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.