The Stink Covers Up the Sweet Smell of Roses

My third grade science Olympiad Team placed second (we get a trophy)at the Tri-County Science Olympiad. Two of the events I coached earned first place awards: Puff mobile, and Wildlife Safari. We had a total of three first place awards. We also won the Sportsmanship Award. This meant a lot to our team.

I got the results back from the MAEA state art competition. If you didn't know I was allowed to submit five works of art to the region III show (Washtenaw, Jackson, Lenawee, and Monroe County), four of those were able to go onto the state competition.
Two of those were selected to go onto other shows. My kindergartner Mackenzie's work is part of the states top 100 works and will be displayed at MAEA state convention. Region III actually had 14 works selected for this show! And my student Layla's work was the ONLY work selected from Region III to take part in the MEA art show.

This all sounds wonderful, but my life is poopy. I took the day off and scheduled a nervous breakdown, but it didn't come. My emotions are constipated. I don't really feel like going into everything. Just need to freshen up my life cause the stench from this shit is thick and distracting.

Ya ever notice how stink can be like an awful ENTITY that if you live around it long enough you get used to it? The awfulness of it doesn't seem to register in your senses. GOD! I don't want to "get used to" this stink, but I know it can happen. Maybe getting used to it is a way of coping? What would be worse, getting used to the awful smell or being unable to rid yourself of it?

Did you ever see the episode of the office where Andy keeps stepping into cow poop where ever he goes, even in the house? Andy couldn't avoid shit, he just kept walking into it. From the outside it's all kinda funny and horrible at the same time. But for Andy, more than a favorite pair of shoes were ruined. The poop just became a metaphor for the hopes and dreams that sunk into the bile, converted into crap, and defecated into every area of his life.

National Gallery of Writing

Aw shucks! I was invited by my former prof, Beth Myer, to participate in the National Day of Writing and submit work to the Adrian College Gallery within the National Gallery of Writing. My piece was chosen (for the time being) to be the featured work of the gallery! Go to the following site and you will see my work. Beth said she chose my work because it was an excellent example of a multimedia piece. So cool.

http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/667850

Confession

I had a weird,horrible, and wonderful school year 08-09. The stories I could tell about my very isolated struggle might not be so interesting. But since the first day of last summer I have been working on making sense of the whole experience. I am just finally coming to a point where I can begin organizing the internal chaos. I am just now feeling courageous enough to post images from last years lessons.

This year has been a bit of a struggle, like haven't the vigor I once had. I am still doing work I am proud of, but its like I am working with a spiritual injury that hasn't fully healed.

Anyway. I have updated www.artsprouts.blogspot.com

I haven't included much from this year. I am posting lessons from last year. Having not done this created a burden that feels a little lighter. I will feel much "lighter" when this year's work is included on the blog. I don't accept comments on artsprouts, but if you would comment here I would really appreciate the feedback.

Rainbow Frogs

So yesterday Randy says to me that I should color the frog green. Today I am watching a news report about an ice festival in China. The sculptures were colorfully lit. So I think, "Hey I can do this. I have a color wheel." Voila psychedelic frogs.

Snow Princess Harriett

We finally got the heavy wet snow that is perfect for snow sculpting. I like to build sphinx-like characters. A few years back it was a snow bunny. Kadie helped with that one. Of course she is in Minnesota (proof she is a Michigan girl and not afraid of snow and cold-she went to Minnesota) so there was no team effort for snow building today.
When I was visiting J and Joel in NYC this past summer we found a carved white toad. I wanted it to be a frog so I could buy it for Kadie as a souvenir. You see Kadie has an albino African Mud Frog that we have had for twelve or thirteen years!
So in honor of Kadie (Best wishes in the play-offs tomorrow kid!)I made a sphinx like Princess Harriet. Yay for snow days.

Finished

I confess that I just finish reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I began the book at the end of summer. I got put off by the grim customs and took a rest from it when I got to part two. I only recently picked it up again. I reread the last chapter of the first section, and within a few paragraphs of the second section I was locked in. The writing is done so well that the reading goes quickly.
I have known that Things Fall Apart was a literary classic, but for which criteria I do not know.
But I think of all the books I have read this ending was the most surprising, sobering, and ironic. I don't think I will ever forget the last few lines of this book. Achebe is deserving of every credit due him.

The Ice Star

A Burning Cold?
There are times when the internal fires seem to go cold. One can feel frozen spiritually. I like the metaphor these images create.

Tragedy and Comedy

Have you discovered vimeo? There is a story on there called the Last Moments with Oden. It is a painful and sweet documentary.
http://vimeo.com/8191217
Take time to cheer yourself up with some of the 'favorites." People are so creative!
I love how the internet, self publishing, self producing, the likes of youtube, vimeo, etc., has opened up the public's awareness to the marvels of human creativity.

The man in the clip said he has become "more sensitive with age and Thank
God for it." I think we are coming into a more sensitive age in history. The conceptual/creative age needs empathy.