Every Wall is a Door

Ralph Waldo Emerson was the one who said, "Every wall is a door". This quote has always helped me to remain optimistic and hopeful. It seems fitting for this post and my student's work above.

My students are finished with their mixed media collages. And I'm happy to say once again, I am pleased with their results! Of course, being pleased does not mean it was easy. It's hard work to make a bunch of ideas, directions and materials come together to look like a meaningful and intentional finished piece.

For some of my students the topic of "identity" is a stumbling block, because they feel as if they don't actually have an identity yet. (You know, after all, they're only kids!!) It is definitely true that over time, we mature into knowing ourselves with a deeper understanding that's more reliable and consistent then when we were young, (thank goodness) but even at "middle-age", I still consider that knowing myself is a series of vistas, more than an actual destination. I don't view it as a place where one arrives, but more like opening doors. It's about what we see, but also what we allow ourselves to see...walls, doors, windows?

The Collage Detail above was created by Karen Graeber, Grade 12. Click on her blog link to read what she wrote about her collage. Thanks KG! :-)

Click here to see more students' works.

got ideas?

Every creative person I know understands that the creative process is a circuitous route. Looking at seemingly unrelated things can give you some of your greatest ideas! I've noticed that my best ideas have almost always come to me when I was doing something else...like taking a shower, sleeping, working in the garden or by allowing myself to think around the idea that I'm hoping to find. It's harder to get a good idea when I have to have it NOW. Time, space and air help me. It's why summer is such a wonderful gift, not only to my stress level, but also for allowing ideas to flow freely. It's far less stressful to get lost when you aren't late for something, just as it's far less stressful to think around an idea than to think hard about it with a gotta have it now sense of urgency.

One of the best ways I know to "get" ideas is to be receptive and open to letting them find you. It requires us to relax, and believe that they actually will find us! There's action involved in this, it's not passive, but the action isn't in the form of a direct attack on getting an idea, it's done more in the form of looking at stuff, reading, journaling, sketching, talking, listening, making lists, writing things down, taking a nap, etc. - circuitous!

Today is the halfway mark of summer vacation. How lucky I feel to have a job I enjoy and the time to find new ideas to keep it fun!