Kudos to the Kids

-


I am glad this week is done with. The yearbook is finished and being proofed. The art show opening was last night and I went after school....making a long week even longer as I did not get home till 7 pm...a long 12 hour school day.

When people say they want to have teacher's hours, I just want to slap them upside the head. I don't know what teachers THEY know, but I work every day from 8 am till 4 pm, often doing work at home and in my studio for the classroom. I scrounge for materials, I am always thinking about my students, and I give them enormous amounts of love, and energy, never mind the money I spend on them during the year.

Sure, we have summers off-but we need to recover from raising and mentoring all your kids. I get the ones who are quite the challenge too...the At-Risk youth. I bet you don't get too many people at YOUR job telling you to go "fuck yourself" call you a "bitch" or threaten you. The only teachers who might make the 100,000 a year mark (not so difficult to attain in other fields...) are the ones who have been teaching for some 30+ years. They deserve a house set up on a lovely tropical island, with unlimited margaritas or some other exotic drink for the rest of their lives!

I entered these three self-portraits in the show at the local community college's exhibit for local high school art students. Since I work with such difficult kids, I must ensure that they will be somewhat successful in their work. One of their AND my favorite lessons is this one..where we combine digital camera photos, along with Photoshop to produce an image that they work from...then they transfer using a grid method. They learn about the history of portraiture and color theory. It is a very saturated lesson, and most kids succeed in doing a decent job. These kids have only had one year of art, and most of that is laden with history and a mix of projects that give them exposure to a variety of medium. Studio Art II allows them to explore some of the technology and different medium in more depth.

So kudos to Steve, Chris, and Jessica. I did not see you there, but I represented you all. I am proud of your work, and it elicited many comments from those who went!

Off to start my day. The usual run around, I must spend time in the studio and later I am going to another opening and a lecture. Larry is doing a workshop for the weekend, so I am alone. And I don't mind as I will get much accomplished.

For you locals who read this- it is first saturday -art openings in Kingston, and the Center of Photography in Woodstock offers a lecture by Keith Carter at 8 PM. A deal at 5.00 to see his work and hear him talk. It is his workshop that Larry is attending.

Ciao for now, Patti

Comments

Anonymous said…
IMO, teachers should be making six figures a year to start, and CEOs and sports figures should be working a LOT harder for a LOT less money. We live in Upsidedownland.
9:17 AM
Judy Vars said…
KUDOS to Patti, the artwork is great and the world appreciates the work that you do.
4:31 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Cucina

-
Image
Tonight my house had the aroma of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and candles. Keith Jarret was playing in the background, and I had just opened a nice bottle of reasonable red wine. (Osborne Solaz, 2004 Temranillo/Cab- 7.00) I needed it for the sauce, so why not have some while cooking! I took good care of myself all weekend, and felt like cooking for the first time in what seems forever. I am an excellent cook. A collage cook one might say, or better yet, a bricollage cook. I take what is in the house and make a dinner out of it. I think about flavor, texture, color and variety. Most of the time I would rather put this creative energy into visual arts, but on occasion I will push my fine art aside, and the art of the evening is cooking. Candles, music, wine, and a lovely table. I must think more like Monet, and not only make the meal art, but somehow make it my visual art too. The best I could do was a photo of the beginning of the sauce. It looks rather bizarre if you ask me,...
Read more

I Don't Want to Get Any Older - I Want to Stay Just the Way I Am

-
Image
Such words of wisdom in the kitchen between Larry and Alanna yesterday. "I don't want to get any older Yiyi, I don't want to be a mommy, I want to be just the way I am." Funny that a four year old should be thinking of such heavy matter during the Christmas Season. I sat for a few moments, going back decades, digging deep in the vault of my childhood memories, remembering what it was like to be four. whooooossshhhhhhh I am watching our black and white TV, and I flash between visions of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz and the bogeymen from the March of the Wooden Soldiers. I am looking out the window into the dark inky sky of Christmas eve, believing that if I concentrated hard enough, I could make Santa and his reindeer appear flying between the twinkling stars. (ps I used that concentration when I fished all those years ago with #1 - to get the fish to come to MY lure....) I am lying in bed trying to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. I feel like I am on speed,...
Read more

Sunday Ramble

-
Image
In yoga today my teacher talked about acceptance of life and of self, something which is a challenge to both the young AND the old. I was thinking about that yesterday when I was passed by my new full length antique mirror which leans against the wall in my hallway. I pass it from the shower to the bedroom every morning. Sometimes I stop and look and remember when I had the body of a runner, when there was no inch of pinch, or bulges, or dimples. Now, I look and chuckle, noting the attack of cellulite, the bumps, lumps, scars, spots, and veins, though if I squint my eyes and keep the light off, I can still see the framework of that runner’s body. I chuckle now because I am comfortable about my body. It took 50 years…many wasted with negative thoughts about my self which were so crazy. Part of my acceptance might also be the unconditional love that I have in a man who loves me for who I am and never says a thing that isn’t kind. (sometimes I hate that Larry..because it makes me loo...
Read more