hit the wall....it's time to quit

I am passionate about children. Period. I believe that every child born has a gift to give the world. I am also passionate about art, theatre and libraries. There is one more thing I am passionate about and that is giving back to your community.
There are too many people who have forgotten about this and yet they still expect this same community to support them. I am just as busy as the next person. I am raising a family and running a business- both are 24/7 occupations. But because I am passionate about children and art and theatre and libraries I volunteer  time in those directions. My life would be a lot easier if I did not volunteer and there are times when I regret saying yes and get a little cranky about it.

Why volunteer? Why get involved?  ???

Because I care about children. Children live in my community. Therefore I get involved. I have one child left at home and in a little under two years he'll be gone and off to college. Does this mean I get to stop being involved? NO!

But there are times when I feel like I am banging my head against a wall. I am president of the Carroll Arts Council/Community Theatre (CAC/CCT). I have been president for 7 maybe 8 years? I don't know I've lost track. In that time I have seen the organization through some very rough times. I had some goals when I became president and I reached them. My biggest goal was to create a 50 seat theatre in our building for small shows. We've been using the Black Box Studio now for over a year. Another goal I had was to create a summer program for high school and college age kids who are interested in theatre to experience theatre outside of a school setting. We had our first  program this past summer and I think it was successful.

Yesterday I told my board that I am resigning. It is not a decision that I made lightly. The biggest question back at me is WHY?!?
It's not the lack of funding or resources. Unfortunately the arts seem to thrive on shoe string budgets. It's not the work- I love costuming a show, making a set come to life and creating a mood with lights. It's not working with kids because I LOVE working with kids! So why am I leaving something I feel so passionately about?
There is no COMMUNITY in the Community Theatre anymore. Recently the CAC/CCT was asked to collaborate with the Public Library for a fundraising event for our new library. ( YES! A NEW library!!!!)The Library wanted us to produce an audience interactive murder mystery. I spent hours online searching for the right play, talking with the head librarian and the Friends of the Library Board. I spent more time promoting auditions and beating the bushes looking for people to fill all the parts. I still have 3 parts left to fill and will more than likely step into one of the roles myself because the show must go on. So I will be spending another 20 hours next week rehearsing the play and getting it costumed. When I asked one person who has an interest in BOTH the library (serves on the board) and the theatre to be in the show the response was:

" No, my schedule is insanely busy and I can't do it"

That stopped me so short I actually hit that wall I have been banging my head against.
This is for a good cause. This is for our COMMUNITY. This is for our CHILDREN!

I just can't do this anymore.

coffin trinket box

Last year I bought some purses for the studio. They were in the shape of a coffin and pretty darn cool if you ask me. I had two of them left from last year and decided to do something to dress them up a bit. I removed the strap and turned the coffin every which way. On it's side, laying flat, standing up....I finally settled on converting it to a trinket or dresser box. Way back in the day people kept a small decorative box on top of their dresser to keep things in that were important or special to them.

 In the early 1930's the Lane Cedar Chest Company used to give miniature cedar chests to young women about to graduate from high school by inviting them to pick up a free miniature chest at their local furniture store. My mother had one and it was filled with all sorts of bits and pieces; letters, receipts, photographs ,keys....I was fascinated by that little wooden box with it's tiny key on a red satin ribbon that hung from the lock.

I could have just left the box alone, after all it is a coffin and pretty cool just like that. But no, I had to dress it up a bit. So....going to my stash of ephemera and other embellishments I created this "Goth Box" complete with owl, ghost, black cat, clock tower and creepy kid. I even cut open the door and have a picture of a kid with a skeleton behind it. The edges are trimmed in sheer white ribbon with small spiders printed on it and each point of the box has a black ribbon rose on it.

Sweet huh?

desperately seeking .....

....your stuff. Seriously. In my classes we use a lot of weird and unusual stuff to create our masterpieces. So if you are doing some cleaning and would like to re-cycle some of your stuff. Please do not hesitate to drop it off at the studio. Here's a list of items I am collecting for future projects with my students.

cancelled postage stamps

old sheet music

greeting cards- any holiday or subject

 small doll accessories- you know- unmatched shoes, dishes, gloves, brushes all that tiny stuff that you always manage to step on with bare feet.

tiny trinkets- the stuff you get out of gumball machines and the empty bubbles they come in

misc. game board pieces- wood or plastic

keys

bottle caps

misc.broken jewelry or single earrings

wine corks

silk flowers

empty matchboxes

1/2 gallon empty jugs

plastic bottle caps of all sizes

aluminum tea light holders (save after burning candles)

beautifully shaped wine bottles in an assortment of shapes and sizes

toilet paper rolls

large round opaque bottles, such as those for bleach/cleaning fluid

and if you are cleaning out your craft cupboard and don't know what to do with those odds and ends of scrap papers and ribbons and stickers....

You get the idea.

it all starts with an idea

Last week I started a project with my K-2 class that I am calling "The Monster Project"  I gave each student a large sheet of black paper and a set of construction paper crayons. Then I told them we were going to draw monsters. I had a whole list of questions about their monsters. Questions like- what color is it? How big is it? How many eyes and arms and legs? You get the idea. Before I even got halfway through the list of questions they were off and drawing. I love to listen to kids this age draw. Before I knew it each student was caught up in a world they had created on paper and each monster developed a  unique personality.

I decided that I was going to make their monsters real. I got the first one finished last night.

This is Megan and Maria. Megan and Maria live in the jungle and they like to play. What makes them so special is they have two heads.  Megan and Maria was designed by Olivia who is a first grader.

After studying Olivia's monster for a bit I drew a simplified version of it.  Then I went to my sewing machine and created this~ my version of Megan and Maria. I am planning on doing this for each of my students. I want them to see how an idea can come out of your head and onto paper and sometimes that idea can then be turned into something real. 

 Everything starts with an idea.

Peter Pan was right.....don't grow up

Once in awhile you come across something that makes you think and smile at the same time. Like this:

"When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?" ~Howard Ikemoto"


The Pirate Bunny by Ben age 6



 Yes grown ups forget many things. Like how to look at the world through the eyes of a child. At least three or four times a week I get an adult in the studio asking me if I teach lessons to adults. My answer is always no. I used to work with adults but I just can't do it anymore. Adults are so wrapped up in all that grown up baggage that they are very difficult for me to work with.  Many adults go through their adult life with blinders on-too busy to stop and notice little things like the color of the sky as the sun is setting on a winter day. Or how brilliantly red a cluster of tulips can be on a sunny day in spring.

Too often I hear a child show a grown up their latest drawing and the adult says "That's wonderful! What is it?"  Art doesn't always have to be something you recognize right away. You want total realism take a photograph. Art should make you think. Art should connect on so many levels with you. Even art done by a child. So the next time a young person comes up to you to proudly show you what they have drawn. Please, take a moment and really look at it. Give it some thought instead of an absent minded "....that's very nice" and say something constructive and real about it.  You might miss a delightful drawing of a  "Pirate Bunny"!


"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."  Pablo Picasso