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Creativity

Published on April 30, 2024

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

31 + 29 + 31 + 30

Today marks the last day of April, and the writing of my 121st poem of the year. I’m one-third of the way through my personal challenge to write a poem each day during 2024. This goal has been made easier to achieve by the Stafford Challenge, which I joined in mid-January, and Ethical ELA’s monthly opportunities to write poetry, including the magnificent VerseLove, 30 days of poetry.

Being ‘in community with others’ feels like an essential element to creativity, offering feedback and inspiration. This past Saturday, I enjoyed two other art communities – music and visual arts. Let me tell you a bit about them –

First off, our music fun. We parked the car to the sound of a street band playing somewhere on the block. As we headed to our festival destination, we heard several other bands playing on porches and in front yards. Despite the cool and rainy weather, folks were happily gathered in the street and on the curbs, eating takeout, sipping drinks, clapping and cheering to songs. This was Petworth Porchfest in Washington, D.C. Two of our children performed, and we had the joy of watching them.

A couple months ago, a singer/songwriter (Leah Danielle) posted an ad on a local neighborhood listserv, asking if anyone wanted to brush up their music skills and create a band. My oldest son, Keith, (who plays bass) responded YES! and immediately suggested my second son, Wade, (who plays guitar) join as well. A singer, a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist – this is a band! They’ve been practicing about once a week, squeezing it in despite their busy schedules; imagine, three of the band members have young children, too.

At PorchFest, bands are assigned one-hour sets at varied locations – front porches, by and large. I believe more than 200 bands participated. The boys’ band (‘Leah Danielle and Friends’) played mostly her original songs, which are mellow and folksy, with a bit of blues. Leah has a spectacular voice. They did two covers – Tracy Chapman’s ‘Give Me One Reason’ and Guns-n-Roses ‘Sweet Child of Mine’. I admit to getting a little misty-eyed with that second, because I was singing along to my own sweet children playing. It was a great show!

Then we said goodbye to Keith (who had to get back to those sweet kids of his) and headed to Artomatic, in the company of Wade and our youngest son, Bryce. Artomatic is this incredible, free, month-long art show that has been held for 25 years here in D.C., showcasing local artists of all types. The creators find ‘free’/transitional space for these exhibits, typically taking over some building that is slated for demolition or remodeling. Imagine my surprise when I realized that this year’s building was that of my old Ob/Gyn’s office. I mean, a lot can happen in 28 years, but it was nevertheless a bit mind bending to see this once posh building now filled with graffitied plywood in wild colors, and temporary exhibits of interactive art, poetry, song, and fashion. I teased my sons – ‘imagine, your hearts were beating in this place, long before you ever walked in.”

We wandered eight floors of magical, mystifying, wondrous creativity – and it was simply too much to take in, with this one visit. Unfortunately, this was Artomatic’s last weekend. Next year, I will schedule more than one visit.

What a day! I fell asleep exhausted, filled with creative thoughts.

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Summer Painting

Published on August 29, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

Just like that, the summer ends. My oldest granddaughter, Frog, has begun her prek-4 school year and we are back to our Monday/Tuesday babysitting for only one child – her younger sister. Bird turns three years old this fall, which is too late to start her preschool year in DC public schools.

We are missing ‘big sister’ on these babysitting days, though it is also really special to have one-on-one time with the little one.

Let me share an update on our summer art project; my granddaughters turned some old kitchen cabinet doors into paint canvases, making layers of fun. These doors went through a real metamorphosis!

Here’s how the “BEFORE” for the cabinet doors!

Each girl had their own door to paint, and they worked with acrylic. I made sure to dress them to be messed, and we worked outside as much as possible. We had a bit of yucky weather that kept us inside once or twice, but I was able to set up their art in our basement, using lots of dropcloths – plus, keeping soapy water and wash rags at the ready.

We began with ‘tape painting.’ The girls applied painters tape to the door, covering the doors in all sorts of different ways with painters tape and then painting. They used a variety of brushes and rollers. When the paint dried, they peeled off the tape – creating wild designs. Then it was time for more tape and a new paint color. Repeat, as needed!

Our grand finale technique was “splatter painting.” Here, I added shower caps to their protective attire, hoping to keep the acrylic paint from their hair. The girls dipped brushes into new colors of paint and then let this fly through the air to the canvas.

Frog laughed and squealed throughout – which is exactly the reaction I expected. She had so much fun with this splatter paint technique, I found a bonus door for her to paint:

Did you notice that I only have pictures of Frog with the splatter paint? Bird was wide-eyed with horror at this painting technique. I don’t know what worried her – was it the shower cap? The wild, large motion? The fact that she is potty-training and this was just TOO messy? She was thrilled to play with the bucket of soapy water, but she refused to splatter paint. She sat back in the sandbox and directed her older sister to add paint to her door!! Oh, this made me smile. Isn’t this what all the great mural artists do? Hire assistants to help, to follow their expectations and guidelines?

All this fun painting led to some nature painting, as well. The girls painted on a backyard tree, just for the whimsy of it. Bright paint ended up unexpectedly on the grass and weeds nearby. Without a doubt, the backyard was the perfect location for this fun. And, oh yes, there were various stages of undress during some of the painting…whoops! lol

The doors look wonderful, I think. If we get a school holiday and weather permits, we’ll squeeze in some creative drawing with acrylic markers, letting the girls add additional details to the doors. Here are the final creations:

Summer murals – Frog’s on left, Bird’s on the right

We had a fun summer! I hope you did, too.

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Woven Art

Published on August 22, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

I have this large white wall space above the family room ‘bump out,’ a real focal point of the room, that has been bugging me for months as it sat empty, post-remodeling. What should I hang there?

I have a beautiful, unique basket that I picked up many years ago – hand-made, local folk art. This flat weaving is created with four inch metal rings, covered with fabric remnants. I’ve never known quite what to do with it – but I loved it, all the same. My gut said – yes, hang this up in the new space! However, it was too small – it would be dwarfed by the wall itself. I loved the look of the basket, but I needed to find two more small pieces of handmade art, and hang these on either side, to balance the display.

Well, my passive hunt for this wall art ended this past week! At a local crafts fair, I found two 20- inch square rugs that I loved – hand-dyed from sheep’s wool, created in Afghanistan by a women’s cooperative, and sold here by Afghan refugees.

As soon as I saw these small rugs, I knew it – they’d be perfect for the wall. I sewed a small sleeve for a dowel, creating a way to hang these squares, all the while thinking about the women who made the rugs themselves.

My sewing reflections led to a poem, which I’ll share at the end of this post. The wall looks terrific, I think! The rugs are the perfect complement to the basket – let me show you:

woven

with my pinking shears
I cut fabric 
cotton sleeve for a dowel hanger

two small square rugs 
woven by women 
hand-dyed from sheep’s wool
in Afghanistan

women denied the right to work
their survival intertwined with
threads in all the colors of the earth

what do they think about as they weave?

in my sewing box
I find a pack of heavy-duty needles - upholstery rugs coats gloves canvas
a frayed memory unfolds
purchasing these at the corner store in Dupont Circle
years and years and years ago
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
living on my own 
sewing curtains repairing my futon creating a larger rug 
from my grandmother’s carpet samples
I remember trying to affix fabric to my bookshelves
all by myself giddy with excitement 
corner apartment overlooking Rock Creek Park

this conviction
I can do that!
I am free to do what I like

the carpet needle in hand
I connect the fabric to the rugs
I sew love I sew tears I sew understanding
so grateful for my independence
my life

hand-made rugs holding women’s prayers
art in my home

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Two Plus Two

Published on June 20, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

Big sister’s preschool is done for the year and we’ll be babysitting both granddaughters two days a week, all summer. I have a fun backyard art project up my sleeve for these youngsters (2 ½ and 4 ½ years of age).

It begins with two old kitchen cabinet doors –

Remember these?

They were saved from those dazzling and naive days just a year or two ago, when we dreamed that the only thing the kitchen needed was a simple facelift. We began painting all the cabinets bright white. Ha! This was BEFORE the reality check of the ceiling buckling and the subsequent big remodel. (Note: “bowed” is not always a gift.)

Anyhow, we salvaged the doors and moved them to our garage, before the demolition. This summer, two of the doors will make a perfect canvas for art exploration. This creativity will be done outside, with these doors propped up against the fence. The girls will create and explore throughout the summer, making murals from these solid boards. We will use a variety of art techniques, watching the murals will change and grow over time.

Here is Day One’s bucket of fun:

Day One is simply tape and paint. The girls will apply painter’s tape to the doors in any which way they like, and then roll on their favorite paint colors all over the door. I hope the girls enjoy this first morning of painting, on bright white canvases!

When the paint dries, we’ll peel the tape off – and think about what to add next. More paint? Glue and some other materials? I’m not sure yet. We’ll decide as we go, layering the creativity. I’m excited to see where this leads. I promise to share photos along the way.

Two young ones + two old doors = summer fun at Nana and Poppa’s.

Happy summer!

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