The Freedom of Santa

I really had no idea what I was doing today. Between not sleeping and deciding to wear the suit only this morning I had nothing planned but just went with it. It felt great and putting on the costume was like a licence to do what ever I wanted and knew I would get away with it. I could be loud, dance like an ass, and be MC which is a position I fear. Putting on the suit made anything possible and how everyone reacted fed the feeling. I really enjoyed myself and it was an amazing escape. Thankyou all for your encouragement and the comments I have read throughout the blogs. This group really allows you to push yourself beyond your comfort level and become more than you expected.

From the man inside the suit, thanks.

Ah the Art Show

Ok lets get the check marks out of the way first.

• Scott and I made signs to lead families to the location of the Art Show from which ever main entrance they came from. I would suggest they were larger and brighter next time as some ey-06 people had difficulty seeing them.
• I took turns greeting families at the doors and handing out pamphlets and mingling with the guests often escorting them to where their child's art was located.

Now that that is done I would like to share a memorable part of the Art Show that did not occur during the event. Because of how I structured my art lessons, I was not able to choose all of my pieces until the Monday afternoon after practicum. This meant I needed to contact families on the same day by phone so they would have as much heads up as I could give them. I called each student's family and was a little nervous. This nervousness quickly passed as I heard the happy and proud responses from every parent I talked to. I did chose the art pieces on which were the best in my opinion but this did not mean that each piece came from an excellent well rounded student. What I am trying to get at is a few of the parents have often heard from the school but never on a positive note. To hear their voices go from dread as I introduced myself, to surprise as I explained why I was calling, to excitement when they said they would definitely be attending was such a pick-me-up. Sunshine Calls work and they make you feel as good as it does the parents. This positive communication is so important and many of the parents that showed up to the Art Show thanked me for the call.

Memories of the Dreaded Recorder

Music in an educational setting turned sour for me in grade school with the introduction of the recorder. The memory still haunts me and is probably the reason I have never touched an instrument again until this course. Our class was doing a school wide recital of "Tony Chestnut Knows I Love You" on the recorder. My playing was so poor, you can imagine the sour notes played two beats behind everyone else, that I was asked to hold the large flip chart cards of the body parts the audience was supposed to be pointing at. This killed my musical ego and I have told myself that I am musically inept the rest of my life. What a shame because music is awesome. It is instant expression, and really puts a smile to my face. I have been fighting my demons and venturing into the world of music again. I got some lessons on the steel drum while on a cruise vacation this summer, Dan has been instructing me on his amazing electric drum kit and he does not even yell at my when I pick up his guitar and puck away at the strings. I even went out and bought the horrid recorder and gave it and myself a second chance.

I found an awesome recorder website at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A506387

where I have been teaching myself.

Amanda won't let me practice when she is home and Cyrus my dog is not as encouraging as Jodi's is, but I laugh myself insane as I practice again and again. As teachers do not ever stop a student from trying no matter how bad he or she is. Thanks.

500 Years of Women in Art

As suggested I am attaching the link to the video I showed in class of the many portraits of women in Western Art. It is fascinating to see the evolution of style over the five centuries. I recognized many of the portraits but did not recognize many of the names of the artist.

The link is http://miraulam.multiply.com/video/item/38

Many people asked me how I found this and I did not find it. It was sent to me. I find that if you let people know that you are interested in a topic they will send you things. By getting involved in the arts community you create relationships with other people who are passionate about the arts and your own interest grows within the community. Get involved, it is a beautiful aesthetic world out there.

Long time no posting

I must say that blogging is not as easy to keep up with as I had expected. There has been alot of arts related activities going on in my life but it has not been so easy getting posts onto the blog. So today is blog writing day which probably goes against the esence of the beast but hey, it reflects my personality of working in fits and starts. So let the posts begin.