Inside the Spin-Mosaic Studio

Another day of quarantine can be like, no offense, driving through the state of Iowa. The state of Iowa has 3,670 wind turbines. I have seen many while driving through from one state to another. Slowly winding arms on top of tall bone-white torsos look futuristically sci-fi and prehistorically dinosaur-ically giant at the same time, spikes of height on a flat horizon.

I live in Indiana. I have seen wind turbines here, too. Not implanted in our soil, but on the aching backs of oversized-load trucks flashing lights and blaring horns because their trailers are so long they can't make it through one red light on US 30. Us 30 is the main road I cross all the time to get everywhere I need to go (except in quarantine, 2020).

It's quite a sight. The long white turbine arms resemble bone-washed wings of an airplane while the white shape slightly twists like an angel changing course in mid-air. Renown artist, Georgia O'Keefe would love it.

This one is from the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Like my old truck waiting at the stoplight while the wing of the wind turbine drives by on a tired semi, I have stood at Newfields and experienced O'Keefe's work in person. See more of her work here.

There is only one other day of the year that contemplations of wind turbines come to mind if I am neither traveling through Iowa or sitting at a stoplight. For twenty years, once a year, a herd of wind turbines would enter my classroom with wild smiles and extra wiggly legs.

Every other day of the year; my aim as a teacher was to inspire...but not overwhelm. This day, I learned from my mentor, was a day to overwhelm; but not inspire. 

Sometimes by intentionally planning to overwhelm a class full of students with creative stimuli, there is no room left for mayhem or shenanigans. Energy can be fully funneled to creativity productivity--the same way these turbine wings harness the wind.

The funny thing is, this was the one day my plan backfired. My intent to overwhelm and not inspire, turned into buzzing inspiration, like the energy collected from the harnessed wind.

There are times when attempts to inspire under-whelm; and times when attempts to overwhelm, under-inspire. Students runs with it to destinations you as the teacher or parent did not provide a road map to. There are other times when students trip over inspirational glory because the light shines too brightly in their eyes. Over the years, I have coined this type of teaching-fail like sunspot blindness.

Despite our best attempts to lead-with-love, empower, train, advance, direct, prod, nudge, illuminate, point, initiate, impress, motivate, hearten, kindle, spark, animate, instill, embolden, affect, stir, invigorate, urge, endow, infuse, enflame, enliven...and teach and inspire...our best efforts go sour. Sometimes they soar.

When I first started teaching many years ago, the corporation assigned a mentor. There was a lady in the office with big hair and more staplers on her desk than could  be useful in one day. I'm pretty sure it was her job to match up fresh-faced new teachers with mentors---so fresh we were still peeling graduation gowns off on the first day of school. The mentors knew there was way more to teaching than the cap and gown, but wise enough not to steal our thunder too soon.

My young fresh self was assigned to a veteran teacher who made the cut based on 4 criteria: years under her belt, time capacity for mentoring requirements, master's degree, and a paper saying she was interested in a stipend. Unlike online dating sites, there were no psychology tests to ensure compatibility. The big-haired office lady stapled our papers together, and that was that.

A few problems followed. We did not teach at the same school. To schedule a time to meet had to cut into off-work hours. We both had a good spirit about it, but there was a cloud of watching the clock. Vigilence to the clock has been a #1 rampant virus ruining potential throughout history in more ways than anyone can ever know. After all, squashed potential for lost connection cannot be measured or recovered, right? There is no clock to watch for that.

A debt to her is owed for one piece of advise. Early on, she told me what to fear the most. Then, she gave me advise on how to plan ahead for the fear of it...because one day out of the year, my classroom will be full of 25 wind turbines walking on short legs.

I tremble to think about it. That 1st year I was as green as Kermit the frog.  I thought I was too smart and she was too old. I carried on with my curriculum and it took weeks to recover form that one day. The 2nd year I got smart and listened to my mentor. I planned ahead for...

...the day after October 31. There is no end to the sugar-high. Sweet angels turn into monkeys hanging off chandeliers. And, the kids who are monkeys on every other normal day turn into...well, I won't say it. I truly loved every one of them for twenty years.

Effective teaching aims to inspire, not overwhelm. It's a fine line. EXCEPT for this one day of the year. I planned ahead for weeks. It felt like some kind of post-graduation final exam. If I could get this day right, I could tackle anything? If I could figure out a project that would totally excite them, where over-abundance of energy was fully ignited and absorbed by a project so dazzling that there was no room left for the stray of mayhem...then, like the culmination of the Velveteen Rabbit; I would be a REAL teacher?

The 2nd year of teaching, the one day finally came. My smile that greeted them at the door hid a wink. I thought I was ready for this. My plan: this year, I would be the wind turbine. I would funnel their energy and use it to my advantage. I planned to overwhelm at the expense of inspiration...and I came away with both. What did we do?

One true fact about teachers that you may not know is that we get all kinds of junk mail. I had enough catalogs from art supply companies for each student in the class. Each set of wild eyes and wiggly fingers got a book to page through with a message on the whiteboard that read, "If you had $500, what would you buy?"

They were invited to talk with one another. They were invited to show each other what they liked. They were invited to dog-ear the pages. I even told them if they thought someone else in the room might like what they find, they could get up, walk over, and share.

Nope, none of that. With blood sugar levels spiked to the roof, the class became quiet and calm. The next 30 minutes were filled only with the sound of the quiet rustle of turning pages. Noone said a word. Each student was in their own world of overwhelmed inspiration...in the pages of a teacher's Art Supply Catalog.

Why? Because inspiration can be overwhelming.

Activity #39: Art Catalogs--

Browse Those Wiggle Bugs Away

This activity is more an investment in the future than it is for today, but as I promised, this will take no more than 20 minutes will give your young artist something to look forward to in the mail, and is 100% guaranteed to inspire. Tried and true. If browsing the pages of an art catalog can capture a class on the day after Halloween, think what it can do during for quarantined creatives?!

Below you will find links to the top Art Supply companies I have preferred over the years. I promise there are no paid endorsements going on here.

Since I switched over to full-time art studio work, I still purchase my own supplies from these guys.

Contact them and request a free catalog. It will not disappoint. Each time I get a new one in the mail, I pour over them for hours with a cup of coffee and a dog or two on my lap. There are new inspirations, new media, and new artwork examples that inspire. My son loves them as well. I sit him down with a sharpie marker, he circles stuff, dog-ears the pages, and sometimes we cut and glue ideas.

Stay Creative and Have Fun!

For the Dick Black Art Supply Catalog, Click HERE.

For the Jerry's Artarama Catalog, Click HERE.

For Tri-Arco Supply Catalog, Click HERE.

For an Educational Innovations Catalog, Click HERE.

-- Mrs. Z!