"Let me grab my shovel."

One of my favourite companies is moving. Are See Aye is a fantasy company for me: they make giant dinosaurs for museums around the world. I would very much love to work for them, and I have a lot of skills they could use. Years ago, I visited the company's building, once or twice, while I worked at a pottery in Beamsville. Not all of their employees want to go to the new town, so I imagine they may be hiring new artistans to replace them. This week I have been evaluating what keeps me in St. Catharines, when so many people my age and in my field have flown the coop. In case I want to apply for a job....
I love what I do. This week I realised that at the end of every day I am tired, but if I got the call at 5 pm to go out and do it some more for a few hours, I would say 'yes' without whining, complaining or batting an eye. Like the time I called my Grandma and asked if she'd like to get some wild roses; first thing out of her mouth was: "Let me grab my shovel."
People regularly tell me that I am lucky to be doing what I do. (Personally? Luck plus the hours I put into what I do, are actually what lets me do what I do.)
Art Under glass at the 2 cafes is just interesting enough to keep me meeting new artists every month. I am even building a small collection of artwork by other people that I like. I used to say, "Why would I buy art when I could make it myself?"
I also say: "It's not the place, it's the people."
Who and where are the people who are important to me? Would I actually see them less if I moved 4 hours away?
Rent wouldn't ever be an issue if I worked for Are See Eye. But would I be able to scour used book stores on a whim? Shop for groceries at a Phillipine grocery? A Chinese grocery? A Polish deli? Would I have a place to grow my peppers?
Art classes are fun to teach, but I could easily set new classes up in any town I moved to. And I am used to making my own art supplies if I need to, so I wouldn't feel tied to a town with a Curry's. Besides, the most glorious pair of words in the world are still "Road Trip!"
I'm not sure how much time I can even afford to daydream about this, but I am enjoying contemplating both sides of the issue.

orphan bird aware

icy sheet between us

sunrise through the snow

Haiku Hoover

2 Art Openings tonight: one for the art teachers at Ridley College, and another for Kim at the Fine Grind, and they are both scheduled for the exact same time! So what am I doing at home? Listening to my $34 after tax DVD Player repeat the same tunes because for some reason my remote control won't work after a week of semi-weekly use. Laugh if you like.

The Grade 2 kids from my school gave me a stack of thank-you cards for letting them make 3D shapes in the snow! My throat is closing up like an allergic reaction! The cards have little diagrams of rectangular prisms, cylinders and everything.

My quest for books about haiku or containing haiku is being thwarted across the Peninsula by a fellow teacher, unnamed, who hoovers them up regularly from the used bookstores. I am lucky to have found the ones I did. These things truly are gems; portable, precious, oiling up in someones else's house. It's even harder to track down renga, renku or such. If anyone ever comes across "The Monkey's Cloak" in English, I'd pay for a copy.

Here's a sneak preview of a possible poster for local artist and Niagara River hero, Matt Vizbulis!

Blogging in my jammies

The students had a lot of fun today. According to the schedule, we were to follow up our lesson on 3D shapes by building structures from the local community. Grade 2 students need to learn about different structures, and were were going to build them with plasticine. However, when I got to the school, and stepped out of my car... the snow was packing snow! I got permission from the principal to take the students outside, and she said "yes!" A short discussion with the teachers, a short presentation to the students, and we were out there. Even the substitute teacher loved it. The teachers from my other grades were asking me in the hall if I could adapt their lessons to snow sculptures. We'll see. I'm still rearranging my schedule after the snowstorm and Valentine's Day and Rosary day. I'll try to post pictures as the teachers send them to me. Oh, and there were pancakes for everyone today, even me. No classes for me tomorrow as the kids will be too busy with Ash Wednesday.

le weekend

Friday was filled with stress inducing elements. My car's battery died, and I needed to get a boost fast because I had a class scheduled in an hour. my dad came through. When I got to the school, both of my teachers were absent due to illness, and the Board had scheduled an introduction to using the rosary for every student in every school across the Region, starting at 11 a. m. The substitute told me it was supposed to last about 15 minutes, so I decided to stay and finish the program. From 10:30 to 11:00 we did plasticine shapes, then washed all the hands, because students in Grade 2 would have ended up with plasticine stained Rosaries to take home.

Saturday Ron and I went to Chris and Joy's Stag and Doe. Joy asked if I remembered working wiyth her at the Museum one summer. (?) I wish I did. She was in the gift shop and I was teaching, so i don't really remember. 20 years of teaching, and only the problem children really leave an impression on me. I got lucky at the door prize table though. Look for me at Shaw Festival this summer.

I brought some wheat gluten powder to a Mad Science party on Sunday as an example of a polymer. The kids liked it. Sunday night I went to see Suitcase in Point perform "Cabaret Global Warming" at the Merchant Ale House. Cole Lewis performed a beautiful projection piece with birds drawn on overhead sheets. She did some spoken word while manipulating several images, and Joe lapinski played a gentle progrssion on his guitar. Maja Bannerman did some music as well, on her guitar. I was under the impression she just did story-telling. Edwin was funny as usual. Lesley and I discussed whether he reminded us more of Duke from Doonesbury, or The Gonzo Reporter. Matt Vizbulis brought be a tube with samples of his artwork in it. He'd like me to scan them and make it available on the artunderglass.blogspot.com to promote his show next month.

reading list

Here's a list of books I'm reading now, when I'm waiting in line at the bank, in a staff room before classes, before falling asleep, or waiting for a floor to dry.

1. The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing, A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical tradition, by Anthony Ryder
2. Underground to Canada, by Barbara Tucker
3. Awakening The Buddha Within, Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World, by Lama Surya Das
4. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Informal talks on Zen meditation and practice, by Shunryu Suzuki
5. Haiku in English, by Harold G. Henderson
6. Galatea 2.2, a novel, by Richard Powers
7. Sixty Songs of Milarepa, translated by C. C. Chang
8. Tales from the Arabian Nights, Reader's Digest version (sigh)
9. Gödel, Escher, Bach, a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll, by Douglas R. Hofstadter
10. Palm-of-the-Hand Stories, by Yasunari Kawabata, translated by Lane Dunlop and J. Martin Holman

Both school boards are closed today, and there's no Mad Science. The Mansion House is shovelled, but I had to turn customers away because none of the other staff or owners showed up until 12:15. Lesson planning time!

discipline-deficit disorder ?

Attention teachers! New terminology heard today on CBC Radio One: discipline-deficit disorder

Yesterday my brother and I checked out a used bookstore and I found 2 books about Haiku:

1. Haiku in English by Harold G. Henderson
2. the gathering wave by alvaro cardona-hine

Tonight, I plan to hop over to the Merchant Ale house for the Grey Borders readings by a couple of authors.

1. http://www.wier.ca/mchristakos.html
2. http://www.timconley.ca/

There might not be too many people because they've been predicting a double-whammy of winter storms. Ron is on his way from Wainfleet. My cousin was 'released' from Meaford for the funeral. I imagine the army likes the idea of a guy in uniform acting as a pall-bearer. Worked for us. He may come out as well.

My art classes tomorrow are cancelled, not due to weather, but to Valentine's day bingo for the kiddies in Grade 2. Can't say I blame them. Be a good time to start the lino cuts, if all my lesson plans are in order. In the evening the local secular humanist society is planning to celebrate Darwin's birthday at a Chinese buffet restaurant, next to a Wal-mart. My mind is reeling.

Sad news

I have just found out that my grandfather passed away this morning. My father has selected me to be a pall bearer on Monday. Other than that, I will also have to help remove my Gramps' stuff from the nursing home Friday or else they will be charging our family over $300 a day.

I may need to skip the Mad Science party. I did not know I would be needed to help my dad empty out my Gramps' room so soon.

I will be cleaning the Mansion in the morning, and then teaching at St. Michaels in NOTL from 10 a. m. until 2 pm. Please do not phone me until these classes are over. The teachers and I are prepared for lessons on 2D shapes.

I will have to miss the regularly scheduled meeting at Mad Science, but I should be able to pick up the materials necessary for the birthday party in the evening, including bubble solution, dish soap, t-shirts, PVA, Sodium Borate solution, cups, stir sticks, and whatever else. I would appreciate it if someone could pick up the dry ice for me. I will go directly from St. Michaels on Highway 55 to the Mad Science lab. I currently have a birthday kit in my living room. If I put it in the car in the morning it will be with me all day. There is nothing in the kit that would freeze.
As far as I understand, the party is in St. Catharines, and starts at 5:45 p.m. and will continue for approximately one hour.

After the party is over I will be going to meet my dad.

I will need Monday off in order to be a pall-bearer and be with my family.

Laurie Boese

Still cold - 15 degrees

Found a great old book yesterday by the kinetic sculpture maker, Alexander Calder. I knew about his sculpture work from school, and from the Albright Knox, but had no idea he drew. His drawings remind me of oriental brush painting, the way they carry the life of the animals into the vigor of the brush stroke.

Lesley Finds has an opening tonight! Great stuff!

The kids at school started their chess pieces today. The principal looked thrilled. She even suggested some great stuff (which we all know I've been raving about already for years), that the kids could apply this lesson to language as well as math, and more! I can't wait to add some pictures. The kids brough in really colourful salt doughs. One kid was a class hero for his kool-aid coloured clay. Usually I dedicate 5 full days to this project, and it's heart breaking to squeeze it into 3 one hour visits.

On a side note, I am probably MUCH better at Free Cell than I need to be..

C-C-Cold!

I'm sorting and packaging the Mad Science paintings today.

Leftovers freezing,
Clean dishes dried and away.
Whole moon in puddle!

The day off

I have a sketch-pad reserved now for adding pictures to some selected haiku. So far I have a picture sketched of a cat peering over a window sill for a poem by Shiki:

A bird sang,
knocking down
a red berry

You can see I am not planning to illustrate the poems, but respond to them.

I am restringing my mala beads with ribbon. Speaker wire wasn't cutting it.

I've also mixed up a couple of batches of seitan: Cajun flavor and Greek sausage. The Cajun has pepper seeds from the front yard, a touch of liquid smoke, and store bought cajun seasoning. The Greek is more natural, with olive paste, garlic, crushed black peppercorns, yeast extract, and fennel seeds. After mixing these with water and boiling the dumplings, I rolled the lumps in wax paper and froze them in long sausage shapes. When I need sausage, I'll remove a length from the freezer bag, defrost it a bit, slice it up and fry it like a sausage. Mwah hah hah! (Seitan-ic laugh)

Now back to work. I have about 15 garbage bags to throw out at the Mansion. And I need to do it before the Superbowl party gets going. Ooof.

Haiku

curmudgeon alert:
price tags on clothes and cups
left on as badges.

roller coaster thrill in my throat

Lesley has installed her work at the Strega and it looks amazing. I am going to get one for myself. Her premise is brilliant as well: Combining text from a dating website and Victorian Valentine's cards. They are so well thought through and elegantly composed. The contrasts in style between the text from so long ago mingled with the grunts and sparkles from what I still consider "the future" and very engaging.
Jeffrey picked up a bit o' cash from Ron, who loves the idea of hanging a photograph of an abandoned decrepit "Sony" billboard in his recording studio.
Kim's framed photographs are on the wall of the Fine Grind. Rob's GF brought flowers in for tomorrow.
Classes today were overwhelmingly pleasant. I got the roller coaster thrill in my throat twice today: once while the kids were working so hard on their chess boards, and again while Lesley was installling her art.