Artist Book for the Paper Crane

This is my working space, until we get the basement in the studio set up.  May be a bit delayed since Findlay is flooding again.

Sickuary.

On Feb. 2, 2011, Chicago Artist and SAIC friend, Dee Clements came and stayed with us.  She was here to give a presentation and demonstration at the College where I am an instructor and the OH! ART advisor.  That day, we had the "Groundhog Blizzard", so her presentation got delayed (and my classes got canceled) and we got an extra day to visit.  While she was here, Jack and Matt both got sick with flu like symptoms.  Monday after she left, I thought I had the flu too. Then that night, I looked at my tonsils and figured...it might be strep.  I was right and I had to cancel class again because I was contagious.

The following Monday I still wasn't feeling better, so I went back to the doctor.  Class canceled again.  Wednesday-whoo hoo feeling better-ish!!!! Actually make it through a day of classes!

Next Monday, ICE-morning class canceled.  Wednesday-I go to class, start teaching and realize...I don't feel well.  I look at my tonsils...strep is back.  Head to the doctor and put a note on my door, "If I'm not back by 1pm, class is canceled." However, I am right.  It is strep.  Class canceled anyway. 

Thursday I am home with Jack and he's not acting himself.  I manage the tricky task of getting a two year old to show me his throat...and it sure doesn't look pretty. So, I get him swabbed and it's positive.  I hate having to hold the poor boy down while they give him a shot. The nurse was old school.  She had me put him on his tummy, which freaked him out to begin with, then pull back the diaper while she does the evil deed.  Ugh!
 And he has to stay home for 24 hours because he is contagious.

Sunday we wake up and Jack is complaining about his eyes.  sigh.  In the two days that he was actually at daycare last week.  The ominous sign was posted- "your child may have been exposed to pink eye".  Sure enough, the incubation period was over and he was now showing symptoms.  Off to urgent care we go. The doctor was wishy-washy on whether or not to give Jack drops since he had just had a penicillin shot and it could still be effective for the pink eye.  So, he sent us with a prescription to use if it started to get worse instead of better. Jack kept him home today and it got worse.  Off to Kroger to get the perscription filled.  Oh, did I mention that all the snow is now melting and we are looking at the 3rd worst flood in Findlay's history.  Of course, the grocery store was insane in case the declare a level 3 and we can't leave our homes tomorrow...or you just can't get there because the roads are flooded. 

I was hoping today would be the end of it, but if Jack's eyes are goobery in the morning, I'm still going to keep him home.  I'm not going to be the mother who let's her kid spread his/her germs because they don't want to deal with them and they've had antibiotics for 24 hours (thanks Rueben's mom).

Art lessons

I have been asked many times over the years if I give private lessons.  Usually I say no, or well, I could...

I think my hesitation is because I think most people, especially parents, view lessons as an outcome based process.  Art, however, is not always about the outcome, but the journey of discovery.  Regardless of this belief, I have decided to provide art lessons to the general public since so many of my students have been finding success in their artwork.  I have decided to approach lessons by offering two paths: artistic discovery or project based.  I can easily teach people to copy and mimic or to slightly alter a project to make it their own and learn a couple techniques along the way.  However, I feel my real strength as an educator is my eye for quality art and helping students develop their aesthetic.  I'm hoping that this proves a fruitful venture for me.  An added bonus is that I get inspired by my students.  I can't wait to get started!

Advice to Young Artists in a Post Modern Era

I've been reading a lot this week in attempts to switch my brain  functioning from Blues Clues and Dora the Explorer to Art making and teaching effectively.  I've read 3 books already this week.  One that I'm flying through is Advice to Young Artists in a Post Modern Era by William V. Dunning with Ben Mahmoud.  It has really validated and solidified a lot of my approaches and methodology.  He makes very good points about how students expect us to somehow mold them into great artists without any work on their end.  In his book Taking the Leap, author Cay Lang asserts "To be a successful artist you need three things: curiosity, commitment, and good work habits." In an antidote he relays how he knew he was really meant to be an artist, quoting an instructor saying "An artist can't stop himself.  He really has no choice about it.", and his realization that being an artist isn't necessarily meaning working in the studio every day.  An artist can be a person who works or who doesn't work. However, the true artist has no choice about it, if they are not making art, they are thinking about making art or chastising themselves for not making art. As we begin the new semester, I am looking forward to making artwork, but also to inspire my students to BE CURIOUS, MAKE A LIFE LONG COMMITMENT TO THEIR ART AND ESTABLISH GOOD WORKING HABITS!

Greatest Fear

Just as the fear I voiced in my first posting, I have not posted in months.  Self-fulfilling prophesy?  So, what happened?  Life, I guess.  That night, the night after my first post, my cousin was involved in a life changing car accident.  Andrew Benedict was in a terrible accident that took many of us on a roller coaster ride of emotions. He has overcome many of his challenges, and is now fairly stable, but he is paralyzed from the neck down.  He may never get off a ventilator.  He is facing a completely dependent existence.  

After beginning to move through the stages of grief, my dear, sweet friend, Nancy, lost her only son in a car accident. It is tragic, unfair and unimaginable.  At this point the only thing I can say is WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS PEOPLE!!!  Both Drew and Spencer were not wearing their seatbelts and both had major spinal injury. 

All of these serious life happenings serves as a reminder to the rest of us how mortal we are.  As an artist I am constantly battling fear and doubt.  A new year, a new urgency maybe, but I’m ready to battle those fears and make art, and to make a life, making art. 

I've gone viral.

So, I've decided to blog.  I think it will be a good discipline tool to write regularly about the arts and the other things I am interested in.  In the research I've done in deciding whether to start a blog or not (yes, I'm that big of a dork), I found it interesting that people used them  in business as a jump start to their career. Then they found that often times they had the opposite effect and many lost their jobs because of their blogging.  Frequently the only successful bloggers were those who already had a readership following. I hope to find with art (and life) it has a positive outcome.  I don't want to be one of those people who only post every 3 or 4 months...when they remember they have a blog.  But do I have something important enough to say everyday?  I guess we shall find out. My goals are to apply the knowledge that I spent tens of thousands of dollars on to somehow come up with a way to #1 fuel the creative spirit, #2 pay off my student loans before I die, and #3 better support my family.  So, I guess this will be a little bit life, a little bit art, criticism and theory and anything else I feel like. I'm hoping to figure out a donate button so that readers can contribute to the last to goals.