Tuesday was my third visit to this GREAT NJ site, museum and sculpture garden in Hamilton, NJ, but my first NJ statewide Teaching Artist seminar, this one for two days.  Some familiar faces, mostly YANJ folks, but some PA kids’ artists, Two of a Kind and Robbie K

 

The opening session involved Noah Scanlin, skull artist.  He presented his journey into 365 days of artistic immersion.  Doing art (consciously)  every day for 365 days in a row.  It grew to enormous proportions when he put his art on the web daily, and brought him wonderful new experiences, along with the mindset of being creative everyday.  Herculean. and inspiring.

 

We did a group exploration afterwards.  Artists, administrators, etc. with tables-ful of glue, a few scissors, and acres of paper, buttons, glitter, old newsprint, pipe cleaners, and lotsa flotsam……  Noah said, “Pick an image in your mind, and make 30 pieces of art of your theme. Go.” 

 

I picked out a musical note (seeing how notation is still a mystery to me), found a pix of Beethoven in a mag I found in the basement of GD’s, and started making notes. A great exercise in mass mayhem.  but a time for free-form artistic freedom, an out-of-body, out-of -mind experience.  Go.  Create….

 

At lunch, I caught up with a YANJ cohort, who plays mandolin.  I promised to bring mine tomorrow so we can jam.

 

The afternoon session was REALLY droll about the Teacherese – the jargon we, as TA’s need to deal with, in order to speak with schools, and get gigs….

 

 

Edu-Speak is what I call it, and it comes in handy on grants, etc., but it’s weird in that, as artists, we know what we do, and that we do it well, for reasons that are obvious to us, but there is still a need for translation.   Sheesh…  It’s part of the game, I guess.

 

I leave exhausted and unfulfilled. Tomorrow will be a better day.