Spring Break Reflections

We have officially finished Spring Break. For me it was like the players sliding around the bases during a great run at a baseball game. It had it's moments of pure joy and moments of weariness. But all in all it was a GREAT time!

Instead of picking one destination and going there to spend a few days, we decided to take several day trips. Or maybe I decided to take several day trips and they just humored me.

This adventure started with me taking LG to the fair on the first Saturday--She had a BALL! She rode everything...and I DO mean EVERYTHING! The faster the ride went, the better!
On Monday, DS 3 and LG and I headed out to our local science museum for a little hands-on fun! We followed that up with a trip to the Ringling Museum of Art where they have the work of Norman Rockwell on display. It was a beautiful day and a fun time! My favorite picture from the science museum is this one:


From there we went to the art museum where LG and I took time to pose near the Banyan trees:

And DS 3 took time to make fun of appreciate the art.


Then it was on to bowling where DS 4 showed us how it's done:



I don't think LG "got it"...


On Tuesday, we went to the Florida Air Museum, a Children's Museum, and to feed the swans in Lakeland. DS 3 says this photo, taken at the air museum, looks like a band photo...what do you think?

I thought this was a good "teachable moment"--although I'm not sure DS 4 really "got it":



We went to the Children's Museum for some more fun followed by a visit to Lake Morton in Lakeland. This is only a stone's throw from where DH and I went to college. We used to go out to this lake to feed the ducks/swans back then. It was fun to see the kids enjoy it as much as we used to!

We rounded out this day trip with a visit to a "Roaring 20's Pizza Parlor" near us. This was a throw back to a place we used to visit when I was a kid called "J Burns Pizza". When we walked in, they noticed it was filled with a lot of senior citizens. But, I enjoyed the trip down memory lane and the kids had a great time listening to the giant pipe organ and eating pizza.

This is how we finished Tuesday. I'll give an update on the second half of our break tomorrow.

The Circus Came to Town...

Tomorrow culminates a very busy week for me at school.  Every year our school (which has an Arts instructional focus) puts on a HUGE production.  You might remember a few years ago when DS 4 was in the Jungle Book.  He "skipped" last year's production and then got involved again this year for the "Greatest Show on Earth".   He was in the clown troupe and loved learning from a "real" Ringling Bros. clown!  

Here are a couple of pics of him in costume and on stage in the "bucket brigade".

In addition to our arts focus, we have several families who have traveled (or still travel) with major circuses in our country.  One of the neat tributes in this show was a film highlighting photos and video footage of these families in their circus performances.  

Two of the families even had their children perform special acts.  The Suarez family juggled.  And the Wallenda's (of the famous "Flying Wallendas") did tightrope.  Isn't that neat?  

My room has been a dressing room/holding room while we've waited to go on stage this week. This has made for some very interesting photo ops.  

The kids had a ball.  The teachers are WORN OUT!  I have to say, though, I am so thankful that I work in a place that does this sort of thing.  It helps kids discover avenues to exercise their creativity and opportunities to showcase their talents.  

Just look how BIG the cast was!  It truly was a GREAT show!

Tea Cup Pinkie Up!

Did you have tea parties when you were younger? I did. We would sit and hold our tea cups and pretend to be so refined and knowledgable about the finer things in life. And for some reason, we'd always hold our pinkie up. What's with that?

I've decided there are some moments that are "pinkie up" moments. You know the ones when you want to sound "SO intelligent" but you don't know what the heck you are talking about? I had a "pinkie up" moment this morning.

I am reviewing a manuscript for an educational publisher who is creating a book series for 1st grade students. The books each focus on a different aspect of art. They are being developed as leveled readers for teachers to use in their daily small group reading instruction. My job is to give feedback on the writing, make sure it's not too complicated for young readers, and help with the book leveling.

I know what you're thinking: "You had a 'pinkie up' moment over something that is designed for six and seven-year-olds?" Here's the editor's note to me regarding one of the books:

We don’t show any very famous great works by any masters of the Renaissance, the impressionists, etc. I don’t really think that’s a problem at this level. Do you
agree? (Also, please keep in mind that it is prohibitively expensive to get permission to reproduce anything from Picasso’s cubist period, geometric as they may be.)

Uh, yes? No? I don't know, but I don't want to tell you that I don't know. The truth is, I DROPPED out of "Great Works of Art"--a 1 credit course at my liberal arts college---not once, but TWICE! I know I live in a town with a very famous school of art. Heck, I even TEACH in a school that was designated as a "National School of Distinction in Arts Education"!

When I really put my pinkie down and admit the cold hard truth, you'll know that I don't know the "masters of the Renaissance" from an impressionist. I could GUESS at a Picasso, but honestly (and with apologies to any of you who are art aficionados), I think some of his work looks a little like the K/1 students at my school!

Honestly I HAVE grown a bit in the last 20+ years since I attempted those college courses. Still, art appreciation, is not my forte'.

So, I said and did the only thing a good book consultant WOULD say to the primary editor:

I put my pinkie UP and said, "Of course, I agree!"


Hello, My name is Susan, and I have a pinkie problem!

We need your VOTE again!

My boys are at it again. This time the video contest they entered is sponsored by CBS. The winning video had to lip synch to this song (that I don't like) and submit a one minute video. The winner will be shown on the Grammy's and gets $5,000. They worked really hard on it and need your help cause voting is 33% of the score. There will be four separate voting windows and the first one is open now. (Read: I'll be asking you to vote three more times after this!)

This one is even easier than the last, you just click on the link and hit "vote". No registration or anything. I appreciate it if you can help!
Here is the link:  Matt Kissed a Girl

Art Appreciation

I must preface what I am about to write with some information about me. I dropped out of Great Works of Art in college twice! I couldn't memorize all those paintings and quite frankly, I didn't WANT to interpret what some painter might have been thinking when he (or she) created his or her piece.

Tonight, we have been discussing something to do. I suggested the dollar movie. DH wasn't too thrilled with the offerings. Then, he went to get a phone call (where he still is).

So DS 4 (7 yr. old) came in my room while I looked on the Internet to see what is going on in our town tonight. We live in an Arts Community, so there are often free concerts on the weekends. I found something called an art walk downtown. (Honestly, it's not the art that is tempting me, it's the free live jazz music that will be playing down there as people stroll the art work.

Now, I may have dropped out of Great Works of Art, but I do, occasionally like looking at artwork. I realize the hard work and creativity that goes into each piece whether it's something I would choose to own or not.

So, I showed DS 4 the link to the event and he said, "We could buy The Scream." He made this funny face with his mouth open wide and his hands on his cheeks as he said this.

I said, "What's the scream?" He tells me, "It's a famous painting, Mom. I like it and I'd like to buy it."

So, I googled it and here's what I found:

This is a painting by Edvard Munsch in 1893 in Norway. It's listed under a site about "Anxiety Paintings".

As I dug a bit more to find out just WHY my 7 year old knows about an Anxiety Painting, he tells me they learned about it in school when they were learning to show emotion in their artwork.

OK, so maybe I didn't do so well in Great Works of Art....I suspect HE MIGHT! I think I'm off to an art walk....

What's Art Anyway?

I live in an Arts focused town. The visual and performing arts are represented in many ways and at many levels from amateur to professional throughout our community. Our bayfront has many sculptures to reflect the importance of the arts here. This sculpture:



is causing a HUGE uproar. It's very tall....26 feet! People are now saying "It's NOT art!"

This artist of this sculpture:



Jonathan Kowal, covered his sculpture in black velvet and chains last week in protest to the inclusion of the other sculpture. He said that this sculpture represents the "dumbing down of art". He detests it.

Recently, the artist who sculpted "Unconditional Surrender", J. Seward Johnson, was in town to defend his work. Defend his work? What is up with that?

I have never had an "art eye"...but I am learning. I know that much of what people consider fine arts makes me say, "Huh?" But, just because it does that to ME does not mean that it is not art to someone else's eye. I have always wondered when I looked at a piece of art that looks like someone spattered paint from a toothbrush onto a canvas is considered so amazing...when I think, "My seven-year-old made that just last week at school." But this does not make me not appreciate different art forms.

One spectator at Johnson's talk put it like this: "Some people don't like brussels sprouts," she said. "That doesn't mean there shouldn't be brussels sprouts."

I just find it amazing that the very people who encourage us to "think outside the box"---and be a bit more "right-brained"---WON'T! Oddly enough, the controversy has sparked interest in many people and has engaged people who may not have been engaged before. So, perhaps this protest has actually backfired in some ways.

It's totally childish, in my opinion, that we can't all "play in the same sandbox." To me, it's simple: if it's art to my eye (but not yours), then it's still art and if it's art to your eyes (and not mine), it's still art...the old adage is true: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."