End of summer-end of summer?? Cmon!

Has it been an entire summer? I thought I certainly would write in this space more often than I have. So what has been going on to keep me from writing? Let's see, refinancing the house, buying a new car (48.7 mpg-gotta love that), doing lots of graphics for my school, Lori and I caught the train to Washington DC to visit her brother and sister in law and we all went to see Michael Franks at the Birchemere. Wonderful show by the way. If you ever get the chance to see this poet sing, do it. We got there expecting to see just him and they had a lead act. Beth Neilsen Chapman. What a treat! She was superb. Michael Franks did a couple of songs I never expected to hear live and the rest was just wonderful. Then we got to sit in the train station on Sunday for about three hours past our scheduled departure (and sit is a euphemism for stand and wait because there were entirely too many people for seats available). Last week we spent a few days at the beach and had a lovely time. Very warm, but nice place, good food and we didn't move the car until the night before we left. Everything we needed was right there at the hotel. Tomorrow it is back to school for freshman orientation, but we don't return full time until next week. I have a show coming up in January at a restaurant just up the street (Magnolia Foods), a class I am hoping to take this fall (affording it is the issue) for re-certification and I also have to take a class in coaching as I am Hannah's soccer coach this year at our high school. So, busy, busy, busy is the description for me right now. I'm also trying to get inspired to draw more, but that hasn't happened much this summer.

Oh, the car. We had a Jeep Liberty which we thought was just the thing for Hannah to learn to drive in as it was more or less like putting her into a small tank. I mean the thing was a beast. It weighed more than 4000 pounds after all. But gas prices got so high we actually had a monthly bill of over $400 and hadn't been anywhere notable that month. Just driving around town. 4000 pounds means protection but it also means less that 20 mpg. Anyway, when we paid that huge gas bill we looked at one another and said, "we could buy a high gas mileage car and use what we save in gas costs to pay the car loan." I mean, it seemed stupid not to look into it. So we looked and we bought a new Honda Insight hybrid. we have been averaging around 48 mpg and it doesn't seem to matter whether it was on highway or city roads. A very cool little car. Certainly not the small tank we were driving but our gas bills are already much lower.

Reading. I've read about six or seven books this summer. The best were: two books by a spanish author, Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The first is named "The Shadow of the Wind" and the second is "The Angel's Game" and they are both superb. Two of the best I have ever read. I also read "The Lion" by Nelson DeMille, "61 Hours" by Lee Child, two or three books from the Lake Wobegone series by Garrison Keillor and have been re-reading Peter Steinhart's "The Undressed Art; Why We Draw" a wonderful book about the connection between not only artists and models, but also drawing and the human psyche-he examines drawing as a necessity for human communication and expression. He writes, "I know I'm thinking, but what I want to do is in a way that language cannot describe. I want to let the unraveling line push all the burdens of the day out of my head." In other words, he is looking for an altered state. "All the time, I am trying to get an impression of the gesture, the mood behind it, the sense of connection I feel with it. And I'm thinking about where it will go on the paper, where the center of the interest will be, how the trailing limbs may draw attention from the corners of the page back to the face or whatever is the center of the drawing's focus." "There's no bigger rush," says Ann Curran Turner, an artist interviewed by Steinart. "All of a sudden it's beyond you. You have no control over it. And there's nothing more exhilarating." A superb book about why we make art and why we as humans are driven to the practice. There are animals who spread paint, but (with the exception of Koko the gorilla) none who express through drawing. It is a purely human experience and I find it hard to believe anyone has written a better book exploring the why and how of the drive to do it. And so I read it again. But why am I telling you this? No one is reading this anyway.

So, here we are, three days of students left, one exam down, four to go. The bell is about to ring and the two students I have had hanging out drawing with me for the last two hours are about to go home.My drawing students are going to do something they have never tried before, as an exam activity. I borrowed plaster casts of facial parts from our Lynchburg Academy of Fine Arts and we are going to draw cast drawings using charcoal and white chalk. I thought something academy-like might be a good way to draw a long year to a close, so we are going to try it. Here's a sample I did today using a 2H pencil, a HB pencil, a white conte stick and a white stick of soft pastel on some cheap, cheap chipboard. It was actually fun to do but really requires the artist to keep his/her focus on the model. This is one of the first times I have tried to draw from a cast, but it won't be the last. Hannah is in her math exam for about two more minutes and as soon as the students leave the building, we will leave for lunch. My printmaker has sent me a link to all the prints he has done for me. They are beautiful. You cannot tell them from the real thing. Check them out here. http://www.tetragraphicsinc.co

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Just e-mail me if you are interested in any of them. So far, end of semester is going very well. I think this will be a short comment today, not really feeling the need to blast anyone but BP ("Beachy Petroleum") but why bother? No one's reading this anyway.

Well, only about eight days of school left. I'm going to miss this group. I must have 35-40 seniors leaving this year and they have produced some truly beautiful artwork. I have a few still trying to find their way, a few really in love with art and one who decided to detour into a GED program, but all in all it will end up a pretty decent year in the classroom. The kids have won some awards, a few have reached outside their normal comfort zone to try some things I'd have said they weren't ready to try, but which have proven to be excellent efforts in new media for each of them. I think I am looking forward to graduation as much as my seniors are. Today I had a visit from Marco Mosely, a 2008 graduate who is now a member of the USMC. Marco has visited Germany and Iraq in his two years out of school and today he just wanted to sit down and draw with some of our students. What a fine young man in so many ways. I hope he is protected during his tour of duty. He is one of Heritage's hidden treasures. well, enough of this, no one is reading it anyway! 

First Series

My first series of watercolor paintings is begun. I have always intended to  do a series of related theme paintings but have never been able to do it for some reason. Upon completion of my new painting "Puddle Jumpers" I have finally completed a second painting within the same theme. Will there be more? I'm not sure because I am a little tired of umbrellas (hey wait, that may be why I have never completed a series of anything...) but I won't say no. I have more resources within this idea so it very well may come about. Prints will soon be available of both of these. Kindly contact me if you are interested! I must be crazy-no one is reading this anyway!

Well it is May 16 and we have about three weeks of school left. Yesterday Glenn Beck got his first degree, an honorary one from LU in return for spreading some fear at their "graduation". Soon we will be honoring real grads as they leave the system and head to college or jobs. Hopefully they won't waste time being educated at a place that brings in media darlings to offer less than meaningful words to send them on their way. But as the year winds down and we think of how this year has passed, it has been pretty good for us. Hannah changed schools, has found a home with nicer kids and better teachers and as a family we are beginning to let some of the ugliness we have experienced at the hands of stupid, self-important kids from the "good" high school in town pass. They managed to make our daughter miserable for 5+ years, but not any more. So we look at summer as a sort of rebirth with less concerns about who is saying what about whom. Hopefully this will lead us right into Hannah's college days and she can heal and forget. But who is reading this anyway?

So I know that no one is reading this, but the Yankees are about to come to bat on gameday and until that happens I have a moment to register my thoughts on today. The school system gave us the day off today because of the local city council elections. The Falwell brothers, Jonathan and Jerry Jr. are basically trying to sway election results by employing the 4000+ votes of out of town Liberty University students as a bloc Republican vote. Three more reprehensible candidates than the Republican bloc in this election couldn't be found under the slimiest rock. But LU could announce nuclear war against Afghanistan and these three clowns would support the idea-not that any of them would be involved-they'd find someone else to do their fighting. But I digress. This has been on the minds of most of Lynchburg all day and for the past several weeks. The Falwells won't rest until they have control of every elected office in the area and if the state example of local representation is any example of what we can expect, the idea of effective representation is a pipe dream. All we have to show for the past ten - fifteen years of Republican control of the state legislature and our particular representation on the state level is a sign on 460 saying "Jerry Falwell Parkway" and a lot of rhetoric about abortion. We have to have the worst slate of state legislators in the nation-heck, in the world. So go for it, Lynchburg, more of the crap we have come to expect! I have never registered as a member of a particular political party, preferring to vote for the candidate, not the party, but I can state categorically that I haven't seen anything from a Republican in the last 30 years that would convince me to vote for one of them for dog-catcher. I hope this city can survive them. But why say it, no one's reading this anyway!

NYC weekend

It's 9:30 and we are trying to get over our crazy three-day excursion to NYC. 1:30 last night I finally turned out the light so I could rise at 5:30 this morning to return to school. Three fabulous shows: "Million Dollar Quartet", "Lend Me a Tenor", and "Wicked". Add in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with a group of students and teachers who had mostly never gone to the city and it was a pretty cool weekend. As to the shows, "Million Dollar Quartet" was the real surprise for me. What an amazing show! Speaking as a southerner who grew up during the period the four characters were active, the feeling of the show was very true to my memories of the period. The set design was amazing-intelligently done with an insider's feel of place. I felt at home. The tile floor, the metal covers for floor heating vents combined with other little touches just set the tone for place. But this was a show about music and musicians at a time when the world of popular music was changing exponentially. These guys were really good. Heck, these guys were exceptional. Mostly they were believeable as the person in the place and time they were playing. W-O-W! I mean, my own words are lacking to describe the experience. The music was FABULOUS! I was simply blown away. What feeling they brought to the expression of these lives. How believable these artists were as the four linchpins of Sun Recording Studios. They were just amazing. The next day it was "Lend Me A Tenor" with Tony Shaloub, Brooke Adams, Anthony LaPaglia and others. A wonderful farce, directed by Stanley Tucci, the acting was tight, sharp and on the mark. We laughed and laughed. Just wonderful. The last show was "Wicked". What can I say? I mean, Oh my God! Just incredible. This was even better than when we saw it two years ago. Add in the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sunday, some nice meals and, well, to quote me, "...a bad day in NYC is better than almost any kind of day elsewhere..." But why post this anyway? No one is reading anyway!

Since this is called "artwords" I thought I'd post my new painting, just finished today. 16 x 20" watercolor on 300 lb Arches paper. Roma tomatoes in a beautiful swirling green glass dish. I wish the art showed the lovely swirls in the dish. Took me three or four days but I love the look of the tomatoes.

Now, on to life. I told Lori today that I couldn't describe how cool it is to me to have Hannah walk into my classroom and know she is at the same high school as me. I see her very little during the day but at the end of 7th period, she comes in and it just brings a smile to my face. 

Last year this time I was about to have a heart attack, in class, of all places. This year my child is smiling, happy and hanging out with me at day’s end. Big difference. Makes the day go faster with that kind of end to it. I can walk up to the field and watch her practice, see the smiles on the faces of the other players as she goes about her job and know she isn't carrying the load she shouldered last year at her other high school. Is this team as good as the other one? Probably not. Is she happier with this group of players and staff? Definitely, and that makes life good.

Just heard from my old pal and teammate Ross that he is having prostate cancer issues so we are thinking about him and hoping things go well. He'll beat this just like everything else. We’re thinking about you buddy!

That’s enough for today, nobody’s reading this anyway!

At long last, weekend! Lori and I went to a fundraiser for the Academy of Fine Arts in downtown Lynchburg tonight where we enjoyed different types of barbecue from about ten different restaurants as well as different side dishes and beers from our own downtown microbrewery. I also tasted a little brown water from three different distilleries-I'm not astute enough with bourbon to know much more than it all burned and I'm probably good for another six months without any more. I'll stick with wine. But it was good food (loved the bison chili from the "Depot") and we were able to catch up with some neighbors and friends in a pleasant setting. I toured the Academy’s 1905 beaux-arts theatre last week-an amazing place if it ever gets finished and it looks like that will now happen and I have done life-drawing workshops in the Academy's art studios so I love the idea of restoring the place and adding the additional life the various other arts bring to it, both visual and theatrical. It was warm enough to go in shirtsleeves and not too cool when we left to have to rush to the car, so maybe the snow is past and spring is making an appearance.

Ah, the artwords part, hmmm, came home and painted for an hour on my new painting which I hope to finish this weekend. More about that at a later time. Hey, wait a minute, I just realized I was talking about art! That entire paragraph above was about the Academy of Fine Arts. I already covered my subject. In that case, I am going to bed. Whatever-no one is reading this anyway!

What a long day it has been. Hannah's new high school team had their first game tonight and despite being sick for the last several days and having a bad cold tonight she found a renewed sense of purpose and told me she was trying to get the coach to notice her and put her in the game. When she finally made her debut in the orange and blue of Heritage she played very well and in talking after the game she said she didn't want to "let her coach down," after she had let Hannah play despite feeling poorly. This is a real change in attitude and style for a young lady who has been trying to find herself and I think it is due to the way her new teammates have embraced her. I have to confess I was hoping for this sort of response, both from her and her teammates and was dismayed (stunned is probably a better word) by the lack of team bonding-even the outright hostility and ego trips displayed at the other high school. I had told her over and over what a great thing teammates are and she has met some of the truly special players and coaches I count as lifelong friends, but this wasn't her experience until she came to Heritage. Oh, and the girls won 5-0, so a good start to the year!

We also got feedback at school today on our year-long project to re-accredit the school and the investigating team gave us some of the same praise I have offered for the school where I teach and Hannah now attends. In short they really liked what we are doing and gave good suggestions for how to improve, but they also recognized that our kids are loved and nurtured and know it. That, to me, is one of the most important assessments we could get because a loved student feels safe to venture into learning and to try things that might be different, but good for them to do. Ultimately, it is the faculty and students who sold us on Heritage, not the assessment results. The assessment results (sol's, ayp) have always been good, but the social and psychological environment is exceptional.

Nothing much to say about art today. I drew in my sketchbook all through the faculty meeting, but still felt like I retained everything said. I really do attain a higher state of consciousness when I draw and that is a very pleasant surprise. I guess I need to draw more, maybe I will appear to be more awake!

March 17

So this is the day we all celebrate our Irish-ness (?). How amazing it is to me to discover two of my best friends, Sid Hagen and Ross Klein were both born on March 17. Sid is now in Paris rediscovering that city with his family and Ross lives just north of NYC with his family. I will never forget Ross wearing a green yarn yarmulke made by our friend Mike Duggan's mother Brigit. Talk about Irish! During two years with Mike in N.J. I was able to discover that side of my heritage and what a great discovery to make! We went to see the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem, went to Tommy Makem's pub and drank Guiness stout pulled by the man himself and regularly visited a pub in Hackensack (I think) where we saw the brother of one of the IRA prisoners of the British who starved himself to death (Bobby Sands, I believe his name was) play guitar to raise money for one of the IRA relief organs. This would have been 1983-85. Thanks Mike, for expanding my understanding of Irish culture and the very beautiful and cultural world of the Irish in America. I almost felt like your other brother and to be embraced that way by you and Kate and your families was one of the greatest experiences of my life. You guys have birthdays this month also as I remember, so Happy Birthday to all these wonderful friends.

But this blog is called “artwords” so I guess I need to speak about art. I just finished a new watercolor of a little guy who lived down the street. He was playing in the puddle next to my driveway and with me being an unrepentant 55 year old child, I felt compelled to explain the finer points of being a boy. So I went out and talked to him and his twin brother and as Twain said “incited a riot” by encouraging them to run and jump in the puddle. I got to relive a small bit of my childhood (who am I kidding, I was muddy for the better part of my first 15-18 years) and I got a nice painting out of it. It actually went fairly quickly once I started and I already have the next sheet of 300 lb Arches watercolor paper taped to my board. I brought the board home from school but managed to leave my paints and palette there. So instead I post this painting tonight and add these notes for anyone who may actually read this thing. Maybe one day I'll surprise myself and say something important! ;0)

Wow, a blog? Why?

I'm not all that certain why I need a blog. I'd rather have my own website, but my wife and I are teachers and that means we have no idea if we'll have jobs next year. Education used to be a recession-proof industry, if industry is the right word. But now it is the easy target for the ideologically pure (think Fox News set) which is the 21st century version of the early 30's German Nazi party. Except now the driving force is pure unadulterated greed acting as a drive for power instead of racism. So maybe I just need a place to vent. A place to let my hair down and venture forth with opinions. Do I despise people who believe differently from me? Nope. They have a right to their opinions and I'd fight to preserve their rights. If I wanted to prevent their exercise of personal opinion or deny their right to see the world in the way they do, there'd be a real problem. So why do I feel their party is out to deny my rights? The Republican party has appeared, since the election of 2008, to be anti-everything. I've seen every imaginable commercial that are all negative to the party in power. Seems like a cheap-shot to me. Poor loser syndrome maybe. The power companies are advertising against taxes, while fuel costs have gone up and up. "We want the money, we just don't want to share it with the government that does so much for us." Our government talks about job creation while god-only-knows how many teachers are about to lose their jobs. Maybe that is just to create a labor pool for the ideologically pure charter schools our Virginia governor wants to create. I forget who, but someone in the first Franklin Roosevelt administration pointed out that if you wanted to wreck your economy, you elected a Republican. The Great Depression followed Coolidge and Harding just as this recession follows Bush. The same economic policies touted by Coolidge and Harding are the ones being touted by today's economic wizards from the Republican right. Why should they work any better now than they did then?

I guess my venting is off the beaten track from my title. I thought I'd talk about art. I had a really good day at the Academy of Fine Arts here in Lynchburg. We painted fabrics with the tutelage of Jill Jenson (thanks Jill!) and May Carter (thanks May-it was a great day!), toured the theatre (a 1905 Beaux-arts jewel in restoration) and heard a talk by Charlottesville artist Richard Crozier. It was a lovely day and I have to find a way to get back to life drawing sessions at the Academy. It is a wonderful work in progress.

But it is hard to talk about art, or education for that matter, when you are wondering if you have a job. This year, in five classes I have 150+ students. I also run an enrichment class with about 30 more. I love them all. They are great kids making their way into adulthood with all the dreams and expectations I had at the same age. I like them so much my wife and I moved our daughter to my school. The "good" high school in town is where she went and she was miserable. She has been chattering and singing, happy and outgoing and even a friend from the other school asked what had changed.  The new school is what changed. She is happy. So I love my kids and my child is happy. But with a heart attack last year and budget cuts scaring the heck out of everyone this year, I just hope I get to see them graduate.