January Dream Board

It was cloudy and lightly snowing in my little spot of the world when the moon was at its biggest and brightest for the year. I could not see her. However, last night the sky was clear and lit up with the almost full moon. It was breathtaking. The moon hung in a sapphire colored sky like a golden pearl. She shone so bright she was nearly casting shadows. Suddenly, I felt inspired to make my own Dream Board.

I spent time on Saturday looking at all of the wonderful Dream Boards shared at Starshyne Productions. I was fascinated with the honest intentions and captivating stories the behind each Dream Board. I know the full moon was a few days ago, but I would like to think it is not to late to share mine with you. This is my first Dream Board ever, and I know I must keep doing this.


My Dream Board focuses on renewal, balance, and knowledge. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I felt toxic as the end of the year approached. In this new year I wish to to be renewed and revitalized. This is the mint. Mint is fresh, eye-opening, and can be overwhelming. I dream to be overwhelmed with rejuvenation. The woman in Exhalted Warrior pose represents balance. Part of my toxicity was in partially due to allowing someone to effect me so deeply that I lost my center, my focus, and my balance. I dream to reclaim those. In several cultures the chickadee represents the search for truth and knowledge, and optimism. I am aware that I have much to learn in this life, and recently I have been deeply searching for some answers. I dream that my eyes, ears, and heart are open to truth and knowledge.

Merry Writings.

Fruits of My Frustration OR Rude Neighbors Are Good for Reed Making

I managed to muster up some post-PRAXIS motivation yesterday to do some much needed oboe reed maintenance. Initially I had planned on only shaping about a half dozen pieces of cane and tying 3 blanks while I did some laundry. My concentration was low, and I was looking forward to slipping into a cane-shaping trance. As I let some cane soak, I wandered down to the laundry room in my building. There is only one washer and dryer for the 8 units, so I am not surprised that someone else has laundry in the machines. It is a Saturday, afterall.


About a half an hour later, and well before I got myself too involved in reed making, I found my way down to the laundry room. The washer was open. Sweet! I throw in a load and head up stairs to get to work. Once I am done shaping my 6 pieces of cane I decided to pop into the laundry room and see if the dryer is vacant. Nope. Well, not big deal- the clothes in the dryer are still warm. I tell myself, I will just keep working on reeds until my laundry gets dried. Nearly 3 hours later, 9 pieces of cane, and 8 tied-initial scrape-tip started reeds later, my neighbor has yet to claim their clothes. Now I am feeling less than congenial. Usually I will not take someone's laundry out of the machines and put mine in, but I felt I had waited long enough and did just that.

While my laundry was finally drying, I went back to my reed maintenance. As I was sharpening my reed knives and re-organizing my tool box, I could not help but worry about the laundry. I begin to wonder... Will my neighbor be really upset, or will she realize she left her things in a shared space a bit too long? Would she do something to my laundry? Oh, don't do anything to my green sweater- I love it! No, she won't be upset. I reassure myself, I doubt she'll even come down to get her laundry before mine is done. Sure enough, she did not retrieve her clean laundry. I quickly stuffed in back in the dryer and scooted back to my unit. How ridiculous of me.

My *Helper*: Carmen waits for me to turn my back
so she can steal a spool of thread

On the bright side, my determination to keep working on reeds until my laundry was dry was a rather fruitful decision. At the end of this little adventure I have 8 reeds in progress. Look how much happier my reed case looks! Actually, I am feeling motivated to do even more reeds today. Perhaps I will have an almost full case before the semester start. Woo!


What is your next project?

Sunshine on My Walls

Part of my much need post-semester rejuvenation was to to tackle the living space. My Muffin and I share a cozy little abode that is the perfect size for the two of us and the cats. We are lucky enough to have the option to paint the living space and bedroom, so we did. The bedroom turned out a fantastic slate gray, making it the perfect room to dream splendid dreams. The living space, however, did not turn out. The paint was not mixed right, because the serene gray-blue we had picked ended up looking like Crayola crayon sky blue. While this color is lovely in its own right, it was a bit off for our belongings and made our cozy room feel cool, remote, and uninviting. Home is where one can restore oneself- it is a little haven. One should feel at ease in their dwelling. Our living space was doing none of the above.

We have lived with the color since August, but the gloves came off on Thursday. We had enough, and decided it was time to make our home feel, well, like a home should. The color needed to be warm and invigorating. My wonderful sister, Molly, helped with the transformation. She helped us pick the color and paint. I'm lucky that Molly is such a sweetheart. Take a peak at the before and after.

Before

After

We love our new space. It is cozy, uplifting, and I feel at ease. All it took was a gallon of paint and an afternoon. And a little sibling love.

Carmen loves her new marigold kitchen

What colors restore you? What have you done to make your space your space?

Gelatin and Jazz

Image courtesy of: Steve Spangler Science

WooT! I just took my last round, *hopefully,* of standardized testing required for obtaining a teaching license. The PRAXIS II was a two hour and 130 question technique for making my brain feel a bit like gelatin. Nonetheless, I think I did relatively well. Now I must try to sit patiently and wait 4-5 weeks for the test results. Sigh......


In other music news, the Hal Leonard Corporation has decided to discontinue its Hal Leonard Jazz Series at the Pabst Theater, which has been an annual concert series since 1993. However, all is not lost. The current management of the Pabst Theater still plans to bring in jazz artists, just not in a formal concert series format. More details are available at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This seems like neither a win-lose situation for jazz patrons, but more or less a draw.

Merry writings!

Arts Education on the Move

With economic turmoil, political scandal, and the infringement of human rights dominating headlines, it was truly wonderful to read a positive story in the newspaper. I came across a short article that calls for the "re-energizing" arts education in the state of Wisconsin, and it made me bubble with hope.

According to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "a task force of educators, arts professionals and business people called today for efforts to re-energize and expand arts programs at all levels of schooling in Wisconsin...The 36-person task force was created by Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster, who said in a statement in the report, "Like a GPS, this report outlines the course of action we must follow to make our schools work for Wisconsin today.""

Fantastic! Read the full article here.

What do you think about the status of arts and arts education in your community?

The Parent Parables: The Supportive Parent

As I had mentioned in a previous post, parents are an omnipresent force in any educational or extra-curricular setting. Whether it is school, soccer, or piano lessons, parents can become a teacher’s invaluable partner or tenacious barrier. I thought I would start this series on a positive note, and begin with the Supportive Parent. Before I begin, however, a few disclaimers:

Disclaimer #1: I am neither a parent nor a parenting expert. This series is not meant to be a critique of any parenting style, so take no offense. These are merely my experiences, or the observations generously shared by colleagues.

Disclaimer #2: I have taken the necessary measures to safeguard the identity of minors. Details may be altered or omitted in order to ensure and protect the privacy of minors and their family.

Image courtesy of:genecookjr.blogspot.com

The Supportive Parent is deeply valued by teachers. This parent strikes the balance and is encouraging and supportive, all while instilling a sense of integrity and discipline in their child. This parent is genuinely interested in what their child is involved in, and is equally as engaged in their child’s progress and growth.

The Supportive Parent is the type who engages in open communication with the teacher, and asks questions. How is Johnny doing? Does Mary need any supplies? What can I do to help Jack with x and y? How can I help or support the program? Etc. The Supportive Parent will ask questions about your teaching method, which I, personally, enjoy discussing. I adore involving parents in the learning process, especially so they may better understand what their child is practicing and learning.

Generally speaking, the child of a Supportive Parent tends to excel. For example, in a previous post I mentioned the mother and daughter who take tandem oboe lessons with me. When it came time to selecting an instrument the daughter picked the oboe. Her mother thought the oboe sounded like so much fun she decided to learn as well. At first we discussed back-to-back lessons, but scheduling issues brought forth the idea of a mother-daughter joint lesson. They are progressing at a phenomenal rate, and seem to be having a lot of fun learning together. Mother and daughter function as a tight-knit support system for each other. Of course, the daughter loves it when I tell her part of her weekly assignment is to help out her mom. It is beautiful to see a parent and child enrich their lives together, and I feel fortunate to work in such a wonderful atmosphere.

Now, I am not suggesting that every parent take up the clarinet or basketball or forensics because his or her child has. This would be an entirely impractical expectation. Honestly, one can only do so much and one only has so much energy. I believe the Supportive Parent comes in many forms, and honestly does the best that they can for their child. On a more typical and realistic scale, I consider the most useful thing a parent can do is to communicate. When a parent addresses genuine questions or concerns with a teacher, it is often provides useful insight for the educator and, hopefully, will benefit the child. However, the truly Supportive Parent does not cross the professional boundary line. He or she neither tells the teacher how to do his or her job, nor maliciously undermines the instructor (which, unfortunately, has been experienced by some colleagues).

As a private teacher, I experience the Supportive Parent type of the most. Generally speaking, this should not be too surprising, since enrolling in private lessons normally involves both parent initiated contact and regular opening of the wallet. However, even in the private setting, this is not always the case. We shall discuss the less or overly involved types in an upcoming post.

What have you experienced? Please, share you encounters.

Merry writings.

Many Happy Returns

While I know it is not the best idea to stop posting for nearly a week when first starting a blog, I was far too busy actively pursuing one of my New Year's resolutions. I actually made a fairly long "To Do" list this year, with some as simple as drink more water or repaint the kitchen, and others that require greater levels of conscientious thought.

The past year has been a whirlwind of activity, and the past four months were particularly stressful. I had allowed a rather longterm unpleasant circumstance weaken my usual no-nonsense-pay-little-attention-forge -ahead attitude. As the semester closed, I felt drained and disappointed that I had allowed someone to make me feel so, so... toxic. I felt disconnected- both from myself and others. This MUST change.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Fortunately, I have been able to remove myself from the noxious situation and more or less distance myself from this menacing person. This is the first constructive measure. The next step, which is one of my heftiest goals for 2009, is to reconnect with my tribe. I am making a discerning effort to surround myself with those I adore most- the affirming relations.

I have taken great advantage of the semester break and have spent the past five days investing in quality time. My Muffin and I spent a lovely day together, and I must admit it has been far too long since we have. I visited my grandparents, and took a crazy adventure to Ikea with my amazing sister, Molly, and force of nature friend, Katie. Also, I had a wonderful lunch with my father, and visited with my former bass teacher, Laura. Tomorrow I have plans for breakfast tea with another old friend.

It has been genuinely lovely. I am already feeling the strings within my being bind themselves back together. I promise more active posting this week, including the first installment of The Parent Parables. Happy readings.

What do you do to revitalize when you feel full of venom or completely drained?