Mid-Year NYE

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The 4th of July celebration feels for me like a mid-year NYE. Technically we reach the first half of the year and celebrate with fireworks. The first half of this year has been very exciting and busy, so much it feels like a full year just passed. The second half of the year looks busy already but moreover it is going to be full of changes, challenges, new routines to get used to, new vocabulary to master, and agendas to put together as one.

With the new school year upon us we have to combine several agendas: university, school, homeschooling, and work. I get asked a lot how do I do so many things and still have time to share with family and friends. I don’t have a straight answer for that but I believe it is about having your priorities in order. Whatever is more important to you will always take the most important part of your agenda and everything else will find a place or not.

The Mid-Year NYE is also a good opportunity to assess the goals set at the beginning of the year. Small victories are victories too. Even more, those small victories help increase self-efficacy and engagement to continue trying and working hard to finish the year strong. Not only that but it gives a chance to re-evaluate and change goals if necessary. Exploring new possibilities is a good thing sometimes. It is possible that we need to pursue different goals before going back and continue others.

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 Join our painting and sculpting parties in July

A Busy Month

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View from the training site

It has been a while since I posted in this blog. I appreciate the messages from people asking to write and also the viewers who has been visiting the page on a daily basis to catch up with posts they missed. June has been a great month and there are still a few more things coming up to enter July. This month presented a chance to review previous experiences in different tasks as well as preparation for the task to come. I honestly predicted a boring season but it is quite the opposite.

June began with the opportunity to serve as a consultant as needs analyst (as I like to call the analysis process duties of the instructional designer). I like this process because it allows me to act as a detective. Once a problem is presented, it is my job to weight the evidence and figure out if the perceived problem is the actual problem first of all. If that is the problem, then I suggest options to “fix it”. If the perceived problem is not the actual problem, it is my job to figure out what the issue is before suggesting solutions. That is always a fun process.

The agenda charged through the month. I participated in the Creative Chat Cafe online show (watch video here), had a blast in the painting and sculpting parties, set up a few pieces for our Make.Art.Work. Group Show coming up in July in New Haven, CT, visited a show opening at a gallery, and began experimenting with body painting. This week I am training with a fine group of experienced educators at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT, as we prepare to offer the First Year Seminar in Inquiry Based Learning this semester. This is a magnificent experience and I am learning so much from the wisdom of my peers and having fun too. It is a great group.

July is going to be a busy month too. I will be mentoring students offering visual arts workshops to kids. I am really looking forward to this opportunity that came unexpectedly. In addition, the painting and sculpting parties are multiplying and spreading in Milford, Monroe, and New Haven. I will be in Shelton too. That is mentioning only those that are open to the public and not the private ones. The New Haven art show will open and who knows what other things will be in store this month.

Acquiescence

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Life Incomplete

Life Incomplete

“I am not satisfied yet.” “I am not done.” “I am still working on this.” “In progress.” When I am working on a sculpture or a painting I post pictures on social media of the progress and process. Sometimes I take short videos to give viewers a feel of it. Interestingly, some people acquire the pieces before they are complete because of the connection that grows on them seeing the process. It is like they are participating in the creation process. I find it an honor for people to trust me with the finished piece.

On the other hand, I find some people who are not interested in acquiring a piece but are very fast to make comments on them. I appreciate the comments as well. The comments that I find more interesting are those on unfinished pieces saying “Leave it like that”, or “I like it as it is”. Why are those comments interesting to me? If a piece is in progress it means that I am not done yet, therefore I am not going to leave it like that. It is not finished. There is only one person who can tell when an art piece is finished and that is the artist himself. Incomplete is not better than complete.

Those comments make me think of acquiescence. Acquiescence is one of those words that I can hardly pronounce correctly. I found it by looking at the dictionary searching for other expressions for a phrase I heard recently: “passive resignation”. How many times do we apply acquiescence in our lives? How many times do we accept things “as is” without questioning? We often “go with the flow” without asking or questioning if there is something else for us. We often prefer to live unfinished. There is no reason, no need, and no rush to accept less of what our lives could be. Even when we might feel or think we already reached completeness, whatever the process we are in right now, only The Artist can tell when we are complete.

The Three Questions

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10523574_10154416948040352_5482798350173074326_nNow that May is over and June is here the excitement of a new adventure grows. As I get ready for training for my new job as  part-time faculty at Quinnipiac University, I’ve been going over the textbook for the Inquiry Based Learning course I’ll be teaching A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger. It is a very interesting book which explores the habit of questioning. It presents three questions shaping the process of change and applicable to many areas of life. The three questions are:

  • Why?
  • What if?
  • How?

The first question “Why?” establishes conscience of the status quo and questions it. We get used to the status quo and continue living in it without taking time to ask ourselves “why are we doing this?” or “why are we doing this way?”. We can question the question itself. Without questioning the status quo we can’t perceive the possibilities of change and there is where the second question comes into place. “What if?” paints a picture of a desired scenario. “What if things were different?” “What if we could change what we have now to what we need?” We can think of opportunities for change with that question. Of course, we need a bridge between the current and the preferred scenario.

We can’t stop at dreaming of a different situation. It is necessary to move into action. Many won’t get pass the “What if?” but some will. “How?” is the process of connecting the “Why?” and the “What if?”. Here is where change happens. It is a process and it requires effort and hard work. That is why many don’t cross the bridge. Those who dare to cross the bridge achieve the realization of their dream.

June is here with new opportunities to question and start crossing the bridge. We get that opportunity each day. I want to invite you to give yourself a chance and try something different. Check out the sculpting and painting parties. It will help you disconnect to connect back and change your perspective on challenge and these parties are a lot of fun too. I want to invite you to also join the conversation Wednesday, June 3 for a live chat broadcast of the Creative Chat Cafe. You might find something inspiring and motivating to make your way across the bridge.

Because You Do Not Know

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May has been a very exciting month. Between being virtually present in a few events (my pieces and posters), computer class at the Literacy Center of Milford, the painting and sculpting parties in Milford and Monroe, the presentation last week at The Grove in New Haven, serving at church, my daughter’s birthday, our community group, family time, and those quiet times by the pool, I can’t complain. I am thankful that I get to do different things. There is never a dull moment for sure. It also gives me the opportunity to meet new people. I am also thankful for all the people I came in contact this month in person, online, and by phone. It is good to meet people and moreover connect with them, because you do not know how one connection leads to another and to others.

We often believe that crossing paths with someone and eventually developing a connection is coincidence. I disagree with that perspective. I believe there is a reason and purpose for those casual encounters. Sometimes all it takes is a ‘hello’ to make a connection. We don’t know if that hello can open the door for you to be a blessing to someone. Some people need a chance to be heard. Some people are looking for someone to share a word. At times we live so in a rush that we miss those opportunities.

Be aware, pay attention, and stop. Perhaps that is the moment when a new connection will be made. Acknowledge the people around you even if you don’t know them. Smile, start a conversation and let it happen. People are more important than tasks, or work, or the things you think you need to do. Perhaps that connection becomes the business connection you’ve been looking for. Don’t miss the opportunity to turn every day in a new adventure.

June is going to be a great month with a new adventure and more people to meet and connect with. This includes training for my new job, lots of painting and sculpting parties, both open to the public and private. There is also an online presentation I’m participating in Wednesday, June 3rd. I’ll be posting details on the homepage. Please, check it out. Join us at one of our painting and sculpting parties. It would be an honor to have you.

 

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