Drag, shuffle, bump.
Heavy footed…careless…smash…
A beautiful blown glass piece fell off my office shelf…
Slivers of ice blue and periwinkle glinted on the carpet…
Drag, shuffle, bump.
Thick cumbersome boots and deep snow...
We stood on a hill-top, sparklers crackled...
Distant fireworks popped, random surprises on the horizon.
Drag…lift…shuffle…stop…hoist body up…begin again.
All these…small glimpses of shattered light, a million pieces of hope.
So much of my work has been with broad strokes, moving in large spaces with giant objects. Last year, pre-pandemic, I began to work in intimate settings thanks to Dr. Gordon Townsend School at the Children’s Hospital and Belfast School. I found beautiful parallels to the spectacles I had come to love shrinking them into the world of small. Still all about the story, the soul connection to the work ignited a new way,
miniature discoveries on a desktop. I had no idea I was being prepared!
In my upcoming online residency with Coventry Hills School (thank you Jennifer Locke), I will explore
multiculturalism with grade 3 students comparing and contrasting emotional feelings and physical sensations of Newcomers to Canada from Peru, India and Tunisia. Today I am filling individual storytelling bags with objects, maps and coloured discs for each student to stimulate their senses (probably over 100).
My intention is to shed some light on their budding compassionate hearts.
Engagement and connection are essential for our children. It IS possible. It IS a NEW way.
And, like every adventure I have ever taken, it starts with a SPARK!
So, I look for that shining piece that pulls me…however minuscule it may be….
it is the invitation to move forward.
Happier New Year everyone! The blogging has begun…