loving art, science and creative kids
3/25/2023 11:44:36 AM
Arbor Day is on its way!
It's wonderful that our country dedicates an entire day to planting and celebrating trees each year. Some places, like the library, honor them for a month each April. Trees are held in my heart every day of the year. I give thanks for the shelter, shade, fruits, and nuts they provide. Their roots hold soil in place and their leaves block howling winds. Birds build nests and protect their young in them. Some, like the pawpaw tree, attract insects that woodpeckers pluck from the bark. They communicate with each other, doing their best to nurture young saplings until they are strong. Trees are an ecosystem of their own making.
Arbor Day started in Nebraska by settlers who moved from dense forests in the east to the Great Plains of the midwest. When J. Sterling and Caroline Morton arrived from Detroit they imported plants into their home. Sterling, journalist, and editor of Nebraska's first newspaper, started writing about the value of trees and encouraged people to plant them. As well as protecting shade crops from the sun, trees held the soil together, prevented dust storms, and helped bring irrigation to their farms. After Nebraska achieved statehood, in 1872, the Board of Agriculture approved a proposal to dedicate one day a year, April 10th, to planting trees across the state.
The holiday spread across the nation until 45 states adopted Arbor Day as a state holiday in 1920. The date was changed to April 22, Sterling Morton's birthday. Today, every state celebrates Arbor Day including Puerto Rico, the date was again moved to the last Friday of the Month. A good day to plant a tree. Added to the list of benefits of planting trees, are that they slow climate change, support biodiversity and create stronger communities.
With the arrival of spring, what tree will you plant this year? In 2022, the Arbor Day Foundation committed to planting five hundred million trees in five years with a focus on neighborhoods and forests. That adds to the five hundred million it already planted worldwide since its founding in 1972. The foundation has over a million members and is one of the largest conservation foundations in the world.
Lake Oswego Library is located at 706 4th Avenue, Lake Oswego, 97034. If you know of nature centers, libraries, or organizations that might be interested in displaying the paintings, please contact me at [email protected]/
What is your favorite tree? Should I add it to my collection? Comment below
3/18/2023 11:39:44 AM
The Studio
As a child, I wanted to be a prima ballerina. No one ever told me that I was bow-legged and wouldn’t make it to the top.I remained passionate and focused on goal that were transferred to other endeavors as I aged. Ballet taught me that happiness is in embracing something you love.
Why waste money on the arts?
The government boasts that between federal, state, and local appropriations approximately $1.85 billion dollars went to the arts in FY2022. Within this amount, the National Endowment for the Arts received $207 million, bringing the overall increase up by seven percent. Much of this came from special COVID funding to restart struggling institutions. Unfortunately, the amount allocated for the arts did not keep up with last year's inflation topping eight percent. If you count for inflation, federal funding for the arts decreased by nineteen percent over the past twenty years. State appropriations were cut by thirty-three percent and local funding by fourteen percent.
Today, on the brink of a recession, funding for the arts is again expected to decrease significantly. The devaluation of the dollar combined with population growth makes a dismal outlook for the future. And states not only reduced funding for the arts, but they've also eliminated it as part of the school curriculum along with field trips to museums, closing doors on an important part of the developmental process.
Too bad you may say. Why does it matter?
Studies over the past thirty years consistently show that young people who regularly participate in arts programs are:
- 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
- 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools
- 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
- 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance
- 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem
Students of the arts show improved scores on ACT and SAT tests, are more likely to graduate from college and have better analytical skills than those who don't participate. Arts programs are not fluff in developing an educated person. They introduce skills as important as reading and writing.
I give a testament to the way the arts led me through life. Mother made sure I was exposed through classes, visits to museums, and attendance at live performances. I studied ballet from pre-school through high school and took piano lessons for nearly as long. At the age of eleven, Mom enrolled me in an oil painting class at the Philadelphia Art Museum. Afterward, I would roam the halls of that magnificent structure. Sometimes I visited the natural history and science museums a few streets away. These excursions opened my young eyes to a world of intrigue and possibility. They made me a curious person with a thirst for knowledge.
Schools in my day also considered the arts important. Students were required to engage in art or music. These classes and summer camp activities introduce me to various crafts as well as fine art, and they sealed my fate as an artist, entrepreneur, and writer. They showed me a way to express emotions and share the world as seen through my eyes. I became empathic to others and their uniqueness.
"Even a little dog is the center of his own universe," said Anatole France. What I see and express comes from my soul alone--something no one can take from me. It helped me stay calm when my son was diagnosed with cancer and provided solace when sequestered during COVID. During stressful situations, I have no better place to throw frustrations to the wind than in my studio.
For some people, the arts mean music, for others, it's acting, dance, literature, or carpentry. Whatever the preference, developing visual, auditory, and kinesthetic senses increases brain synapses adding to the thought process. It gives you more pathways to analyze problems and recognize solutions.
It is interesting to note, that though public funding for the arts has decreased, private funding has not. The difficulty is that donors tend to fund the major institutions, not the small ones that introduce less wealthy people to the arts. When I started Impression 5 Science Museum in Michigan, I received a $5,000 grant to have a dimensional tableau of Guernica made so blind visitors could experience what Picasso had to say about the war raging in Spain. At the time, our museum had less than $50,000 to its name. Today, such a grant would never be awarded to an institution with such limited resources.
The Helicon Collaborative of artists reported in Not Just Money that two percent of all cultural institutions receive sixty percent of contributed revenue. Those fortunate non-profits boast annual budgets of over five million dollars. Private foundation grants are mainly given to institutions emphasizing western culture, making the winners richer and the losers poorer.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, by 2032, people of color will comprise the majority of the workforce, making it important to balance the playing field. Equity has to be achieved if we want a creative, thriving society throughout the country. It makes sense, even from a dollars and cents perspective. Bloomberg reports that the arts and culture contributed more than $800 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Prosperity depends on a thriving art community. When creative expression flourishes, entrepreneurship blossoms, social connections are made, and jobs increase.
So friends, don't dis art and cultural organizations as being unimportant when they are. Instead, be open to the future and consider adopting Sweden's public policy lauding the arts. "Culture is to be a dynamic, challenging, and independent force based on the freedom of expression. Everyone is to have the opportunity to participate in cultural life. Creativity, diversity, and artistic quality are to be integral parts of society's development."
References:
Grantmakers in the Art website.
Granmakers in the Arts website. Public Funding for the Arts in 2022. retrieved from https://reader.giarts.org/read/public-funding-for-arts-and-culture-in-2022#:~:text=2022%20Funding%20Levels,per%20capita%20investment%20of%20%245.49
Americans for the Arts Website. Why Public Funding for the Arts Matters. retrieved from https://www.americansforthearts.org/blog-feed/why-public-funding-for-the-arts-matters
Ragsdale, D. (2017) Tackling an inequitable arts fund system. Jumper on what the arts do and why. retrieved from https://www.artsjournal.com/jumper/2017/07/tackling-an-inequitable-arts-funding-system-a-response-to-the-report-not-just-money/
PBS News Hour website (2022) 3 ways that the U.S> population will change over the next decade. retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/3-ways-that-the-u-s-population-will-change-over-the-next-decade
Do comment below. It is always wonderful to hear from you.
3/11/2023 11:51:17 AM
Though there are stories of rape in Lives of Museum Junkies and Over the Peanut Fence explains what happens when LGBTQ youth are sent from their homes, these books aren't yet banned. You can find them in bookstores and on Amazon in paperback and ebook formats. You might want to purchase them before it's too late.
"Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature…but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself-" John Milton, author of Paradise Lost wrote in his 1644 book, Areopagitica.
Oh, no--not again!
Banning books has a long dark history, spanning every continent. Still, it is surprising to see it happening again. Unfortunately, Florida, Texas, and other conservative states are doing just that. Totalitarian regimes throughout history are the ones that target culture. I fear the United States is headed in that direction. White and Christian nationalism has spurred action that belies the founding documents that assure us freedom of speech, the press, and worship.
In Germany, the Nazi German Student Association declared war on the Un-German Spirit, and in 1933 initiated public purges by fire. Under a symbol of intolerance and censorship, works of Jewish, liberal, and leftist writers went up in flames. Joseph Goebbels gave a speech shouting! No to decadence and moral corruption! Yes to decency and morality in a family state!" Among those on their blacklist were Ernest Hemingway, Karl Marx, Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Mann, Jack London, Helen Keller, and Theodore Dreiser.
Hitler Youth members burn books, 1938 - (Smithsonian Magazine)
Over thousands of years, libraries and books have been targeted by all ethnicities. In 1817 students got rid of anti-national and reactionary texts and literature they too thought to be "Un-German." Years later, in 2012, al-Quida Islamists invaded Malii and then Timbuktu, destroying priceless manuscripts. Thankfully Abdel Kader Haidara and others risked their lives smuggling out 350,000 manuscripts.
To gain greater control over his people, the Chinese emperor, Qin She Huang, ordered a bonfire of books. Poetry, philosophy, and history went up in flames so a comparison wouldn't be made between him and other rulers. When Mao Zedong took power, the cultural revolution destroyed books that didn't conform to party propaganda. Australia banned books like Brave New World and Lady Chatterley's Lover.
A long list of emperors and leaders threatened by the ideas of others felt themselves to be victims of malicious writings. In Livy's History of Rome, he writes that Bacchanalia (200-150 BC) outlawed writings to prevent disorder and the spread of foreign customs. The Catholic church burned books and manuscripts along with heretics who attacked church doctrine and practices like indulgences and cosmological readings. More recently (1981), the Jaffna Public Library of Sri Lanka, home to 100,000 rare books of Tamil history and literature, was burned by Sinhalese Buddhists. Though they outnumbered the Tamils, the Buddhists felt their beliefs were under threat by the Hinduism of the Tamils.
Unfortunately, many of today's leaders are too weak to allow divergent viewpoints to circulate. They feel threatened and compelled to wipe writing they disagree with from the historical record. Over the past century, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, and A Separate Peace have all been subject to bans. So have the works of children's authors J.K. Rowling and Judy Blume.
Under President George W. Bush, EPA libraries were threatened with closure. In 2014, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper locked away or destroyed scientific research documents. Scientists working for Fisheries and Oceans were prevented from doing science. Their knowledge was purposefully taken from the public.
Power is scary when it allows someone to negate others' beliefs and put into effect their own logic as though they were a god. Historian, Barbara Tuchman, warned in her 1980 address at the Library of Congress, "Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, and thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible.”
Today's bans are aimed at the LGBTQ community and race. States like Florida are prohibiting teachers to discuss black history before 1965. Gay, lesbian, and transvestite issues are not to be mentioned. Florida is not alone in negating history and biology. There were 2,532 instances of book bans across the nation between July 2021 and June 2022 and over 100 bills were initiated at the state level to censor them.
Book bans are devastating to authors and gay teens who see the community treat them as being abnormal. Banning denies students the right to receive a culturally and biologically relevant education. Youth need to be given a broad spectrum of information and learn how to analyze issues that are raised. They are our future lawmakers and their minds have to be open to change. By 2040, white people will no longer account for the majority of the U.S. population. White supremacy is bound to fail in the end. Whether it will do so without bloodshed remains to be seen.
The first amendment guarantees freedom of thought and expression. If you advocate for this freedom, speak out and fight against censorship tactics. If you hear of censorship, contact the local press to write about it. Show up at meetings where decisions are being made. It may be a PTA meeting, a school board, or a public event. Whatever you do, make your voice heard. People, including students, need a balanced perspective to make objective decisions. Books are a way to unite us in freedom, while censorship is divisive.
Suggestions to combat censorship: Read a banned book. Speak out publicly. Host a banned books party. Volunteer at your local library. Join your library or school board so you'll have a seat at the table. Contact the press and let the public know what is happening.
Isn't this supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave? Please share your thoughts below. _________
For those interested in knowing more, the following information was taken from an article in The Daily Beast.
Five Book Ban Trends to Watch in 2023
1. Laws to limit access to information.
Since the summer of 2022, Florida schools have been removing books with LGBTQ+ content under threat of punishment from what critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law. In Missouri and Utah, new laws concerning the distribution of material deemed "harmful to minors" have led schools and librarians to cull their collections, scuttling away books with any nudity or sexual content
2. Changed policies making book banning easier.
One Pennsylvania district passed vague rules last summer about what kinds of books can be purchased. In the fall, a Texas district passed a prohibition on all books that discuss "gender fluidity." In Florida and South Carolina, districts have suspended access to slates of books when challenged, then rewritten their policies to justify such bans retroactively. And in Tennessee, a politically-appointed commission will soon have the power to ban books across the state's schools, and some commission members do not want to have to read the books before banning them.
3. Activists are equating all sexual content with pornography.
The pressure to root out such content appears to be working, as some schools and librarians have determined that even classic works like The Handmaid's Tale or The Bluest Eye, or books about puberty like It's Perfectly Normal, are somehow indecent materials that lack value for minors because they have sexual content. This dragnet is sweeping up memoirs and works of fiction that might teach young adults about consent, sexual assault, or date rape-and parallel new efforts in some states to censor education about abortion.
4. Censorship efforts are intensifying at public libraries.
Though schools are at the epicenter of a movement it is spreading to public libraries. In numerous states libraries have been facing demands to remove lists of books, and to ban LGBTQ-themed books, displays, and content in children's sections. When one Michigan library refused to ban a handful of LGBTQ+ books, local citizens mounted a campaign and voted to stop funding it.
5. Proposals to regulate books are getting more extreme.
The city council in League City, Texas, for example, recently voted to prohibit purchasing, displaying, or stocking books with certain content from any public library. In doing so, they are empowering local governments to dictate what books all citizens can freely access. Likewise, in Texas and Oklahoma, bills recently introduced would require new age ratings for books, which would be used to strictly police their public availability. Unlike rating systems for movies or music which are industry-driven, the Texas proposal would give the state new authority to set and enforce these ratings. Publishers that don't comply would lose access to the state's public school market entirely.
References:
Oliver, D. (2023) What happens to our culture when books are banned: ‘A chilling effect’. USA Today. retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2023/02/22/book-bans-what-happens-culture/11262643002/
Holocaust Museum website. (2-23) Book Burning. Holocaust Encyclopedia. retrieved from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/book-burning
Boissoneault, L. (2017) A Brief History of Book Burning, From the Printing Press to Internet Archives. Smithsonian Magazine. retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-book-burning-printing-press-internet-archives-180964697/
Rogerson, K. ( 2023) The State of Book Bans in the US win 2023. Lit Reactor. retrieved from https://litreactor.com/columns/more-the-state-of-book-bans-in-the-us-in-2023
Friedman, J. (2023) Here are 5 book Ban Trends to Watch in 2023. Daily Beast. retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/here-are-five-book-ban-trends-to-watch-in-2023
3/4/2023 7:14:18 PM
Ponerosa Pine
An overnight trip to central Oregon inspired me to paint this Ponderosa Pine. It was early morning, with the sunrise illuminating Mount Hood and covering the landscape with a soft blanket.
Who's Lucky Now?
Do some people have more luck than others? Without a doubt no one is lucky all the time, but some appear to have more good fortune than most. Is that fair and random or is it do to the way these individuals look at life? According to Dr. Margie Warrell, founder of Global Courage, there are six things lucky people do that others don't. They know bad luck is inevitable but they plan for the future and create good fortune.
What do lucky people do?
- First, they trust their intuition. They do their homework and analyze the pros and cons of a decision, then ask themselves if it feels right. They don't overanalyze big decisions for that lowers the odds of making the right one. With that in mind, don't ignore your next hunch. "Like everyone else, scientists have intuitions. Indeed, hunches and flashes of insight--the sense that something is true even if you can't prove it--have been behind countless breakthroughs." ― Philip E. Tetlock, Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
- Luck depends on a willingness to take risks. Courageous action that focuses on what you have to gain rather than lose will move you forward. Risk-averse people have a tendency to stay miserable in a secure situation rather than embrace the unknown. Going outside your comfort zone is a good thing, it broadens your horizon. "I won't get upset at you about a mistake. I'll get upset at you for the next mistake that comes from still thinking about the last mistake." -Doc Rivers
- By expecting good things, you'll find that more good things do happen. Help others and you will be rewarded, not every time, but in the end. "When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return." -Eleanor Roosevelt. When you put out and work hard, you'll enjoy your days more."If you are working on something that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you." - Steve Jobs
- Optimism-seeing the glass as half full propels you to look for opportunity where there is a setback. It takes an open mind to be accessible to lucky chances. Negative thinking is bound to dampen your spirit and make it more difficult to try new things. Mark Twain once advised, "Stay away from those people who try to disparage your ambitions. Small minds will always do that, but great minds will give you a feeling that you can become great too."
- Failure is inevitable, so embrace it. Everyone has setbacks, and whining about them won't help. Remember that adversity and failure are seeds for your next success. if something bad happens, don't let yourself be victimized and dwell on it. It's essential to change your mindset as fast as you can to the positive and move on. "Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." -Winston S. Churchill
- Lucky people associate with other lucky people. Confidence, ambition, and optimism instead of fear and pessimism are critical emotions for creating luck. No matter what happens to you, put on a cheerful face in the presence of others and help them achieve their goals when you can. If they become successful, you will know you've done a good deed and can take pleasure in their luck. "Nature has given us all the pieces required to achieve exceptional wellness and health, but has left it to us to put these pieces together."-Diane McLaren
I'll add one more to the list. To get out of a rut, do something out of the ordinary. Spend the day in a park, visit the zoo, stop by a skateboard park, try food not tasted before, or take a bike ride. Open your mind to the things outside the artificial boundary you created for yourself.
Do I follow my own advice? Yes, indeed I try to. I tend toward the optimistic side, a trait that sometimes drives my partner crazy. I find it difficult to see the world as good or bad, black or white. When I fail, which I do often, I study my failure so I grow from the experience and try not to make the same mistake twice. When stuck for inspiration, I take drives on back country roads, go for a hike, or spend time painting in my studio. Relaxing and taking my mind off the problem, puts me on the road to solving it. Brainstorming and coming up with outrageous ideas that must be narrowed down later also helps.
I recently joined a non-fiction club that gets me to read books I wouldn't usually select. The readings and discussions broaden my outlook, giving me tools to use as I go through my days. These tricks I've accumulated over years help me stay creative and engaged. The world is beautiful to those who make the most of it.
References:
Chu, M. ( 2017)This Researcher Reveals How Lucky People Doffer From Unlucky People. Inc.Daily DIgest for Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders. retrieved from https://www.inc.com/melissa-chu/want-to-become-luckier-heres-what-you-need-to-do-a.html
Warrell, M. ( 2015) Six Things Lucky People Do That Others Don’t. Forbes. retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2015/03/17/create-the-luck-youve-been-wishing-for/?sh=1b3efacb4ace
Art is always for sale. Contact me for questions at [email protected] Ponderosa Pine — original acrylic painting with bark, $595. Canvas Print —$99. booth are 16” x 20”.
I enjoy hearing from you. Do comment, below.
