Spring Break

It's another of the great reasons that I love my profession. Having a week off in March to help me get through the push to June is priceless and judging by the behavior of both students and staff just prior to the break, it is a much needed boost for our sanity. The students start getting weary of the homework and the demands and teachers get very weary of the students. It's a downward spiral and it's my belief that without spring break there would surely be more beatings out behind the cafeteria and not just among the students.

I had so much planned for this week. Probably an unrealistic amount which of course, I did not accomplish. But I got more done than I suspected I might. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Cleaned house (and subsequently messed it up again)
• Finished painting the trim in the bedroom, though I couldn't get to the closet doors as well due to poor weather off and on all week. I've got to get them outside and spray the primer on (louver doors suck to paint) and we've had wind and rain off and on all week long. I'm not sure that I'm crazy about my choice to paint the trim and closet but it's too late now and I must continue.
• Started, but did not finish, painting the laundry room. It's by far the darkest "room" of the house. It's really more of a passage between the hallway and the back door where our washer and dryer happen to be located, but I digress. I went a couple of shades lighter yellow than what is in the main hallway and it's looking pretty nice. I had to quit halfway and wait for the weekend to finish when I could get Adrian to pull out the appliances and help me clear off the shelf above them (mostly I couldn't do it for my fear of spiders). Remarkably the weekend filled up and the motivation waned and I did not complete the project. Perhaps next weekend...
• Painted the downstairs bathroom (and completed!) I'm supremely happy with how it turned out. It was painted the same old vanilla ice cream color that the rest of the house was and I painted a color called celery ice over the top to match the green counter tops. On a side note I LOVE the names of paint colors. Whoever has the job of creating the names is really in a cool position. I'd say they nailed the "celery ice" and the "peanut butter" that I painted our bedroom. The hallway is "tropical mango"... how awesome is that? Unfortunately completing the painting in the bathroom led to a trip to Home Depot where I spent an hour and a half just making lists of things I need to improve on, starting with new towel racks, toilet paper holders, robe hooks and oh yah, doors for all the bedrooms/bathrooms, new kitchen sink, new bathroom vanity- for upstairs and downstairs- new toilets, new windows and screens and those awesome little glass square windows for the bathrooms, new flooring, shower enclosures..... well you get the idea. I was drunk on the possibilities and have since crashed with the weighty knowledge that even if we clear some cash on buying this house from his dad there's no way we'll have enough to even begin after taking care of some of the real issues around here (of which there are plenty.) *sigh*
• I met with a mortgage broker about finally purchasing this house but not before pulling out my "Personal Finance for Dummies" books to help me with the lingo. Not that it helped a whole lot. She threw out a lot of big numbers and while she explained it all to me I knew that as soon as I left her office I wouldn't have a clue as to how to explain it all to my husband or his father (our landlord). But the big step was meeting with her. She seems to be very knowledgeable in the field (has been in it for 26 years or so) and she spoke at the Smart Women Smart Money conference that I went to last fall, filling us in on all the things to watch out for when dealing with mortgage brokers. Handy.
  
• I spent WAY too much money on stuff for the house. Like I said, home improvements kind of tend to snow-ball.
• I started feeling the itch to do yard work, buy flowers, work on our landscaping but really it's just an itch yet. Weather was too cold to really allow the itch to be scratched. Another couple of weeks yet.
• Had a great my-big-fat-Mexican-Easter lunch with Adrian's family and a great Easter dinner with my family.
  
• I spent one whole day with my awesome nephew Zach. He and I went on mole safari in the backyard (mr. mole moved in last summer and has since been making a mess of my new grass.) We did not find him, but swore that if we did we'd throw our "bomb-its" at him.
  
• I did NOT make it in to my classroom to glaze my pots... whoa big surprise. But Adrian and I did get some semblance of a plan together for getting my spray booth up and running, or at least the compressor portion... the booth itself will be at the mercy of my moderately unhelpful and overworked maintenance man (who just lost his house in a fire...)
• I finished filling out my FAFSA for financial aid heading in to my Master's program that is reportedly supposed to start in June, though I have yet to hear anything constructive from the University itself. In fact about a week and a half ago I got an email saying that they had yet to receive my transcript, letters of rec. and personal statement all of which were sent out on the 9th of this month. Um... ok. So I emailed back and haven't heard anything since. Great. So I MAY be starting in June, or maybe not.
• Spent many hours reading my book (though most of that was just yesterday)
• Saw my 10 year old niece (Adrian's one and only niece) take first place in her state gymnastics competition. She pretty much owned every other kid there.

Like I said, I got a lot done but had plenty more on my list. I can't complain. And now, facing my 5 o'clock alarm tomorrow morning and the anxiety that always accompanies going back to work I'm feeling a bit uneasy. Thinking I'll read my way to the end of a productive week and maybe have a bag of popcorn for dinner so I don't have to cook (Adrian oughta love that). And you know, Summer vacation is a mere 9 and a half weeks away!

Pottery

I'm probably one of the slowest working potters in America. It takes me literally months to finish a pot. I've come to the conclusion that the reason for this lies solely in my lack of confidence in glazing and my overwhelming history of botching glaze jobs. For whatever reason my pots always come out with issues and when I spend SO much time on the carvings it makes me supremely frustrated to find it was all a waste, the pot can't be sold (or won't be, as I refuse to put any work into the gallery that doesn't meet my strict standards of quality). However up to this point I've been working with limited glazing options and I blame that for a large part of my troubles.
I am in the process of improving my classroom resources to include a spray booth. At the end of last year I spoke with my awesome principal about the possibility of having him foot the bill on a spray booth for my classroom. Without even hearing the price tag he agreed and didn't bat an eye lash when I told him what it would set his budget back. So at the start of this year I had my nice new booth only to find it is just inches too large for the space I have for it. In speaking with my maintenance man (who is worlds of unhelpful) he said that what I wanted to have done to accommodate this behemoth was not possible (read: I don't want to do it so it can't be done, period). So it's been a frustrating semester and a half dealing with this very large plastic paper weight on my limited counter space. I've decided to bypass maintenance and have my handy Mr. Fix-It (husband) come in and see what he can do. Last week I finally got my compressor and it seems that I have all the parts (nearly) to get this show on the road. Granted, it may not be a beautiful install but I think we can get it up and running on our own. So it is my hope that in the weeks to come I can start to glaze the abundance of pots that are sitting around, if not in the booth then at least outside with my fancy new compressor. It's exciting times. So here are a few of the things I've started and yet to finish. A few of which are totally different than my typical wares. (note: I am NOT a photographer so I must apologize for the crap-tastic photos. I do what I can.)

These three are very small, a little bigger than a golf ball, perhaps. I was going to do my trees on them but found the size to be a little smaller than my skills could accommodate. So I substituted my wheat pattern instead.

Another experiment with a different kind of carved pattern.

This is just my most recent experimentation. I'll post pictures again after I have glazed and hopefully not ruined them.

Marcus (Puzzle) Samuel

The latest beautiful addition to our family and by far the cutest baby since his amazing older brother, Zachary, who wanted to name him Puzzle.

Marcus joined us on Friday morning after a scheduled c-section. He is healthy with beautiful skin and a face to match his big brother. His mama is doing well and they should all be coming home tomorrow! I am a very proud Auntie K.

Projects

So, as expected, I have been hesitant to actually get to posting about my many projects that are on-going. I suppose it comes from a deep-rooted belief that what I do isn't any good and putting my stuff out there on the web for all to see is a little daunting. I'm just going to have to get over that.

Adrian and I are in the process of purchasing "our house" from his father (and by "in the process of" I mean, of course, that we know we need to get on that and damn, if only we could get our finances in order etc. etc. etc...) but in the meantime we have been slowly projecting around the interior and exterior of the house. We painted the kitchen and main hallway a year ago February and Adrian began to re-do our kitchen cabinets at the same time. Since we have this great log cabin house with a large fireplace central to everything, I wanted to keep all the colors warm.



This hallway leads to the back of our house and is painted in an amazing golden yellow that lights up when the sun shines through our west-facing windows. I'm currently working on a pair of 24" x 24" paintings to hang on the bare walls. Progress is slow but I'm hoping to finish one by the end of spring break. Here's what I've got so far:



A couple of weeks ago we decided to finally tackle painting the bedroom (by we, of course I mean I) along with the laundry room and bedroom (I aim high). Unfortunately that was the same weekend I came down with strep throat so I only accomplished the walls of the bedroom. I've yet to finish the door frames and the closet.

Before: old vanilla ice cream


After: peanut butter

The frames and closet door will be painted a cream color, here I'm just painting the primer

I've got several pieces of pottery to post about but I'll save that for another day. More images to follow.

Horace Mann Scholarship Entry

I'm applying for scholarship money to begin my Master's program with Lesley University. I stumbled upon an essay scholarship funded by Horace Mann Insurance. The scholarship is specific for educators looking to acquire an advanced degree. I thought I would post my essay here for any who are interested, though it's still semi-rough.



"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." -- Horace Mann

Essay Topic: If you could leave a mark on the world, what would it be and why?

Artists interpret the world in words, music and images. Some are meant to generate pleasure. Others are meant to disturb, but all are intended to affect others. Artists make their mark every day through their passion for their craft.

As an art teacher I have the opportunity to inspire open minds to the potential that lies within my students. Some come to my classroom out of credit obligation, others come because of a mild interest and still others come because, like me, they feel the passion. Regardless of the condition in which they come to me, it is my duty to relate my curriculum to them through methods that make it both accessible and inspiring. It is my hope that what I teach them causes them to reconsider their views, not only of art but the content of their art. Art speaks messages where words fail. Students who realize this manipulate it to work for them once I have given them the foundation to build upon.

As a teacher I can change minds. I influence my students through my example, my actions and my words. Some students may not get what I am about but others will find within me something to which to connect. That connection often lingers long after the final pomp and circumstance. It is a connection that brings them back for visits and it is a connection that translates through the art they continue to produce. Whether they become artists who display in galleries and shops or creative thinkers who excel in their career pursuits, my mark will hopefully be present on their subconscious and make a difference in how they view the world.

Actor's Studio 10 Questions

This is pulled from my brother's blog. You can see his answers here.
I thought I'd put in my responses to the 10

1. What is your favorite word?

There are many words that I use with joy on a regular basis and to limit it to one favorite just seems unfair. I guess if I had to pick one on the fly I would say "turkey"--used more for name calling, almost always appropriate whether talking to a student or my husband. Sounds even better when you add "lurkey" at the end

2. What is your least favorite word?

This one is easy. Spittle. Whoever came up with that word and thought "ya, that sounds like an accurate description of what leaks out of your mouth..."? It just brings to mind bad images. 'Nuf said.

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?

First Thursday, hands down. If I'm struggling for artistic inspiration there is no better experience than pulling out the family and cozying up to a few snack tables while perusing what other, more productive, artists are doing. But also listening to a gifted Christian minister, spending time with Adrian (the silly and the quiet), sitting in a park on a warm sunny day, that change in the weather from winter to spring, being around others who are creative-thinkers, office/art supply stores, organizational materials.

4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?

Negativity, being in situations where I don't feel comfortable being myself, long lists of to-dos, unpacking after a move or a vacation, that point at which I know I've sat too long in front of the tv and now have lost all motivation to move.

5. What sound or noise do you love?

Oldies stations played low on old radios (reminds me of my childhood), lawn mowers running in the summer, the call of the loon (first discovered on a back-packing trip to Glacier National Park, a very haunting sound first thing in the morning over a still lake), the sound of Adrian's and my sister's laugh, my nephew's voice, the low hum of a classroom of high-schoolers actually productively working.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?

Students with vulgar language in the hallways, just to sound tough, men grunting at the gym, dogs licking (themselves, anything), REALLY windy days when it whips through the cracks in our cabin walls, alarm clocks going off, obnoxious drivers in enormous obnoxious vehicles made to sound even bigger, sirens.

7. What is your favorite curse word?

This may surprise some of you but I admit that I pepper my language frequently with unsavory words, but more often when I'm angry or irritated. I have to give it to my friend Dan who really summed it all up with the best curse word: shitfucktits. (sorry mom!)

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I would LOVE to have been a professional ballroom dancer. You know, the kind that competes worldwide all year round. That would rock my world.

9. What profession would you like not to do?

I would really hate to be a lawyer or a doctor. Any job that is ultra demanding of my time and has me working long and/or late hours is SO not for me. You also couldn't pay me enough to be a high school administrator dealing with angry parents all day... yicks.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Welcome home, I've missed you, let's talk.

Lock Down

Remember when you were in school and while not wanting to question a good thing, you always wondered what teachers did during Teacher Inservice Days? Well I won't take all the wonder of it out for you, but I'll mention a part of what we did in our inservice today.

It's probably the greatest fear for most teachers; beyond the alarm clock didn't go off and I'm three hours late fear, or the surprise visit by your assistant principal evaluator when you're totally unprepared fear is the much more sobering (though much less likely) fear of a school shooting.

Every month we are mandated by law to practice a fire drill. Students know that when the last day of the month rolls around they better bring a jacket to class because there's more than likely going to be a fire drill. They roll their eyes and grumble about why we always have to do these stupid things. Since 1992 the number of deaths attributed to fires in schools: 0. Since 1992 the number of deaths and/or injuries attributed to school shootings: 500+. Sobering. Yet we don't have a drill for what students should do in such a situation at our school. We have a procedure, of course, but never practice a drill. Even the teachers can be fuzzy at times with what that procedure is. So today we learned a very eye opening lesson. Fortunately for us we were told about what was going to happen. Each of us went into the drill with the scenario filter. What I experienced was a small fraction of the adrenaline and fear that one would experience in reality.

All 115+ of us were placed into 4 classrooms down one wing of the building. We chatted and laughed like students would during a normal class period. Within 2 minutes the Lock Down alarm sounded at which point our "teacher" turned off the lights and we huddled away from the door in the dark. Shortly after we see masked men carrying many large (yet fake) guns outside our door. Yah, my heart was pounding a bit faster. We knew they were going to enter 2 of the 4 classrooms. Then a short and angry looking man wearing khaki pants, a baggy flannel shirt, panty hose over his face and a ski mask came in shouting at us, standing on desks, waving his gun around. He was demanding something that none of us knew how to get for him. He said he would start killing people one by one until his demands were met. Boom, one down. Boom, another, then another, then me...

Wow. I was completely struck by how fast my life could have ended. Just like that. I would not have been witness to the rest. And as I sat there thinking about how fast it all happened and how unfair it was, the masked man "killed" a few more and eventually ran out to, I presume, kill others. My coworkers sat, huddled, talking about what should be done next. Does someone go back to the door to turn out the lights? Should someone call the office and give them some information on the shooter? The office wasn't picking up. As it turned out they'd been the first ones hit. The entire drill lasted maybe 10-15 minutes ending with an armed officer opening our door and telling us it was clear. But at least 7 people were dead in my classroom alone. Several more in the room next door. How terrifying.

In the past we have never practiced Lock Downs because we never want students to become eye-rolling grumblers who don't take it seriously. But I recall a time, maybe 3 years ago, when the Lock Down alarm sounded. Students didn't know what it was. They fought with teachers about coming into the classrooms and getting out of the hallways quickly. None of us knew why it was going off and most of us really didn't know all that we needed to do. I knew to lock my door and turn off the lights, but we went so long without hearing anything from the administration that my students just kind of kept on working. We were eventually told that it went off by mistake and that there was no threat but how inappropriate was our reaction? We haven't had any alarms since then but it's looking like it could be something that we begin drilling with our students and I'm glad for it. Not so they can become indifferent to it but so that we can make our response, God forbid we should ever come to need it, appropriate and life-saving.