Art Ed 450:
Post a response to the following questions: What is the relationship between your experiences and ongoing artistic work to your curriculum and teaching.  How do you describe what you do as an artist.

Growing up in a family with eight kids and two parents to care for us all, I lived in an environment that was both playful and chaotic, prayer centered, and faith based. We were constantly seeking balance, and order. Rooms that took the whole army of us to straighten and clean could be demolished in a matter of one meal time, one afternoon with two friends over. Our house was full of durable things, worn out things, taped together things, because simply when you have that many kids pulsating through the environment, nice things are no longer the priority. They get broken, misused, colored on, spit-up on , thrown away, left outside-repurposed. My mom was an artist, but also very much so go with the flow. She cared about pretty things but cared about living more. We grew up in this house where physical beauty lived on the outside. It was found in moments. In the walks we took around the lock together, and the long necklaces my mom wore accenting her closet of simple dresses that were chosen over her 16 year periods of pregnancy- weight-gain, weight loss- they fit all her sizes. Beauty was seen in my sister anna's golden hair, in the bright red color of my mom's strawberry jam, it stood out brightly on the green granite countertop my parents chose because it did not show so easily every crumb that constantly found a home there, no matter how many time it was wiped off. Beauty was in my dad's soft hair, falling out gradually till one ay he buzzed it all off. He was still handsome. Beauty was my sister praying and teaching me how to see God in my everyday life. It was framed in my oldest brother Daniel's missionary service, and how Michael hung up the christmas lights every year for my mom, even though he didn't come home much any other time during those years. I saw it in the pancakes Uncle Jeff brought for me and my siblings, each Saturday when we went to visit grandma in the rest home. Food dribbled down her chin because she couldn't help laughing and smiling when we were there. I took this to mean she loved us, because I don't remember ever having a developed conversation with her.

I still think dark wood is elegant, and Norman Rockwell is the best painter who ever lived. He saw what I saw- beauty in the unpredictable, intamable , existence.

I am influenced the same. I want to paint people and landscapes. I want to use vibrant colors, and display figures realistically moving through scenes, that cameras were never quick enough to catch. I tell stories and want to tell more and more of them. 

This influences how I look at curriculum planning and teaching. I want to include themes and events that are significant in my students lives to what we learn and explore in the classroom. The classroom can be a safe place to explore what they fear, what is heavy and unknown, exciting and beautiful in the world they live in. So in planning lessons I like to plan for questions and time to explore and think and be. To try new things.