Self portrait and paths

I came up to the school doors yesterday and saw my reflection in the door.  I got my phone out of my bag and shot this single frame.

The implications of this photo are particularly multifaceted this week.

The pull of the outdoors vs the indoors.  Summer is calling me out of this building.  The building threatens to overtake me and erase who I really am.  Yet I am packed and ready to enter, and by the same token I can just turn and walk away.  But I won't.

The school hallway has made deep inroads into my being: my student's pains and joys fill my soul.  I cannot escape the emotions that they share with me.  I am saddened by their fears and their heartbreaks, I am giddy with their excitement and I am exhausted by their neediness.  Yet, I can't wait to get their everyday and see the growth in their art and their lives.  Students and the adults in my life have no idea how their actions and words affect my emotions of that moment.  I literally take on their feelings and mirror them with mine. 

There are many paths I could have taken and I have chosen this one.  9 months of the year I follow that hall to my room and later to the elementary school.  9 months of the year I teach, take care of, give affection, redirect,  hold my tongue, advise, and commiserate.  9 months of doing what needs to be done.  I give everything I have to them and I leave every night unnecessarily emotional at this time of the year.  I am running out of soul to hand over to them and I need to rebuild.  

My summer path is one that is varied and usually diverse.  I follow paths that scare me sometimes, and this summer will be no different.  I may do more alone traveling, as it seems I might have to get used to hiking alone.  I am going to get a kayak so I can also be on the river alone.  While I always crave the company of others, sometimes I have to have solitude.  This tends to surprise people, but who doesn't need that time to yourself?  It can be really hard for me but being alone is what allows me to discover my best and most authentic self.  Getting out for a bike ride or a walk after school, like right away after school, lets me get centered again and chases the demons of the days away.

So I will be following the interior path yet for a few more weeks.  The emotions are running high right now, the seniors have phoned it in and are mentally done.  The rest of the students' activity level rises with the brightness of the sun, as they can feel the pull of summer as well.  I have friends who will not be working with me next year and that emotional path is something I do not want to travel down yet.... I keep hoping for miracles.  

So, I need to get ready for my day, to follow my path.  Resist the urge to turn around and run to the woods, to the great outdoors, to the road that is calling me. The calls are getting louder.  My summer is awaiting, but my kids need me for now.

I hope your path today is joyful.

Painting day 2

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million.  ~Walt Streightiff

Chequamegon school- Park Falls Elementary

I was informed that I am the best art teacher ever today!  And to think I get paid for this stuff, it is quite a trip!

So, the next phase of self portraits is adding the eyes, nose, mouth and hair.  Tomorrow is the clothes and background.  The background is something that everybody is anxiously anticipating, as the creativity glasses are coming out!  The face has very specific directions; the background is going to be wild, a free-for-all!  Wily nily choices to be made, the whole rainbow of colors and possibilities. Good times to be had by all!

The Older students have a wonderful start on their portraits! They listened so well and were brave about trying these new techniques.  Here is a selection of their work so far:

 The younger kids have a great start, too!  I took a few pix of them working as well!  These are the kids going into 1 - 3rd grades

3rd, 2nd, 2nd grades

1st, 3rd grades

1st grader

2nd grade

3rd grade

1st grade

3rd grader

 This young man here was an excellent listener today, he watched everything I did and did it all well!  He even caught when I said if your hair sticks up a little sometimes, you can use the point of the brush to make your hair look messy.  Look at his painted hair below!  Awesome!!

3rd grader, above and his work so far, below

He thinks this looks like his older cousin, who is one of my star HS students.!  

This one is a little less organized, but joyful!  He told me his paint brush did a happy dance on his paper!!!  LOL!!  Can't wait to see what his background is like!

Happy dancing paint brush

Just fyi, that green up there is the perfect color for this boys' eyes.  He is an exuberant painter!


Until next time, be exuberant and joyful!

Art glasses and painting day 1

We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness.  ~Author Unknown

This makes me smile no matter what kind of mood I may be in! Here are the art "creativity" glasses that the young group made this morning.  They have great imaginations!  Don't you love how a couple of them have two colors of cello instead of just one!  

A few of my kiddos, the one on the left is a shirt-tale relative "Oswald"!  My new best buddy!

The whole bunch of creative kids

 These next 2 pix are the beginnings of our self portraits.  You can see the mirrors clipped to the easels.  They start with the "bottom layer" the skin color (after they have drawn a face, neck and shoulders, with the eye shapes).  The top layers come tomorrow, and hopefully they can also get the background worked on, too.
 They are a little alien looking now, but wait for the next installment!

A couple from the "older group".

A couple self portraits from the younger group

Oh, and about 2 hours before school, I saw this~

This time- orange sunrise

I am in awe every morning, it seems.

Until next time, celebrate your joys!