Saturday, March 15, 2014

A Garden Love Story

The Creative Arts students are writing stories that will become the inspiration for their ceramic story poles. I decided to play along and write one about my garden.  Below is my story, along with a couple of photos of what inspired it. We are currently working on creating our story poles out of clay! Students will be posting their stories on their blogs.  More photos to come soon.


By the end of March, the tips of the hostas begin to push through the debris of winter’s wrath convincing me that spring really will come – on schedule, despite the nagging feelings that it will never arrive and we’ll all be doomed to more months of biting cold and dreary days. The hostas, daffodils and crocuses are the warriors of spring, fighting the lingering chill with bravery and fortitude. Their determination and sense of purpose inspires me and gives me hope. My garden gives me hope, keeping me grounded and connected to the power of the human touch.
            
Created with the love of our own hands, my husband and I built our garden and have been working, adding, and tending to it over the years. Every flowerbed is handmade, soil turned over, and nourished by shovelfuls of our own compost and sweat. Every stone in the curving paths, placed there by us with intention and careful consideration. Call it feng shui. Call it hard work. I call it our little slice of heaven.
            
Making things together and tending to our garden gives us pleasure and satisfaction. Along with the finches we feed, and the bees, birds and butterflies that visit us, we have cultivated our own plot within the Garden State. 



April 2003 - the garden love began. Still growing strong.




Sunday, March 9, 2014

Happy Youth Art Month!

March is Youth Art Month!

To celebrate, art teachers from all over the state, are asked to select work for a local county show. This year, The Camden County YAM Show is on display through March 27th at the Rohrer Public Library. An artists reception is on March 22nd from 1 - 3pm. One of my students, Amelia Moore, also had her work selected to be on display for the NJ STate YAM show held in the State House in Trenton! Here is a postcard of my students' work that are featured at the county show.

Happy Youth Art Month everyone!! I'm proud of you!