means.  We could all learn from this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4AItMg70kg&feature=related

Continue reading Shattered Dreams and Our Violent Society »

1 comment »

The Jon Stewart and Monty Woolley Connection, Just Being Funny Here

  • Posted on December 26, 2010 at 12:50 pm

The other day I had a big laugh when I caught part of a movie called, The Man Who Came to Dinner.  I kept looking at the main character because he reminded me of Jon Stewart when he had his beard.  I know most people didn’t care for Jon’s beard and I was thinking maybe Jon needed to grow the funny moustache that Monty had to go with it.

Monty Woolley played the main character, Sheridan Whiteside, in the movie.  He’s a man that falls down on the ice and ends up taking residence in the home owners place for the next six months.  He’s insufferable and does everything he can to control everything in everyone’s life.  As I was watching the movie, I kept thinking how much he reminded me of Stewart from some of his strange intonations right down to his looks.

Monty Woolly lived from 1888 until 1963 and he was gay so I hardly think he has any connection to Jon Stewart.  The connection is only in my mind.  I read that Monty was affectionately nicknamed “the Beard” which is hilarious because nobody liked Jon Stewart’s beard.  I would love to know if anyone else sees what I see or if I am alone on this one.

Of course they are no relation and I’m probably the only one that sees a connection, but that’s the way my crazy brain works.  You can check this out for yourself and maybe have a laugh or maybe you will think my brain just works in mysterious ways.  Either way, I have had my fun comparing these two.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fMcWKXVkQU

The trailer can be seen here:

Continue reading The Jon Stewart and Monty Woolley Connection, Just Being Funny Here »

2 comments on The Jon Stewart and Monty Woolley Connection, Just Being Funny Here »