2/27/2019 0 Comments Where does the time go?So far this term of teaching has been like a rollercoaster, lots of controlled elevations at first followed by a freefall on a track with twists and turns and speed! the speed, these last weeks have flown by in an almost blur. In just a few short weeks school will let out for Spring Break and then it's a new beginning.
I have been neglecting this site because I've been so busy. I am hoping to sit down soon and update teh classes I have coming up and events I have upcoming. Particularily for Spring programs and Summer Camps. At the moment Spring Break camps booked in Coquitlam at Place Des Arts and I have two classes scheduled for Spring term through the Shadbolt Centre in one of the Community centres, They are both 4 week programs on Saturday afternoons. Summer camp is also booked for me in Coquitlam. I'll be teaching a selection of classes for Place Des Arts summer camp programming. I am continuing on with my new mantra and rolling with the flow. The plan is to keep the momentum rolling into next fall. I love what I do so much and it's a privilge to get to do it in so many ways.
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2/2/2019 0 Comments What if you can?Words and thoughts have power. Tell yourself you can't do something and what happens? it doesn't get done. Tell yourself you're going to try something and you make that first step towards doing. You may fail miserably but at least you tried, and if you try again you might fail less and learn as you go. You might even decide that what you tried isn't for you (your original vision doesn't quite fit with the actual step by step requiremnets for the technique, you find absolutely no joy in the experience, The amount of effort, money or energy isn't balanced out or exceeded at the end. What you get either way is the experience. and that in itself is worth giving something a try. One of my in class pet peeves is when I hear a student say, "I can't" even before they've started. I think maybe it's because negatve self talk is so easy to fall into and I work so hard to replace it in myself. In any case I make that moment a teaching moment in my classrooom studio. "I can't" must always be turned into "I can try". I even make some groups repeat it after me out loud. "Eye Cant-rye". I recently read somewhere; (and if I can track it down I'll properly attribute) What if, instead of telling ourselves, "that's not going to work" it's too hard, you can't do that" we said, "what if that works?" What if you can? What if we try it anyway?" I work mostly with younger people in the classroom studio. I see this negative self talk often. It usually starts out as self depricating, not wanting to boast or seem too full of themselves. Sometimes it's coming from a place of anxiety and the desire to be perfect. Sometimes it's spoken with true belief; and that's heart breaking. Every time I hear it during a lesson or a workshop I put effort into turning that thought process around. Sometimes I fail, sometimes it clicks and sometimes it turns into a mantra during the lesson that may seem like it's not being taken seriously by the participants. When it hits mantra mode though; I usually smile and let it go. Why? When a group of kids is tossing out the word "try" and the phrase "I can try" and repeating it, there's a little magic happening there. It may start off as a joke but the repetition entrenches that idea. That's magic. Off my soap box now. Given my last post here's an update. The JET Program Art lessons I'm teaching are going well, I'm learning to adjust plans and pare them down to basics so that all the participants from the lowest skill level to the highest skill level have good engagment. Exploring Art at Muckabout on Fridays has continued. I have an added a new student to the roster who is looking to get better at drawing human figures. Both students on Friday are already very good artists it's interesting to teach in a mentorship role. Last week and this coming week I was privileged to be a visiting artisti in a small school in West Vancouver. I'm working with a group of kindergarten students who have been duing a unit on art and arhitecture. I have introduced them to the art of James Rizzi and we are building a city street out of recycled materials using Rizzi's Happy House as our inspiration. The first day was so busy that i didn't get a chance to photograph any of the creations, this week I'll rectify that and can't wait to share what they create with me. I began teaching through the Shadbolt Centre in their Community Arts Program this week. I'm teaching an afterschool program at a school in Burnaby and will start a senior program this week. my facebook page and instagram feed will be featuring some of the work done in all of my classes as they happen or as soon as I can upload them there. I'll update the gallery here on a monthly schedule. |
Peanut
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