Summer begins... BRING IT ON!

My school year has ended - let summer begin! I have many toys tucked around my classroom; I packed them away for a couple of months on the last day. This year a 4th grade boy asked to trade his Blue-Winged Kookaburra for a stuffed, singing Chickadee I had nestled under the TV set. I told him he could just have the Chickadee, but he insisted on trading. I tried to give the Kookaburra back to him on the last day of school... and he answered "But I gave him to you." - I realized then that he really wanted me to have his bird. I got an idea then that it might be fun to take this Kookaburra on my summer adventures and take pictures for my student. Yesterday, I took two photos at The Portland Museum of Art. I went there to see the William S. Paley Collection on Modernism. This is  a "must see show" - a remarkable collection on loan from MOMA. In the collection was one of the pieces I was tested on in my National Board tests - wow!, now this painting feels like an old friend.

It seemed fitting to see this rainbow on the last night of school. A great year has come to an end - with inspiration set in motion for the fall. My school will be getting a new principal and a new superintendent... change is on its way. Change is good. Happy summer!

Moving On...

I took my 6 NBPTS tests; a year of hard work comes to a close. Waiting begins. I won't get scores until Thanksgiving. Surely I will wonder 18 gazillion times until I know the answer. It's been quite a journey. Among the myriad of things both technical and profound I learned along the way, my ability to singly focus on tasks has also become greater. 

School is almost done for this year. I am ready to focus my energy in my studio... well, after I weed the garden. I spent the weekend getting caught up outdoors. Mowing a running path late in the day showed these dandelions owning a hill. A little trip to the woods to dump trimmed tree branches gave me a peek at a bird's nest on the ground. I can feel my batteries getting charged. 2 paintings are ready for my attention in the studio. Life is good - so, so good!