I woke up this morning and what my bewildering eye did behold, was a pile of white powder oh what will unfold.
Oh no, not another poem. But although the weather report of snow was told to me directly by anxious Art Garage attendees I refused to believe it. In actuality, I usually refuse to believe these things until I see them. For example, I couldn't believe another Bush would gain office, and I certainly didn't think a non-politician could be president. But hey, it seems like every time I say something is impossible, it happens. Now how do I harness that overcoming the impossible in our school system! I was reflecting back on last year, when we were in our light sweaters. It was a fun time. We painted faces, and made slime. That started the tradition of ending the Art Garage season at Halloween with a Slime Making event. I wonder if we will ever grow out of making slime. So far, in leading up to our event we have had two "practice" slime making events, and still the AG members are ready for more. I had better bring the glue inside so it is not too frozen to work with!
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We have some new neighbors on the block. How fun that they have fit in immediately at the Art Garage. I feel like this project is working when we get to share something fun, and safe, and good in our neighborhood. The first day, the new boy had a fight. I had to ask him to leave. He came back a little later and apologized. There have been a couple of other instances of being mean, but at the Art Garage, if you are mean you need to do the opposite 3X over. So if you say something mean about someone, you need to say three nice things. If you do something mean to someone, you need to do three nice things. We have been saying lots of nice things and enforcing our culture of nice, safe, and fun. I have been extra distracted this past few days as I found out my highschool friend and former fiancee passed away last week. It was shocking and sad. We were still friends, but our lives had taken different directions. I was grateful that I had seen him when he was in a rehab facility. He had an infection that just wouldn't go away. When we were together, what I loved most about him was his ability to remain joyful even in the most challenging situations. He just had that natural optimism. I was such a contrast, in my tendency to go into depression and fear. He helped me see how it is just a matter of shifting the focus to what is good and right in the world. There are always good things. If not, we can always make good things in the world ourselves. Isn't that worth living for? We are moving towards the seasonal closing but there is more enthusiasm than ever at the Art Garage. A Haunted House is a great way to get everyone involved.This time of year I get a bit wistful, and start reflecting on my year. This year has been quite an exciting one. I published my math curriculum, opened and closed a developmental classroom, and started dating after five years...oops, did I admit that? Every week I ask myself what is this all about, and now coming to the end of the year it is even more pronounced. I guess the trick is to just allow things to come together naturally and not to get overly concerned with the outcome. But I am content, I guess is the word. Things are seemingly ordering themselves. I am able to step back and just be. We are coming to the end of the Art Garage season. The window was set last year to end with a blow-out bash on Halloween, and already as we enter October we are preparing. Projects are great, and I have wanted to encourage more of a project focus, but it is hard when you meet once a week. Enthusiasm for something seems to wane quickly. Small activities that give a finished project in one week have been the most successful. But now we have one of the favorite holidays of children across the USA. Halloween. So we made a list of all the things that should be in a haunted house. Actually, first we decorated cookies. As Roy Baumeister has shown us we need a little glucose to get the brain going in the afternoon. I was even given two by the appreciative AG members. Once decorated and tasted for goodness, we were ready to make our list. Bats, scarecrows, skeletons, kissing skeletons (provided by the romantic), ghosts, brains, haunted shoes(!), zombies, and the very creative idea of Zom-babies. Yikes that is a bit of a twist. Then we started creating tombstones for the lawn, and signs, and ghosts, one of which would be the Bloody Ghost. Progress not perfection. I have been struggling to see how the Art Garage should evolve, and wondering how to reach out to others in the neighborhood. It seems that the word does get out and the final activity is a way to invite new members.
The goal is community and connection, and I do feel that every day. |
Abigail LarrisonEducator, Scientist and Art Maker. The purpose of all life is to spread joy. What brings more joy than making art? Archives
November 2023
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