As we celebrated my father’s 80th birthday, I was in a reflective mood. My thoughts stretched back to some of my earliest memories and I savored the joys of the moments at hand. The enormity of all that happens within the span of a lifetime hit me. It was more than the landmark highlights that came to mind. Marriages, births, graduations, big birthdays, yes, those are grand, but it was the little bursts of joy filtering through my mind that struck me most. I realized that these small moments brought the most powerful feelings.
I came across a quote by Mister Rodgers. I love Mister Rodgers. He was a kind and wise soul. “Each generation, in its turn, is a link between all that has gone before and all that comes after. That is true genetically, and it is equally true in the transmission of identity. Our parents gave us what they were able to give, and we took what we could of it and made it part of ourselves. If we knew our grandparents, and even great-grandparents, we will have taken from them what they could offer us, too. All that helped to make us who we are. We, in turn, will offer what we can of ourselves to our children and their offspring.” These were the words from Mister Rodgers that I found meaningful as we celebrated my father’s birthday and as I began to face my fast approaching 50th.
I look back with thankfulness to my parents and their parents, noticing threads that tie me to places I cherish. Memories connected to these places have deeply impacted my life, providing tradition, a sense of history, a story of becoming. I understand there are many ties that connect me to places and practices that are an important part of who I’ve become. That is an exploration and discussion for another time. Here and now I find myself reflecting on a place I cherish by a lake. I can feel the warm sunshine and cool gentle breezes that rustle leaves against white birch branches. I can see pine trees that create a hushed refuge under their outstretched branches. I can hear the crack of a golf ball and track it as it lilts in the air. A splash of water brings me back from my daydream. I’m sitting, with sand between my toes, on Sylvan Lake beach. A smile is spread across my face. Focusing on the spot where squeals of laughter have joined the splashing, I see my three children as I once was, challenging my cousins for supremacy as ruler of the raft. The game of King of Mountain continues. My brain slides back and forth, then and now. I see my little sunburned self jumping from that raft. How sweet it is to be able to give my children blissful days by the lake, making memories with their cousins just as I did a generation before. It’s rare to find a place that can continue to hold onto the past while welcoming generation after generation into it’s evolving embrace without loosing its sense of identity.
This journey on Gull Lake, in Brainerd Minnesota, is an exploration of a place that is important to me. It’s part of who I am. Michelle and I are kayaking from end to end, coasting into its coves, exploring the resorts that have made its’ shores home for generations. This journey is part of who our children are. The lake and the resorts that dot its’ edges are weaving themselves into their lives as they too spend time reveling in the joys of carefree moments. These moments take root in our hearts. We find peace here, as our lives become more complicated. I understand that this link between generations is a treasured gift of many in the Brainerd Lakes area. This journey is for you. Even if you’ve never been to Gull Lake or the nearby Sylvan, come along for this ride anyway. You’ll enjoy our adventure and we’re pretty sure that along the way, our adventure will help you recall moments that have built the foundations of your identity. People who have mattered in your life just might show themselves anew, places that were once important to you might live more vividly in your mind’s eye. Maybe this journey will inspire you to explore who you are and what makes you special – “just the way you are”.
My Students Honored by Winter Park (Again!)
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- Jeneice Ware’s winning entry
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- Leif Bromme received a certificate of merit for his entry.
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- Shelby Rumsey
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- Jaylon Roberts
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- Keyshma Theodule
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- Jaden Drummon
My Students Featured in Exclusive Publication
Sebastian Frank, Claude and Jean Monet
Congratulations Are In Order!
The Spring 2014 Celebrating Art Book will be published in May. Eight of my students at Orlando Junior Academy (OJA) students will have artwork in this national publication! The top 25% of entries nationwide are selected for this art anthology which showcases student artwork in grades Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Lucas Astacio, Youstina Boktor, Faith DeVries, Sebastian Frank, Garren Miler, Jaela Morgan, Keilah Nunez and Lucca Venegas are representing OJA in this newest edition. I’m proud of their achievement and recognize their creative talents.
Ending the Schoolyear with Watermelons
It feels like we’re coming full circle at Orlando Junior Academy. Back in August and September we were excitedly watching our garden watermelons grow. Then, as we do at OJA, we brought what we plant and nurture into the classroom and found creative ways to learn from it. Those watermelons provided for some interesting measuring and mapping! Of course there was some great tasting too.
Now as we’re bringing our school year to a close, we’re inspired once again by those watermelons!
Read More»Art Project – Studying Eric Carle
There are several exciting projects developing in the art department! The children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle is the first of 12 artists we’ll be studying this year. He loves color and uses his painted and textured color sheets to create collages for his books. Students in kindergarten through second grade are learning the basics of primary colors and mixing secondary colors. The upper grades have painted their own color sheets, like Carle, which we will use to create our own children’s book based on Carle’s work. Each class is working on a page featuring plants and animals found in our Orlando Junior Academy garden. We plan to unveil our collaboration during Art in the Garden in November! Another fun project that we will have on display at our art show during the Art in the Garden event is a Temperance Quilt. This project, during National Red Ribbon Week, focuses on the art principle of pattern and on American cultural experiences. It will give students another avenue to discuss and work through temperance issues. A third project to look forward to is inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. They are environmental artists who have installed artwork on a large scale throughout the world. Some of their notable projects have included the saffron colored fabric Gates in New York’s Central Park, and the Biscayne Bay, Florida Islands that were skirted in hot pink canvas. On a much smaller scale, I’m challenging our OJA artists to work in teams to come up with proposals for some very modern environmental art of which the the winning proposal will be installed for a short period of time in our school garden.
Look for the following OJA artists whose winning work will be represented in the soon to be published Celebrating Art book!
Maurie Andino, Leif Bromme, Britney Jean Charles, Leilani Farfan, Allison Hickham and Garren Miler. Congratulations!
