Chaotic Bliss

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." A. Cohen
...but one must preserve order and some respect in the midst of all that adventure and change.A little dignity is important to me as well, although it seems many people easily dispense with much of it in the name of living a regret free life. In the end we have to be who we are and live with ourselves. Our reality, self imposed rules and boundaries are not necessarily shared. I recently asked a friend, "What would it actually be like if we all dared to live our dreams?"...his response, "chaotic bliss."
I considered this and realized I grew up amid "chaos" minus the bliss. I learned many things from the frenzy.
I teach Art to 700 energetic,hugging,questioning,needing,pleading,mess-making, beautiful Kindergartners. I get some of my best ideas and inspiration in the midst of all the mess but more than anything it makes me appreciate the quiet.My best work however, is created when my head and heart are least silent.Go figure! :)
I am simultaneously working on 5 paintings. To onlookers, my process and workspace might appear to be a messy madness. I prefer to think of it as "chaotic BLISS." :)
“If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It's very important to be aware of them every time they come up.”
Deepak Chopra

Relay For Life -" Jump and Jive At Year Five!"

Brick Township will celebrate it's 5th year participating in the very worthy, "Relay For Life" event which is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity.Entire communities gather for an overnight, 24 hour long event, aimed at celebrating,remembering and fighting cancer."Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event." The "Relay" events, are life changing for all who participate.

In Brick, we held our "kick-off" event this past Sunday. In an effort to engage the children of the community, students K-12 were asked to submit artwork, inspired by the annual theme.This year, in recognition of our 5th successful year as participants, "Jump and Jive at Year Five" was the selected slogan. The winning image is used for the invitation and other promotional material for the Relay event. Well this year, out of some 280 submissions, one of my Kindergarten artists,Miss Tyler O., tied overall for 3rd place. What an incredible honor! Kindergartners tend to create with an immediacy and freshness that is hard to duplicate. Typically,there are no preliminary sketches. It just happens. Tyler's image is alive and beautifully reflects the concept of joy, life and celebration! Check it out! Brava Tyler O. and congrats to my other 4 students whose work was selected as honorable mentions! Kindergartners rock!

For further information on the event, please visit RelayForLife.org.

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child”-Pablo Picasso

DREAM

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also DREAM; not only plan, but also BELIEVE." ...."Existence would be intolerable if we were never to dream."
Anatole France

I am at heart a dreamer and I plan to keep it that way. There is a reason I surround myself with 700 Kindergartners everyday because they still BELIEVE and know how to dream.And color is so beautiful and my new art will reflect that. Kindergartners love color!

PS...so I arrive at school this morning and am setting up for the second portion of our "stained glass" lesson.I told my students how distracted I was attending Kindergarten because everyday at Holy Angels in Trenton we would go to mass and I would be mesmerized by the colors and patterns of the art...it was everywhere...the mosaic floors, the painted ceilings, statues and woodwork, but especially the stained glass windows. I revisited that church this year on the day of my Grandmother's funeral and it was just as beautiful and magical!I was distracted again:)I was in love with the visual richness and architecture of that sacred building. I really do paint my memories and dreams.

Anyway....speaking of dreams, two of my Kindergartners greeted each other this morning,after being separated all weekend and one exclaimed,"I dreamed about you last night!" Then they smiled and unabashedly hugged. We can learn a lot from five year olds. No apologies. A special someone gave me a button at my recent art exhibit...it read "Never apologize for your Art." To me that translates also to never apologizing for my dreams!
Make a great day!