If you're a frequent visitor here you know how adamantly I feel about mentoring younger artists and craftspeople.
There's so much we can share with those just starting out. Most of all we can offer them hope.
If you could only share one pearl of wisdom with a young artist who came to you for advice.....
What would you say?
I would say.....
"Find your dream and through that learn your own heart and mind. Let them lead you, not only in your creative work but the rest of your life as well."
Years ago when Hillary Clinton was talking about how it takes a village to raise a child one of my mother's friends got very insulted. I raised my own children, she said indignantly. No village raised my children! My mother often retold this story because she found it so amazing and so counter to her own experience. It sure took a village to raise mine! she would say. And thank heavens the village was there, she would add. At the time I was raising my own children and couldn't have agreed more.
Outside our door are friends and extended family, ministers and girl scout leaders, dance instructors and football coaches. All these villagers have an impact on us as we grow up. If we are lucky they set wonderful examples and we can't learn enough fast enough from them. We wait anxiously for every contact, we look forward to what they will say or do next. We admire them. We love them. We want to be like them. They are our mentors.
I was very lucky to have many wonderful mentors in my life. Our village was extensive. My mother was divorced young and ended up working as a church secretary at a large, popular church. It seemed like everyone in town went there. The minister became our surrogate grandfather and many members of the church community became more like aunts and uncles than some of our own. A few teachers stand out, especially my third grade and fifth grade teachers. My biggest mentor from childhood was probably a young man who was a graduate student at Cornell and worked as the Education person for the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. This man loved nature and loved kids and we adored him. He took us trekking and exploring all over the Cape and I remember many, many wonderful days following him around catching snakes, looking for salamanders, learning bird calls and exploring tide pools. He left after a few years and we did not stay in touch but he was instrumental in sparking my continuing love affair with the natural world.
Later, in high school, I had several mentors. Without them I don't think I would have made it through school. I hated high school. I hated school. Ironically I was a really good student but I hated the stupid stuff they made us do for homework, the long, boring classes and the endless amounts of what I could only call bull....twinkie that I had to listen to in class. I skipped school a lot and when I was in school I skipped classes all the time. I still don't know how I passed math. I was just never there. And I got A's. Go figure. Anyway, I had a wonderful art teacher. He was my saving grace in high school. He encouraged me, he listened to me, he let me skip classes in his room to paint and draw and daydream. He always acted like he had no idea I was skipping class when some other teacher would come to find me there and take me back to class. Then there was the drama teacher. I never took his classes but I participated in every play he put on for the four years I was in high school. I didn't perform--I hated to be on stage. But I loved to be around the theater and all the drama, both on and off stage. I painted sets, I helped put up lights, I designed and made the signs, posters, programs and whatever else they could think up for me to do. I played violin in the school orchestra and played in the show orchestras for the musicals each spring. (The orchestra leader by the way was my anti-mentor if there could be such a thing--he hated me and I was not so fond of him either!) This drama coach/director loved kids and coached amazing performances out of everyone. He was funny, he was easy going and he demanded your absolute best at all times. Everyone wanted to be as good as he believed they could be. And he was tough when he had to be. I am still friends with this man and the longer I know him the more I respect the quiet ways he encourages those around him to be their best selves.
Yesterday I spoke about my speech coach and yes, it is his death that has got me to thinking about all these wonderful mentors. There was also the youth minister that ran our fellowship program. He was young and cool and went to Harvard and I thought he was just awesome. We had wonderful spirited philosophical and theological discussions. He kept me on track in a whole other way.
It's maybe a little interesting to notice all my mentors were men. My dad left when I was 10 and was not around much so it's probably not rocket science to think maybe I was looking for father figures. Whatever. It worked. These wonderful men helped me through tough years and helped me to see that it was ok to just be me. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to prove them wrong but as I've gotten older I just get more and more grateful that they didn't give up on me.
If you've read this far, thank you. Remember it takes a village to raise a child. Look around you and see who you may be mentoring. Remember that kids look up to us and are watching and listening to us all the time. I love that what goes around comes around. I work with lots of kids. Who knows who I might inspire or help. If you're not actively mentoring someone maybe it's a good time to find someone who needs your encouragement and love.
What's your story?
If you click on the picture to enlarge it you will see some of what I saw yesterday--part of a pod of at least 100 Atlantic white sided dolphins! We were out on the Naviator in Wellfleet Harbor with a group of high school marine biology students when we had this amazing sighting. In all the years I've done programs on this boat I've never seen anything like it. Dolphins are off the Cape in good numbers but they don't usually come into the harbor areas and when they do it is not always good news. We contacted the stranding network but fortunately the dolphins headed out to sea as the tide changed and all was well.
As I helped unload the nets and gear from the boat yesterday and prepared for my afternoon after school session with younger kids I realized my goals are becoming much clearer. I love being outside and I love being with kids, answering their questions, showing them things they've never seen before.
My problem has always been I seem to have too many choices, not the opposite. There are always too many things I want to do. When I opened my studio/gallery a few years ago it was after working more than full time as a naturalist/educator and I missed my creative work. When I focused on my creative work and selling that work I lost touch with the part of me that thrives outdoors. The story in my life has always been about balance, or lack thereof.
I love to paint, I love to write, I love to wander around in nature and I love kids. Actually, I love grownups, too. I love people and I love to teach, to share my own wonder of the world around me, both through nature and through art. So how to combine all those without working 40 hours a day as I've sometimes been known to try and do?
It suddenly came to me on a recent early morning walk on the beach. I can do it all. My goal became crystal clear. It is to help people, children especially, understand how important nature and creativity are to their own personal survival as well as the survival of our culture and history. That may seem like a grand goal but the way I see it, every child that understands and accepts their role in the natural world will be more likely to be a humane and compassionate steward of that world. Creativity is part of our better nature, in my humble opinion, and can be nurtured in all environments and activities so is easily included in science and natural history curriculums. Each child that learns to love the natural world is one more citizen that will help keep the natural world diverse and in balance which in turn nurtures us.
As many of you know I have been sorting through boxes and boxes of my family's memorabilia as well as my own paintings, tiles and supplies from the shop I recently closed. I am literally overwhelmed with STUFF. Then I go to galleries and am bored silly, not just with the work but with the whole idea that art should be this idealized special thing.
I start to think maybe we should just all create just like we all eat and sleep and work. Maybe we should just integrate it into our daily lives like children do. I find I am no longer interested in creating paintings to frame and hang on a wall. At the moment I am much more interested in my art being functional, being used, whether as a tile installation or a book illustration. So much of what an artist saves (or what anyone saves) is worthless to anyone else. So much goes to waste. Something like 72 million Americans buy art supplies and aspire to be artists of one kind or another. And guess who buys art. Artists buy more art than any other group. We are selling our work to ourselves. So why not expand that thought and invite everyone to do it? Let's just enjoy the process and not worry about the bs that often attends the academic presentation of ART.
This girl knows what it's all about. She carries nothing, she spends nothing, she worries about nothing. For a while at least I'm going to take my cue from her.
My goal is to help nurture a love and understanding of nature and creativity, especially in children. This can be done in many ways; through teaching, walking outdoors, writing my columns, writing and illustrating small books about the world outside our doors.....
And it only took about a hundred walks on the beach and about 600 children to help me see the light....
A few years ago a friend of mine told me I had a weird job. They couldn't understand how I went into classrooms every day with animals, animal skins, skulls, shells and feathers and talked about nature. They thought it must be boring. Actually, it's anything but boring.
I left that particular job for a number of different reasons but none of those reasons had anything to do with the kids or what I was teaching them.
I went on to open an art gallery/shop and if you've been reading here you know I closed it after 2 years. Not only was it financially unsuccessful but it was lacking in meaning for me as well. I love doing my art but running a store was never a dream of mine. I would rather be outside. I would rather be with kids or grown ups, talking about nature or art, or best, nature AND art....
I love being back with kids and talking about our connections to the world, to nature with them every day. It's important. So many kids are growing up indoors. So many kids are growing up thinking that the TV, video games and the computer are real. They are growing up confusing entertainment for relating, watching for doing. They are growing up passive. It's actually sort of scary in a really big way.
What I do gets kids outside. It gets kids dirty, wet, cold, hot, sticky, muddy and excited. Nature is always humming along right outside our doors and kids love it. They love bugs and birds, bunnies and frogs. They love butterflies and fish, frogs and slugs. Snails, crabs, clams and worms have special appeal as well. They love dirt and water and mud and....and did I mention dirt? They study stones and flowers, rings on fallen trees and what lives under logs. They swoon at the mention of death angel mushrooms and love to scare themselves silly with great big daddy long legs.
Today my co-teacher (that's her peeking around this young man's shoulder) and I brought in another teacher to give a morning lesson on snakes and to join us on our foray into the nearby swamp.
He brought his pet snake and had the kids enraptured with his humor and his knowledge. This young man would some day like to have his own show on Animal Planet and I, for one, think he has what it takes. The kids love him. We love him. Even his snake seems to love him.
This is not a great picture but it does tell the story. He let each and every child hold the snake. Some were ecstatic, others not so sure but by the time he finished each and every child had held the snake and was beaming with pride.
After the snake lesson we headed to the swamp where the ground was literally hopping with toads and tiny spring peepers. We captured a few to bring back to the classroom to watch for awhile before we release them tomorrow morning. The kids were totally enchanted.
Later we drew close ups of the various environments we've been looking at and some of the animals we've been finding. It was a busy and productive day.
No, it's not big, important work like keeping nations out of war, feeding the hungry or clothing the homeless after a catastrophe but it is important in other ways, in ways that quietly affect individual lives and the larger community.
Each child that holds a tiny spring peeper or looks into the eyes of a toad is learning that we are not all that matters. Every child that learns to respect bugs and worms, plants and ponds is learning that the ecology of a place is dependent on diversity and respect. Every child that gets over its fear to hold a snake is learning that fear is within us and is something we can deal with, that often what we fear is the feeling of fear itself, that the unknown can become known and the fear will subside.
And it all matters. It's all important. And the best part is it's fun, too.....
I think how we decide to spend our own time sets an example for the children around us. We are teaching them what we think is important with every action. They notice how we spend our time, even if we don't.
I LOVE kid's art. I love their freedom, their effort and their lack of pretense. I love that they work so hard to translate what they know of the world with this non verbal language and if you watch little kids draw it's all about learning a language.
It's a language of symbols and lines, stories and continuity. And a lot of it is just good sense. Kids are very concrete, especially the young ones and their drawings are, too. Every line stands for something. The older they get the more frustrated they get with the discordance between what they know and how they think that's appearing on paper and that's the time I love their work the most, that time of not knowing, of working it out, of sharing their struggle.
This was a very casual assignment with 7 and 8 year olds. I asked them to draw some simple shapes. We are studying animals and plants that live in the ocean so we worked with those.
The shapes were drawn in colored pencil and I invited the kids to overlap figures and stretch them off the paper so we had lots of juicy shapes to fill in with color.
I love to watch kids paint because I love to see their minds in action. I can see their thought process unwind as they make decisions. I can see where their attention is and I can see where their frustrations are and I can see when the frustration wins and the fun ends. I can also see when the absorption is total and the end result is not at all important, when process has become the zen moment and the kid is totally lost to it and in love with the whole experience.
These finished pieces tell the stories of their little makers in a beautiful and honest way. Some surprised themselves, some were disappointed by a lack of control and some absolutely loved their results. For me the stories happened in the doing and the watching, not in the ways the paintings looked in the end. You may think you know which are which by looking at the pictures but I think you might be surprised.
Any thoughts?
More paintings and a lesson plan over here.
This is Jessica finishing her book project. Jessica has been an intern in my studio this semester through the School to Work program sponsored by the Cape Cod Museum of Art. She is a high school junior who hopes to go to art school and pursue a career as an artist.
Most of her work was in colored pencil and she ended up focusing on portraits, both of herself and of her friends and family.
She worked very hard on her project and maintained a busy school and social schedule while putting in about 5 hours a week in my studio, mostly doing her own work while I did mine. She was also very involved in her school play during this time but she was always on time, cheerful and ready to work when she arrived at the studio. She even passed her driving test, something which gave her a little stress (it took several tries to pass it) but which ultimately turned out just fine. It's interesting to see how busy and involved many young people are. The kids that are accepted into this program are motivated, bright, talented and fun to be with. 
The two covers for her hand made book were collaged from pictures she had taken of her friends and some pictures of herself. You can see her finishing up the title page here, gluing in a picture of herself on a swing.
Jessica is the fourth student I've had in my studio through this program. This session was a little different than the others since I was closing my studio but she seemed to enjoy her time in the studio even while I was dismantling it.
Each student is so different in the way they approach their work, what they focus on and what they are thinking about their future. I notice that all of them are concerned about making a living as an artist and are thinking of illustration or graphic art as a more practical choice of major than fine art. It's interesting listening to their ideas, their rationales and really, their enthusiasm and hope for their futures.
I love having young people in my studio. It not only keeps me on my toes and up to date on what young people are thinking and talking about but it takes me back to the decisions and thoughts I was tackling when I was their age. I came of age at a different time and probably the most obvious difference to me is that I was much more idealistic and excited about being a painter, dreaming of living in a garrett and being part of the artist salons like those that Picasso and Gertrude Stein were part of, being part of living, breathing cultural history.....these young people are much more practical than I was. Maybe it's not a bad thing but I'm really glad I had the romance of the daydream myself....
Today began as a day with what felt like a lot of obstacles. There's so much to do as I prepare this move that sometimes I just feel frozen in place, unable to make the first necessary move, although that is of course exactly what needs to be done. I just need to start. Somewhere. Anywhere.
I'm a great believer in inertia. Once I'm in motion, I'm in motion, and I get a lot done. Once I'm not, I'm not and it's hard to get going. Fortunately it just takes a little nudge, a little coaxing to get me going again.
Last night I found out one of my favorite writing outlets might be drying up. It had nothing to do with me; the whole format of the paper is changing and basically the part I wrote for will no longer exist. To say I was disappointed would be the polite version. I was very disappointed. And I felt paralyzed.
Today I wrote a few emails, to the editor in question and to another editor I work with and amazing things began to happen. We wrote back and forth, talked on the phone, wrote back and forth some more. In the end I had almost twice as much work assigned in the short term, a new gig for the summer and a possible column for sometime in the future. I also got permission to look at syndicating one of the columns I presently write. All in a day's work. And none of it might have taken place if good relationships hadn't been nurtured all along.
I read a lot of books and articles about improving my business, my professional life and my marketing skills. Recently I've been noticing a lot of talk and writing about nurturing professional relationships. Some of us do this naturally, some of us have to think about it a bit more. I have found over the years that by nurturing professional relationships I have developed some really wonderful personal relationships with the people I do business with. It's a win-win situation.
The other thing I've been reading a lot lately that applies to today is "don't be afraid to ask for what you want" and I have to say I'm learning to embrace this one more and more as it works better and better. If I hadn't asked my editors certain questions, I wouldn't have gotten the new work assigned, be ready to syndicate a column and possibly begin a new one. It doesn't hurt to ask. As Jack Canfield says, even if they say no you are only in the place you began. You haven't lost anything. You're just where you started.
Sorry I've been so lazy about posting this last week or so. Saturday my Roots & Shoots group braved the freezing (and I do mean freezing!) weather to set up their egg decorating table. They were collecting donations for an international tree planting project sponsored by Roots & Shoots and the Jane Goodall Institute.
We brought Peter Rabbit, of Thornton Burgess fame along for the day, since our group is officially sponsored by the Thornton Burgess Society.
The day was not as busy as the girls had hoped but they remained enthusiastic and good natured throughout. They collected donations of $5 per family and raised over $100, which was not a lot in the big world of finance but was pretty good considering the really rotten weather. All the money will be donated to the Plant a Tree project in Tanzania.
As I get ready to close my shop people have been dropping in to say good bye and good luck and also to see if I'm having a close out sale. I'm not. I have homes for most of the work and decided to discount the few things that would not be moving on to other shops. This has surprised some people, I think, but I wanted to be clear that I wasn't going out of business, just moving and changing the way I'm selling. If I needed confirmation of my decision, the last week or so I've received several major orders....all from the internet. I rest my case.
This past week I've been back in the classroom, working with the Audubon Society and have to say I'm glad to be back in this way. I only do it once or twice a week and not all year long so it's fun instead of duty. I think this new way of working is going to suit me just fine.
When I knew I was giving up the shop for real I let the editors I work for know I would be happy to have more writing work. Several obliged me immediately, giving me some fun free lance assignments. Today I finished two articles that included reviews of these two books and interviews of their authors, some of the most fun pieces of writing work I've had in awhile. The books and authors, Mike O'Connor and David Gessner, were both quite different but both were easy to talk with and the whole experience was pretty exhilerating. I am so lucky to be able to do this work that actually feels more like play than work. Putting the articles together takes time and a lot of thought and care but the end result is a finished piece that has taken on a life of its own by the time I'm done. I'm so grateful to have these opportunities and I am learning so much, about writing, about interviewing, about having an idea and letting it grow....The two articles will run side by side in the Cape Cod Times on Thursday this week. Life is good.
Another day, another watercolor, another bird....
More tiles, more birds....
and a new intern from Sandwich High School through the School to Careers Program...She'll be with me through April, working on her drawing and painting. We're trying to figure out how to get to some life drawing classes but their schedule and her schedule are clashing for the moment.
Today I had her do some drawing with ink and then some work with black, gray and white pastels.
In the fall the students are seniors and in the spring they are juniors. It's been two years since I had a junior. They have such wonderful, innocent energy, very different from the seniors. The seniors come in pretty stressed out about putting their portfolios together while the juniors are just excited to really be working in an artist's studio....funny how much difference a year or really just about 6 months can make!
I love working with these kids in this program. They're motivated, talented and open to everything. They're excited and willing to work really hard. They want to achieve, to succeed. You hear so many things about kids that are negative and yet I see so many positive, hard working and just all around great kids through the programs I'm involved with. There's still plenty of hope out there....
Last night our Roots & Shoots group met to make Valentines to take to the nursing home the girls have "adopted". Each month they go and visit with the residents there, bringing snacks, singing songs with them, telling stories, bringing cards or little gifts.
Each Roots & Shoots group is different. Our group is all girls, which in itself is different and they have taken on several long term projects. The Jane Goodall Institute, which is the mother organization for all Roots & Shoots groups worldwide asks that each group work on a humanitarian project, an animal project and a community ecological project. Many groups work with international goals in mind. Our group seems to choose smaller, homier projects that have a direct impact within our own community.
These are some of the cards the girls completed last night. They also planned their little program of songs and committed to a program to help reduce the use of paper and plastic bags in their own homes and in their extended families and school classrooms. These are small things, perhaps, but if all children and their families committed to such small things on a regular basis, perhaps large changes would occur....
Barbara Kingsolver: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)
This book will change the way you look at and buy your food. Never preachy, always informative and interesting, it's also funny and heartwarming. Have I mentioned I love the way Barbara Kingsolver writes? And now she's got the whole family typing away.... (*****)
Jeanne Carbonetti: Tao of Watercolor
This is great eye candy even if you don't do the exercises. (*****)
Natalie Goldberg: Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer's Craft
Reading Natalie Goldberg, for me, is like spending time with a good, honest friend. I think she may be single handedly responsible for all the writing we are seeing in cafes and coffeeshops. (*****)
Elizabeth Peavey: Outta My Way: An Odd Life Lived Loudly
I discovered this author while visiting in Maine this spring and want to read more. She was a columnist for a Portland paper. (*****)
Barbara Kingsolver: Small Wonder: Essays
I read everything written by this wonderful writer, naturalist and environmentalist. Her essays are the best. I want to walk in the Arizona desert with her and learn about this place she loves so much. (*****)
Bernie S. Siegel: Peace, Love and Healing
I have had this book on my shelf for years and saw him speak many years ago. With my recent illness I dusted off this book and rediscovered a wonderful gift. (*****)
Jack Canfield: The Success Principles
I have been using this book for months now and have even formed a focus group as a result. I recommend this book to anyone serious about changing their not so successful habits. (*****)
