Anarchy in the Art Room

May 1^st to 7^th was “National Youth in the Arts Week”, and as a Visual Arts teacher, I jumped on the opportunity to do a printmaking workshop with people in the community. There’s something so fantastic about printmaking! You get to use weird stuff like brayers which is a roller that spreads ink. You get to use ink which is kind of like paint, but not really. You get to use meat packing trays, and bubble wrap and chunks of wood, and corks, and burlap and different colourful papers, and so on. In printmaking, the magical, final results are endless because if you didn’t know it by now, THERE ARE NO RULES IN ART which makes for countless possibilities. Wait…let me take that back a little….there ARE rules in art, but after you’ve learned them, you really should spend a lot of time breaking them. Otherwise, you might as well buy a colour-by-numbers kit and have at ‘er.  What fun is that? And more to the point, what did you actually learn?!

 

So that is exactly what I did; I showed these keen printmaking newbies how to roll out the ink properly, how to burnish their print for even ink distribution, how to use a variety of found objects to create different textures, and most importantly, how to clean up after themselves. The rest was a huge fill in the blank of holy cow, this is fun.  And you might be reading this thinking, “Whoop-dee-doo. Printmaking is so removed from my life that even reading this article is a waste of time.” But just hold on, man, and bear with me.  Because Art isn’t just about making pretty pictures, just like reading a book isn’t just about piecing letters together to form words. There is comprehension involved, and thoughts and ideas that are developed and connected to our own personal experiences. We can then take those thoughts and apply them to other areas in our life, giving us those “aha” moments that make our life richer and more meaningful.  That, my friends, is learning and it’s awesome.

Every time you learn something new, you go through a mental flowchart. It starts with A) What the heck am I doing? Do I know how to start or do I need help via Google, or a human that has expertise in this area? (Just a personal side note, human interaction is always better than Google.) B) What is and isn’t working? What am I learning from my mistakes? Hopefully this doesn’t turn into a pity fest and a feeling of self-defeat. Instead you take this opportunity to learn what your weaknesses are and problem solve your way through them.  (Just so you know, I can’t sew worth beans, so when I am desperate, I usually use duct tape to hem my pants. Problem solved, and it works and I’m cool with that.) C) How am I going to incorporate what I’ve just learned into my life so that it has more meaning for me and wasn’t a waste of my time? By the time you’ve gone through this process, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment, even if there is struggle involved. The important part is to follow through with that process so the learning doesn’t stop.

That is what the people in the printmaking workshop did. Some of them didn’t know how to start, and were afraid that they were going to make a mistake, so they experimented on scrap pieces of paper. Some of them wanted their print to have a personal connection, so they had to do some extra digging to find papers and images that meant something to them.  Some of them were happy to just play with technique and asked where they could get these supplies so they could continue to explore printmaking on their own. The Art room was chaotic and messy and buzzing with creativity, and most importantly, genuine thought.  The printmaking rules were learned and then surpassed, as it should be, developing a fantastic crew of printmaking rebels. Yeah!!!! 

In My Own Defense or The Life of An Art Teacher

Someone approached me just recently and said an outright rude comment to me. I am always surprised by rude adults. I don't know why. I just am. It was that old adage, “Those that can, do. Those that can’t, teach”.  She was saying that her child is not excelling in my class because really, what kind of an artist am I anyway? I can’t even make it in the “real world”. I laughed at the comment and just quickly said, “Well, I chose to be a teacher. This is what I wanted to be.” It’s so easy for people to judge, is what I remember having run through my head. I smiled and let her continue with her conversation; she was completely oblivious of her own blatant ignorance.

 I remember that pivotal moment in university, thinking of whether I wanted to pursue my Masters in Fine Arts or become a high school teacher, and I chose the latter. I really just didn't know what I would do my masters on yet. I was only 22. I didn't really know very much about anything at that time. I was still figuring shit out (and continue to as a matter of fact!) There were definite pros about going off to university for my masters; I could continue to explore who I was as an artist, take the next step to dive into the work I was developing in my thesis year, continue to live the bohemian lifestyle of drinking, smoking and never sleeping and being completely free with my thoughts and my paint brush. It was so attractive. I really enjoyed being “artsy fartsy”.

But I also knew I was a “people pleaser”. I liked helping others and enjoyed being a part of the community. I loved the small town life and missed my family and friends. I liked being able to just hop into the bush at a moment’s notice and be completely secluded from the world. I also really respected a few teachers that I had along the way, at all levels of my education, and they were inspiring. They showed me that there were endless possibilities for learning, and I appreciated that. I could see myself being like these people and that was cool to me.

My dad was all for me going to school to be a teacher, because how would I make money as an artist? Understandably, his concern was that I would be mooching off of them for the rest of my life, but I did pay for my university all by myself. I just paid off the rest of my student loan not too long ago to prove it. Many people of my dad’s generation believe that happiness comes with financial stability. And my dad was a banker, so money has always been pretty important to him. I get it. But that wasn’t the reason why I chose teaching. I remember after my first year of teaching I did the math and figured after everything was said and done, (all of the extra time that was put in to prep work, marking and report cards on evenings and weekends), I made about $7 an hour, and that didn’t include “summer pay”. I got paid zilch for the summer! But I enjoyed the connection with the kids, and seeing those light bulb moments, and having incredible conversations every day with brilliant teenagers about art and life and creativity. And I revel in their growth. It’s fantastic.

And I’ve grown as an artist too, but have basically kept it to myself.  I guess this woman didn’t know that I have my Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours degree from the University of Manitoba, with an “A” in my multi-medium thesis under the tutelage of Diana Thorneycroft. I have a Bachelor of Education degree.  I have my Honours Specialist from Queen’s University in Fine Arts Education. I have taken countless professional development courses across Canada on both an educational level and artistic level for the last 20 years. I have enhanced my skills for myself, for my students and for the benefit of my community. I have a complete artist’s resume full of the stuff that I’ve done as an artist and teacher that Ms. Rude Poopy Pants doesn’t know about and I wouldn’t waste the energy telling her about. First of all, I don’t brag. Second of all, she’s not worth my time. And finally, I am a certified, qualified teacher and that is all that should be important to her with her child in my class.

It is only now (and not because of people like that and their comments) that I’m feeling the pull in the other direction, and that I’m really yearning to go off and be more of an artsy-fartsy artist. I guess that’s why I found this woman’s conversation so funny albeit disgusting. I haven’t even made an attempt to just “make it” as an artist because I haven’t wanted to. And how does one “make it” as an artist? Is there some form of certificate that I will receive in the mail that says, “You are an artist”. Is it a popularity contest on Reddit? Is it having my work in certain gallery? Or do I have to wait until I’m dead like another old adage about artist notoriety? Yeesh.  I’m 41 and just learning to find that balance; to be a bit of a teacher, a bit of an artist, a bit of a mom, a bit of a wife, a bit of a gardener, a bit of a friend….a little bit of everything. It takes time to do this.

So ultimately, she got under my skin. She pissed me off to the point where I guess I felt it’s time to explain myself in case there’s anyone else out there that wonders why I haven’t “made it” yet.  She made it seem like the last 17 years of my teaching career have just been “fill in time” and that I struggle after the bell rings at 2:35pm to work hard to become the artist I’ll never be. It’s just not true. I want everyone to know that just because I’m making life changes and starting to pursue challenges outside of the school system, it doesn’t mean that I’m not interested in teaching and being connected to kids and the community. If anything, I’m looking forward to making stronger artistic connections in the future with both myself and others…with time. And this person’s child is welcome to join in… any time, without judgment.

Did You Get Your Winter Freak On?

Well, I’m going to chalk that winter up to experience. Who knew that it would last for six months? I thought that was just a joke that we Red Lakers used to say, not our actual reality. Lesson learned, Mother Nature. Lesson learned.  Fortunately, it is part of our Canadian temperament to deal with the wrath that nature has thrown at us; teaching us to be strong spirited, tough, and a bit on the freaky, arty side. And I remember sitting in a sweaty summer Can-Lit university course that went on and on about the power of Canadian elements such as the weather and isolation; how these Canadian characteristics helped mold our psyche into producing a plethora of creative works.

There are over 35 million people in Canada now, spread out over almost ten million kilometers squared. That ends up being about 4 people living on each square kilometer of land in our amazing country. Ok, ok, so we have these places called metropolises where most Canadians congregate and share ideas and such, but for the most part we’re isolated, ok? Just work with me on this one. I’m going somewhere with this.

So here we are, hanging out with three of our (hopefully) favourite people on a kilometer of land, in a six month snow storm with nothing to do but get weird. Here are some suggestions on how to get weird in an imaginative way so that time and misery goes by quicker and you’ll walk out into the spring sunshine with some remarkable creations.

First of all, if you MUST, go into the internet quickly and get out fast. There are so many sites available now for idea development that it is easy to get caught up in the “I can TOTALLY do that!” mentality without actually following through on anything. Pinterest will suck your soul and leave you wondering what you actually did during the six month snow storm from hell. You probably did nothing but think about what you can do (…and snow. You’ll always be thinking about snow.)

Clear a space for yourself that is just YOUR space. Maybe it means the dining room table is off limits and everyone can eat in front of the TV for the whole winter. (Bad parenting move.  Awesome creativity move.) Maybe it means working on the floor of your laundry room. Just make it happen. Fill that room up with a collection of stuff that doesn’t make any sense to you. It will….eventually. One day you’ll wake up and know exactly why you have sparkly pink fun-fur and rusty hinges. It’ll work.

Scavenge. Go onto Facebook’s “Red Lake Area’s Looking For” page and tell them what you’re looking for to make your project a go-ahead. Check out the reclaim station at the dump. There is always something there that can be re-vamped into a gift for some unknowing victim, er, I mean, friend.

Even if it’s miserably cold, take the time to get outside every day to stimulate your senses. Sitting in front of a glowing box such as your smartphone or tv, especially at night, lowers your production of melatonin which makes it very difficult to fall asleep. I don’t know if that is 100% true and I’m not a doctor, but if you Google sleep deprivation and smartphones, there will most likely be some form of correlation between the two that isn’t healthy or conducive of creativity. So, you’ll be cold, tired and unproductive. Wouldn’t that be a ball of fun to hang out with over the winter…..

Finally, set aside some time for yourself in silence. Make a deal with your family so that you get at least an hour to yourself every day to just think, without distraction. Your thoughts might scare yourself, but that’s ok….maybe you just haven’t listened to them in a while. Just trust that you have your own ideas and that they’re worth following through on.

Keep in mind that even though the snow is gone, we are still Canadian and will be dealing with tumultuous downpours, summer hail storms, and days that prove that Hell exists. Tap into that Canadian tenacity and get your mojo working on those fantastic ideas any time of year!

(This article was originally written and published in the Northern Sun News on April 30th, 2014.)

Knickerknobs and Unicorns

So, I am kind of back into writing again, and now I'm actually getting paid for it. Yep. I've hit the big time! ;) I once got paid a $12 honorarium for a poem of mine that was published in an art gallery house magazine. It's all cool. I just like writing. So I do a weekly article for the Northern Sun News, and have been given the go-ahead to also put them on my (pretty darn inactive) blog site. These blogs are the articles that were written for the paper a month earlier, so some of you have already read these, and for some of you, it's all new. So, here we go!
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I abruptly accosted Lindsay on the frosty sidewalks of Red Lake a couple of weeks ago, determined that it was time I got back to writing;  to jump out of my little bubble world of security and publicly share my thoughts in the Northern Sun. Lindsey was game for some fresh perspectives and got the go-ahead from “the boss”.  We sat down to a superb Lakeview meal while we hashed out ideas for a weekly article based on Art. Gulp. I guess I’ve decided at 41and a half that my knicker-knobs are big enough and I can handle contrary reactions to what I may write. My poor husband is probably groaning as he reads this, internally pleading that the public goes easy on me to make life easier at home!

So I have been thinking, what is my reason for wanting to write for the community newspaper?  What do I have to offer that can’t be found through the wonderful world of Google? Probably not a whole heck of a lot but a humble opinion about what it’s like to be an artist, art teacher, and community art provider in the Red Lake district. (Are you Googling that right now?) Ultimately, what I’d like to share with you is a different perspective in a town that, at times, struggles with the concept of Art, and what it’s like to be one of those people that is perpetually pushing the importance of the Arts.

 I’d like to help  slay some of those astronomical myths that are connected to being an artist: that you’ve got to be a bit weird (if not completely freaky then at least having freak potential), you have to be left handed which is strictly correlated to being right brained, you have to have strange hair (preferably purple or cut into angles that defy logic, space and time), you have to really love unicorns who whisper magical ideas into your brain while you sleep at night (Oh wait, you don’t sleep because you’re an artist), you have to have zero tolerance for thoughts that pertain to mathematics or scientific inquiry, you have to understand what burns deeply in the soul of poets such as Leonard Cohen, you have to pick your meals based on what your favourite colour is that day, and blah, blah, blah. Sure, there are people that may genuinely meet all of those criteria and then some. That’s awesome! But most don’t, and are just like everyone else, trying to find a way to share their voice with the world. Art is not that cryptic, it’s not that scary, and it’s not that unattainable, and guess what? It’s also around you all of the time.

So I’m hoping that I can help explore that with you through these weekly articles. Together we can wrestle through concepts such as how to take advantage of technology in order to share our creativity globally, how to make our environments more visually aesthetic, how the history of our community is connected to the art history of the world, how to interpret conceptual art so that we don’t feel awkwardly uncomfortable when confronted by it, how to increase imaginative thought in our homes for our children and ourselves, how to become more actively involved with the Arts in our communities, and any other topic that you’d like me to pursue for you. Feel free to send me an email at funkydoodad@hotmail.com with any ideas for future articles and I’ll make sure to add it to my list of Arty goodies to ponder.

Now I think I should go and Google “knicker-knobs”…………..I’m curious.

(Originally written for and appeared in the Northern Sun News on April 213rd, 2014)