Art Moves Redmond

Art Moves

Here in small-town Redmond people are prone to expressing themselves in all sorts of ways.  Most of the adult flag-waving and social media posting creates conflict, while teens feel free to passively flaunt their creativity through clothes and hair. There are plenty of bumper stickers and signs that point the way to political opinion or social change.  It's a confusing time.  The City of Redmond has managed to take on the mammoth challenge of self-expression with an Art Council that actually inspires art.  

The Dry Canyon is a four mile stretch of mixed use areas including ball fields, playgrounds and bike trails.  Where the paved trail runs under Highland Avenue (Highway 126) there is a very special art installation.

Moth and Octopus

This pedestrian tunnel used to boast some of the worst graffiti in town.  After years of beautiful mural paintings being desecrated, then painted over, then tagged again, the Art Council finally decided to let the public have their way with it.  They painted the entire tunnel gray and put this message in a small space near one of the entrances: 

Authorized area for original street art

All are welcome to paint.

Only paint on interior tunnel walls/ceiling.

Please dispose of trash.

No profanity, tags, advertisements or political artwork.

Keep it clean - this area to be enjoyed by all.

Elephant Tusk

At first there was a lot of gang tagging, inappropriate language and sloppy spray painting, but slowly over time the most thoughtful creations are left alone and seem to multiply.  Some are anonymous and some are signed.  Professional artistry mixes with young effort and creative explosion. Of course there is still occasional graffiti or inappropriate art, but anything that goes against the guidelines is quickly covered with gray paint by city employee fairies with paintbrushes who seemingly come in the night and create space for new art in its stead.  We've seen some beautiful work, of which these are only a few.  The beauty of the art installation lies in it's fragility.  You never know day to day what will appear.  Someday, I'm hoping (or planning?) someone will paint the ceiling black and starry or maybe with a Michaelangelo-type mural. Have I painted in the tunnel, you ask?  Have you?  

Raven

Summer Learning- the real scoop

Summer learning always begins with lots of great books.

We didn't advance three grades over the summer as I had hoped.  In fact, I think we may have lost some academic ground.  Now that we're in full swing in the new school year I find myself reminiscing about our past summer.  I had big plans, but instead this summer came to be termed "The Summer of Her Boyhood."  Someday I'll write more about that- the idea that there's a special, fleeting time in a girl's life where she is free to just be herself, to be wild and untamed and romp and play to her heart's content.  Grace Girl turned 7 and Baby Rain turned 3 this summer. It was a fantastic, wild romp of a good time.

So, here are a few things the girls learned from our big wild summer:

• Grace Girl and Baby Rain invested in long-term projects and enjoyed the outcome of hard work.

Playing in the Sunflower House

•  Sure, she can't spell worth a darn, but check out those waterfall-fairy charming skills!

Hiking at Horsetail Falls in the Columbia Gorge

•  Maybe Grace Girl's measuring skills are rusty, but she understands "scale" in a whole new way!

Making friends with the Sea Lions at the Oregon Zoo

• Baby Rain explored the language of math through music and rhythm.

Exploring music, costume and art

 We missed some reading lessons, but Grace Girl's learning to communicate in new ways.

Found a snake at a wilderness lake on her first backpacking trip

 We backed out of gymnastics and didn't do sport camps this summer, but we stayed in shape the old-fashioned way- hiking, running, climbing...what a view!

Wilderness wildflower meadow romping near 3 Fingered Jack

 Grace Girl learned about physics, gravity and force!

Oregon Coast wave jumping

Baby Rain deepened relationships with the people that matter most.

Beach walking with Daddy

•  They may be a little wild and untamed- ok, maybe more than a little- and I'm so glad.  May they never forget the wildness of their own souls.

Wild summer days- camping on the Little Santiam River 

My prayer for our new year is that each adventure would bring learning, and each cause to learn would be a glorious, swashbuckling, fabulous adventure.  Yes.  I said swashbuckling.  Because it's a great word.  Go ahead.  Say it out loud.  I dare you.

May the road always rise to meet you...

Small hands, big world

When I feel I've lost my way and am out of touch with what lives outside my window (which actually happens to me quite often- several times a day, usually), we all head outside.  Regardless of the weather.  Sometimes it's a walk around the neighborhood or a more organized activity like a hike, but most often we just hang out in our yard, enjoying the space we inhabit.  Sometimes we just stay in our pajamas.

Nature Journaling in dinosaur jammies

One of my favorite things to do with my five year old is Nature Journaling.  We started when she was four, loosely following Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study (also available free in a digital format of your choice). 

I keep a backpack prepared for her with her binoculars, magnifying glass, colored pencils and journal.  The backpack usually lives in the car because it's the most common place I am when I wish I had it with me.  And yes, my Anna Comstock is actually in the car right now, too.

Journal, binoculars, magnifying glass, pencils and a subject to study

My Grace-Girl has drawn pine cones, butterflies, flowers, rocks, grasses, and, most recently, sunflowers.  I had her pick a specific flower to draw and study.  She went to work looking at it from all angles, examining it, understanding it.  First she drew the heads and leaves of the multi-headed sunflower, then she drew the entire plant as she saw it. We counted stems and leaves as well as flowers.  Here's the finished work.

Pages from the journal

Of course I had some books from the library on the topic in anticipation of the moment and we read them before we came out.  Back inside we finished our study of the sunflower with a nice craft I made up with cut out pictures of the plant's life cycle separated by arrows circling a sunflower we pasted together with bits of paper and actual sunflower seeds.  Fun.  

But back to Nature Study. Here is Baby Rain experiencing her natural world.  

Baby nature study

 It was warm this day and she had been playing in the hose water while sister worked on her journal. 

I'm mostly writing this to encourage myself not to forget to get outside, regardless of the weather or the incessantly needy state of my house (or my blog).  This is not what we do everyday, but it's what I strive to do most days.  :) Thanks for listening.  For more inspiration, check out this amazing blog with great Nature Journal challenges.

Like giving books for birthdays?

Some kids don't get much for their birthday.  That's why I'm excited about what Barefoot Books is doing.  They've launched a new campaign:

• If you buy Bear's Birthday through the month of July, Barefoot Books will donate a book to Birthday Wishes, an organization that gives birthday presents and parties to kids who otherwise wouldn't get any.  Great stuff, right?  This is relevant to me right now as both my kids and my husband will be celebrating their birthdays in the next month.
• You can also send a free birthday e-card to the bear-lover in your life!  Fun!
• Did I mention there's a huge summer sale going on right now, too? (through Aug. 15, 2011) 

Barefoot Books works with Books for Africa, Ecolibris, First Book, and several others.  If you want to be a responsible consumer, think about where you buy.  Supporting companies that make a difference in the world (not because it's good for the bottom line, but because it's good for the planet) makes a lot more sense than just walking into a Walmart and picking up the first thing you see.

If you'd like to make the leap, check out my website or find other gifts that promote community uplift, global awareness and corporate responsibility.

Don't YOU have a dream, Mommy?

   

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

How do you explain the significance of this holiday to a 4 year old?

Maybe you don't need to.

Maybe she just needs to witness her mama sitting in the car in the parking lot at the grocery store, crying her eyes out to the tune of,

I have a dream

that my four little children will one day live in a nation 

where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, 

but by the content of their character.

Maybe it's enough.  Dear God, please let it be enough.  Let this man's life stand as a witness not just to racial prejudice, but also to moral and economic injustice.  Let my kids see the better world they live in, instead of the worse one.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. 

Then I remembered standing in my kitchen, the night Barack Obama was named the next president of the United States and I turned to my husband and said, "this is an amazing moment in history, and here we are standing in the middle of it."

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

I remember a class full of Navajo kids.  We sang Jesus Loves me in Navajo.  I still remember the syllables, carefully burned into my memory.  But mostly I remember wishing that I could live in the dorms like the other kids.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

Fast forward to that parking lot, again, today.  I found myself doing the cliche...
"Martin was kind of like Jesus, honey.  He didn't get to come back to life, but his story will never end."

My husband finally turned off the radio and we went in to buy our new running shoes and bananas and whatever other inconsequential stuff was on our list today.
But I hope my girl will remember.  Today is about a dream.  What's your dream?

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Live Local, Love Local!

There was sad news in our town, today. Our local children's museum doesn't have the funding required to continue. This makes me a little angry, people! It's past time for us to band together; we are moms, husbands, sisters, cousins and friends and we are all neighbors. We need to support the institutions and non-profits that matter in our lives! Even the most solid organizations are suffering right now. Who sponsors those free craft days in the park? Who puts children's activities at every family-friendly festival? Find out, and show them some love this week! Free advertising on your blog, an event that highlights or raises money for them, or just a shout-out on Facebook can make a big difference in our small world. Nuts and bolts ideas? Here's one: I'd love to help you organize an online fundraiser using Barefoot Books. I can donate up to 25% of online sales towards the organization of your choice... just contact me and I'll get to work for your community! It's never too late to see how one person can make a difference. Now go, make magic happen!