Hadassah Tea and Me

I am off to Marla Friedman's home for a Hadassah Tea. I will be speaking about our book Butterfly Kisses and Wishes and Wings- and more specifically how creating art was a part of my healing process.

Fittingly, when I was gathering up my books and support materials to bring this afternoon to the Tea, I picked up the sketchbook that was gifted to me following my diagnosis. That book was the springboard for ideas, images, thoughts and feelings that began my Body as an Open Book Series. Opening the front cover I found a quote I jotted down from the book Conversations with God, "The point of life is to create- who and what you are, and then to experience that."

That resonated with me 7 years ago as it does now. That act of being creative is is part of who we are as human beings. Using images,words, sounds, our bodies, our (hidden?) gifts or talents to express our experience is the key to living our lives fully- where ever we are or where ever we find ourselves. Hope where you are is a place of contentment and joy on this Sunday in January.

Speaking of Tea, I have been keeping up with my tea bag drawings. Some are quick late night sketches to fulfill my daily intention. Others are more deliberate observations. Here are a few from January.

A Feast for All - Contemporary Connections at Bancroft School

I recently completed my residency working with 2nd and 5th graders at Bancroft Elementary School in Wilmington, DE through DCCA's Contemporary Connections program.

Once again, this was a strong affirmation of the power of arts integrated education as a learning and transformative tool. These kids were so excited and engaged as they were introduced to sculpture, drawing, painting, printmaking and installation while they learned about mapping (Grade 2) and land formations and our our impact on our environment (Grade 5). In continue to be inspired by all the people that believe in the arts and bringing it to kids- Principal Lee, Mrs. Wallace, Ms. Stasney, and the staff at the DCCA. Planning and implementing a successful residency puts more on everyone's plate in these times of testing, testing and yes, more testing - but oh what a feast it is!

Delayed Opening- Snow Shots and a Tea Bag

A beautiful morning- a delayed opening. Sleeping in a bit longer. Outside with camera in tow, the lovely morning light, and ... my tea bag drawing from yesterday. slightly larger in scale, but still on the page so I can scan it in. my daily practice, like my meditation and yoga, and homage to my morning ritual of making a cup of tea for Scott.

Letting Go and Forming Connections

As 2009 is coming to a close this wet gray day I am reminded of my intention in yoga this morning- to Let Go. Let go of anything that no longer serves me - or others. And with that I would like to add Connecting - Forming Connections. Making art is often a solitary act and as I reflect on this past year in our new home I see I have created new work (www.nancihersh.com) In my Inherently Found series I started using tea bags. Tea bags to stain paper, tea bags with encaustic hanging from my utensils and also drawings; a drawing a day to be precise. My morning ritual consists of making a cup of tea for my husband Scott. This connects us and reminds me of the Japanese Tea Ceremony I participated in back in Hawaii in the 80's on the beach of Haleiwa Beach Park. This ritual steeped in tradition and meditation brings us to the moment of awareness and gratitude- something I intend to cultivate in my life.

My days (like everyone else's!) are constant to do lists; filled with taking care of my family, our pets and our home, teaching, volunteering in the community, work around our book Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings, yoga, meditation, journaling and other forms of exercise- and making ART. The pie sliced is so many pieces. Often at the end of the day I would feel frustrated or angry that so little if any time was spent in my studio. I decided to make a regular practice to drawing every day- something simple and present - like a tea bag. Some days I spend up to an hour drawing the tea bag or bags, and others they are quick sketches. I decided I would commit to this practice and see what happens. I spoke to Jay my web guru today and he is going to set it up on my site so I can share them on the web with you. For now here is one from yesterday as well as a sculpture I did over the summer titled 8 Cups of Tea (also referencing the book 3 Cups of Tea that I found so powerful and compelling.)

Happy and Healthy New Year to one and all!

Building Bridges, Opening Doors

Wednesday is Art Club day at Germantown H.S. in Philly. Alisha Hagelin is dedicated artist and art teacher extraordinaire and works with a great group of kids after school. In October we began meeting for our Mural Project on Peaceful Conflict Resolution. Aileen Lynch-McCulloch of Young Audiences of Eastern PA found the money to make this happen in these challenging economic times. Last week we brainstormed on ideas and images and are using Building Bridges and Open Doors as metaphors to illustrate the values of Forgiveness, Self-Esteem, Boundaries, Perseverence, Compassion and Love. Here is a group photo of Alisha and her kids as well as Asia, a language arts teacher in the school who heard about our project and wanted to be a part of it. She has become our official note taker and fellow brainstormer. Also posted is a photo of a student Desiree and her fabulous clay creatures! Creativity abounds!!!

In Pursuit of an IDEA

The other night I

caught Art:21 on PBS. http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/paul-mccarthy/

It was a two part segment;

the first was on Cindy Sherman, the second on Paul McCarthy.

I enjoy hearing artists speak about their work, see their studios

and really see where they come from. For example, Cindy made

a book as an adolescent called "The Me, book" where she made a photo album filled with family snapshots and she circled herself in all the pictures. I really appreciated seeing how her work and her process evolved from this interest in self and identity. But, it was the segment about Paul McCarthy that resonated most for me. To begin with, I have come across his work on a couple of occasions in Manhattan, but never really "got it" or cared to make an effort to. What struck me after watching the interview with him is that 1) the more you learn or know about something(someone) your pre-judgements are cast aside and you can really appreciate what is not always easy or accessible. This could be said about anything- or any one. And 2) Paul talked about his interest in the pursuit of an idea. He was not so interested in his audiences response to his work, rather his commitment was to an idea and to see how far he can take it. As an artist, our commitment is to the work, the pursuit of an idea; give it weight and value and then push it to the limits- without regard to how it will be received. By thinking of the end- how will it be received seems to stifle the very flow of the idea.

Peace: Pass it On

I finally acted on a bulletin board I have seen driving down Rte. 41 in Avondale, right near my son's Middle School. It shows Desmond Tutu smiling larger than life (and isn't he?) The slogan with his shining face says "His Moral Compass Points to Equality"

"PEACE... pass it on" I finally went to the website http://www.values.com/ and then sent an email to the Foundation to learn more about them.

Here are a couple of Q & A from their website:

Q: What is The Foundation for a Better Life?

A: The Foundation is a non-profit 501©(3) organization, started in 2000. We are privately funded and non-commercial. Our sole objective is to promote positive values, using print and broadcast media.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: We want the stories we share about the actions of others to inspire someone to do one thing a little better, and then pass on that inspiration. While a few individuals living values-based lives seems small, collectively they will make the world a better place.

I appreciate the positive, inspiring messages I have come across and I am going to use their site today as I begin my new residency with Germantown High School in Philly. I am working with art teacher Alisha Hagelin and her after school art club. The theme of the mural is to be Peaceful Conflict resolution and I have also reached out to my good friend Lorenn Walker http://www.lorennwalker.com/ who works a lot with kids and their families in restorative justice. Lorenn has always inspired me by her passion, energy and commitment to helping others resolve their conflicts peacefully. Another person I reached out to was Jeff Clapp of Where Peace Lives. http://www.wherepeacelives.org/ They have done incredible mural projects with kids all over the world.

These different site and resources are giving me much to bring to the first meeting today with Germantown HS Art Club Students when we begin our dialogue of what comes to mind when we think of Peaceful Conflict Resolution.

So here is a shot of Alisha and me from our preliminary planning meeting two weeks ago...

will keep you posted.