Reflections of an Art Educator

Entry sign at the Youth in Arts Gallery

This afternoon I stopped by the Youth in Arts Gallery in San Rafael to see the work of Brooke Toczylowski, a former artist in residence in the Sausalito and Marin City School District.  This exhibit features her journal drawings, each representing a day of teaching, chronicling the 2010-2011 school year.  The work brought a tear to my eye.  I deeply appreciated her personal reactions to inequality in a racially diverse environment, and I could relate to many of her day-to-day struggles in the art room.  The exhibit also includes her “Process Books”; documenting student projects, their learning, and incorporating student quotes, photos, and examples of some of their work.  These books were fun to look through.  I was inspired to see children exposed to real art concepts such as “What does the world look like through your eyes” and student artists learning about how to stick with a subject over a long period of time. 

Brooke Toczylowski's drawings and process books

A few of Toczylowski's drawings from the end of the school year

Youth in Arts facilitates teaching artist programs in schools.  Their artists specialize in visual art, dance, drama, music and more.  The gallery is open Monday – Friday 10-2 and the closing reception is November 5^th. 

Right next door to Youth in Arts is Open Secret Bookstore.  I had not been there in many years so I stopped in for a look.  I was surprised to see they now have a small cafeteria serving yummy looking vegan food.  What a great place.  I have many wonderful memories of going there for readings, meditations, rituals and concerts.  I felt like I could hang out there for hours, but the desire to work on my many projects had me homeward bound.

Open Secret Bookstore

 

Setting Goals

  

If I’m serious about selling jewelry on-line, then I need to set some goals.  My first big goal is to get an Etsy shop up and running in January.  I’m giving myself three months.  Today, I made a list of 9 things I think I can accomplish by the end of October, and I already crossed one off.  I bought a small notebook like the one I mentioned a couple entries ago.  I’ll carry it with me to take notes (design ideas, blog entries, etc) and do small sketches.  I also did some research on finding good prices for jewelry supplies, and tested out one of my designs. It’s going to be really striking, but I can’t show you just yet.  ;-)  

Baby Steps

I’ve been sick with a nasty lingering cold for the past two weeks and haven’t had any energy left at the end of the day for art making.  So, I’ve been taking this time to do a little research on a project that has been on my mind the past five years.  

I love making jewelry!  I can only make so much for birthday gifts and myself before going broke.  It feels like time to put some of it out there in the world, sell it (or try to) and at the very least, use the money to help me make more.  I could use a little extra income anyway; it would be an adventure, and hopefully just plain fun!

Pictured here is my meager stack of books on how to start a crafting business.  I just read the one on top.  One of the suggestions was about writing a Blog.  Well, I can check that off!  Except that I need to blog more.  As I read the author’s suggestions I realized that I have plenty of things to write about and just need to sit down and get to it.  So here I am.

Years ago I read about SARK’s micormovements, tiny little baby steps one takes towards a goal.  I think of myself as starting to take those steps now.  It makes a big goal or task easier to do.  Instead of procrastinating (and doing nothing for long periods of time) I’m making a little progress every day.

“All of my 11 published books, posters, cards, and company exist due to many thousands and thousands of micromovements all strung together. I think of the micromovements as tiny colored beads that have helped me be someone who lives in her dreams instead of only talking about them.” – SARK 

Here is a link to SARK’s web page: http://www.planetsark.com/

Points of Light

Image, lit from the front

I love Mendocino, California!  Last February I was there for a short weekend trip and saw a few pieces by a fantastic artist exhibiting at the Mendocino Art Center.  Now, I’m kicking myself for not writing down her name.  (I need to find a very small, groovy notebook that I can carry everywhere I go.)  Anyway, the artist had two very fine, detailed, organic drawings that I found unique and inspiring.  The shapes looked like microscopic creatures.  But what I really loved was a large tree created by tiny pinholes!  The holes were so evenly spaced, it must have taken a long time to create.  The image was a delicate, perforated leafless tree, white on white. 

After thinking about this technique for months, and with my husband’s birthday a few days away, I decided to give it a go.  I created a small birthday card by drawing with a tack.  It wasn’t easy.  I sketched the mushroom first, taped the sketch to the good paper, and commenced punching (with a cardboard backing).  I started with a sewing needle and after a minute, my hand cramped up.  I tried other pins with the same results.  Finally, I tried using a large pushpin, which was much easier to hold.  It worked for the most part.  In some places my holes were too close together and the paper is very delicate.  Overall I like the effect. 

My next attempts will include paper that is colored on the back, so the holes will have a little hue to them.  I’m also going to try using Styrofoam as a backing so I don’t have to put so much force into the punch.  What does this mean in relation to my other work?  I don’t know yet, maybe nothing.  I love experimenting with new ideas.  Perhaps I’ll do this lesson with my students one day, if I can invent a punch that doesn’t cramp the hand so badly.

"Every moment of light and dark is a miracle." - Walt Whitman

Image, lit from behind

Until then, may the muse be with you!

September 12, 2011

Even though I felt the desire, I couldn’t bring myself to write about the anniversary of September 11^th, 2001 yesterday.  It was just too painful.  The memory was aching inside me.  I refused to turn on the television, listen to the radio, or read Internet news sites.  To do so would break my heart all over again.  Instead, I had a quiet day to myself.  Now that I’ve had time to reflect, I’m ready to say something.

My first and only visit to New York City was in 1991.  I went to visit a friend living in the West Village.  After flying into Newark, I took a bus to Manhattan where my friend met me.  After a short hug and welcome to the Big Apple she led me upstairs to the street.  My first steps into the city were at the World Trade Center.  In the bright summer light, I looked up briefly (not wanting any criminal to know I was a tourist) to see the towers reaching high above, welcoming me.  Ah, New York.  It was one of the most memorable trips of my life.  I went to the Met, the Frick, MOMA, the Statue of Liberty, saw an Off Broadway Play “Six Degrees of Separation” with Stockard Channing (before the film!), ate a salami sandwich piled 6” high at a Jewish deli, went to a couple parties, and so much more.  The city was vibrant, intense and so deeply inspiring.

Now, I keep coming back to that memory of stepping into the city.  The very place where 10 years later the thunderous roar of death echoed across the earth with a million voices screaming in despair.  For that short visit, New York was my city, and the towers were a part of its magical hold on me.  I mourn the loss of so many, a world forever changed, and my naive sense of security.

September 11^th changed me.  Suddenly I could no longer stand to watch violence in movies, I had seen enough.  I developed anxiety, which I have learned to manage.  But most importantly, I became grateful for all I have, especially the people in my life.  The folks going to work that day didn’t know that in a few hours they would be jumping from a burning building or their plane would be crashing to the ground.  We never know what the future holds or when we will breathe our last breath.  So now, when things get bad, I remind myself to savor every moment, for even the hard times are part of the joy of living.  My husband and I started the tradition of a hug and kiss before parting, leaving each other with the memory of our love, because you just never know.  I finally realized how short life was and began to pursue my dreams of being an artist, teaching art to children, and living a creative life. 

I wish I could say I feel relieved and peaceful after writing this, but no such luck.  It’s not that easy.  So I will continue living the best way I know how, loving what is, and remembering.

New York City, 1991