Residencies

Sometimes I feel very torn by my artist side and my teaching side. This week teaching wins-Today I was a visiting artist at a private school in Chester County- deep in "horse country" an hour outside of Philadelphia. We're focusing on art- specifically fiber art, so I'm happily stitching with kids. 3rd graders screenprinted world maps and will stitch routes for the sails of an explorer boat project, 4th is learning about alphabet samplers, 5th is learning about culture of India and doing henna hand embroideries, and 7th is learning about mourning embroideries. I was worried that the 7th graders wouldn't hook into the "mourning/grief/loss" theme- but they really surprised me and came up with some quite thoughtful images and stories for our project. I'm going back on Thursday to continue.

I'm amazed at how different learning environments can be- I teach in community arts settings and urban public schools primarily. This experience in a suburban private school is so different. I'm reminded that reality is a very subjective experience. City life and city schools are one reality, rural life and schools are another. And yet, kids are kids. And they all need art in their lives. And I'm lucky to be a part of their creative experiences wherever we meet.