Too much has happened in the past 11 days to record in full, so I'll summarize.
1. My grampa passed away on Christmas Eve. This is something my family has been expecting since his health began to really decline a couple months ago. Still, I'm not sure one can ever be prepared for it. My dad got the call from my Uncle Charles, and I knew by my dad's demeanor what the call was about. It was the second time in my life that I have seen my dad cry; the first time was on 9/11. These brief tears were followed by hugs and memories.
It's difficult to sum up my memories/thoughts/views about Grampa, but predominantly, I remember him as someone who viewed (and lived) life as an aesthetic experience: the love for his wife, family, golf, other people, music, painting, ice cream/sweets, humor...even shooting squirrels with a slingshot :) Below are only a few examples...
-I remember sitting across from him at the kitchen table in NC eating cereal one morning. I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. We sat in silence for a while as I ate, and then he told me I had such beautiful, big brown eyes and that he was happy I had brown eyes.
-I remember numerous times that he would have Gramma put on one of his favorite CDs, turn it up loud, and just marvel aloud at how gorgeous the sounds were; how it just touched his soul. He let everyone know it too; I loved that about him.
-I remember him always being more excited about dessert than dinner, and that ice cream always had to be in a cone. I remember the way he would shuffle his slipper-ed feet to his bedroom and tell us, "Well, I'm off the radar screen".
-I remember the way he looked and Gramma, told her he loved her and all of her idiosyncrasies.
-I remember the last time I saw him---it was at Katie and Brian's for Luke's birthday. He ate none of the meal other than the cake and ice cream (of course). He asked me to get him a second helping. Gramma and I teased him as he gobbled down every last bit of it.
I love him and will miss him terribly.
2) I got back to Jacksonville on Saturday to be greeted by some odd, foul smell in the house. I awoke Sunday morning to find fresh rat droppings throughout each room along with muddy prints all over the blinds, bookcases, window sills, and a couple inches of wood chewed off the ledges (plus an even more potent, unpleasant smell). Awesome. Our landlord is refusing to set traps because he "doesn't have time" and assures us that it is probably only one rat and that poison will do the trick (eh-hem, so that more of them can die beneath the house and emit righteous smells). He also refused to plug the hole from where they came. In the meantime, Megan and I are trying to decide what to do about the mess and what to do with our urine-ified/poop-ified furniture. We called the Dept. of Health.
3) The new year will begin shortly. Does anyone really keep their New Year's resolutions? I'm still trying to think of my own.
Happy 2008, everyone. Love to all.
12.20.2007
A "Me, me me" entry
Well, I received this email today from the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. I mentioned in this previous post that I had entered some work. The results are in:
Dear First Coast Portfolio Applicant,
We are happy to inform you that one or more of your pieces were selected for inclusion in First Coast Portfolio: A Juried Art Educators Exhibition. You will be receiving a letter shortly detailing the next step in the process. Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing the selected works in person in January.
Happy Holidays,
Ben Thompson
BEN THOMPSON
Registrar
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART | JACKSONVILLE
333 North Laura Street : : Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 366-6911 ext 206 : : (904) 366-6901 fax
www.mocajacksonville.org
This is very exciting! It is a gorgeous space and it will be great exposure. Maybe I can actually sell a flippin' painting or two.
12.19.2007
Reality Check
As of 3:10pm Friday, my Christmas break began. That last week of school before the break was interesting; I know the students were as excited as I was for the 2 week siesta which showed in their behavior.
I had a little reality check the week before last thanks to one of my first grade students. Let me first say I admit to making empty statements like, "Maybe you can finish it next week" or "We should have time"; I say this toward the end of class when students become concerned that they haven't gotten everything done for two reasons: 1. to get them out the door before the next group comes in and 2. because art is a process, not a product (hard to explain to kids). Their project this week was in relation to their book of the month which required them to do a little bit of drawing and a little writing to go with it. It is normal that the students do not complete the projects because we only have 40 minutes together. It is also normal for one of the first graders, we'll call her "V", to be stubborn about stopping when it is time to go.
The end of the period approached, so I had them finish what they could and line-up. As usual, everyone but V did so. She kept refusing to line up or to stop working as their teacher came to pick them up. After the other students left, I approached her to ask what was the matter; she was being particularly stubborn. With tears welling up, V explained that she never got to finish any of her work. I told her she was more than welcome to take it home and finish there. Getting more frustrated with more tears, she looked at me and said, "I can't do it at home. No one will help me. My parents work all the time at night and they promise to help me with things but they never do." Taken aback by her blunt honesty, I apologized and with some coaxing, she agreed to let me help her complete the writing part right then and there. She also told me that someone had stolen her crayons from her desk and wanted to be able to color the drawing. By the end of the day, I dropped off a box of crayons for her to take home.
Lord knows how many other students are in the same predicament as V: little or no attention at home. I would bet that the majority of students have that issue which, needless to say, saddens me. I wish that I could give more individual attention to my kids, and I am going to try harder to do so. I also now realize the impact that my empty promises/statements can have, and I need to be more sensitive to their needs. This job is so flippin' hard. I want to be able to save everyone....naive, I know.
Anyways, I am looking forward to the time off and I am hoping and praying that I can make it through the spring semester. I am eager to see my family, immediate and extended.
I had a little reality check the week before last thanks to one of my first grade students. Let me first say I admit to making empty statements like, "Maybe you can finish it next week" or "We should have time"; I say this toward the end of class when students become concerned that they haven't gotten everything done for two reasons: 1. to get them out the door before the next group comes in and 2. because art is a process, not a product (hard to explain to kids). Their project this week was in relation to their book of the month which required them to do a little bit of drawing and a little writing to go with it. It is normal that the students do not complete the projects because we only have 40 minutes together. It is also normal for one of the first graders, we'll call her "V", to be stubborn about stopping when it is time to go.
The end of the period approached, so I had them finish what they could and line-up. As usual, everyone but V did so. She kept refusing to line up or to stop working as their teacher came to pick them up. After the other students left, I approached her to ask what was the matter; she was being particularly stubborn. With tears welling up, V explained that she never got to finish any of her work. I told her she was more than welcome to take it home and finish there. Getting more frustrated with more tears, she looked at me and said, "I can't do it at home. No one will help me. My parents work all the time at night and they promise to help me with things but they never do." Taken aback by her blunt honesty, I apologized and with some coaxing, she agreed to let me help her complete the writing part right then and there. She also told me that someone had stolen her crayons from her desk and wanted to be able to color the drawing. By the end of the day, I dropped off a box of crayons for her to take home.
Lord knows how many other students are in the same predicament as V: little or no attention at home. I would bet that the majority of students have that issue which, needless to say, saddens me. I wish that I could give more individual attention to my kids, and I am going to try harder to do so. I also now realize the impact that my empty promises/statements can have, and I need to be more sensitive to their needs. This job is so flippin' hard. I want to be able to save everyone....naive, I know.
Anyways, I am looking forward to the time off and I am hoping and praying that I can make it through the spring semester. I am eager to see my family, immediate and extended.
12.09.2007
Block
It's official: I'm having artist's block. Over the months, I have been sketching and drawing here and there, but I haven't sat down to do some real intensive art-making. I think I'm all stopped up from what's happened over the past few months with school. I'm not sure if I can pick up where I left off....and if I'm to start something "new", what will it be? These blocks make me feel like a part of me is dead; on the other hand, they make me feel great because there is no equivalent to the emotion you get when you break through the funk. Until that happens, I will feel the former.
Our Team-Up Coordinator told me about an art book sale that Books-A-Million was having. I went to check it out yesterday, and sure enough there were large collections of books for $5. They also had some Eric Carle (who is my hero) books which I picked up, more for myself than for the kids, I think. Definitely a purchase for myself was Raymond Briggs's The Snowman. Does anyone else remember this story? It was also made into a short film which is on youTube right here. Oh, childhood memories.
Here's to 5 days this week and then a break.
Our Team-Up Coordinator told me about an art book sale that Books-A-Million was having. I went to check it out yesterday, and sure enough there were large collections of books for $5. They also had some Eric Carle (who is my hero) books which I picked up, more for myself than for the kids, I think. Definitely a purchase for myself was Raymond Briggs's The Snowman. Does anyone else remember this story? It was also made into a short film which is on youTube right here. Oh, childhood memories.
Here's to 5 days this week and then a break.
12.07.2007
Toppers & Billy Blanks
My top 3 for the week...
1. One 2nd grade student got angry at another, so he sliced her in the lip with scissors.
2. I called the office to remove a 1st grade student who was saying profane things and being disruptive, and they never sent anyone to get him.
3. Today, I submitted 5 entries to the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville for the First Coast Educator's Exhibition. Being able to show at MOCA-J would be amazing!!
oh, and I guess I'll add one more...a positive one.
4. Two of my 3rd graders came in yesterday and this morning to ask if they could have hugs.
I would like to give a shout out to Billy Blanks for creating the masterpiece that is Taebo. I can't say that I have ever tried Taebo. However, if it weren't for the VHS tape of his routine, my Wednesday afternoon would have been hellish. Every other Wednesday, we have what's called WOW which is an acronym for Wild on Wednesday (I hope you're laughing at this atrocity). During WOW, certain grade level teachers have professional development sessions, and it is the resource teachers' job to basically watch the grade level teachers' students for 2 hours. Wild on Wednesday for resource classes, I guess. Anyways, our amazingly wonderful P.E. coach gave Ms. K, Ms. S. and I a break by keeping all the kids in the multi-purpose room. He rolled out the big screen T.V. and put in a Taebo routine for the kids to do. I couldn't help but laugh as the routine went on and the kids started getting tired. They have so much energy to burn, especially because they don't have recess. And I must say that is the first time I have seen that many students not only in one room together, but actually cooperating and having fun without fighting. So, thank you Billy Blanks...and Coach S of course for the stellar idea.
More tomorrow...happy Friday to all :)
12.04.2007
Help
What a difference it makes having two people conducting art class. As mentioned in the previous post, Silvia is here the entire week from the Cummer Museum conducting her own art projects for every class. This way, I can keep my eye on students who aren't paying attention, and she can get through the lesson. I wish, so badly, that she or another qualified, full-time person could assist me or vice versa on a regular basis. Needless to say, I am enjoying this while it lasts. The kids are responding really well to her activities and I think they are excited about their field trip in the spring.
I think I have developed a mini-addiction to caffeine; I've started to get headaches in the afternoon when I haven't had my coffee in the morning. I suppose it runs in our family though (Laura, I partially blame you for buying that delicious coffee when you visited a couple months ago. "And that's what really grinds my gears!").
I think I have developed a mini-addiction to caffeine; I've started to get headaches in the afternoon when I haven't had my coffee in the morning. I suppose it runs in our family though (Laura, I partially blame you for buying that delicious coffee when you visited a couple months ago. "And that's what really grinds my gears!").
12.02.2007
Timing
Well, I have finally decided to re-apply for graduate school. Leave it to me to make last minute decisions that involve deadlines. The running list in my head of schools to which I am going to apply are as follows:
-UNC Greensboro
-UGA
-UF
-The Art Institute of Chicago (it's a long shot, but why not?)
-an international art academy in Italy
Lofty ambitions? We'll see. I'm not too worried about reaching deadlines because I have my images, artist statement, resume, etc. all ready to go. Other than filling out applications, this weekend was amazingly non-productive.
A representative from the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens will be conducting the first of two outreaches at our school this week....which means that she is teaching the lesson while I play art-helper. It'll be nice, for a change. This outreach visit is part of a foundation through the Cummer that has been funded by the Weavers of Jacksonville (owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars). They selected about 9 schools in Duval County to participate in this program which involves field trips for the entire school---the Weavers pay for the trips, the buses, free family passes for all students, the outreach visits, art supplies, and the list goes on. Pretty amazing!! It excites me that members of our community consider the visual arts important enough to implement a foundation like this. They could have donated the money to so many other organizations.
So I don't forget, I have been brainstorming ideas for a graffiti project for the kids. Our school has sidewalks galore; so my thought is to designate two students to each square upon which they will draw their own tags of their names in colored chalk. I'm thinking about doing this at the beginning of the semester in January to kick things off.
10 more school days until Christmas break. I'm ready for it.
-UNC Greensboro
-UGA
-UF
-The Art Institute of Chicago (it's a long shot, but why not?)
-an international art academy in Italy
Lofty ambitions? We'll see. I'm not too worried about reaching deadlines because I have my images, artist statement, resume, etc. all ready to go. Other than filling out applications, this weekend was amazingly non-productive.
A representative from the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens will be conducting the first of two outreaches at our school this week....which means that she is teaching the lesson while I play art-helper. It'll be nice, for a change. This outreach visit is part of a foundation through the Cummer that has been funded by the Weavers of Jacksonville (owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars). They selected about 9 schools in Duval County to participate in this program which involves field trips for the entire school---the Weavers pay for the trips, the buses, free family passes for all students, the outreach visits, art supplies, and the list goes on. Pretty amazing!! It excites me that members of our community consider the visual arts important enough to implement a foundation like this. They could have donated the money to so many other organizations.
So I don't forget, I have been brainstorming ideas for a graffiti project for the kids. Our school has sidewalks galore; so my thought is to designate two students to each square upon which they will draw their own tags of their names in colored chalk. I'm thinking about doing this at the beginning of the semester in January to kick things off.
10 more school days until Christmas break. I'm ready for it.
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