YAC in TRF Creating Drama with Middle School Authors

Quote of the Day:  Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted. Garrison Keillor

When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become. Louis Pasteur

Paper Plate Puppets from Amazing Middle Schoolers!

 

I had the great honor of teaching at the Young Authors Conference in Thief River Falls, MN (YAC in TRF) again this year. I am always inspired by the young, creative minds at this conference. This year, I had the kids make paper plate puppets (two plates glued to one stick). They could make two characters, or one with two faces, or other forms of the character. One girl created a girl who is a shape-shifter. One side of the puppet was her as a girl, the other side she was in her wolf form. By the time the 55 min. were up, she had her background and story all ready to go. She shared some of it with the class. Thank you!

 

 

Another girl wrote about a girl who was very sad. She didn't have any friends, felt like an outsider and didn't fit in. She said, "We all know people like that, don't we?" That sensitive soul is writing her a new friend to cheer her up.

 

 

One boy had a whole world created in his mind with creatures that could rival J.R.R. Tolkein. Others went with silly or serious, animals and magical creatures. The room was buzzing with creativity. Thanks, Middle Schoolers for being so inspiring in my class on Creating Drama!

 

One girl was having so much fun, she created 8 characters, including the Queen of England!

 

Of course, I was inspired to create more of my own work. After I talked about the two characters I created, two girls in my second session said, "You need to write that play right now!" Thanks! And, at lunch, our discussion turned to aging, Alzheimers, and how our society treats the elderly. Someone said, "They are sometimes invisible." Another woman said, "They don't have a voice." My creative wheels started turning, and I saw a stage setting of a family. I got goosebumps thinking about it.

 

Inspiration is everywhere. Grab it by the tail and hang on. You're in for a wild ride. And, if you're feeling in a slump, hang out with some middle schoolers for a while. They're bursting with awesome ideas!!!

 

Thanks, Mary in TRF, for organizing such a great and inspiring event!

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  How have the grandparents and elderly been treated in your community? Have you hung out with any middle schoolers lately?

People like January?

Quote of the Day:  from the great cartoonist Bill Watterson
 



This final strip and its message have stuck with me since its publication on Dec. 31, 1995. I loved reading Calvin and Hobbes in the local newspaper. They were always so full of imagination and adventure. When Watterson decided to end the strip, he left me with the image that the adventures continue and that the world is waiting for you to slide down it like a hill of freshly fallen snow. The image that it is a blank page also appeals to this writer and lover of art.

My blogger friend Jen Chandler wrote about loving Januauary. Is she crazy? I wondered. But, after I read her post, I had a newfound appreciation for January, that fresh start, the hills of fresh snow, beckoning me to make tracks.

Lake Carlos near Alexandria, MN

 

Here is an image I took of January in my area. The dead-looking tree in front of a frozen lake. And, yet, there is so much life within both. The tree is not dead. It is in its dormant, resting, stage. The old leaves have all fallen off. New ones will start budding in the spring. It will grow, stretch, and expand, the way our lives do as we open ourselves to new relationships and experiences. And, the frozen lake? Oh, there is so much life swimming around under there. Have you ever walked out on a frozen lake? I rode out on the ice in a vehicle for the first time this winter. I have walked on a lake, helped the guys fish, a little, on the frozen water, and I've skated. But, riding in a heavy vehicle on top of a deep lake...that's a moment to remember. And, for you folks reading this in warmer climates. The lakes really do freeze hard enough to drive on them.  One of my favorite books North of Hope by Jon Hassler has some great scenes on the frozen waters of Minnesota.

 

May your January give you inspiration to make tracks into the new year!

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

 

Journaling Prompt:  How do you really feel about January? Would you dare walk out onto the frozen lake, or ride on it?

Interview with Award-winning Author Candace Simar

Quote of the Day:  A good writing community is essential on the writer's journey. What I learned from talking with Candace Simar on her most recent publication Blooming Prairie Book Four in the Abercrombie Trail Series.

Candace Simar at a book signing in Fergus Falls

 

Candace Simar is a writer in the Brainerd lakes area. I consider her a neighbor and a friend. We've had lunch together. We have the same publicist, Krista Rolfzen Soukup at Blue Cottage Agency, and we support one another in our art. Candace came to my play Coffee Shop Confessions last spring and offered many words of encouragment for me as an artist. Thanks, Candace!

 

I had already fallen in love with Candace's Abercrombie Trail series before I met her. The journey starts with Evan Jacobson, a Norwegian immigrant in the mid-1800's, who lands in Minnesota. He takes the job of stagecoach driver. Candace uses this as an excellent story-telling tool as Evan drives over the newly settled land from Fort Snelling to Fort Abercrombie, meeting and greeting settlers along the way, as well as befriending some of the Indians, while fearing for his life from others, Indians and settlers. This was the wild west. The land and all it provides were the source of dispute and bloodshed.

 

In the second book in the series, Pomme de Terre, Serena Gustafson is a young bride. We experience the pioneer life through her. She is my favorite character in the whole series. I love many of the characters, and dislike a few, but Serena is the one I connected to the best. Pomme de Terre felt like it's own story, similar setting of Abercrombie Trail and Birdie, the third book, but with it's own storyline and main character. I was thrilled when I opened Blooming Prairie this weekend and found Serena telling me more of her story.  The exciting thing about this book is that Candace blends the two storylines, showing us how paths cross between her characters and how their future will unfold.

 

I could not put this book down! Seriously. I started reading it while waiting for the kids at the dentist office. The dentist had to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention. I was so engrossed in the story. I used the opportunity to rave about the book. She sounded interested in reading the series herself (you can promote yourself or others anywhere).

 

Candace Simar accepting her Spur Award for Birdie.

 

 

After Candace finished writing Birdie, which won the 2012 Spur Award for juvenile fiction set in the West, she thought she was done with the series. However, the characters weren't done telling their story. One night, she had a vivid dream about Serena. She dreamed in detail what is the opening scene of book four. While writing the book, about halfway through, she was visited again in a dream by the characters. She had thought she was going down one path with them, but they had other ideas. She went with what she saw in the dream. When she got to the end of the book, she thought it would be good to write a short epilogue explaining a little more about what happened with the plague of locust which devasted the farming communities in the midwest in the 1870's. After her editor, and sister, Angela read the first draft, she called up Candace and said, "You need to write an epilogue." That night, Candace dreamed the epilogue that is now in the book. This final vision helps resolve the story.

 

Holy smokes, people! Pay attention to your dreams. Keep your notebooks or notecards and pens and pencils by the bed. When the muse strikes, you don't want to be caught napping...wait...maybe that's when we finally let our guard down, quiet ourselves, and are ready to listen and see the visions laid out for us.

 

I told Candace I was so happy to go further on the journey with Serena. I had unanswered questions about her. And, even as the story unfolded in Blooming Prairie, I had some niggling doubts about her path. Candace and I talked about her as if she were a real person that we  knew personally...wait...isn't she? You writers know what I mean. Our characters are as real as the flesh and blood neighbors across the street.

 

Reading Blooming Prairie and all the books in The Abercrombie Trail series is reading my own personal history. My ancestors are Norwegian and Swedish immigrants. I grew up in Minnesota and have lived in, or passed through, many of the places that are the setting of these novels. It also gives me a better understanding of what happened between the Indians and the settlers, the government and its corruption, and that there are good and bad people in every type of community and generation. These are also stories of survival, a theme which I could read over and over.

 

Candace says that she writes every day, setting a 1,000 word goal, and is especially strict with herself when she's on deadline. She said that our writing community in this area has been a huge support system for her. She's a member of the Brainerd Writer's Alliance and the Heartland Poets. She was mentored by several older members along her journey. She never let the discouragements in the process stop her progress. She said that she set her heart to writing and telling these stories and did everything she could to make it happen. She attended writing conferences and intensive workshops. She networked with other authors and teachers. She says that most of the process and writing and publication are joyful. Parts of it can be a struggle, but what makes it worthwhile are the connections. Just the other day a woman from Eagan, MN called her and said that she had borrowed the books, read them, and loved them so much that she bought her own set. Men who have read her books appreciate her attention to detail especially in the farming and building, and they enjoyed the description of driving the mule teams in Blooming Prairie. I also found that part fascinating.

 

If you have a dream, one that comes to you in the night or is born in your heart, believe in it. Work towards it and never give up. Only you can tell the story that speaks to you.

 

If you'd like to have your name in a drawing to win the first book in Candace's series, Abercrombie Trail, please leave a comment with your email address here, or if you're a friend on facebook, leave a comment there, or if you're having a heckuva time leaving a comment, email me at mary.aalgaard@yahoo.com.  I'll have these two little darlin's draw the winning names. Since there's two of them, there will be two winners. Contest closes at noon, Central Daylight Time, on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, open to international readers. Winners announced on Monday morning.

 

Can't you just hear them calling each other "Sistermine" like the sisters do in Candace's books?

 

 

Candace's books can be bought locally at:

Turtle Town books in Nisswa,

Book World in Baxter,

The Crossing Arts gift shop in the Franklin Arts Building in Brainerd,

Bookin' It in Little Falls,

and, of course, online.

Support your local bookstores whenever you can, or they might disappear.

 

You can learn more about Candace Simar and her Abercrombie Trail Series on her website.  She has a couple new, exciting projects in the works. Farm Girls, a collection of essays and poems that she's writing with her sister Angela Foster, about growing up on a dairy farm in Ottertail County.  She is starting the research on her next series about Bonanza farms in the Red River Valley (my home area) and expects at least one of the children in the Abercrombie Trail series to help tell this story. And, she is working on a collection of short stories set in a Minnesota township in 1946. They all sound great! Thanks for sharing your stories on my blog today, Candace!

 

Go. Create. Inspire!

And, remember your dreams.

 

Journaling Prompt:  Write about a vivid dream.

Rembrandt at the MIA

Quote of the Day:  Of course you will say that I ought to be practical and ought to try and paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I will tell you a secret. I have tried and I have tried very hard, but I can't do it. I just can't do it! And that is why I am just a little crazy. Rembrandt

Favorite Photo Friday: Standing in front of the masterworks and feeling inspired by the art and the story behind the images.

 

 

We almost missed our chance to see Rembrandt in America at the Minneapolis Institue of Arts. The exhibit is running from June 24 - September 16. Yes, it ends soon! Krista and I were in Minneapolis for the Pillsbury House production of The Brothers Size at the Guthrie Studio. We wanted to make good use of our time in the metro to see Rembrandt. When we got to the ticket window, I noticed reduced prices for children, students, and seniors. I looked at Krista and said, "Where's the single mom discount?" The ticket guy said that they didn't have any more non-member passes available until 7:00 pm. That wouldn't work for us. So, he offered us a membership. We went with a dual membership since it was a better deal, and we got a discount for living outside the metro, so it was really affordable. We felt great about supporting the arts in Minnesota and can now attend the special exhibits as part of our membership. Having a limit on non-member entries is a great way to get more people to become members.

 

We couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit. It was interesting to get the audio tour so we could hear the story behind the paintings. Some of the works that were once attributed to Rembrandt are no longer thought to be his, but those of his students. He taught his students to paint exactly like he did, so there are elements of his style in all of them. Still, the experts can tell his original voice from those who imitated him.

 

Krista's favorite portrait was of a little girl with blondish-red curls. She's described her as a real-life girl, her hair pinned up and brushed, and yet had fly-aways and a bit of a tossled look. Her eyes are captivating. She is featured on the Minneapolis Institute of Arts' page on the Rembrandt exhibit.

 

I liked the one called A Man Reading. It's featured in this review from the time when the exhibit was at the North Carolina Museum of Art. I also felt the emotional impact of the young woman holding a knife with a wound in her heart. The commentor explained that Rembrandt was in love with this woman, but was unable to marry her. They had children together, but she was scorned and publicly shamed for her relationship with him and had to call herself a whore in front of some kind of "morality committee" because she had a baby out of wedlock.

 

After our great day of art and theatre, not to mention another delicious meal at Spoonriver, Krista said that art and theatre and literature are more than just entertainment. They make you think. And, I'll add to that - The experience of seeing the masterworks up close and personal, of watching the actors bring a story to life, of reading the words and meeting the authors is something that becomes part of you. It lifts you up. It inspires and sets you free to...

 

Go. Create. Inspire! (in your own unique way)

 

Journaling Prompt:  Do you have a favorite painting or artform that inspires you?

 

 

 

Walking for Inspiration

Quote of the Day:  When we walk, the two halves of our brains converse. ~ Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way

Yesterday, Sunday, I had the urge to take a walk after church. The service was sweet. I played piano. We were a small crew that morning, so the Pastor pulled up a chair and sat close to us. At the end of his message, he said a prayer. When he finished, a four-year-old boy came up to him and gave him a hug. He pulled him onto his lap and held him while we sang the hymn of the day. The songs I chose for the day were about "telling the story" and how God is with us on the journey. No matter where we roam, the Holy Spirit surrounds us. I suppose I was thinking of my oldest boy whose far away at college, starting his first classes today. I thought of my boys who were with me, ready to start a new school year. I thought of myself and all the new experiences I've already had this year, how far I've traveled, inward and outward.

So, my feet were ready for walking. My leg muscles were twitching to go, and my heart was open for inspiration. As I walked, step by step, I started thinking of the next play I'll be writing (as soon as school starts). I figured out how I'd create tension, interruptions, and some of the character dynamics. I heard the music. Ahh. I smiled as I walked along and tucked those ideas in my mind's drawer. This idea has been percolating for a while and it's soon ready to pour out.

Paths are everywhere. Short ones. Flat ones. Hilly ones. Paths through valleys and across mountaintops. Go to the edge today, and dare to take one more step.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Write about a walk.

The Power of Art

Quote of the Day:  My imagination can picture no fairer happiness than to continue living for art. — Clara Schumann

The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Last Friday, I mentioned that I'd gone to summer camp with my family. It's a church camp with a fine arts feel. The topics for discussion were on people who were inspired by God to create something that changed how people think. We had an excellent teacher, Nancy Koester, a religion teacher from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN, who loves history. We had an artist who used the above tools to bring stories to life through his painting. He is a science teacher turned pastor turned touring artist. (More on him later). We had fine musicians who filled the room with sound and invited everyone in. And, we had a preacher who had us singing the Psalms and showed us how they hold the messages and healing that get us through the hills and valleys of life.

On Monday, Nancy gave us some background on the composer, George Frideric Handel and his famous choral piece The Messiah. He spent much of his early career writing operas. Operas at the time were rowdy events, much like sporting events today. Really. People came and booed and cheered and jeered. So, when Handel wrote The Messiah, people didn't know what to make of it. Where should it be performed, they wondered? It's too much like opera to be performed in a church. It's themes are too spiritual and sacred to be performed in an opera house. He was rejected and criticized and pushed away. At one point in his life he was so poor, he nearly ended up in debtor's prison. And, now, you can hear parts of The Messiah in many types of churches, colleges, community choirs, and even on Youtube. This is where the Halleluiah Chorus comes from. (Comment below or on facebook if you've ever sung any part of this piece.)

On Tuesday, Paul Oman painted a murial while we watched and listened to a recording of The Messiah.

He preps the canvas the day before he paints for an audience.

Each brush stroke reveals the image he has of the story.

Watching Paul paint is like reading a story.

Each line and color adds more details.

I find myself trying to predict what he will make from certain parts of the painting. The "board" sticking out on the left seemed out of place, at first.

He puts his canvas on a rotating easel.

He paints upside down and sideways, getting the best angle, fascinating us with his perspective, and keeping us guessing as to what will be revealed.

All the while, the mighty chorus is singing some beautiful parts of The Messiah. Paul's brush strokes, at times, moved to the rhythm of the music. As Paul's vision became clearer, the music became more powerful, and we all sat in awe.

The Holy Spirit was shining down on all of us.

I have plans to write an article about Paul Oman's murial ministry, Drawn to the Word. He has painted in nearly every kind of church throughout the United States, and has hopes of going international. He said he can bring any story to life through his art, not just Bible stories. Do any of you know of a good publication for his story?

I'll write more this week on our education and fun at Mount Carmel camp near Alexandria, MN. On Wednesday, we learned about Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Who knows where your inspiration will lead?

Journaling Prompt:  Have you ever felt so inspired to create something that you knew it came from a Higher Power?

IWSG in July

Quote of the Day:  Long before I wrote stories. I listened for stories. ~ Eudora Welty

Gifted writers have gifted ears. ~ Curtis W. Casewil

Alex J. Cavanaugh, host of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, gave us permission to post our usual Insecure post on the first Wednesday of each month on a Tuesday this month, because we're celebrating Indpendence Day here in the U.S.A. on July 4. Since this is usually a time when family and friends gather, it seems like a good theme for this month's posting.

What inspires you? What do you do when you are feeling isolated, blocked, discouraged, or stuck in your art?

Gather a few friends around your kitchen table and talk about your hopes & dreams, your goals and ambitions.

The creative energy around my kitchen table last Friday night was inspiring. Here are three of my favorite people talking about what they love to do, what inspires them, and what they'd like to do with their gifts and talents.

On Sunday, my friend, the artist JeMA, and her family parked their RV in the park for Art in the Park Day. They have turned their plain ole RV into a public art project. They ask you to put on a dot and tell them three things that inspire you. You can participate remotely by going to their website, Inspire to Inspire.

Share your art and ideas with other people.

Hang out with other creative spirits.

Collaborate, support, and encourage one another.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What inspires you?  Go to JeMA's website and share it if you like.  Journal it; share it here; whisper it to a trusted friend.

Vist to Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Quote of the Day:  Ostapchuk is a painter's painter...often uses the launguage of music in how he "riffs" off others, "playing" with his paint and giving his colors "rhyme." Christopher Atkins describing the painter Mark Ostapchuk whose work is featured in its own room at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

As you can see, The Children's Theatre Company and The Minneapolis Intitiute of Arts are connected. What a brilliant plan that was! When I was here with my 14-year-old son Zach, he asked to look around. We didn't come close to seeing the over 80,000 exhibits. I spent another two hours here with my friend Krista and her two boys, Ben and Matt, before exploring more of the city, then watching Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.

My goal was to seek out and take pictures of intersting letters for my AtoZ blog Challenge in April.

I also liked this glass display from early America.

I told Krista to jump up and be like she's the lady in this colorful dress. I love it when people play along with me!

Matt & Krista in the Matisse room

Krista and Matt in the room made for a publicist!

Krista's favorite piece - rain on the streets of Minneapolis.

That's what she called it. I didn't write down the proper title.

This one made me think of my dad whose theme song might be, "I Could Have been a Cowboy."

Krista and I thought that little carrier would have worked for her preemie twin girls who are now 4 and a half. (They stayed back with Grandpa and Grandma for this trip. We'll take them to "Pippi Longstocking.")

Here's where I came alive. I walked into this room and caught my breath. I took a picture of Krista taking a picture (please keep your flash off), then sat down to text my artist friend JeMA. I typed, "At the MIA with Krista & boys. Thinking of you. Someday, a room for Art by JeMA!"

I grabbed the flyer on Mark Ostapchuk and read it last night. No wonder his art made me come alive. Read the Quote of the Day. He is inspired by music, particularly Jazz music, and evokes it through his art. The colors, lines and swirls, stimulate my imagination, and remind me of my friend.

The MIA is free and open to the public (sweet deal for families). It's connected to the Children's Theatre so you can come early and make a special outing of it. And, there is a park nearby to run or have a picnic. If you didn't bring food, stop at the the cafe. The food is delicious, fresh, and very affordable. Here's the lovely shrimp flatbread that I enjoyed.

You want to dig in, don't you? Too bad, I ate it all up!

This is one of my favorite pictures from our Spring Break excursion.

Matt waiting for food.

I'm one of those geeks who loves museums and art galleries, especially when they're accompanied by performance space, music, and good friends.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you enjoy art galleries, museums, and performances? Where do you like to go? What inspires you?

Youth Frontiers inspire Courage

Quote of the Day:  To have courage means to follow your heart. Brian, a presenter from Youth Frontiers at the Courage Retreat for the Forestview 6th graders.

I wish I had some photos of the retreat, but I don't. Their teacher, Mr. Wallace, took a bunch, but I'm not sure if they're for public, especially internet, use. So, I'll use my best writing skills to describe the day, and provide you with a photo of my guys who inspire me everyday to be the best person I can be.

Shaved heads to swim faster for sections and state.

Tootin' your own horn.

Feeling joy and love of being your authentic self.

I'm one of those moms who loves to volunteer for school, especially fieldtrips. I'll be the first to raise my hand and sign up for anything that has to do with the arts, but I've gone on other types of events, too. I hope the 8th grade teachers will let me chaperone when they go to the theatre for The Diary of Anne Frank (hint, hint). I've been to camps and picnics and overnighters at retreat centers. I told the boys that I'd signed up for this one-day event because they needed small group leaders, and I've been a small group leader for... "ever," they both said.

This is a high energy experience for both the kids and adults. I wished I had worn a t-shirt and gym shoes. They encouraged us to participate to the fullest, be the first group to run across the large group circle, jump and dance, stand up, sit down, you get the picture. It was an aerobic day. I had visions of sitting in a small circle with my 5 or 6 kids and visiting. We did that, too. But, the large group, energetic time was to help us all relax, laugh, move and have fun together, so that when we got into those smaller groups, we'd be more open to sharing our fears and hopes for building a better community.

The presenters are high energy, caring leaders who readily share their own stories of when they were feeling left out, or could have made a better decision to include or help others. They have backgrounds in performance, music, and working with youth groups. Their entire presentation gives you the sense that they truly care about the kids who are there and lifting them up to be better citizens of their schools and the world. If we all faced our fears and stopped ridiculing others for their differences or failings,  or even successes, we would have a much easier time being our authentic selves. Some of the things that my small group listed as fears are standing out too much, being different, not being in the right activities, smelling weird, dressing weird, not looking right.

They asked a few of us adults to share our own stories. A couple women talked about a time in middle school when they were singled out as different or someone to ridicule because of how they dressed or who they liked (boy-girl issues). I talked about being different, feeling different. That I was the one who liked to write stories, and that even today, I feel like I'm different because I'm the only one of my friends in this community who sits around coffee shops and writes plays. I hope my message was Dare to be Different. The presenter said, "It sounds like you're taking a risk to be your authentic self."

At the close of the day, we sat in a large group. The presenters handed out cards and asked us to write one change we could make in ourselves to improve our community. Then, they asked people to get up and share what they'd written. I was moved to tears as 6th graders got up and talked about being kinder, including those who are left out, stopping their bullying, and being nicer to siblings. Getting up and sharing is a very brave thing to do. I was inspired by those young people.

Go. Create. Inspire!

And, dare to make a difference.

Journaling Prompt:  What is one thing you can do to improve the community where you live and help those who might be hurting?

Close the Screen and Live in Real Time!

Quote of the Day:  Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human. Anthony Robbins

Inspiration is all around us. We need to wake up to the life we're intended to live. I love that Toyota commercial (above). I'm not trying to sell you a car, here. What I love about that ad is the young woman thinks that she's "living" since she has so many facebook "friends". She tried to get her parents to "live a little." When, in fact, they're already out there experiencing life. They're active and adventurous. They're meeting new people and exploring the world.

Many of the great artists and writers of the world lived interesting and complex lives. They got out there and explored new territory like Stephen Crane. They picked apples on farms like John Steinbeck. Mary Higgins Clark was a flight attendant and a mother of five, widowed while they were all still young. The brilliant playwright Oscar Wilde traveled, studied the classics, and spent time in prison for "indecent relations" with men. Mark Twain worked various jobs and traveled extensively. The great poet Mary Oliver, survivor of childhood sexual abuse, worked on a farm. Clara Wieck Schumann started touring as a concert pianist when she was 11-years-old. She toured with her husband Robert Schumann, who was supportive during their courtship, but later begrudged her success. The couple had eight children, one died in infancy, had a life filled with tragedy, and yet, she continued to perform and compose music. All this in the 1800's when it wasn't proper for a married woman to be pursuing her own talents and career.

 

We humans were not meant to live in isolation. Go out this weekend and find adventure. Do something that takes courage. Take pictures of something that looks interesting to you. Attend a live performance. Talk to the artists. See all that your community has to offer.  My plan is to visit relatives I haven't seen in a while and attend the 1940's Radio Hour up in Pequot Lakes, presented by the Greater Lakes Area Performing Arts (GLAPA).  What's on your agenda?

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Give yourself an adventure, take a vaction from who you usually are, and live. Afterwards, write about the experience. (Looking forward to hearing back from you on Monday. *grins*)

The Miracle Worker

Quote of the Day:  Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose - not the one you began with perhaps, but one you'll be glad to remember.

My heart is singing for joy this morning! A miracle has happened! The light of understanding has shone upon my little pupil's mind, and behold, all things are changed!
Anne Sullivan, The Miracle Worker

photo source: http://www.anniesullivan.org/

Our local college theatre department has produced a fantastic performance of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker. The 10-year-old girl who played Helen was amazing, so true, so believable, and Annie Sullivan couldn't have been played better. The production crew did interesting things with light and sound, keeping our attention during action scenes with dramatic music, and using changes in light to show flashbacks and Annie's painful memories. I shed a few tears as Annie makes her break-throughs with Helen, and felt inspired all over again by the power of loving and determined teachers.

The production runs at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14  & 15, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 16.
Tickets are $6 and may be purchased with a credit card by calling 855-8199 or online at www.clctickets.com. Tickets for CLC students are a quarter. Oct. 16 is an American Sign Language signed performance.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Write about a teacher who made a break-through with you.

Where's God?

Quote of the Day:  Is God on Facebook, yet? Jim Gaffigan

I checked, and I'd say that God is not on facebook. You can "like" God. You can sign up for Messages from God, but I'm not exactly sure who does the typing for those. I've asked my pastor friends several times to share God's email, but they say they don't have it. So, I've come to the conclusion that God doesn't send messages via social networking websites. I was asked this weekend, "How do you hear God's voice?" God speaks to me through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Cousin Angie at the piano, me leading the song, Siri on flute

In Songs

In voices and conversations

In peaceful settings like Mount Carmel

on Lake Carlos

In art

and writing

In the community of women, gathered at a spiritual retreat on the topic of Depression.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Where do you go to find answers for life's difficult questions and circumstances?  Where do you hear or sense the Holy Spirit?

Book Binding

Quote of the Day: If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once a week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would have thus been kept active through use.  The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature. - Charles Darwin (the beginning quote in my favorite poetry book The Music Lover's Petry Anthology)

(I would say do those things at least once a day. Creativity, art, music, nature, poetry, all the arts stimulate our minds.) 

A few of you guessed it. We made journal books.  The little one is an accordian fold book.  The larger one is made with nicely textured Japanese paper and an accordian spine.  We put three sections of paper in it.  The purple one is a multi-sectioned French twist binding.

Georgia has also taught me a modified Japanese book binding which I've used when teaching journal making, and writing.  I'd love to do more of this, both making the books and teaching.

I get all excited about the different kinds of paper you can find at art stores.  I love the textures and the things that are embedded in the fibers.  It stimulates my creativity.

My sister Joy and cousin Angie are visiting for a couple days.  We're off to the coffee shop where I do my writing for a cup of inspiration.

Journaling Prompt:  What stimulates your creativity?  Are you a teaching artist, or an artist who teaches, or would you rather not teach?  I think my first calling is teacher.

Your One Wild and Precious Life

Quote of the Day: 
The Summer Day (aka The Grasshopper)

by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver, from The Truro Bear and Other Adventures: Poems and Essays.
Click over here to hear Mary Oliver read this poem to you.  Close your eyes and let the words fill your imagination.

I woke to a cold and dreary morning.  The wind was blowing, the sky was grey, but the rain hadn't started, so I got up and dressed in case my walking partner was up for a walk.  I opened the door and saw the first raindrops, closed it again and made coffee.  As I was reading blogs and facebook posts, I found this link, posted by my talented photographer friend Joey.  She does most of the photos for the magazine that I write for.  We have become a great creative team.

Since I was in the quiet kitchen, just me and the cat, and the hum of the refrigerator, and the scent of coffee, I could truly listen to Mary Oliver read her poem, let the words soak in, shut my eyes to  see the imagery. 

My comment to Joey:  I could write a whole blogpost on my response to hearing Mary Oliver read this poem. Doesn't it make you want to grab your blankie and pillow and curl up in her voice, her words, and the images they create?

Her response to me, my gift of the morning:  Yes.....just like the images you just created, Mary.

So, I did, I wrote up a blogpost to share with you a truly lovely way to start a dreary day.  I'm inspired to do more than simply clean my kitchen today (and a bathroom or two). I feel motivated to make something good happen.  Maybe schedule a production of Coffee Shop Confessions (with or without music, that's been my hold-up).  It's time to share it with the world.

Joey at the Table Reading of Coffee Shop Confessions. She had tea, just like Lolly, the character she brought to life.

Journaling Prompt:  Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?