new habitation

i went back to college @ a merry mature age,

studying ART for education as my declared/desired major.

when I graduated from college

i continued creating ART and pursued teaching.

i was surprised by a hiring freeze and no job. 

i was then educated by 18 months of substitute teaching

and surmised to myself 
that this might be my manner of existence.

i felt like Alice contiually tumbling into the unknown.

i was shocked when offered a job to teach ART...

with gratitude and excitement, i accepted the job.

i have been reading: This Time I Dance.

the book has come into my hands at just the right time.

The author, Tama, tells a story

of pursuing her desire to be a writer

through a series of essays.

i found the following excerpt to be particularly meaning-full this a.m.

>Okay, I hate to break it to you, but get ready for maddening days.  You've just leaped from an established life and you're all gung ho -crazed really- to begin a new established life and yet, what's this, you suddenly can't heave yourself out of bed and it takes you eight hours to finish your "morning" coffee.  All your spirit has fizzled and you're moving in slow motion and now you've started to scare yourself into thinking that maybe this is it: You really are incompetent and you've just started your brand new futile life.

Well, please stop terrorizing yourself.  You're right on track.  I know you want to do, do, do.  But this time asks of you your "undoing". Floating without a context or a business card.  Unleashing tears you may have shunned for years.  Dying to your shell and inhabiting life with sudden sensitivity.  Yes, you will kick up every value, belief, hope, and doubt.  But what settles down creates your new, solid ground.<

thank you, Tama, for your transparency,

for truly i have just experienced 3 such days!

this time I dance

"It's the unencumbered mind or child self
that retains our joy and the connection
to things unseen, but known."

above quote from:
This Time I Dance by Tama J Kieves,
trusting the journey
of creating the work you love.
A friend coaxed me to read the book,
I am now recommending it to you!

ART is education.

long ago,
I had a high school ART teacher
who believed that creativity lived in me.
she taught me more than ART.
she taught me about
diversity,
and quiet,
and thinking bigger than my surroundings.
now,
40 years later
I have been given the opportunity
to teach high school ART.
I am full of excitement
to be with students this coming fall
and teach them about
diversity,
and quiet,
and thinking bigger than their surroundings.

Invitation:

If you are a dreamer, come in.

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…

If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire,

For we have some flax golden tales to spin.

Come in!  Come in!

(Shel Silverstein)

of value to me...

restoration & transformation
are of value to me.
i am
drawn
to
the once
& potential beauty of
lost, damaged, broken, discarded, neglected
places, people & things.
i am
not alone
in this pursuit.

http://blogs.soartists.com/ArtMatters/2011/07/21/reverse-graffiti-south-african-artists-create-clean-murals/

this reverse graffiti link
is to celebrate
all
who see what can be!

"right as a morning in May"

this morning i saw the following video & felt whole and new.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPSAgs-exfQ&feature=related

the footage creates a link for me

to one of my favorite poems by Philip Booth, "first lesson".

Lie back daughter, 

let your head be tipped back in the cup of my hand.
Gently, and I will hold you. 

Spread your arms wide, lie out on the stream and look high at the gulls. 

A dead-man's float is face down. 

You will dive and swim soon enough where this tidewater ebbs to the sea. 

Daughter, believe me, when you tire on the long thrash to your island, lie up, 

                                                                                                     and survive.
As you float now, 

where I held you and let go, 

remember when fear cramps your heart what I told you:
lie gently and wide to the light-year stars, lie back, and the sea will hold you.