Sarah*n*dipitous

Book Is Done

I must say, writing a book is one massive, daunting, exhausting and insanely exhilarating process. I just sent the box of the projects destined for Bluegrass Publishing and I have never been so scared in my entire life (except that one time I nearly burned the house down- that was an issue too).....5 months of work is in that box and I am just trusting it to FedEx to get it there in one piece and the art nestled inside safely.

I am really proud of this project. I think I may have mentioned bits and pieces here and there about this book but, now that it is down and scheduled for a Summer release, I feel more at ease about discussing it a bit.

It is for teens. Teens that want to make a difference in the world by using everyday materials to make their art. I had an amazing conversation with my friend Kathy Cano Murillo not too long ago (I have such a deep respect for her and I cannot tell any of you how appreciative I am to have her in my world)....I digress...I had this amazing talk with her and she, like I, grew up making things...being crafty and using what was on hand to create. I am hoping that this book helps kids realize that creativity is about the stuff in their heads, not the stuff they buy.

It is weird, I have so many hopes for this book- not like you think. I think many folks who go into business for themselves automatically think that because they got the necessary paperwork in to open a business means that they are in business and folks are going to seek them out to buy their stuff...not true. Same with books. Just because you write it does not mean folks are going to buy it. I really hope people buy it. Not because I will earn a commission, but because that commission will allow me to put more art materials in the hands of kids that under normal circumstances would never be able to have those supplies or classes.

I see the crazy amazing things my children and their friends create using the stuff in my studio and I cannot help but wonder what it would be like if all children had access to those same materials- what kind of world this would be, what amazing discoveries could be made by those children who were allowed to work with their hands early on. Art breeds creativity, creativity solves the world's really hard problems.....without that conceptual thinking and ability to explore, we are crippling our children's ability to be effective problem solvers. If you give a child a roll of duct tape and tell them to build a bridge that can hold 200 pounds, they WILL come up with some interesting solutions.....not all of them will work or be remotely safe yet, they will be ideas they can learn from and file away in their heads.....you never know when that kind of info could come in handy (a 25 foot ladder made completely out of duct tape that held 10 highschool seniors at band camp is a PERFECT example....that is all you need to know)

So, now, the real work begins. I just wanted to say thank you to Julie and Linda for everything ahead of time.

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom.

Making Peace

I think we find our own bliss, one way or another, people tend to find those things that bring them a sense of peace and calm. Right now is a stressful time in my world with massive deadlines looming and the inability to manufacture time. I saw this sign outside of a place where you can make your own lotions and bath fizzes and decided it was too cool not to take a picture of. Okay, back to work!

Buried Treasure

Having two little boys who absolutely love a great adventure, buried treasure, gruesome foes, tales of courage and secret codes tickle their imagination and send them off in pursuit of the fantastic (usually involving duct tape and copious amounts of aluminum foils and string). What I love about kids is the fact that NOTHING is impossible and EVERYTHING has potential to be something totally and completely amazing!

What if for a moment, we looked at every new opportunity as something that could be hiding buried treasure? I think many folks look at opportunities through the glasses of "what's the pay out" rather than the, "what things are there to discover and learn to better my situation?" There have been many times I have chosen to do something, taken a job that most would say no to, just to find gold later on down the road. You never know when the person you help out now will be a person of influence later. There is treasure hiding all around you- happy hunting!

Growing where you are planted

My Grandma always has a beautiful garden and the interesting thing was the fact that there were never any "weeds"..... In my Grandmother's world, weeds are simply misplaced plants and they will grow where they are planted... I guess that is why the Mint was always in a container rather than left to it's own devices.

I hear many folks say, "well if I was given the Rolodex they have, or the opportunities they got, or the audience they had listening....whatever.... I would be as successful as they are." It is hard to compare yourself to others and still be happy. The true judge of your own success is YOU. If you want more opportunities, figure out what you want and make it happen. A successful person looks at the cards they are given, then honestly takes note of their strengths and their weaknesses and MacGyvers a way to make it work..... I know naturally gifted athletes who did NOTHING with their talent and others who struggled every step of the way and went pro. It is so funny that I have not one, not two, but three people in my world that have been wondering why it is they are where they are at (if there are more than the three of you reading this, I am talking to you too :)). All are insanely talented and genuinely good peeps but, they have forgotten that it is our job to grow where we a placed. Be a WEED! Sometimes I think it would be a total riot to have a backyard picnic and invite them all to sit together- they make me laugh and deep down, I think the reason I have a conversation with one of them on one day is so I will be prepared to talk to the other two in the days ahead :) Things always happen in 3s don't you know? What is funny though is that I was there. I watched all sorts of folks around me getting the promotions, making the big bucks and I sat there, still working hard but getting seemingly nowhere. I was frustrated and anxious. That is the day I decided that I would not allow anyone to steal my joy nor would I allow them to place constraints on the things I would do or achieve. Life changed. Best thing I ever did.

In this life, you are put here for a purpose. You have a season to do amazing things and have one spectacular bloom- make it count and don't waste a second on all those silly what-if's that suck your energy and joy!

Liquid Courage

When I was in college, liquid courage was the moniker given to alcohol....for you youngin's reading this, do not get any ideas here..... My liquid of choice is a bit different.....GESSO!

Gesso you may ask, why? Gesso prepares the canvas surface to accept your crazy creativity- whatever medium that may end up being. The reason I think Gesso is truly "liquid courage" is because it allows us an unlimited number of "do-overs". In art, the journey is more about the process than the finished pieces, it is more about the abyssmal failures than it is about fantastic results. We learn from our mistakes. I think many folks get all bent out of shape for nothing. They think that they aren't "artists", aren't creative enough or talented enough and end up talking themselves out of taking that first step in the first place......Wow! Wrap your head around that for a minute. I had a student today get GIDDY about gesso...why? She simply said, "I can just paint over it if it doesn't work out right?" Yup. There is a lot of freedom when you know you automatically have a second chance......liquid courage.

Apologies Not Accepted

Here is what went down today in my own household and precipitated this post....

My eldest son hauled off and hit his brother. Our second son was moving too slowly for our eldest's tastes and an inner sense of retribution had to be met I suppose. My son hit him pretty good- no blood but, enough to leave a slight mark, cause some serious yelling and tears for effect. Immediately, I pulled my son aside, asked him what would compel him to do such a thing and then, those immortal words slipped from my mouth (read them in slow motion for effect, it is so much more fun......"Go and apologize to your brother this instant and go to your room." So, he goes over and in that ever annoying sing song voice only siblings know how to do, he said he was sorry and flippantly went up to his room to be alone (methinks that was his intention all along...). My younger son was fuming. He was physically wounded and he had absolutely no compensation for the wrong- he had been victimized twice- one by the original offense and then again by me not fixing it right from the beginning. It hit me at that moment..... I just was an accomplice in a huge lie. My son wasn't in the least bit sorry- I know that yet, I told him to say he was. He did it because he was afraid of being further punished and figured if he did it quickly, he could get on with his life. There was no genuine repentance other than the fact he got caught. I told him to run off and say he was sorry to add a quick band-aid so I could get on with my life....it was the easier thing to do I suppose..... So, one son upstairs thankful he got away with something, one son sitting in the corner seething and literally rotting from the inside out with this intense anger that I did not do more and that his brother got away with something....not cool.

.....And what happened in class later that night which in a weird way illustrated the underlying message in a different light....

A student came to me telling me her last teacher went on and on about how amazing her project was. Rather than helping her fix the thing that was bugging her and giving her insight as to why it looked less than stellar (an image that hadn't transferred correctly), the teacher glowed and went on about how wonderful it was and how she should just continue on as to not lag behind in the instruction..... She said she went into the car and felt a deep sadness because she had spent the dinero on the class to learn how to do something and that the teacher was more about making her feel good and selling product than teaching. It left her sad and empty and confirming that she was "unteachable" in her own head....tsk tsk tsk.... which, brings me back to the connection here. Unresolved hurts and hollow words.

So about art, how does saying your sorry when you do not mean it apply to art and the business of creating? It is all about character my friends and doing the hard thing....being blatantly honest and willing to spend time to figure it all out. How many times have we told someone, "WOW, that ROCKS! just to make them feel better when deep inside, we were thinking, "What the heck?" How many times have we looked at our own work and thought, "Wow, what an amazing mess, definitely not my best work but, Aunt so in so really could care less....package it up and add an extra large ribbon and use the "really" good wrapping paper.....sugar coat it and make it out to be something it really isn't? It'll be fine, just get it over with and move on to the next thing. Art is about honesty and having a meaningful conversation- it mimics the life we know afterall...... How can our work reflect what we are really thinking if we are not willing to dig deep and put the real stuff on the page? As a teacher (a person with even more responsibility), you owe it to your students to be real with them and give them constructive criticism to help them along their journey..... not sugar coat things to make them feel good- gold stars should be given out for a job well done and completed, not for picking up the paintbrush and keeping the seat warm. We all make things that may not be for everyone's tastes- perfectly fine and actually the point of creating art sometimes..... but, handing our warm fuzzies out for effort does more than destroy confidence, it ends up hampering the creative process from here on out. At that moment, when we exchange the little white lie to make them feel better for the truth which may sting a bit (Sting because it could very well be that YOU, not them, were at fault and were the poor communicator to begin with), we give a false sense of security which WILL come back to bite us in the tail..... My son, who had no sense of redemption or closure will indeed get back at his brother....it is inevitable. If you tell a student that their work ROCKS when it lacked in technique or proper understanding of the materials, it will come back to haunt you when they get a teacher willing to critique their work honestly. You, the warm fuzzy teacher will be just like the folks gawking over the Emperor's New Clothes, standing there with no respect or credibility. Me, the Mom who chose a quick and easy, "git 'er dun" solution rather than taking the time to actually stop what I was doing to address the issue (because the tough stuff always takes time folks) will be something I will have to revisit and, daresay, take a bit more to rectify (you see, I just solidified in my older son's mind that it was "OK" to lie.....that will take time to iron out).

To add punctuation to this post, my children and I discovered a decaying deer on the side of the road as we walked and talked about the great injustice I had facilitated earlier in the day. My son said point blank to his older brother, "You made me feel like that deer, all rottin'. You made fun of me bein' hurt by not meaning what you said. You are a dork! Someday you are goin' to feel like the deer and I will feel bad because I know it isn't fun." Profound from a 6 and 7 year old yes but, true. Someday, you will be on the receiving end of a condescending platitude that leaves you wondering if that person actually meant what they said......that wonder will make you doubt, that doubt will make you question, that question will make you fear and that fear will make you stagnant and once stagnant, you rot. Not cool.

Earthquake?

Yup, you read that correctly.....the Midwest had an earthquake early this morning....

I did not feel it because well, I was happily asleep but, my husband did. I remember a while back, Michigan having an earthquake and I was in my car going over a bridge. It was the weirdest sensation to feel the whole bridge gently rock. It was however, just unnerving enough to make me never want to live in an area where earthquakes are a bit more common. A friend of mine and I have this friendly debate over the natural disaster question. She adheres to the fact that earthquakes are better because they are sudden and over quickly whereas, the foul tornadoes and such we get here are long and drawn out and in some case, anti-climatic when they do not actually matriculate. I dunno. I figure the building will fall either way and well, we have a basement that is fully stocked with art supplies should I have to get stuck down there for any length of time....my demise will be colorful I suppose.

Deep down, I think it is totally because of my Dad's birthday today that we were blessed here in Michigan with a ground shaking event...yup Dad, you are *that* old :) Happy Birthday!

Heidelberg and Provo Craft

I have a busy week going back and forth to Detroit. I think people truly do not understand what it is to not have art in the schools until they experience it first hand and see the devastation left in it's wake. Kids who are not involved in the arts are crippled for the rest of their lives. Exposure to music and artists and their work are so important and, it is my personal belief that one who is unaware of both music in it's many forms and art from around the world is, for all practical purposes, not truly educated. So much of our human experience is tied up in expression- can you imagine never seeing a Van Gogh or hearing Mozart? Welcome to many of our inner city schools.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work on behalf of Provo and Heidelberg with these schools. It is such an amazing thing. More on this later.

Final Stretch

This is it, the final stretch! I am so excited about the book I am working on. This project is such a labor of love for me. Not only is it designed for teens (not a mamby pamby sort of way either, these projects have meat and will take a bit longer than other projects designed for this age group) but, it stresses being a better steward of our resources and using common everyday things to create with. Teens in general are one of the coolest age groups to work with. Their insight and voices are so fresh and the innovation they have is nothing short of amazing. When I set out to do this book, I could envision certain folks I had had the pleasure of working with along my teaching journey and bits of them and their stories have manifested themselves in the projects themselves.

Every once in a while, we get to do something really cool- for me, this was that something. I am so proud of the projects that were put together and I cannot thank the kids enough who helped "tear" them apart and give their two cents worth in their construction.

 

Memo to Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature:

I am writing to inform you of some egregious events here in Michigan. The daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses are now buried under a few inches of snow gasping for relief and most likely dying from overexposure. Methinks it is a bit of tom-foolery by folks there in your office that has occurred and, is the catalyst for the recent turn of events..... just a few days ago we were flirting with 60 degree weather and I daresay, I was wearing a short sleeved shirt without an overcoat. I am hoping that you will get to the bottom of this as we here in Michigan, are quite tired of snow and were excited about the premise of Spring.

My Highest Regards,

Sarah Hodsdon

Perspective

I was once told that there are truly 3 sides to every story- each person has their own perspective and then, there is what really happened.... Personally, I liked the days when information wasn't so instant. Once upon a time, you actually had to wait for a response and really had time to think about things- now everyone is behind a computer screen reading into things that may or may not be there and jumping to conclusions..... and acting on them right away whether they are actually true or not.  Really now, how can any of that end well?

I witnessed an interesting exchange between two of the teenagers I work with....they were fighting via text messaging and the whole he said she said was not only done without ever once seeing the other person's body language but, in abbreviated form. I must admit, I found it thoroughly entertaining- sinful I know but, still absolutely fascinating. The whole interesting part was it all started when one of the girls misread the abbreviation. Rather than calling the "offender" to straighten it out, she opted to text her. Things digressed from there. Things were said out of anger, feelings were hurt and well, I would hazard a guess that everyone in each of their respective circles heard about it.... Later that evening, I got a call from one of the Mothers basically telling me that her daughter was making everyone's lives completely miserable in the household and whether I had any insight to fix the mess. I mentioned a sign I had seen that day and of course she laughed and said, "It isn't everyday you get to be both the statue and the pigeon...." It is all about perception. For every moment you feel like the statue, take a moment to think long and hard whether you are the pigeon in someone else's world.

The Savvy Crafter

Well I am excited to announce the arrival of Sandra McCall's new book the Savvy Crafter's Guide to Success! And, oh yeah, I have some pieces in it....can we say cool? Actually, there on page 34 is a little excerpt I never thought would be published- full of snarky irony and, believe it or not, an event that actually occurred during one of my classes.... I was so grateful to be included in this project. I spent the better part of today reading through the book and, I must say, if you are looking to earn a living selling your handiwork, this is going to be a wonderful resource for you. In addition to talking about the things we all sort of know, there are discussions about how to price your work, the pros and cons of different venues where you can sell your work, forms, and wonderful bits on marketing and keeping motivated. I wish I could get you a link and a picture- as soon as it is posted on Amazon, I will make sure to add it to the links. The ISBN number is 978-1-58180-942-8 if you want to check it out now.

Artiscape weekend

You Ohioians looking for something cool this weekend should be looking over in Sandusky.... Artiscape is a wonderful little event held by Lisa Ohmer over at European Papers AND, a whole bunch of my friends are going to be there....

MaryJo McGraw, Magdalena Muldoon (MercArt), Jacqueline Sullivan, and a whole bunch of others will be down there (I say down there because well, I am north of Sandusky a bit) teaching classes and selling their handiwork. I encourage folks to take a field trip that way- you won't regret it.

The Post About Birds

Ever wonder why you bother leaving the comfy warmth of your bed some mornings? I must tell you about my day today....if for nothing else, to give you a wonderful laugh and make you think about how lucky you were not me....

Leaving many of the details out, it started with our dog not allowing us to leave home without him and him jumping into the car after a stand down at the front door where he would let no one pass. This sounds petty but, when a dog that weighs over 100 pounds refuses to let you leave without him, getting him to move away from the door *is* an issue..... So, about 10 minutes later and a few miles down the road, two tires on our car blow....thankfully we had some wonderful folks at Brandon Tire Company dropped everything to get us on our way (thanks guys!). Then comes the funny part. Later that morning, I was working at the computer when I heard a distinctive scratching and banging sound coming from the wall. I told the cats and dogs to earn their keep and figure out what it was. Realizing it was coming from our wood burning stove, I gingerly opened the door enough to sneak my camera lens in to take a picture of what was in there. A bird. A bird had breached our flew and worked it's way down into our stove. So, with me in a hockey helmet and leather gloves and my daughter wearing her football helmet, we were prepared to take on the beast in the stove.... it pecked my hand, I dropped the bird, it flew away into the house, I screamed, my daughter clapped, the dog took off after the cats and all my drying art on the counter went flying..... it was not pretty, it was not fun, I could hardly crack a smile with the tears welling up in my eyes. We did finally manage to get it out of the house through an open window but, it was a fiasco I dare not ever want to repeat.