A Busy Month
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.
It is almost unbelievable that April is already here. It seems like yesterday we celebrated New Years and we already went through 93 days out of 365 of the year. That left us with 272 days left for 2015 to be over. March was a very busy month ending with a fantastic private painting party with the ladies of the Orange Chamber of Commerce. April began with a great sculpting party at Cafe Atlantique in Milford, CT. We had a great time. The April events continue and I will encourage you to join the fun. We are going from Milford, CT to Monroe and New Haven.
I am glad I get the chance to do this and share this time with you. It is not just about sculpting and painting as it is as investing time in yourself. When was the last time you didn’t check your phone for 2 hours? When was the last time you disconnected from everything? The results are satisfactory not only in the results of the artwork, but also in how you feel about yourself. It is a great experience for all of us. I really enjoy each one of these events. You can also request a private party for your organization or group.
There is so much more to it than just sculpting. People discover a new way of relaxing and having a good time. The opportunity to socialize is great since people can’t really be on their phones that much unless they want clay all over it. Above all of that there is a sense of challenge and satisfaction that grows inside. You can see it in their faces. They are challenging themselves to transmit to their hands what they see with their eyes and what they perceive with their minds. Once immerse in it time flies by. Two hours don’t seem enough when people is having fun.
For me is a little longer than two hours. I have to prepare the bases we use, make sure the supplies are ready, and get there earlier to set up. During the party I’m trying to keep them entertained telling stories and making jokes (that’s the stand up comedy reminiscences in me). At the end I stay longer to help clean up and organize. It is a lot of work and not as easy as it might look, but I love it so much. Those smiles at the end are so satisfying to me. It is worth every minute of it. The comments the day after and beyond are very encouraging. Can’t wait to do it again.
During the sculpting and painting parties I can also observe how personalities and ways of thinking are reflected or poured out on a painting. It is possible to develop an awareness of this fact if one pays attention to it. Many people can’t tell. Everyone is looking at the same scene and all the paintings look so different. I observe how they paint and sculpt and the pressure in their hands, the brush strokes, the colors, the lines, their attitudes and aptitudes are all revealed in the process. It is so much fun to see people challenging themselves, fighting against their own nature tendency to be stressed, but at the same time putting who they are in what they do.