The Art of Cooking

Today, I was making beef stew for dinner. I was really excited because I knew the result was going to be delicious and couldn't wait to devour it. I also had a little bit more time than normal to enjoy the experience of making the meal, instead of rushing to simply get energy into my body STAT (which happens...most of the time).
While I was doing this, I thought about how cooking can be considered an art or a science. And how, like any other activity in our lives, there are those who are talented and those who learn the skill.

Some people that I know, learn just the basics of cooking (how to not give yourself salmonella essentially) and that's all they need to know. For them, cooking food is simply a function of survival.  
Chicken breast, sidekicks, green beans, done.

For others, it is a learned skill where the individual learns as much as they can, finds new recipes, tries them out and improves from the experience to make relatively simple, but tasty meals.
 Beef stew anyone?

And then there's the ones who cook with flair, who know exactly which flavours work well together, who can experiment and create fun and delicious culinary experiences.
 Please share any examples you can think of!

No matter which type you are, cooking is a necessary life skill and one that could develop into a type of art. Like any other art form, there are techniques that one can learn to improve their abilities even if they wouldn't consider themselves 'a natural'. I sincerely wish that Culinary Arts was part of the curriculum for Fine Arts. That is one concept that I think Montessori has ALL figured out, that I would love to be a part of. What better way for our students to integrate the wonder of art into their daily lives, in a way that is functional and (I believe) has incredible value and empowerment opportunity for our youth. Bon apetit!

Finding, Seeing, Creating

I was driving back to Prince George from McBride today and I stopped at Slim Creek for a pee break when I found this beautiful tree:

Surrounded by the dreary grays and yellows of fall, the bright red of this tree just popped. I gathered a few samples of these vivid leaves from the ground below, and brought them home with me. The result? A bit of decoration for my dining area:




For the very first time in my life, I was described as crafty while I put these together. Granted, it was my boyfriend that said it and granted, he may not know the meaning of the word... (it's ok, he reads this blog too) but apparently this may have been step one of a little bit of creativity? Perhaps?

I think that decorating is such an undervalued art form. So many people have great skill and vision when it comes to room or event decor. It would be interesting to find new ways to encourage students to discover this skill at a younger age, perhaps through dances and by decorating the halls of the school. Perhaps giving the students a little more independence in these areas could help them grow creatively and simultaneously have more ownership of their school. It seems that all these extra  things are great ways to integrate creativity into students' experience outside of the predetermined curriculum.

Find Art Anywhere!

I work as a server in a restaurant chain in town. It's pretty basic: talk to people, carry food, smile a lot. While simple in theory, it's actually the toughest job I've ever had. There are constant demands, you have to act calm but run like the wind, you have to problem solve, and you have to account for every second when you have 8 tables of customers who all want to be fed NOW.

What is my point?

My point is that in a stressful, demanding, high-tempo environment like this, it can be hard to find the beauty in it, the opportunity to be a little creative and to have fun. I have found one way to accomplish this human need: dessert. And no, I don't mean eating it! I mean decorating :)

Although the kitchen staff prepare, cook, and assemble everything on our menu, it is up to us servers to decorate the cakes and make them look delicious! Here is an example of a cheesecake that has had some TLC from yours truly - doesn't that just make you want to attack it with a spoon?

So, amongst the late food, testy patrons and hectic atmosphere, I have found a way to find a little peace and joy in my work. And art was the source.

Finding opportunities for students to find this peace may be a very effective classroom strategy, in whatever realm they find to be most relaxing. Some students may find that math is this outlet for them, or running. I can picture a 'free' period once in a while where students are encouraged to challenge themselves by choosing the subject they enjoy the most and working on the 'next step' which could be some sort of enrichment or work from the next years' curriculum. This way students are always being challenged and have the opportunity to blossom in the subject of their choice.

Forms of Inspiration

For my linked lessons, I created a series that focused on the different forms of inspiration that can influence art. This was the PLO that I focused on: (Visual Art) A1 use a variety of image sources to create images, including observation, emotions, ideas and concepts, imagination, memories, and sensory experiences.

For the first lesson, I linked to the HACE PLO about relationships and talked about how relationships (and the emotions of those relationships) can influence our art.

For the second lesson, I focused on observation as a skill for improving artwork, but also as a form of inspiration.

For the third lesson, I talked about sensory experiences, specifically music. The activity had the students think about the way a song or an instrument sound made them feel, and how that would look if they were to draw it.


I've come up with another form of inspiration for my own art. I had a dream the other night, the details of which have since been lost, but it included images of wooden ramps and parachutes. This has inspired me to start sketching a freestyle image that includes these two symbols of travel. Considering the above PLO, would this form of inspiration be classified as imagination? ....or memory?  An interesting thought!

(I will post a picture of my sketch once there is more to show.)

Dance, dance, dance

The art form that I want to talk about today is dance.. oftentimes I will only get the opportunity to dance in group settings (because the style I love is partner dancing). My friends and I will just start kicking up our heels on a weeknight, weekend, any time. I rarely listen to country music on my own, but if it's playing I just can't keep my feet still. Although there are no musicians in my family, my siblings and I were raised with a huge appreciation for music. We learned how to tap our toes, bounce our feet, and sing aloud to any of our favourites. This movement has translated into dance for all of us. Feeling the music and translating that feeling into steps and turns is an interesting concept. I have met a couple of musicians in my life who have no desire to dance at all - they can create music by strumming a guitar, but don't feel comfortable moving their feet to the beat. I'm curious about why this is, and what I can do to encourage our youth to keep moving. Dance is not just a fun activity but can also be a sport and an art form. It can keep us healthy: physically, socially, mentally and emotionally and also promotes music appreciation. I hope that I can figure out more about this phenomenon so that I can help make dance interesting for my students!

This is a photo of me learning a completely new dance style: latin dance! - I had to watch the other dancers and just pick it up as I went, which was quite the challenge. For each song, the dancers changed the dance style so that it matched the beat. I learned a lot and was certainly sweating by the end! What fun :)

- in Fribourg, Switzerland 2012

Poetry but I'm No Poet

Catherine posted this week about poetry and the way that poems can evoke or persuade thought. It reminded me of a poem I wrote a couple years ago that shows some of the frustrations that I've felt about our society. It is strange to post it purely in written form: the rare time that I've shared it, I've read it aloud. I feel that reading it is key to give emphasis and pause where it's needed, to make the points that I want to. So just imagine those when you read it! It will be interesting to see what you think of it as it is here. So close your eyes, take a breath and read it slowly, intentionally (that is how I would do it aloud):



I am so grateful for the relief that the light of my life throws the world into,
without it I'd be blind.
But blindness is a virtue,
just like kindness or joy.
The kind of ignorance that is blissful.
And practicality is an abnormality in this cycle we call life.
And rations are more for food than they are for thought.
And patients are in hospitals,
but it's not in our hearts, slowing us down, pondering...
That is a virtue we've forgotten.


In a world of here and now, are you here? Now?
Instead of pennies, we're pinching cards. Swipe, stripe, slide...
....slide down into that red world and stay there.
Drown in the luxuries that you've chosen for yourself.
Too bad you didn't buy flippers.
Flip out against this world that we've created. 
There's so much....space to mold it to our will.
Spacing out is not an option.

Be present in the present or it shall escape from our grasp and will be another's to control.
Another human, another country, another world.

And it goes on, this life we lead.
But if the world keeps spinning, will it ever spin out of control?


-Jes Oystryk


I often think of Shane Koyczan and the way that he performs poetry. Here is a link to one of his amazing talks - and this one is so relevant for our students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1iS1MqUy4

This clip would be a great way to introduce slam poetry to students. Slam poetry is a very modern form of poetry, is a performing art and can be very political or influential. I think that slam poetry would be an excellent strategy for getting students to be more interested and motivated to do poetry. It encourages the use of rhythm and other mechanical forms of poetry. The following website gives some great ideas for lessons on slam poetry. There are also great sources that give definitions and histories about slam poetry.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june00/poetryboxlessonplanone.html

Loss of Beauty

I truly believe that the overuse of television has resulted in a loss of beauty. I don't think t.v.'s are a bad thing, there's certain shows I love and films that just resonate with me. However, there is this phenomena that occurs in the lives of many, where the television is a vacuum, a black hole. It sucks them in and takes over their evening, or their weekend, or more. And I am not exempt from it, especially not from the other black hole known as Facebook. But my point is, that many people I know don't have hobbies. They don't have a way to keep their hands busy or challenge their mind. And I know, because I was there. This makes me incredibly sad, because I feel that this is a loss of beauty. These are amazing, talented people that I believe have wonderful contributions to make to the world. But they don't believe it, because they've never experienced it. I believe these people would find their place if they just had an outlet. One that was not the mind-numbing experience of endless t.v.

I'm trying to imagine ways that I could encourage students to develop their own hobbies. I personally love soccer and I fully plan to organize soccer teams in elementary schools but when it comes to more creative things, there are so many different clubs that one could form to encourage these types of habits. Crafts such as knitting or scrapbooking can lend themselves to great social opportunities for students. Clubs like these would not only keep students away from t.v.'s for another hour a day but may create opportunities for students to form bonds and manifest these practices together outside the club itself. Extra-curricular activities are such an important tool for teachers to consider - they create opportunities that would be so much more difficult in a classroom environment.