The Chimera on a red-figure Apulian plate, c. 350–340 BC, remixed by Mrs. Gilly circa 2022
What is a hybrid of a hybrid? Could it be a chimera with two totally different DNA sets? Spiral me that, and spin a quadruple helix.
Okay, I must preface this. I am on the tail end of a migraine. Hence, the more loopiness, than usual. I just taught homeroom and was happy to see an artist saint. Today’s Saint ot the Day was St. Claudio Granzotto. I need to research his art now. So curious! One of the things that I love about teaching is that you learn so much each day.
To celebrate that we have St. Claudio Granzotto, we did cloud doodlles!! I was inspired by contemporary Instagram artist adailycloud. Lots of fun! I love clouds and take a zillion pictures of clouds. Yesterday, my husband Kelly and I went on a walk with our dog Fozzie. Lots of beautiful puffy clouds in the sky. When we lived in Northern Cali. I didn’t realize how much I missed big puffy cottony clouds.
Now St. Claudio was a sculpturer. I have some clay that I haven’t opened yet. I am waiting for a special project.
That reminds me, stations. When I taught art in person I created stations of media for my students to be able to choose with media that they would like to work with that day. We would have a theme or an artist’s spotlight. Some stations I would keep open most of the time such as the drawing and painting station. Other stations that I opened were clay, weaving, collage, animation, and sewing. I am not sure if I am missing any.. I have to check through some old photos. I haven’t taught in person for a minute now. It is so weird.
I am a founding teacher this year, I am the only art teacher at my school, and will be the music teacher next semester as well. This weekend, my sweet hubby helped me set up my studio. We live in a two bedroom apartment. He has his music studio/office/man cave in the other bedroom. I have the front room for my virtual classroom/art studio/lady lair. I was trying to think how to set up my art studio.
When we lived in Cali. I had boxes of my classroom materials from when I quickly packed them from my in-person classroom. Now that I am in my 3rd year of teaching online, I am trying to change it up a bit. I decided to create my art studio sort of like the studio stations that I had in my in-person classroom to help keep me organized. I have a Collage Corner box filled with painted papers, magzine clippings, decorative paper, and my stencils that I can used for Banksy inspired mixed media project. I want to add spray paint to some of my collages. I loooooove spray paint!!
With that, the studio in the making is coming along.
Okay so to wrap up some of my thoughts for the sake of time. Chimera teaching, that’s what I am gonna call this push. I am hybrid teaching again, but learning by doing that there are different ways that one can hybrid. Hence, chimera. Teacher tired, that is how I feel like some days. My field around me is changing, and I am evolving, so to speak, to keep my balance. Think Marcia’s moratorium. My identity as teacher and my place in my classroom and my community is changing too. I face many directions at once. I search and write my own maps. Meantime, where are you contemporary John Dewey? Who will philosophize our collective grow in PK-12 education? And are we at the cusp of a new renaissance pushed out of (or back into) the nest by the talons of the pandemic?
Chimera Teaching.
I will write more soon. I have the ideas in my head, just need the time to code them, so to speak. Cheers and Happy Tuesday!