Creativity @ MindSay 
art
I began teaching... 21 years ago . . . in a program targeted at GT students. No curriculum, no job description.... just a vision and a willingness to guide young minds. I led Stock Market Teams to state-level victories, Coached Knowledge of the Mind Teams, Took a group of kids to Washington D.C., took kids flying in Aviation groups.... every idea that popped up was an opportunity. My job was my craft, but I tired of being an island... longed for collaboration with my peers- so I got my Masters in Interdisciplinary Education and took a position on a "team" of teachers- collaborating and supporting each other over the next 16 years- some great times.
Now I am teaching computers... and the realm of student preparation is changing so quickly - the possibilities of topics, projects, focus ... is constantly changing. Ideas.... and opportunities abound. But this year I have been teaching classes designed by my predecessor....
Today the course descriptions for next year were due.... this is my first effort to describe what my vision of my classroom is:
*NOTE* ALL Computer Classes will include technology concepts and operations, digital ethics and responsibilities, and honing of keyboarding skills.
COMPUTER BASICS: 6th Grade (Required, one quarter)
Develop basic computer knowledge and skills necessary for middle school, high school and beyond! Emphasis will be placed on keyboarding and digital communication skills to help students integrate the use of technology in the school environment.
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS: 7th Grade (Required, one quarter)
Explore the use of computers and technology to accomplish a variety of academic tasks. Learn to combine creativity and critical thinking in the digital world. Network and online applications will be explored along with a variety of electronic devices (i.e. cameras, GPS, clickers)
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION LAB: 7th and/or 8th gr, one qtr
Utilize network and online resources to expand on academic topics and enhance classroom projects. Complete independent projects of your own design related to a topic in the core class of your choice. Potentially earn credit in core class AND computer class for final products.
IT’S NEWS TO ME!: 8th Grade, one qtr
Explore the realm of digital communication and current events. Access, review and evaluate information resources and apply what is learned to create your own. Digital text, audio and imaging technology will be applied to create new resources.
MULTIMEDIA YEARBOOK STAFF: 8th Grade, TWO qtrs(2nd and 3rd quarter),
BY APPLICATION and TEACHER RECOMMENDATION ONLY!
Collaborate as a team to create our school yearbook. Learn and apply journalism techniques, digital photography, methods of design and marketing skills to help create the best MGMS yearbook ever! This class requires that you commit to TWO QUARTERS and that you submit an application to indicate your interest in being a member of the yearbook staff. (May involve some time beyond the school day for photography assignments and meeting deadlines)
LIVING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: 8th Grade, one qtr
Examine the impact technology is having in our world. Evaluate the skills needed to enter the workplaces of today and tomorrow. Explore and apply a variety of digital tools, software and applications to answer questions, complete tasks and solve problems.
I've got something cooking right now, but it's on a low simmer. It might take a long while before it's ready to come on out. According to my notebooks, I first scrawled the opening lines of one poem on Oct 17 last year (sitting, as I recall, in a leather chair at Old Vic.) I wasn't done with my first draft and ready to present it to class until March, and even then it bore revision. I wanted to take the time and let it gestate so it would say exactly what it was supposed to, properly.
This new thing is... well, it's going to be a fair bit longer. I don't even really have a beginning, but I have this nebulous feeling about it. It's going to be a long while before it coagulates.
I'm fighting the tide of writer's block...
KOR-SAW
There is an old house. The house belongs to a dying family. Many houses out live their families. The house doesn't want to be alone. A strange young man (the last surviving member of an aristocratic French family) comes to inherit or abandon the house, he's not yet sure he wants it. The man comes to the house with a girl. The girl loves him and he doesn't know what to do about it because he can't love her back. She calls herself his best friend. He doesn't know what that's supposed to mean. But no matter. The house loves them both and won't let them leave.
No matter where They go now, They are Home.
Lots of things go into houses. A story is like a house. Some houses have many stories. And some stories never leave me alone, no matter how lazy I am at writing or no matter how many other things I end up drawing, I always come back to "the house in my head" and never leave. As I've been going through all my artwork in storage, looking for pieces and characters to revive, I'm drawn to the following two illustrations.
Spring 1991: I photocopied antique photographs of Old Milwaukee houses and collaged them with scribbly drawings. It was an image originally done for a forgotten class assignment. Whenever I see an old house, I automatically start thinking about the stories of the people who must've lived there -- I don't think this way whenever I see new houses because new places feel empty, generic, or unfinished to me. They don't make houses like they used to, you know. And so many, SO many are gone. But what if an ancient house (not just an antique one) still exists somewhere tucked out in the woods on top of an equally ancient place (not just some old Indian burial ground). I'm not just talking about a haunted house, either. In fact, at the time I did the following collage, I wasn't exactly sure what was happening... I let the images speak to me. My hand in drawing scribbles on them was a way for me to "feel" out what was going on. I was attempting to draw out, not draw in, what I was seeing...
I never quite forget anything I've written or drawn. I say "never quite" because there are times when I do forget, but not all the way. There's always something in the paper to remind me of where I've been that hints at where I am going. I've got stories in the back of my mind all the time. What I love most is to create characters. Usually characters are created before I even actually finish a story. Sometimes it's the places I create that come before the characters. I'll get inspired by someplace I've visited or dreamt about and the story just starts to "people" itself. I think this is why I spend so much time alone... I need solitude to let these little worlds in me develop.
As I go through my old work, I begin to really see what genre I belong to. I really believe my place in fiction is "horror fantasy" or Occult Horror -- what is the difference? Does it really matter? What I want to do is create something I wish was being produced by someone else, but isn't. I would like to see more gothic horror, a return to the old world class and style, I want to see more monsters in capes, I want a bit of film noir back in scary movies...
This is Alexandre and Dorathea.
Winter 1992: These were the very first drawings, in paint, that I've ever done of them. I used to do a lot of painting on fabric. I'd tye dye the canvas first, then select inks to paint with, then paint over the ink with big dollops of arcylic color. With this painted character sketch, I also chose to use flakes of actual silver (sort of like gold flake, but silver, get it?) and crush them into the wet fabric to creat this sort of glitter-saturated look. Click on the above image to see it full size. The following two images are close ups of each character. This should show you the amount of detail I really put in each face.
Alexandre is no longer a brunette, but every drawing I've done of him reveals to me that he has a long European nose, a flash of pale eyes hidden under shadow, and in every picture he stares out as if really looking deeply into those who see him. In reality he just looks through other people, never really seeing them. The white inked "rays" of light coming out of his right eye indicate that he has some kind of hidden insight into things but he doesn't always know how to "tap" into this consciously. He's a moody bastard, too. His lover, an older, more sophsicated man with a wife and children, has broken up with him to return to his family. This makes Alexandre take a step back. Will he ever have true love or will he just be a boy toy forever? Not that he's a slut. He's got a lot of heart, but he's so full of the "dark side" right now, he may just refuse to save himself from it.
Summer 2008: This is how Alexandre has evolved over a 17 year period. I'm now closer to knowing who he is now. He's pale, almost an albino, his lips are passionate and full... but he's still not quite "there" yet.
Then there's Dorathea. Alexandre's spontaneous, spunky, affectionate and very fashion-conscious straight girlfriend. He knows she's totally in love with him and there's nothing he can do about it. She may self destruct all over him, or she may find a kind of strange happiness in darkness like he has...
Dorathea's hair is always changing. When worn long, it's a mass of curls and confusion. Usually she cuts it short or irons it completely straight. In this painting, she is a cloud of shadow. Her eyes are deep set, lips in a constant pout, and she paints her face gothic white. This sometimes gives her the appearance of a clown. Her skin is actually much more almond tan, revealing her Middle Eastern ethnicity. She's not that confident, but puts on an air of authority.
Dorathea is emerging nicely as well. I don't know her as well as Alexandre, but she's getting "there" and I just keep re-drawing her until she looks completely right.
I'm happy to introduce you to my characters. I'll update you as the story develops more.
Ever feel like making a blog entry, but have no ideas to write about? I find I feel that way quite often. I enjoy sitting down and putting my thoughts into words, I just never feel like I have any thoughts worth writing about. Do I just not think about things deeply enough? Do I not realize when I'm thinking about something I want to write about?
This brings me to another point, something I've believed for a few years now. First of all, don't get me wrong, I like my career field, I liked going to an engineering school. But, I think technical schools and programs limit creativity. I used to love creative writing. At times, I have looked back at papers I wrote in high school, and I actually have a difficult time believing that the words on the page came from me. I went to college for civil engineering - a world of variables and equations, where everything is looked at in terms of which formula to use to reach the desired outcome.
I have tried to write, just for the fun of it, a few times since college, and it seems my vocabulary and my ability to convey my thoughts eloquently has practically disappeared. Maybe it's like anything else, a foreign language for example. If you don't use it, you lose it. But I also feel that the problem solving techniques used in such math-based fields can really have a stifling affect on creativity, and that saddens me. I'd love to be able to write the way I used to. I just don't have any ideas.
Showing 1 - 5. [ Next ]
