Friday - Art and Creativity - bringing people together from different backgrounds and experiences
04/24/2009

Thursday afternoon everyone in the group worked on the quilt pieces in the Learning Co-op, something that only Peggy was experienced in doing. Friday morning we met briefly with the idea of using our hands to create something as a group, and with a medium that was new for each person. Peggy suggested  that  she hadn’t used clay since she was a child, and the others agreed it was also something they didn’t know well how to use, but would appreciate trying. Before going directly to the table to build with the clay, Guendouz suggested saying together what we envisioned and drawing out a plan. He agreed to draw but relied on each person to give ideas of what the scene would be and how it should be laid out.

The theme of people coming together through art and also over a cup of coffee returned. A scene with a beautifully set table in a room full of music instruments, pictures of friends and family, and an open door with a welcome mat emerged on paper and over the next few hours with colorful clay, wood, paint, markers, and even live flowers from the yard.

Edna was not able to be with our group on this last day, but as the group worked they had in mind what they learned about Edna during their time together and incorporated some of those aspects into the scene. On Saturday when Edna arrived at the closing session of the seminar she immediately recognized the work of her group with her ideas of photos of friends and family in the scene

Francais :

Jeudi après-midi chaque personne du groupe  a travaillé aux pièces de patchwork à la Learning Co-op, activité dont seule Peggy avait l’expérience. Vendredi matin nous nous sommes réunis pour un temps court pour décider comment créer quelque chose de nos mains en tant que groupe en utilisant une technique qui soit nouvelle pour chaque personne du groupe. Peggy dit qu’elle n’avait pas travaillé la pâte à modeler depuis son enfance, et les autres ont dit que c’était également quelque chose qui ne leur était pas familier et qu’ils seraient contents d’essayer. Avant que nous ne nous dirigions vers la table pour travailler la pâte, Guendouz suggéra que nous partagions la scène que nous pensions faire et d’en dessiner la maquette. Il fut d’accord de dessiner le projet si chaque personne donnait son idée de ce que la scène représenterait et des éléments qui la constitueraient.

Le groupe choisit le thème de personnes se retrouvant par l’art autour d’une tasse de café. Petit à petit, en quelques heures, émergea une scène avec une table joliment mise dans une pièce pleine d’instruments de musique, des tableaux de membres de la familles et d’amis, et un porte ouverte avec un paillasson ‘bienvenue’, le tout fabriqué en pâte à modeler de couleur, en bois, avec de la peinture, des feutres, et même des fleurs venant du jardin.

Edna ne pouvait pas être avec le groupe pendant ce dernier jour, mais en travaillant le groupe a pensé à ce qu’ils avaient appris d’Edna et ils incorporèrent certains de ces aspects dans leur réalisation. Et samedi, lorsque Edna arriva pour la session de clôture du séminaire, elle reconnut immédiatement le travail du groupe et l’idée qu’elle avait donnée d’y mettre des photos d’amis et de membres de la famille.

Friday - Art, Creativity and building relationships with individuals, organizations and communities
04/24/2009

We continued to say a few words about how the way people dress can affect, or not, their relations with others. Urs, “In my country, when I was with people who had a very hard life, they didn’t care what I wore but more ‘Will you stay with us?’ What does it mean to stay with very poor people? That’s why I am here at this seminar. That’s what I want to learn about.”

Deborah spoke of the time commitment involved in being with people, paying attention to them, to what they say. “In a way you forget about  yourself, OR you find yourself!”

Ron found that “fairness and recognition is what kids want.” “The kids getting D’s and  F’s need our attention more,” said Kaye.

Cathy came back to the question of bringing beautiful sounds, words, colors etc. together. “In music, if you take just one instrument it can be beautiful, but it can also be dull. Then when you put another instrument—the drums, bones or dobro(sp?) it becomes even more beautiful…in poetry, it’s a collection of sentences and when it comes together you get that overall picture..with art it’s the same. We need lots of color to express ourselves”

“I’ve liked the collective part of this process, “said Ron.  Someone throws a thought out and  then we agree…it’s an agreeable process.” For Cathy, “it’s that interacting with people that’s good. When I talk to others and take part in what their life is, I forget..And when you’re sensitive to others’ emotions, they open up to you.”

Urs: “Trust is important. Sometimes we are trapped into trying to prove ourselves by doing and we are dependent on what others think of what I do. That’s the opposite of freedom! When I go to the neighborhood to paint, do I do it to be seen or for another reason? If I feel I am playing (acting the good boy), I am angry. This seminar is to be true. No games. Very poor families say ‘don’t play games.’ I like to be dependent on others to help me see what is true or not.”

Laurence: “I know it’s wrong if people say it’s good or not good.”

Ron: “why do we do things for the less fortunate? Is it for a ‘thank you’ or just because it needs to be done and it’s in our heart?”

“False humility!    The truly humble don’t need to say it,” says Deborah. Vina: Right you don’t have to advertise it.”       

Kaye likes the group’s poem and says maybe we could sing in a round as well on Saturday to show the others what we have been working on. We speak about the welcome here, all the food prepared by people and the time they took to welcome us. “We liked doing it and you showed appreciation,” said Cathy.

Kaye: “I met Vince and Francis at Binns Counts in 2002 and fell in love. They showed me things I wanted to do. Every class I was there to learn. Here we have a new learning center. They are very dear to me. They wanted us to help and participate in any way we can. My mother is sick and I have other things I could be doing. But they wanted us to help. You’ve come across the sea….

Vince and Francis mean so much to our community. They give but they don’t want glory. We’re not poor but they have enriched our lives.”

Deborah: “before we said we don’t want thanks but we appreciate it when it happens. The people in the neighborhood also want to give. A relationship is asking them to give as well. That’s equality.”

Kaye: “What is poor” Is it money? I was ignorant  of computers and now I can turn them on and get around in there.”

Ron: The basic drive for any organism is life sustaining.” Vina:” I want to pass the love I put into a (quilt) on to someone else.”

Friday - Art, Creativity as a tool to fight poverty
04/24/2009

We prepared our presentation at the closing session by writing some prose of things that have been important for us during the week. This is what we came up with:

From these mountains came…
The vibration of Bluegrass…
We could hear the fiddle, the Banjo, the guitar,…
Freeing your feet to flat footing…

If rocks could talk
The creeks flow, Southern Hospitality.
They could tell you about our unique style of creativity…
Paintings, Poetry, cooking, singing, woodwork, crafts,
The quilts of our lives…

Same story, same struggle, same fight.

From Reedy Ridge to New Orleans
From Clinchco to Quebec, France
From Trammel to Belgium…

Our mother land provides us with
Marvelous things…

It’s HELENE Flowertime,…
From these mountains came…

Français :

Nous avons préparée notre présentation pendant la clôture du séminaire, en écrivant de la prose des choses qui ont été importantes pour nous pendant la semaine : Voici notre présentation :

De ces montagnes venait…
La vibration de la musique Bluegrass…
Nous pouvions entendre le violon, le banjo, la guitare…
Libérer nos pieds dans la danse « flat foot »

Si les pierres pourraient parler,
Les petites rivières couler, l’hospitalité du Sud.
Ils pouvaient te dire notre style de création unique…
Des peintures, la poésie, la cuisine, le chant, le travail au bois, l’artisanat,
Les patchworks de nos vies…

Même histoire, même peine, même lutte,
De Reedy Ridge à la Nouvelle Orléans,
De Clinchco à Québec, France
De Trammel à Belgique

Notre mère, la terre, nous fourni
De choses merveilleuses…

C’est le Temps de Fleurs d’Hélène
De ces montagnes venait…

Maria Presley, Maria Victoire, Hyacinth Egner, Christian Januth, Sr. Jean Korkisch, Jane Phillips


Thursday - General News
04/23/2009













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Thursday we were back into regular rhythm. Theme Teams were together in the morning and after lunch and presentations of Trammel, Art et Partage, Atelier de Chant and Urs Kehl continued in the afternoon followed by a great turkey burger meal.

At lunch there were several activities on offer. Quilting was ongoing, as was weaving and dry-land fish hunting in the woods.

A group went off to visit with Wayne Powers, a local instrument maker who builds guitars, mandolins and fiddles from scratch. Those who went said that they were welcomed extremely well and the visit was very interesting.

Barney Reilly gave a presentation on the environmental issues of the area, especially on how the coal and gas extraction industries affect the local environment and ecology. The talk was very informative and people talked about it on an d off during the day.

At night, most of the group went to the Pound Town Hall bluebrass jam. It was in fact the best bluegrass jam that we have had over there. Mayor Jackie gave and introduction and was moved to tears by the fact that all these people from all over the world were in her town hall. The local people present made everyone feel welcome and at home. Three of the group won cakes at the cakewalks that happened.

For the music, Jason, Rex, Jerry, Deborah and Dann kicked off the evening with a mixed bluegrass, Irish and old time jam. They were followed by the Bluegrass Messengers (Jason, Rex and Jerry played with them) and then by the group Highway 11. At the end, all of the musicians had a collective jam of about 30 minutes. There was much good dancing and food

The evening was finished off at the Dorothy Baker House in Clintwood to celebrate Dann’s birthday.

Thursday - Art and Creativity - bringing people together from different backgrounds and experiences

04/23/2009

When our group started speaking together on Thursday, we spoke about how we are experiencing this seminar and time together. Peggy spoke about Fourth World Movement gatherings in general and said this time and others “bring everybody together, for peace” and that being an international organization and gathering opens and enriches the exchange even more. Edna spoke about learning to have patience for things she has never had patience for before, such as making a basket and quilting, which she has done the past few days during the seminar. Magali was not expecting the type of loose framework we have had to work in during the seminar, and it threw her off balance the first few days. However, having the space to work together in a variety of ways, and without a set format is a big chance and she hopes we can take more advantage of it the last two days together. Guendouz shared what he said is one of the most important things he learned while studying art; “the most important thing for an artist is that you have something to say.” Learning art techniques is secondary; first we must all have something to express, and he believes each person does, no matter their experience with art. Using art and creative ways to express what we each have to say can be very freeing. This is why it is so important that our time together motivates us to put the conditions in our and other’s daily lives to be creative and artistic. Diana added to this thought that being in these conditions to paint, quilt, and do other things she is not comfortable with are important in realizing how other people feel when they are asked to do something they are not familiar with. She said, “When I pick up a paintbrush it makes me think of what it’s like for people to do something for the first time. “

Francais :

Jeudi, notre groupe a d’abord parlé de ce que nous avions vécu pendant ce  séminaire et ce temps ensemble. Peggy a parlé des rencontre du Mouvement en général ; elle a dit que ce séminaire et les autres rencontres “réunissent les gens ensemble, pour la paix” et que le fait d’être une organisation internationale et d’avoir une rencontre internationale apporte une ouverture et enrichit les échanges encore davantage. Edna a dit avoir appris à avoir de la patience pour des choses pour lesquelles elle n’a jamais eu de patience auparavant, telles que la confection de panier ou le patchwork qu’elles a faites ces jours passés au séminaire. Magali ne s’attendait pas à ce type de cadre libre pour notre travail de cette semaine, et que cela l’avait déroutée les premiers jours, mais que c’est une grande chance d’avoir l’espace pour travailler ensemble de différentes manières et sans format préétabli et elle espère qu’elle peut en tirer encore plus de bénéfice dans nos deux dernières journées ensemble. Guendouz a partagé ce qui a été pour lui le plus important lorsqu’il a fait des études d’art; “la chose la plus importante pour un artiste est que tu as quelque chose à dire.” L’apprentissage des techniques d’art est secondaire ; tu dois d’abord avoir quelque chose à exprimer, et il est convaincu que chaque personne a quelque chose à exprimer, quelle que soit son expérience en matière d’art.  Cela peut être très libérateur pour chaque personne de trouver par l’art des manières créatives d’exprimer ce qu’elle a à dire. C’est donc très important que notre temps ensemble nous motive à inscrire dans notre quotidien les conditions nécessaires pour être créatifs et artistiques. Diana ajouta à cela que le fait d’avoir pu peindre, faire du patchwork et autres choses qui ne sont pas habituelles pour elles lui permet de prendre conscience de ce que d’autres personnes ressentent lorsqu’on leur demande de faire quelque chose qui ne leur est pas familier. Elle dit, “Lorsque je prends un pinceau je pense à ce que cela signifie pour ceux qui font quelque chose pour la première fois. ”

Thrusday - Art & Creativity - Building relationships with individuals, organizations and communities
04/23/2009

Barney Reilly, Cathy Rose, Deborah Thompson,Urs Kehl, Laurence Vilain, Ron Kennedy, Vina Reilly (most of the time) David Montgomery and Kaye Buchanan were absent for family and professional reasons.

There was a conversation around the fear of rejection when we choose to show, or not , our talent. Some are not comfortable saying, “I am a painter,” because it sounds like bragging. But it devalues us to say only, “I paint a little bit.”

How can we get over comparing ourselves or imposing standards on ourselves? Creativity or talent is different with each person. But we don’t want to “fail” at something that is important to us. It’s not right to compare. If we dig into our soul and our heart, it’s ours, there’s no need to compare.

There is a (societal) attempt to impose norms on artwork, or creativity expressions. But being too rigid hurts people and the range of norms is so narrow. “I get more energy when I see someone who is not in that ‘normal range’ whether its art, or physical aspect of a person.” It’s the same for intelligence. We can only tap a small part of it and there is not one way to be smart. Some, even many intelligence tests do not reveal the range of people’s intelligence. On the other hand these tests do sometimes reveal forms of intelligence that we had not been aware of in ourselves or others. So they are not necessarily all negative.

We spoke a lot about a general attitude that rural people were not as smart as city people but that was proved wrong time and again. This lead us to speaking about how regions or neighborhoods get bad reputations in general, where people are sometimes seen as being stupid, slow  or violent.  “In the military, you find out fast that there is no such thing as a dumb country boy.” (Barney)In Toronto, there was a lot of negative publicity about a neighborhood where Urs has been painting. It was portrayed as being violent. A 12 year old girl being interviewed by >>>>?? Asked, “Are you afraid to come to my neighborhood?”

This stereotyping prevents people from meeting one another. The teasing or humiliation associated with accents can also lead people to try to fit in, by attempting to lose their accent or by other means. But this can engender frustration with ourselves and with others. “Can anger be a source of artistic expression?” (Urs)

“Sometimes I put on professional style clothes so people will take me seriously. It’s not always selling out. We all have different parts to ourselves and we act differently in different situations but you are still yourself.” –Deborah

“Looking professional has a different connotation for different people. I never wore a neck tie on the job so as not to intimidate the kids or parents. With that I felt comfortable because it helped my relations with people.” Ron

“We all want to feel comfortable about being around others. “The inner beauty is what counts for me” said Cathy. “I don’t care what others think, I have to be myself.” Vina

“God is the culmination of the white light that is in each of us.” Ron

“I’ve never visited other countries and I had a stereotype about what the people would be like. But here I see there are similar backgrounds, some of the culture and artwork are like ours. You like lots of color.” Cathy

This is the poem we composed together. Each person contributed something.

“I never dreamt
I had a talent
Until I came up on the mountain
I saw many people from different countries
They have traveled near and far
Across the ocean, through valleys, rivers and countryside
There I found a myriad of talents
Each superior to me
BUT
Open minds,
Open hearts
Space to expand
Space to be
Learn to trust
Trust ourselves
Trust others
Your note, your colour is awaited
By the symphony of the world.”


Wednesday and Thursday: Art, Creativity as a tool in the fight against poverty
04/23/2009



Yesterday we decided to try our hand at painting. Each of us made a painting about something we had spoken about in the previous days.

Maria Presley painted a mouth, standing for the stories each of us has to tell; an ear, because we have to listen to the stories that are told; a miner’s helmet, for the importance of the local stories; and around these things a winding road like the ones we take whenever we go anywher

Lucille painted “the patchwork of my life”. She painted different forms of quilt, as “I did it all my life”. Some of the quilts were the “nine patch quilt”, the “log cabin”, and the “postage stamps quilt”.

Hyacinth painted WC and Jane with lots of children, and in the background the playground they built, because they really make a difference in the community through all they do, among others with children. As Jane says: “We help people, especially children who have a rough life.”

Maria Victoire painted the street in Trammel, when the houses were on auction in 1986, and most of them were saved for the local people. She also painted Trammel because of all the things they do in the community to prevent that the children will go into drugs

Christian painted the words: HELENE AND A LOT OF FLOWERTIME, (embellished with flowers) in reference to the story he told earlier in the week.

Sr. Jean painted a mandalla with a flower in the middle. She likes the shape, because it makes her think of the stain glass windows in the church.

Today we made the paintings into a “quilt”, with around it the slogan of the seminar: free to be together to create to be free to be together to create to be free, etc.

Français :

Hier nous décidions d’essayer la peinture. Chacun de nous a fait une peinture de quelque chose dont nous avons parlé les jours précédents.

Maria Presley a peint une bouche, représentant les histoires que chacun de nous a à raconter ; un oreil, parce que nous devons écouter les histoires des autres ; la casque d’un mineur pour l’importance des histoires locaux ; et autour ces objets la route de montagne qui tourne et tourne, comme les routes que nous devons prendre pour aller quelque part.

Lucille a peint « le patchwork de ma vie ». Elle a peint les différentes formes de patchwork (quilt), « parce que c’est ce que j’ai fait toute ma vie ». Elle a peint par exemple les « neuf carés », la « cabine de bois », et la « timbres de la poste » patchwork.

Hyacinth a peint un couple (WC et Jane) avec beaucoup d’enfants et au fond le parc d’enfants qu’ils ont construit. Ils sont importants dans leur communauté à travers tout ce qu’ils font, surtout avec les enfants. Jane disait : « Nous aidons des gens, surtout les enfants qui ont la vie dûre. »

Maria Victoire a peint la rue du village de Trammel quand les maisons seraient vendu en vente aux enchères en 1986, et la plupart ont été sauvées pour leurs habitants. Et elle l’a peint à cause de tout ce que la communauté fait pour que les enfants ne se mettent pas à utiliser les drogues.

Christian a peint les mots : HELENE AND A LOT OF FLOWERTIME (Helene et beaucoup de temps de fleurs). C’est décoré avec des fleurs. C’est en référence de l’histoire qu’il avait raconté plus tôt dans la semaine.

Sr. Jean a fait un mandala, avec un fleur au milieu. Elle aime ce forme, comme cela lui fait penser aux vitrailes dans l’église.

Aujourd’hui nous avons collé les peintures dans un « patchwork », avec autour les peintures le slogan du séminaire : free to be together to create to be free to be together to create to be free, etc.


Wednesday - General News
04/22/2009



We had a different program on Wednesday to break up the week and to allow some visits and activities further afield that could not be done in the usual two hour flexi-lunch.

'Theme Teams' met as usual in the morning but lasted until 12 noon instead of 11am. There were many interesting things happening including a kind of conceptual cabin going up behind the Learning Co-op as well as individual and collective paintings.

For the afternoon, there were several activities on offer.
Barney and Vina Reilly took Guendouz, Jeannine and Susie to visit Bill Dutton who is a wood turner and wood artist. He showed them his workshop, the tools he uses and the sort of stuff he makes. He says that for the bowls he makes, if you can eat cereal out of it, it is just a bowl, if you can't, it is art!


Jason, Elizabeth, Magali and Maria S hiked Pine Mountain. It was a good follow on from the Cowan Creek ladies the evening before since their stories were about what it was like living on Pine Mountain (though many miles further South and on the Kentucky side). Jason and the girls hiked a pretty unforgiving trail visiting a very nice cave called Rock House on the way up. At the top they were treated to an excellent view over Kentucky. Jason confirmed the myth that if you throw your hat down a natural hole through the top of the mountain called Blowing Rock, that it will come back out.



One of the 'Theme Teams' decided not to take part in activities and to continue to work on their cabin.

Barney, Vina, Jason, Guendouz and Roshan went to the WMMT radio station to talk about the Fourth World Movement and the seminar. Roshan was very happy with her first experience talking on the radio and all involved had a great time.



Urs, Diana, Jill and the ladies from the Haysi Library went to run the Centennial Heights Kids Group. Urs and Jill had prepared an activity combining singing and painting a mural. The result is great and can be seen in the photos for the day.

Many people finished off the day with a jam at Rex Owen's house. People were happy to respond to his invitation and to see the house that he built himself. There was much music, merriment and dancing.

Wednesday - Art, Creativity and building relationships with individuals, organizations and communities
04/22/2009

We spoke about what we need in life and said that depends on the culture. It’s not the years in your life but the life in your years, said Ron. Cathy said that as she gets older she wants and needs less . David spoke of a Tolstoy story with the question of how much does a man need, how much land? When he dies, he, or others, realize that 6 ft is enough, that’s all it takes to be buried in.

Urs told us that, as a young man, he and others came to realize that he was very much like his father in many ways, although they hadn’t spoken much about who they were. So they resembled each other without ever saying how they came to be that way. Urs asked: “Now, I go to areas where people have a hard life, where they struggle. I go with paints. I expose myself there, even if we don’t speak. Is it creative to go to a place like this and hope that something will happen?”

David responds that it is creative. “It allows you to be vulnerable. In new relations we risk rejection, acceptance too. But we are exposed. In college I wrote poetry and shared it with friends. They liked it. But then I couldn’t write for 5 years after that. I realized that the process allows the deepest part of oneself to come out….For me this is different than knowledge for knowledge sake.”

“My best music is in when I am in my den alone, said Ron. “Something comes up that I can’t replicate. Is it vanity or fear that keeps me from trying to recapture that creation in front of others? Fear of rejection might keep me from playing this created piece in front of others.” For Cathy, “seeing or hearing other people’s work gives me inspiration and plants seeds.” “The biggest fear for me is to be in front of myself, said Laurence. “ And it is through creativity that we can speak of ourselves to others. When you share your drawings, colors, music etc. you really speak of yourself. You don’t lie. Then others can see things in you with their own sensibility. So, our creations are first of all for us.” Urs summed up by saying that even if we are talking about art as a way of relating to individuals and groups, we always have to start with the art in ourselves. “We cannot avoid ourselves.”

Poetry, artwork in different forms can enable people who don’t feel valued to see themselves differently. David spoke of the men in prison who were writing poetry, some with incredible freshness and beauty. Ron spoke of young people who weren’t learning in a traditional setting but who when given the possibility to create with their hands, got really involved . “There are incredible transformations when kids see that have something of value to offer.” Cathy gave the example of people who are retired and feel useless.

But we asked ourselves, how to whet people’s appetites for the arts?

Kaye joined us in the end while Ron and Laurence were playing fiddle and saxophone. She said, I didn’t go to college but I don’t have to go. I can just come here to the Learning Coop.

Francais:

Laurence Vilain, Ron Kennedy, Cathy Rose, David Montgomery, Urs Kehl et plus tard, Kaye Buchanan (Vina et Barney Reilly n’ont pas pu venire)

Nous avons parle de ce que nous avons besoin dans la vie et le fait que cela depende de la culture. Ce n’est pas le nombre d’annees dans ta vie, mais la vie dans tes annees, disait Ron. Cathy disait qu’avec l’age elle a besoin de moins pour vivre. David nous a parle d’une histoire courte de Tolstoy ou la question de “combine faut-il pour vivre?” vient. A la mort, il constate que 6 pieds de profondeur en terre suffit, car c’est ce qu’il faut pour l’enterrer!

Urs  nous disait qu’entant que jeune home, lui et d’autres s’en sont rendu compte que lui, Urs, resemblait beaucoup a son pere, dans sa maniere d’etre. Mais ils ne se sont jamais dit comment ca se fait que ce  resemblance a ete cree. Urs a demande: Alors maintenant je vais dans des coins ou les gens ont la vie dure, ou ils luttent. J’y vais avec la peinture. Je suis expose en quelque sorte meme s’il n’y a pas d’echange de mots. Est-ce creative d’aller dans un lieu comme ca et d’esperer que quelque chose se passera—comme avec mon pere, sans forcement en parler?”

David reponde que “oui, c’est creative. Cela te permets d’etre vulnerable. Dans les relations nouvelles on risqué le rejet, et aussi de se sentir accepte. Mais nous sommes exposes—vulnerables. A l’universite j’ai ecrit de la poesie et je l’ai partage avec des amis. Je me suis rendu compte que le processus de l’ecriture permet au plus profonde en moi de sortir. Pour moi, c’est different que le savoir pour le savoir.”

“Ma meilleur musique est quant je suis dans mon studio tout seul, “ disait Ron. “Il y a quelque chose qui monte en moi et que je n’arrives pas a repliquer après. Est-ce l’orgeuil ou la peur qui m’empeche d’e tenter de recapter cette creation devant les autres?? La peur du rejet  pourrait m’empecher de jouer cette creation devant d’autres.” Pour Cathy, “voir ou entendre les creations d’autres me donnent une inspiration et me permets de semer des grains de creativite en moi.” “La plus grande peur pour moi est d’etre confronte a moi-meme,” disait Laurence. “C’est a travers cla creativite, en meme temps, que nous pouvons parler de nous memes aux autres. Quand tu partages, tes dessins, tes couleurs out a musique, tu parles vraiment de toi-meme. Tu ne peux pas mentir la. A ce momenet la, les autres peuvent aussi te voir avec leur proper sensibilite. Donc nos creations sont tout d’abord pour nous memes.”

Urs a resume en disant que meme si nous parlons d’art comme maniere de se lier a d’autres, nous devons commencer avec l’art qui est en nous. “Nous ne pouvons pas nous eviter!”

La poesie, l’art en formes different pourraient permettre aux gens qui ne se sentient pas valuable, peuvent se voir autrement. David a parle des homes en prison qui ecrivaient de la poesie, quelques-uns avec une fraicheur et beaute incroyable. Ron a parle des jeunes qui n’apprenaient pas dans la maniere traditionelle mais quand ils ont l’occasion de creer de leurs mains, ils sont vraiment bien dedans. “Il y a des transformations incroyables quand les jeunes voient qu’ils ont quelque chose de valuer a offrir.” Cathy a donne l’exemple de personnes a la retraite qui se sentient inutile.

Mais nous nous demander comment faut-il faire pour donner envie aux gens de s’y mettre de maniere artistique.

Kaye qui est arrive tout a la fin, nous disait qu’elle n’a pas fait des etudes universitaires mais qu’elle n’a pas besoin car avec le Learning Coop elle peut apprendre elle et apprendre a d’autres!

 
Wednesday - Group 4 - Art and Creativity - bringing people together from different backgrounds and experiences
04/22/2009

Today our group lived out, in a certain way, the theme of  “art and creativity bring people together from different backgrounds and experiences”. We spent our time together painting and drawing. Jeannine and Magali painted a nature scenery on a large canvas together. Guendouz started a still life with oil pastels and acrylic paint which he encouraged others to join work with him on the painting. Diana, Maria S., and later Guendouz also worked together on an acrylic painting. We didn’t speak much together, but spent time creating and sharing what we created with one another.
Check out the photos.

Francais:

Aujourd’hui, notre groupe a, d’une certaine manière, mis en action son thème :  “l’art et créativité permettent à des gens d’expériences et de milieux différents de se rejoindre”. Nous avons passé ce temps ensemble à peindre et dessiner ensemble. Jeannine et Magali ont peint un paysage ensemble sur un grand canevas. Guendouz a commencé une nature morte avec des pastels et de la peinture acrylique, ce qui a encouragé les autres à venir travailler avec lui à cette même peinture. Diana, Maria S., et plus tard Guendouz ont aussi fait ensemble une peinture à l’acrylique. Nous n’avons pas beaucoup parlé, mais avons passé ce temps en créant et partageant entre nous sur nos oeuvres.

Voir les photos.














Tuesday - General News
04/21/2009














See More Photos

A good second day. The weather is not yet cooperating and participants had to contend with rain and wind. The forcast is good for Thursday and Friday though with sun and temperatures above 70F.

Theme Teams continued to meet and to take advantage of the creation stations. They could be found variously painting a mural on the side of the barn, planning a bird cage/cabin construction, painting, playing music and much more.

Lunchtime proposed activities included quilting and a guided visit to Trammel by WC and Jane Phillips. At Trammel they visited the Community Center, the playground, heard about the history of the town including when the town was auctioned off, visited the Broadband Internet Center and the rest of the town.

There was also a big jam circle at lunch with lots of spectators and mixed styles. There has been a lot fo good feedback about the setup of the seminar, the space and freedom to talk and create without set times for eitherm, times for organized workshops and local visits. Participants generally seem relaxed and full of energy!

In the evening we were all treated to a storytelling presentation by a group of women who grew up in the area (on Cowan Creek in Eastern Kentucky). They put on a 50 minute show with words and gestures about what it was like growing up in the area. Their stories were fascinating, humerous, tragic and poingnant and the audience was spellbound for the entire performance.


Tuesday - Art, Creativity as a tool in the fight against poverty
04/21/2009

This morning Christian J showed us pictures of his paintings, and he told the story of the people he had painted. The story the others repeated to the later arrivals was of a woman who was doing crochet. As a child she had been kept in a chicken coop, and so had not learned to relate to other people. He started visiting her daily. In the beginning when she got angry she would bite him, she didn’t know how to behave when she went to the store. For a long time he went daily to see her, took her to the store, and little by little she became more comfortable with other people, and to smile. After three years she was able to come with him to the People’s University. When they arrived a volunteer gave her an enormous bouquet of flowers, and people clapped as she came into the room. The next morning, when Christian visited her, he saw the flowers lying on the floor. He asked: “Don’t you like flowers?” She said “Yes”. Christian looked around the room, and realized that she had nothing to put the flowers in. So, he went outside, got a bottle, and they put the flowers in it.

Jane Phillips joined us, and she explained her involvement with C-Radd: Community Residents against drug dealers. With other residents of their little town Trammel they got organized to support people who are addicted, and to stop people to sell drugs. The people selling drugs can be doctors who prescribe pain medications, or drugs for the nerves. Jane and her husband found out about this through the young people they knew. The group also tries to help the children, to maybe prevent that they will get involved with drugs. The group got an empty house that belongs to Binns Counts Community Center to meet. They did activities with children on an open space they fenced in, and started fundraising to buy a slide, and little by little other organizations helped them get a playground for the children. As the group of children got bigger and bigger, with up to 50 children, they wondered what to do with the children in the winter. They contacted the school and set up an after school program at the school four afternoons a week.  

Français :

Ce matin Christian J nous montrait des photos de ces peintures, en nous racontant des histoires des personnes qu’il a peint. L’histoire que les autres répétaient aux derniers arrivés était sur une femme qu’il a peint en crochant. Comme enfant elle a été gardée dans une cage de poules, et elle n’a pas appris à relater aux autres personnes. Il a commencé de la visiter quotidiennement. Au début, quand elle était fâchée, elle le mordait. Elle ne savait pas comment faire quand elle allait s’acheter du pain. Pendant tout un temps il la visitait, et l’accompagnait aux magasins, et petit à petit elle commençait à être plus à l’aise avec des gens. Après trois années elle a pu aller avec Christian à l’université populaire. Quand ils arrivaient un volontaire lui donnait un grand bouquet de fleurs, et les gens de la réunion l’applaudissaient quand elle entrait. Le lendemain, quand Christian venait chez elle, les fleurs étaient par terre. Il demandait : « Est-ce que tu n’aime pas les fleurs ? » Elle répondait : « Oui. » Il regardait autour de lui et se rendait compte qu’elle n’avait rien où mettre les fleurs. Alors il est sorti et a pris une bouteille, et ils y ont mis les fleurs.

Jane Phillips nous a joint. Elle nous expliquait son engagement dans C-Radd : « Community Residents against drug dealers » (Les résidents de la communauté contre les vendeurs de drogues). Avec d’autres habitants de leur village Trammel, ils se sont organisés à soutenir des personnes qui sont dépendants et pour arrêter les gens qui vendent les drogues. Cela peuvent être des médecins qui proscrivent des médicaments contre la douleur, ou pour les nerfs, qui rendent dépendants. Jane et son mari ont découvert ceci à travers des jeunes qui leurs en parlaient. Le groupe aide aussi les enfants, en espérant que cela leur aidera à résister les drogues en grandissant. Le groupe a reçu une maison vide qui appartenait au centre communautaire Binns Counts. Ils ont commencé à faire des activités pour les enfants, et ils ont commencé à construire un parc pour les enfants. Ils cherchaient de l’argent pour acheter un toboggan, des balançoires, et petit a petit d’autres organismes et des individus l’ont aidés. Comme le groupe d’enfants grandissait tout le temps, jusqu'à 50 enfants, ils se demandaient quoi faire dans l’hiver. Ils se mettaient en contact avec l’école et ont commencé là une programme après les heures d’école, quatre après-midis par semaine.


Tuesday - Art and Creativity and personal well-being and development
04/21/2009

In addition to the subjects dealt with yesterday we spoke about a person from the US who was kept as a slave and once freed became a worker in a shoe factory. When he was retired he lived in the streets and started to paint. It took a person, a photographer, to discover him and invite him to organize an exhibition to get his art and him self recognized as a person and be considered. (Someone said: “Art and creativity are different things; how can we express ourselves and also reach the other?). A participant of the Appalachians said that people who are poor think they can’t create and he sees it as his task to encourage them. Another explained that once he got an electric guitar but he didn’t have an amplifier. He tried to use the walls of his house to amplify the music and it worked. “I had to create and find my own way.” It means also that not having the means to buy, makes creative. “When you don’t have anything you have to work with anything.” It is important that people can be proud of their culture. In Trammel, a town nearby, young people are ashamed even to mention they are from there, I know that people live this all over the world. “I met in a meeting in the UN a man from Africa; the guy was like from down the road, from my village, he had the same experiences.” Creativity becomes very hard when shame and misery kept people trapped. To overcome this situation trough meetings from person to person are necessary to feel recognized as a Human being.

Francais:

Nous avons continué de parler des personnes dont une personne des USA qui était gardé comme esclave et qui une fois libre est devenu un ouvrier dans une usine de chaussures. Quand il a été retraité il a vécu dans les rues et a commencé à peindre. Une personne, un photographe, l’a découvert et l'invité à organiser une exposition. Il fallait cette rencontre pour que son art et lui en tant qu’individu soit considérée. (Quelqu'un a dit : L’art et la créativité sont des choses différentes ; comment oser s’exprimer et atteidre également l'autre ?). Un participant des Appalaches a dit que les gens qui sont pauvres pensent qu'ils ne peuvent pas créer. Ma tâche est de les encourager. Quelqu’un d’autre a expliqué qu'une fois il obtenait une guitare électrique, mais il n'a pas eu un amplificateur. Il a essayé d'utiliser les murs de sa maison pour amplifier la musique et cela a fonctionné. « J'ai dû créer et trouver mon propre chemin. » Il signifie également cela qui n'a pas les moyens d'acheter, est obligé de créeer. « Quand vous n'avez rien vous devez travailler avec n'importe quoi. » Il est aussi important que les gens puissent être fiers de leur culture. Dans le village de Trammel, une ville voisine du lieu ou nous sommes réunis, les jeunes ont honte, même pour dire qu'ils sont de là. Je sais que les gens vivent ceci partout dans le monde. « J'ai rencontré lors d'une réunion dans l'ONU un homme d'Afrique ; l’homme était comme s’il etait quelqu’un de mon village, il a eu les mêmes expériences. » La créativité devient très dure quand la honte et la misère maintiennent des personnes emprisonnées. Pour surmonter cette situation des rencontres de personne a personne sont nécessaires pour que les gens peuvent se sentir “être humain” parmis les autres.


Tuesday - Art and Creativity and bringing people together from different backgrounds and experiences
04/21/2009

Our Theme Team was joined this morning by Cathy and Peggy, both from Dickenson County, VA, where we are in the Appalachian Mountains. Yesterday we finished our afternoon together by painting on a large canvas. We began this morning by drawing collective pictures on individual pieces of paper. Each person started with a piece of paper and drew one thing on it. We then passed the paper to the next person and added to that drawing … and passed the paper again to add to the drawing … etc. At the end we had eight drawings that we had all created together. 

We also spoke more about the way we use creative expression in our work and lives. Guendouz spoke about discovering a neighborhood in Paris and using art to go and meet people, particularly people who have difficult lives. He has discovered a café where many people who live in a run-down hotel gather regularly. Guendouz returns regularly to this café, makes drawings of the people there, and offers to give them the drawings. He said he is searching now for how to move forward in using art with people here and asked to discuss with others, “what do we do, creatively and artistically, that brings different people together?”

Times to work, create, or paint something together allows us to get to know one another without needing to use words; words that sometimes are not easy to find or share. After getting to know each other through creating, we can sit to discuss together, often over a cup of coffee, tea, or good food. Artistic creativity and sharing food and coffee together create spaces where people of different experiences and backgrounds can find a common ground to build on.

Français :

Ce matin Cathy et Peggy ont rejoint notre équipe/thème. Toutes deux sont de Dickenson County, VA, où nous sommes en ce moment, dans les montagnes des Appalaches. Hier nous avons terminé l’après-midi ensemble en faisant une peinture sur un grand canevas. Ce matin nous avons commencé à faire des dessins collectifs à partir de dessins individuels. Chaque personne dessinait quelque chose sur une feuille de papier. Puis nous passions le papier à la personne suivante qui ajoutait un dessin et passait le papier à une autre pour y ajouter un autre dessin, etc. A la fin nous avons eu huit dessins que nous avions créés ensemble. 

Nous avons aussi parlé de la manière dont nous utilisons l’expression créatrice dans notre travail et dans nos vies. Guendouz a parlé de comment il a découvert un quartier de Paris en utilisant son art pour rencontrer les gens, spécialement ceux qui ont des vies difficiles. Il a découvert un café où beaucoup de gens qui vivent dans un hôtel délabré se retrouvent régulièrement. Guendouz retourne régulièrement dans ce café, dessine les gens qui y sont et leur offre ses dessins. Il dit qu’il cherche comment avancer en utilisant l’art avec les gens et a demandé de pouvoir échanger avec d’autres sur la question, “que faisons-nous, sur le plan création et art qui réunisse des gens différents?”

Les moments où l’on travaille, crée ou peint quelque chose ensemble nous permettent de nous connaître sans avoir besoin d’utiliser les mots – mots qui parfois ne sont pas faciles à trouver ou à partager. Lorsque l’on a appris à se connaître à traver la création, on peut s’asseoir et discuter autour d’une tasse de café, de thé, ou en mangeant ensemble. La création artistique et le partage de nourriture et de café créent des espaces dans lesquels des gens d’expériences de vie et de milieux différents peuvent trouver une base commune sur laquelle bâtir.


Tuesday - Art and Creativity and Building relationships with individuals, organizations and communities
04/21/2009


Our group decided to explore, in painting, “what is a good life?” We were able to work on heavy paper attached to the side of the barn, using acrylics and chalks. Some of us had never painted before. If we are able to make technology work in our favor, little by little you will see the whole mural.

Français :

Notre groupe a decide d’explorer, en peinture, “c’est quoi une bonne vie?” Nous avons pu travail sur un papier epais, attache sur le cote de la grange, avec acrylics et craies. Quelques uns d’entre nous n’ont jamais peint avant. Si nous arrivons a faire fonctionner la technologie comme on veut, petit a petit vous verrez tout le mural !


Monday - General News
04/20/2009
























More Photos

So the first day went pretty well. We all started off with orientation in the meeting room of the co-op.25 participants came, 10 from the local area. After introducing the week everyone went straight into their 'Theme Teams' to start to try to work out how they would work.

Meanwhile the tent arrived where there will be 'Creation Stations' for where the 'Theme Teams' can express themselves creatively, and spaces were set up for paint, pastels, modelling, collage etc.

At Lunch, one group went off to visit Binns-Counts to learn about its history and projects. Christian Januth said afterwards that his family were miners and that one of the stories that Mary White told them, about a lady miner called Cat Counts who was killed in a mine accident, is well known in mining circles even in Belgium, so that was a nice link.

Also during lunch, Maria Victoire, Guendouz and Jacqueline went to spend some time with Linda Dixon's special education class at the career center. They talked about the countries they were from and also sang and danced and generally had a good time with the kids.

At the Learning Co-op during lunch Alpha Hawkins came to run a traditional basket weaving workshop which was extremely popular. Many who participated took their baskets to finish off in the afternoon 'Theme Team' sessions.

In the afternoon, people met in their home bases and then some started to use the 'Creation Stations'.

Everyone went down to the Career Center in Clinchco for presentations. Today it was the turn of the Learning Co-op. Vincent started by showing a video of how traditional quilting is done and then those who were there (Barney and Vina Reilly, Cathy Rose, Lucille Green, Jason, Vincent and Fanchette) presented the history of the Fourth World Movement's presence in Appalachia from its beginning to the present day.

David Montgomery and Maria Presley followed this, presenting who they were, where they are from and what they do.

Cathy Kaiser, who is the teacher for the culinary class of the school brought in the meal and we all enjoyed soup beans, corn bread, crab cakes, fried potatos and an excellet molasses stack cake.

After dinner, most went off for a visit of the Clinchco Coalmining Museum which has many artifacts from past coal mining days when Clinchco was a thriving coal town. Many said how much they really enjoyed the visit and talking with Mr. Reedy (formerly of Reedy Ridge) who founded the museum and his son Denis.

The evening was finished off with some live and spontaneous music at the Learning Co-op.


Monday - Art, Creativity as a tool in the fight against poverty
04/20/2009

We took time to present ourselves. Here are some of the things we said that are linked to our focus theme:

Sister Jean Korkisch (Dickenson County): When “housing groups” come to help repair houses we want that their work helps to create a better atmosphere for people to live in. We insist that the housing groups do the work right, and that what they do looks nice.

Lucille Green (Dickenson County): I lived with my aunt (because my parents died when I was young). She used to quilt. I used to pick up scraps. Now I quilt. We made a quilt for New Orleans.

Maria Victoire (New Orleans): We still have the quilt you made, and use it when we do activities with the children.

Maria Presley (Atlanta, Georgia): In my freshman year in college (in Birmingham, Alabama), we painted a mural about the Civil Rights Movement. Right now I teach children to play tennis. It is creative: starting with children who can’t hold a racquet and getting them to really play

Christian Januth (Liege, Belgium): I’ve seen terrible things, but I couldn’t take pictures. I wondered how to show society, the government, that these things existed. So, I started painting. (…) People say: “I live between four grey walls, and I become grey myself”. So, I paint with a lot of colors. Life is so hard, I don’t have an answer. The only thing I can do is paint, offer beauty

Français :

Nous prenions du temps à nous présenter. Voici quelques choses que nous avons dit sur le thème de concentration :

Soeur Jean Korkisch (Dickenson County) : Quand les groupes viennent pour réparer les maisons, nous voulons que leur travail aide à améliorer l’ambiance dans laquelle vivent les gens. Nous insistons que les groupes font un bon travail, et que ça soit beau.

Lucille Green (Dickenson County) : Je vivais chez ma tante, (parce que mes parents étaient morts quand j’étais très jeune). Elle faisait des patchworks, et je prenais les petits bouts de tissues. Maintenant je fais des patchworks moi-même. Nous avons fait un patchwork pour la Nouvelle Orléans.

Maria Victoire (Nouvelle Orléans) : Nous avons encore ce patchwork, et nous l’utilisons quand nous faisons des activités avec les enfants.

Maria Presley (Atlanta, Georgia) : Dans ma première année de l’université nous avons fait une fresque murale sur le mouvement des droits civils. Maintenant j’enseigne le tennis à des petits enfants. Il faut de la créativité de commencer avec des enfants qui ne savent pas tenir une raquette et faire qu’ils arrivent à vraiment jouer.

Christian Januth (Liège, Belgique) : J’ai vu des choses terribles. Je ne pouvais pas prendre des photos, et je voulais le montrer a la société, au gouvernement, alors j’ai commencé à peindre (…) Des gens me disent : « Je vis entre quatre murs gris, et je deviens gris, moi-même. » La vie est tellement dûre, on n’a pas de réponse. La seule chose que je peux faire est peindre. Je peux offrir la beauté.


Monday - Art and Creativity and personal well-being and development
04/20/2009

We gathered in a small group of participants from different countries (US, Belgium, Canada, Holland, France and UK) around the theme: Art, Creativity and personal well-being and development. We noticed that among us we had a wide range of experiences in the field of art: Theater, Mosaic, Painting, Percussion and other music instruments, song wring, quilting, stone painting, etc.

We started to express what we love about art and creating, but also about our dreams and what we expect from the seminar. Someone said: “When I start a painting I don’t know the result until I am finished. The seminar is the same; we have to live it and create together.” One participant spoke about her dream of creating mosaics together with others and to really have the time for it. Others responded with experiences around mosaics in Burkina Faso, France and Brussels. Examples were given of people who created out of nothing: Raymond Isadore, Facteur Cheval, Christinne Roussault. (You might find information about them on the Web). A question was: What pushes people to create, also those who have a difficult life? It needs sometimes people to help you to “get it out”. Sometimes people are not recognized and don’t have a possibility to express and share their art. Not everybody dares to “step in”, afraid of people with more talent. We will certainly come back to the question: What well-being we feel when we create, because some get depressed when they don’t create and others don’t find the opportunity or become unmotivated because of a rough reality. Creating together is also mentioned and seems to be a topic to deepen.

Francais :

Nous nous sommes réunis avec un petit groupe de participants des différents pays (USA, Belgique, Canada, Hollande, France et R-U) autour du thème : Art, créativité, bien-être et développement personnels. Nous avons noté que parmi nous nous avons eu un éventail d'expériences dans le domaine de l'art : Le théâtre, la mosaïque, la peinture, la percussion et d'autres instruments de musique, ecriture des chansons, patch-work, peinture sur pierre, etc. Nous avons commencé à exprimer ce que nous aimons au sujet de l'art et créant, mais également au sujet de nos rêves et ce que nous esperons du seminaire. Quelqu'un a dit : « Quand je commence une peinture je ne sais pas le résultat jusqu'à ce que je sois de fini. Le seminaire est pareille ; nous devons le vivre et le créer ensemble. » Un participant a parlé au sujet de son rêve de créer des mosaïques avec d'autres et pour avoir vraiment le temps pour cela. D'autres ont enchainé avec des expériences autour des mosaïques Burkina Faso, en France et à Bruxelles. Des exemples ont été donnés des personnes qui ont créé a partir de rien : Raymond Isadore, Facteur Cheval, Christinne Roussault. (Vous pourriez trouver des informations sur le Web). Une question était : Qu’est-ce qu’il nous pousse à créer, aussi pour ceux qui ont une vie difficile ? On a parfois besoin de gens pour se faire aider « pour que ca sort ». Parfois les gens ne sont pas reconnus et n'ont pas la possibilité pour exprimer et partager leur art. Pas tout le monde ose « Y aller », effrayé des personnes avec plus de talent. Nous reviendrons certainement à la question : Quel bien-être nous sentons quand nous créons, parce que certains deviennent meme déprimés quand ils ne créent pas et d'autres ne trouvent pas l'occasion ou deviennent immotivés en raison de la vie dure ou manqué d’encouragement. La “création ensemble” est également mentionnée et semble aussi être une matière à approfondir.


Monday - Art and Creativity - bringing people together from different backgrounds and experiences.
04/20/2009

For our first day together as a Theme Team, we began by getting to know one another. Sharing where we come from and what we do, in terms of work, life, and aspects of art and creativity in our lives.

As we introduced ourselves we learned that Jeannine, from France, has been part of the FWM Painting Workshop in Paris since 1996, and part of the Singing Workshop until it finished in 2007. We learned from Magali about the House of Learning (Maison des Savoirs) in Brussels where they go out to meet and invite people to come create and make art with others. She is at this seminar representing the many people who gather to create at the House of Learning. Guendouz told us that he lives and paints in Paris and that he is here in Virginia as a painter. Diana has been visiting FWM teams in the United States although she is at the FWM International Center in France. Edna and her daughter, Keisha, are from Clinchco, VA. Keisha works at a prison in the area and is planning to go to school to become a counselor for inmates at that prison. Edna told us about the community organizing she does as part of the Appalachian Women’s Alliance. Edna recognized many similarities between the Appalachian Women’s Alliance and the House of Learning that Magali spoke about in Brussels.

We finished the afternoon by working together on a large canvas with paint, magazine collage, and pastels. As we went outside it was rainy and windy. Jeannine was ready to start painting. She first chose a bright yellow saying, “it’s rainy and dark outside, we need to make a bright yellow sun to bring some light.”  Groupe 4 - Art et Créativité – rencontre entre personnes de milieux et expériences différentes.

Français :
En cette première journée ensemble comme équipe de thème, nous avons débuté en essayant de nous connaître les uns les autres ; nous avons partagé d’où nous venons et ce que nous faisons en matière de travail, de vie, et des aspects d’art et créativité dans nos vies.

Ainsi nous avons appris que Jeannine, de France, a fait partie de l’Atelier Peinture du Mouvement à Paris depuis 1996, et de l’Atelier Chant jusqu’à sa fin en 2007.  Magali nous a parlé de la Maison des Savoirs à Bruxelles ; ils vont à la rencontre de personnes pour les inviter à venir faire des oeuvres artisitiques avec d’autres. Elle est venue à ce séminaire pour représenter les nombreuses personnes qui se rassemblent ainsi pour créer à la Maison des Savoirs. Guendouz nous a dit qu’il vit et peint à Paris et qu’il est ici en tant que peintre. Diana a rendu visite aux équipes du Mouvement aux Etats Unis mais elle est au siège du Mouvement International en France. Edna et sa fille, Keisha, sont de Clinchco en Virginie. Keisha travaille dans une prison de la région et a le projet de suivre des cours pour devenir conseillère des détenus dans cette prison. Edna nous a parlé du travail d’organisation communautaire qu’elle fait en tant que membre de l’Alliance des Femmes des Appalaches. Edna a trouvé beaucoup de points communs entre l’Alliance des Femmes des Appalaches et la Maison des Savoirs de Brussels dont Magali a parlé.

Nous avons terminé l’après-midi en travaillant ensemble sur une grand morceau de canevas avec de la peinture, des pastels et du collage de choses découpées dans des magazines. Lorsque nous sommes sortis il pleuvait et il y avait du vent mais Jeannine était prête à peindre et elle a d’abord choisi une couleur jaune vif en disant, “il pleut et c’est sombre dehors,nous avons besoin de faire un soleli jaune vif pour apporter de la lumière.”


Monday - Art and Creativity in building relationships with individuals, communities and organizations
04/20/2009

Barney Reilly, Cathy Rose, Ron Kennedy, Vina Reilly, Kaye Buchanan from the Clintwood, Clinchco, Reedy Ridge Areas of Appalachia; Urs Kehl (Swiss) from Toronto, Canaday, Laurence Vilain, (French) from Canada, David Montgomery, (US) from Atlanta, Georgia.  

With yesterday’s opening of the seminar, local Appalachian and international artistic creations were displayed. Dickenson County people were surprised at all the talent that exists in their area. But the area is impoverished and it is not easy to sell local craftwork to local people. They look at it and figure they can make it themselves at home! To boost the economy we have started museums, crafts centers and musical events. Music attracts a lot of people. But the places are too dispersed and we can’t always make a go of it.

Our generation in Appalachia (50+) had to use our imagination. We never bought toys, we had to invent games. Even now, we don’t have plumbers or electricians nearby so we have to try to fix things ourselves. In a country like Madagascar, it’s the same! People have to invent things they need.

But is this knowledge or know-how passed down to newer generations? My kids don’t want to make quilts like I do and my grandma did. Our elders, especially in rural areas, have practical knowledge, like how to grow food, but this knowledge is not always recognized.

Does the older person have to be the one to teach the younger one? Why not have kids teach what they know to older people—use our creativity to help kids become teachers.

Older people think it’s a young people’s world and younger people think there is nothing out there for them!

Community: You create a community by doing things together, by working and playing. When there’s a cause, people will band together to fix it. Money complicates the nature of community. Where I live, my neighbors hardly know me, so they are not likely to help me if I need it.

A question to explore: what do people think is a good life?

Francais :

Avec l’ouverture hier du seminare, les creations artistiques des Appalaches et d’ailleurs ont ete expose. Les participants du Dickenson County aux Appalaches ont ete etonnes de decouvrir les talents qui existent dans leur coin. Mais la region est connu comme pauvre et c’est difficile de vendre leur artisanat localement. Les gens le regardent et se disent qu’ils pourraient probablement fabriquer ces objets eux memes. Pour soutenir l’economie des Appalaches nous avons demarre des musees, des centres artisanal et des evenements musicaux. La musique attire des gens. Mais ces lieux sont tres disperses et n’arrivent pas toujours a vivre. Notre generation aux Appalaches (50+) a du utiliser de l’imagination. Nous n’achetions jamais des jouets. Oninventait nos jeux. Meme maintenant nous n’avonspas de plombiers ou d’electriciens tout pres alors nous devons essaye de reparer les choses nous memes. Et dans un pays comme le Madagascar, c’est pareil. Les gens doivent inventer des choses dont ils ont besoin.Mais cette connaissance, ce savoir faire, comment est-elle transmis a d’autres generations?Mes enfants ne veulent pas faire des patchwork comme je fais, et comme ma grandmere a fait. Nos aines, specialement dans le monde rural, ont des savoirs pratiques, par exemple la culture. Mais cette connaissance n’est pas reconnue.Est-ce que ca doit toujours etre les adultes qui enseigne aux jeunes ? Pourquoi pas demander aux jeunes d’enseigner ce qu’ils savant aux plus ages? On peut utiliser notre creativite pour aider les enfants a devenir des enseignants !!La communaute: On peut creer la communaute en faisant des choses ensemble, en travaillant et en jouant ensemble. Et puis quand il y a une cause a defender, les gens peuvent se mettre ensemble pour le faire. L’argent complique la nature de la communaute. La ou j’habite les voisins me connaissent a peine alors ce n’est pas sur qu’ils me viendront en aide un jour quand j’ai besoin.Une question a explorer: Que represente une bonne vie? C’est quoi?


Sunday - Seminar Opening Event
04/19/2009

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Wow! What an excellent start to the seminar. The event happened at the Dickenson County Career Center in Clinchco. Around 100 people came for the event and they were treated to a very well decorated room with all kinds of local and not so local artwork and objects from quilts to woodwork, from hand crafted musical instruments to paintings. A big thanks to Urs, Niek and Vincent for setting up the room and for everyone who contributed to the displays. We were also treated to an abundance of excellent food, music and dancing during the opening! Most of the participants had arrived by Saturday and it was great to see how local people welcomed our guests from further afield and how everyone mixed and enjoyed everything together.

After the potluck meal, Vincent welcomed everybody and introduced the Learning Co-op and local team, followed by Diana who gave an international perspective, Jill who gave a National perspective and Jason who presented the seminar.

A big thanks goes out to all those local people who helped make this seminar happen. Thanks to Barney and Vina Reilly, Sister Jean Korkisch, Sister Bernie Kenny, Kaye Buchanan and Gail Hayes for helping with accommodation and to all the other local people for attending preparation meetings to help prepare the content. Thanks to all those who brought food to the opening and a special thanks to Sandra Whittaker for helping prepare the lunch during the week. There are too many people to thank here, but to everyone: we couldn't have done it without you!

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Room and Board
02/10/2009

There have been many questions about where people will stay and how will meals be organized. I will answer this now that I have more information.

Accomodation
There are several possibilities for accomodation.

Several local people have offered rooms in their houses: Trammel (3 rooms), Lick Creek (1 room possibly), Clinchco (1 or 2 rooms), maybe Reedy Ridge neighbors (up to 3 rooms?).

Sister Bernie is away the week of the seminar and has offered her house for use (3 rooms).

We have the guest house on Reedy Ridge (3 rooms).

Dorothy Baker House in Clintwood (dorm style bunks, sleeps 15 or more).

Plus there is plenty of room for camping at the Learning Co-op for those brave enough.


Food

Breakfast will happen wherever people are staying.

Lunch will be prepared at the Learning Co-op and be simple: finger foods, sandwiches, fruits, vegetables etc.

Dinner will be provided by the Clinchco Career Center Culinary Arts School and be served in the school's Student Center.

Seminar participants will be asked to contribute to the food that they eat (price to be determined but it will be very reasonable).


Spaces during the seminar
02/10/2009

The seminar will take place primarily in two places.

Reedy Ridge Learning Co-op
The workgroup part of the seminar will take place at the learning Co-op. We might be a little cramped but it is a good space for this. We hope to get a large tent (maybe 40 by 40 feet) to add to the space that we have. We will need to divide the space between places for workgroups to sit and meet and art and creation stations where participants can get creative.

Career Center Student Center
The student center is a large multipurpose center. They have many facilities including ranges, refrigerators and freezers, games (ping pong for example), a smart board, a sound system, tables and chairs and pretty much anything we might need. We will have the center from 3 every day during the seminar and for the Saturday opening session and Sunday closing session. What we will primarily do in this center is have time for participants to present who they are, where they are from and what they do. The meal will also be served during this time.


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Good News
02/10/2009

We had some good news this week and last for funding. As I have already mentionned, it is going to be difficult to find large chunks of money because of the financial crisis at the moment. However, many small chunks can make up a large chunk. This week, the Dickenson Board of Supervisors gave us 600 dollars from their recreational budget. Vincent, Barney Reilly and some others at the last Board meeting talked about the seminar and the Learning Co-op and it paid off. Jackie Hanrahan who works for the Appalachian Center for Justice and Peace contacted Sister Beth with the information about the seminar. Sister Beth gave us 500 dollars from her mission. There are other possibilies coming up and I will keep you posted as the situation develops.


Ponderings on Funding
01/22/2009

Seminars are great! They bring people together for an intense week of interpersonal interaction on many levels and can be extremely important moments in the history of the Movement and in the personal journey of people within the Movement. However, they do cost money and that money has to come from somewhere. Finding funding, even when the economy is booming, is difficult and competitive, and more so in times of economic crisis. This means that we have to get creative!

In the business world and many other larger (and richer) non-profits, they may assume a $10,000 seminar cost without so much as batting an eyelid as well as pay all kinds of per diems and travel expenses as a matter of course without ever asking for anything from the participants. Of course, as members of Movement, we can approach this in a different way since our philosophy is built on being careful, even frugal, with resources and sharing the burden and the responsibility, each to their own means. This is why we usually ask participants of seminars and sessions to contribute to the food that they eat (they would be eating at home anyway so the cost should not be ‘extra’) and why an additional (and according to means) contribution towards costs of the gathering is usually asked. I think that this also creates a sense of collective responsibility and ownership for the gathering; that its existence depends on all of us, not just to be there, but to give it life.

Once, I was sat talking to Darrell Edwards before a parent meeting. Darrell is the Executive Director of Kids Central Inc (the Head Start program grantee for this part of the world). He told me that one of the biggest mistakes that his predecessor made was that resources to him lost their meaning and they spent money in many wasteful and even ridiculous ways. This resulted in the near closing of the organization and a complete restructuring ordered by the federal regulators. Darrell’s previous career was in boys and girls clubs and other youth development projects that didn’t have big budgets, and because of this he had developed a sense of appreciating the worth of things and being careful with resources, and he brought this along with him to Kids Central Inc. He said that it is a constant challenge to keep this mindset when dealing with a 4 million dollar a year company, a sum of money that he has never had to deal with before. Using this principal and many other qualities, Darrell has turned the company around from a failed agency to an agency that is a model to others.

For the seminar (and in the Movement in general), in many ways it is the responsibility of everyone involved to see how they can have as small a ‘funding footprint’ as possible as an individual and to think about possibilities to help cover the ‘funding footprint’ of others. We must bear in mind of course that people have their own strengths and weaknesses, they have different possibilities and experiences in this respect and everyone is very busy and have their own day-to-day situations to deal with. It is not a competition!

I drew up a budget and estimate that we need about $10,000 to recoup what the International Movement will spend on the seminar including international and national travel (75 percent of the total budget), wages, utilities, materials etc. Pretty big footprint to fill! The goal, of course, is to find the entirety of that amount (more if possible) from sources exterior to the Movement or as close to it as we can get. Efforts, both big and small, are underway. These will come in my next blog on this subject.


The Story so Far
01/22/2009

Here are the funding avenues so far explored or being explored. I hope I didn’t miss anything so far.

• To get a disappointing tidbit out of the way first, our biggest local possibility for funding was the Columbus-Phipps Foundation based here in Clintwood. They fund student scholarships and cultural projects in the County. We would have fit nicely into their funding criteria and we know them very well. Unfortunately, due to the economic downturn, their financial advisors have told them that can only fund the scholarships this year.
• The Learning Co-op quilting group came up with the idea of selling baked goods at the community center when they have regular clothing sales.
• The Appalachian Office on Justice and Peace will see if they know anyone who might fund us and said that they may be able to help us out themselves.
• Vincent and other local members went to this month’s County Board of Supervisors meeting to ask for help. The Board said that they would make a decision at next month’s meeting.
• WC Phillips will ask his boss if he can help (hopefully to fund WC’s participation).
• A local education organization said that they can help by providing office supplies and arts and crafts materials.
• They also have a good lead on a big tent that can be used as extra space on Reedy Ridge during the seminar. And at a bargain price!
• Chairs and tables can usually be borrowed from local businesses such as funeral homes and community centers.
• Local members are willing to ask local supermarkets and other places (the Pepsi Cola bottling facility for example) for donations of food and drinks for the lunches.
• With the help of WC Phillips, Jason (me) will try to sell in local stores a booklet he put together containing the rudiments of musical theory and guitar, banjo and fiddle technique.
• There is a possibility of a benefit concert in Washington DC, more news to follow.
• Jacqueline Page, a volunteer corps member in France will try to find funding for three seminar participants.


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What is Facebook Anyway?
01/22/2009

For those of you who are not on Facebook and don’t know anything about it, here is a brief explanation. Facebook is a social networking utility that connects people. People set up a personal page with information about themselves. They can then search for other people with a Facebook page, usually people they know, and they ‘add’ them to their friends list. There are many things that they can exchange from photos, videos, messages, but there is a bewildering array of ‘extras’ that have been created and which you can load onto your page. It is great for keeping touch but it can eat up a lot of your time if you let it.

Facebook Groups is an extension of the personal pages. Anyone can set up a group about pretty much anything (with restrictions of course). For example, I set up a Facebook Group called Art and Creativity Seminar – Open Forum. I put a brief description of the reason for the group (to help prepare the seminar) and started invited those who will participate in the seminar and others who might be interested in the subject. One very interesting thing about the Groups are that you can start Discussion Topics. So far we have several going including on possible sub-themes for the seminar, funding questions and more. Anyone in the group can read what others say in each discussion topic and post their own comments or react to other people’s comments. When it works it can be very interactive and useful.

There are also spaces on the page to post pictures, video and links to other websites.


The Facebook Experiment
01/22/2009

So far the Facebook group has 25 members. The group is made up of Volunteer Corps members and other Movement members. So far the group includes members from three continents and five countries: the USA and Canada, Belgium, France and The Philippines.

The discussions are slowly happening though not as fast as I would like to see. However, I know that people are busy and it is hard to remember to check back in with the group from time to time to see what new things have been written. I hope that as the seminar gets closer, people will become more interactive. We’ll see. It is an experiment after all! Best just to roll with it.

Current discussion board topics include:

• Themes
• Funding
• Art and Creativity and Personal Well-Being
• Art and Creativity and Bringing People Together
• Left-Brain, Right-Brain

Although posts are not numerous or frequent, they are however, very good, deep and useful. Already, from what has been posted, sub-themes that could be looked at by participants are starting to emerge (see the ‘Themes’ blog on this website for an elaboration on this).

What is great is that people are not just opining or intellectualizing, they are also speaking through the experiences that they themselves or others around them have had which keeps the discussion grounded in reality and is a combination that I was very much hoping for.

These discussions will not only be useful for us to prepare the sub-themes of the seminar, but will serve as fodder for discussions during the seminar. Each time that I take the time to sit and read through all the comments that have been posted; I can really see that, collectively, we have a lot of information on this subject and a lot to say about it. 

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Sub-theme development
01/22/2009

There have been many discussions going on about the Theme of the seminar in the Facebook forum, at local meetings, in individual phone calls and emails. Many possible sub-themes are emerging from what people are saying and which participants of the seminar might be able to get their teeth into. These are not finalized; there may be others that come along, some might evolve and some might be combined.

Art and Creativity – What are the barriers to the most disadvantaged in society?
Art and Creativity – What does it take to be creative?
Art and Creativity – Personal Development and Well-Being
Art and Creativity – Community Development, Community Identity and cultural preservation
Art and Creativity – Tools to Overcome Extreme Poverty
Art and Creativity – Bringing People Together/promoting peace and understanding
Art and Creativity – Developing relationships with individuals, organizations and communities.
Art and Creativity – What is art and beauty? Is it useful?

To illustrate these, the following are some of the things that people have been saying. I am not going to link each quote to where it fits into the above sub-themes since some fit into more than one. I have changed some names, places and details to keep confidentiality.

No matter how little you have got, creativity is something that cannot be taken away from you

If we are to create a new, just society, then art and culture must have a role, as always, in the evolution into that society. Not a role just in the expression of today's cultures, but in the actual making of a new society. And so, we need those who are excluded today expressing themselves artistically in order to create a more inclusive society.

I think a lot about this area and how the local folk art came about Of course, the roots of it all came from Europe when the Scotch-Irish, Germans and others settled this area but from there it evolved into its uniquely American and Appalachian form. I can't help thinking that despite the fact that life was very hard for the folks who settled here, not only did their cultural traditions endure but they seemed to take on even more importance and so evolved. It really makes me wonder about this relationship between having a hard life and creativity, what are the circumstances under which a population holds on to those traditions or where those traditions are lost. My gut feeling is that it is deeply connected to many things including how strong the community it is, how mobile it is, how homogenous it is etc. etc.

I live in a third world country and not many people understand why ATD [Fourth World Movement] offers arts/crafts workshop instead of providing basic necessities like food, shelter, medicine and education.

To share a story... my cousin-in-law is the school administrator of a school in the capital, she proposed to the school board to have the Tapori Silhouette workshop in the campus. The head librarian who is a French national was familiar with ATD France shook her head and said (this is not an exact quote but from what I remember) "These art programs will only work in France or in Europe, not here where the people need basic necessities not art."

I know a man living in the streets since 2 months who is an artiste but stops for many year to create. A year ago I painted one of his tow bars where he spend his welfare-check. He started talking "I will be back on the track"*drawing painting) but since 2 month with a broken leg he circulated with a wheel chair from one looking for a warm spot to spend the night . (It's under 0 C or under 32F) Two weeks ago his wife after an operation came out of the hospital struggling with him a few days she left to reach her sister 6h bus away from here.
"I'm a worrier, listen I have to talk to you.." often in this days he started talking to me.
He brought us for the kids an easel an other time a canvas he fund some where...
When and where he will be back on the track...

Je vais régulièrement pour dessiner dans des lieux où des personnes très marquées habitent. C'est dans un bar - hôtel que je vais le plus souvent. J'ai vu que c'est un hôtel où les gens logent au mois avec peu d'hygiène.
Depuis, quand j'arrive dans le lieu, le patron me reconnaît, mais les clients ont besoin des plus temps pour se rappeler de moi.
La semaine dernière, je suis allé à l'hôtel pour remettre deux portraits que j'avais promis à un homme, en arrivant, ses amis m'ont dit qu'il est à l'hôpital. Après avoir fait quelques dessins, je suis allé lui rendre visite à l'hôpital. Il ne se rappelait pas de moi, je lui ai dis que je suis le dessinateur, je lui ai montré les dessins. Et là, il s'est souvenu. Je suis resté là pendant une demi heure, il était content de voir ses portraits encadrés. Il m'a demandé de les reprendre et de lui ramener à l'hôtel dans 10 jours, il sera sorti de l'hôpital.

One of our main aims here is to create a "lieu de paix ou tout le monde a sa place" [peaceful environment where everyone can find their place], it's a constant challenge. I think that art and creativity is a way through which we can achieve this aim, in the atelier musique [music workshop] we bring together people with very difficult lives for an hour and a half to create music together, when I think of C. laughing, P. who sings with all her heart, I really think that through this workshop we manage to bring people together in something positive, a moment of peace. These moments of peace and joy are not easy to create and we don't always manage it, I would be really interested to discuss with other people their experiences of what role art and creativity can play in promoting peace.

"DEPUIS QUE JE VIENS ICI, JE ME SENS COMME UN SERPENT". Je lui ai dit "Ah, tu te sens plus à l'aise, plus souple, mieux dans ta peau". Elle a répondu : "Tu sais (c'est encore plus), UN SERPENT CA CHANGE DE PEAU"... Depuis cette femme a osé trouver le chemin de l'ACADEMIE DES BEAUX ARTS DE MOLENBEEK.

ART ET CONNAISSANCE - Si l'art permet de se mettre ensemble (ou au contraire d'éloigner les uns des autres), il construit aussi une façon différente de voir le monde et il aborde les gens et l'espace avec particularité. Souvent le créateur fonctionne avec une vision "en arborescence" de l'espace, du temps et des relations, une vision non linéaire. Encore l'affectif, pour lui, est indissociable de toutes idées.
ARTISTE ET VOLONTARIAT - Que peut apporte un "volontaire-artiste" dans une équipe. Quelles difficultés, quels regards nouveaux? Pouquoi autant d'artistes quittent le volontariat? Entre la communauté et la solitude?
ART ET BEAUTE: Qu'est-ce que l'expression? qu'est ce que la création? qu'est que la beauté? qu'est ce que la culture? qu'est ce que le savoir? Pourquoi rapprochons nous ces termes jusqu'à les confondre? L'art a-t-il un sens? " L'art c'est comme un sourire d'enfant ça ne s'explique pas, ça se reçoit ! "
ART ET LUTTE CONTRE LA PAUVRETE: D'accord "j'ai (aussi) faim dans ma tête (et dans tout mon affectif)"... Pourra-t-on recueillir des expériences concrètes qui permettront un langage nouveau pour pouvoir le dire ailleurs?

We had time to start talking about the theme of the seminar. I asked them why quilting for them was important. They said that didn't all know each other before and that they have become friends, that it is like 'therapy', they can talk about all sorts of things, they learn different techniques from each other, it is better that just sitting and watching TV, it gives them confidence. A lot of people around here say similar things about the creative activities that they are involved with: how important it is for their personal well-being.

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Clintwood - February Preparation Meeting
02/12/2009

Cindy Mullins, Ron Kennedy, Scott Mullins and I met at the Catholic Church hall in Clintwood on the evening of Tuesday 10. Ron and I (Scott came later due to a previous appointment), caught Cindy up to speed on what the seminar would be about since she had not seen the presentation and her computer tore up and lost all her emails. Just as we were finishing this, Scott arrived and I launched into news about who has already confirmed as a participant, good news about funding, getting use of the student center at the vocational school for our pleniary gatherings and striking a deal with the culinary arts class to cater the meal (in the same place). I then presented January's scrapbook, explained it, and gave them some time to start to look through it. I encouraged them to contribute to the seminar preparation by writing contributions of their own or pasting pictures or doing a drawing or painting or any other type of contribution they want to make.

We finished the meeting with a lively discussion on music and art in the area. Here are some snippets.

Scott, Ron and Cindy all know two local brothers who do woodcarving and who are very good at it. Cindy said that one time, at the Dorothy Baker House one of the brothers stopped by and asked Cindy if he could take away a tree stump in the yard. He said that he saw a fish in it. Scott told me that they do not carve wood for personal gain or recognition, in fact he said that they are very shy. He said that it is just something inside of them that has to come out; it is just what they do.

We talked about the music of the area (not suprisingly since three of us there were musicians). Especially on how it has changed over time and is still evolving. Scott talked a lot about the two girls he has been mentoring in their musical journey. He said that they spent a lot of time listening to the old song, decidingwhich they liked and felt a connection to and then trying to find a way that they could interpret the songs themsselves in a way that was relevant to them and to the times. They are at the age and at the point where they are going to have to start making decisions for themselves without Scott's guidance, to continue the journey with the training wheels off so to speak, and this is not an easy step for them. However, they have a lot of talent and will do just fine.

Cindy wondered why you don't see as much flatfoot dancing as you used to see. The others concurred saying that there are very few people who know how to do it in the proper way and you don't see that very often any more. Cindy said that you used to see people flatfooting wherever there was music such as when they used to have a big yearly pioneer day celebration in Clintwood.


Reedy Ridge Quilters - February Preparation Meeting
02/12/2009

I met with the quilting group on Reedy Ridge on Wednesday 11. Evelyn Strouth, Kaye Buchanan and Lucille Green were there. I started by giving news of the seminar preparation including the money we got from the Board of Supervisors and Jackie Hanrahan and Sister Beth, about the Career Center and Culinary Arts class, participants and organization in general. We then looked through the scrapbook and I talked about what it was for. I made a deal with them, if they agreed to contribute their thoughts, stories, pictures, paintings etc. through the scrapbook then I would come and quilt with them next week. It looks like that is what I will be doing!

They asked lots of questions and had ideas about some very practical aspects of the seminar. They are all convinced that we need to put on a local benefit show to raise money for the seminar and suggested having it at the career center or the Jettie Baker Center or somewhere else. I said that I would look into it and see if I could find anyone to get involved in it. It was suggested that the end of March or beginning of April would be a good time for that. 

We talked about how the spaces would be set up on Reedy Ridge and about how we could decorate to make the place relevant for the seminar. One of them suggested that we ask those who will come as participants to send some of their artwork in advance so that we could decorate Reedy Ridge with it. They all said that they were willing to help in whichever way we needed and I am happy to say that I feel their enthusiasm for the seminar which gives me hope that it will be a sucess.


Clinchco - February Preparation Meeting
02/10/2009

We had a good and lively February meeting. Barney and Vina Reilly, Sister Bernie, Urs Kehl and Linda Dixon came to the meeting. Linda hadn't yet heard much about the seminar and so we caught her up to speed and answered her questions about it as well as questions from the others. I gave news about the seminar including going through the list of people who have registered and presenting them a little. I gave funding news including some good news that I will write about under the 'funding' blog title. Vincent and Fanchette have been to see the guy in charge of the careers center and he said that we could use their student center for a very reasonable price and have the evening meal catered by the culinary arts class for five dollars a head. The Student building is relatively new and is set up like a community center. I will give more news under the 'practical information' blog. Linda was very happy because she was instrumental in finding funding for this center and explained to us in detail the facilities that they have.

Barney talked about wanting to take a group of seminar participants to visit a wood-turner in Coeburn and asked how the seminar scheduling would be set up and if there would be time for stuff like this. I explained that there would be times for participants to 'discover' the area. Barney will set up a radio interview for us at Appalshop during the seminar so that we can take along some of the out-of-towners (locals also).

Urs and I presented February's scrapbook, made up of contributions from Movement members (their thoughts and experiences around Art and Creativity as well as artwork). There are spaces in the scrapbook for people to write their own contributions, to paste photos or to draw something themselves. I set the group 'homework' to read some of the contributions and to write their own over the next month. 


Scrapbook
02/10/2009

More on this Scrapbook that I will be talking about this week.

It is my reponsitility to make sure that the different discussions that are happening concerning the seminar do not happen in isolation and I have several tools to help me do that.

These tools include local member monthly preparation meetings (Trammel, Clinchco, Clintwood, Reedy Ridge). A central monthly local preparation meeting for all local members (Reedy Ridge), this website and the Facebook Forum.

As it stands, there are links between these tools. Facebook Group members can read about the local preparation meetings on this website and I can talk about the discussions happening on the Facebook group with locals at our meetings. However, there is need of another tool.

With the help of Urs Kehl (mostly Urs actually) we put together a monthly 'scrapbook' of comments that have been made from both the Facebook Group and the local preparation meetings. A selection was made to cover various topics and  different people from different parts of the world and from different backgrounds. Also included are pictures of artwork done by Movement members and spaces for people to write their own contributions, stick pictures or even draw or paint.  Anything people add to these scrapbooks will go into next month's scrapbook. The hope is that by the time the seminar comes around. there will be three scrapbooks (January, February, March) containing all of the contrubutions that people have made. This will give us a good foundation for building our discussions during the seminar. Local members will receive a paper version of this scrapbook and those further away will receive electronic versions.
 

Trammel - January Preparation Meeting
01/20/2009

We met at WC and Jane Phillip's house. Unfortunately, Peggy Mariner had a previous appointment and Cathy Niece was not able to make it. After a great meal (thanks Jane! and WC for his excellent corn bread), we talked a lot about the seminar. We discussed the possible themes that are emerging from both these local meetings and the Facebook Open Forum. The following is not a finalized definitive list but we are heading in that direction.

Art, Creativity and Personal Well-Being

Art, Creativity and Community/Community Identity

Art, Creativity bring people together despite their differences

Art, Creativity as a tool in the fight against poverty

Art, Creativity as a way to create relationships with individuals and communities

We talked about how the above all feature in my experience of living in this area. It was important for me to get involved in local music very soon after arriving here. This helped me become a member of the community, to get to know a lot of people, it led to some of the projects that I have been involved with, especially around music, and I have certainly got a lot of personal pleasure out of it and the people that I have met. WC said that it is similar for him. He knows a lot of people in a lot of places because of his connection to music. He also reiterates the importance of music to him personally: no matter how little you have got, music is something that nobody can take away from you.

We touched on funding and both WC and Jane had ideas about things to sell and people to contact to try to raise some money. It is great that local people are getting involved in this. It seems that finding big chunks of money is very difficult in this economic climate and so we may have to settle on a lot of small chunks.

Both WC and Jane liked the idea of trying to combine intellect and artistic creation during the seminar. The idea will be to create an environment where each working group has the tools to be both intellectually and artistically creative at the same time and to have the time and freedom to explore their particular theme in a way that best suits their group and the individuals which make it up.

WC also said that he thought that it was very important to make sure that there is the time and opportunity, especially for those who have never been to this part of the world before, to be able to visit the area. Ideally, local people, the FW Movement team included, will propose visiting individuals, community groups, landmarks, places to hike etc. at specific times and then people will sign up for them. This will happened during the 'free' times in the schedule and will be optional.


Reedy Ridge - January Central Meeting
01/12/2009

We had a central meeting at the Learning Co-op on saturday. Many people had said beforehand that they were out of town this weekend or otherwise engaged and so we had a small turnout, mostly the quilting group plus Drake. Those who didn't come missed outon some excellent food; ham bistuits, chocolate cake, banana cake, deviled eggs and much more.

My original plan for these Saturday meetings was to bring together the local groups that met during the previous week to share what had happened during those meetings and to continue to elaborate themes for the seminar. I had planned on projecting the Facebook Group page and the Web Site and explaining what they were being used for. However, since it was mostly the quilters who were there and we met just a few days previously as a group and had done exactly that, we took a different tack and looked at the people who are part of the Facebook group to say a little about who they are, what they do and if they are coming to the seminar.

There was also a lot of informal conversation about the seminar including ideas about funding, using the vocational school, and content. Fanchette had spoken to the lady who rund the cullinary arts class and she said that it would be no problem for her class to cater for us if we need it. Vincent and I still need to go and see the director about using their new community room during the seminar. I haven't seen it but apparently it is a great space for events and we don't really have the room at Reedy Ridge for pleniary gatherings.


Reedy Ridge Quilters - January Preparation Meeting
01/08/2009

I met with the ladies who attend the Learning Co-op quilting circle on Wednesday 07 January. Lucille Green, Evelyn Strouth and Kaye Buchanan were there. I had already showed them the Power Point presentation about the seminar in December so I showed them around the Facebook group and the website I set up to help with the preparation. Two of them are on the internet and said they would check it out.

All three are good quilters and Evelyn is a good artist, painting rocks and gourds and much more. I hope start to post some photos and video of her creations and those of some other local people soon.

We had time to start talking about the theme of the seminar. I asked them why quilting for them was important. They said that didn't all know each other before and that they have become friends, that it is is like 'therapy', they can talk about all sorts of things, they learn different techniques from each other, it is better that just sitting and watching TV, it gives them confidence. A lot of people around here say similar things about the creative acitivities that they are involved with: how important it is for their personal well-being.

I was interested to find out if quilt designs were always as decorative as they are today in past generations. They told me that back when they were growing up, some quilts were plain but that more often than not they were decorative and sometimes quite intricate. I am interested in finding out more about how art and creativity remained important to people back when life was hard for most in this area. I think that there is something very important in exploring why, even when people have next to nothing, this remains important, even essential in their lives.

Evelyn is a member of the Art League in Clintwood which is a non-profit that promotes art in all it's forms. Vincent asked her if she could see if they would 'endorse' the seminar by putting their name to it. We hope to have several prominent organizations endorse the seminar in this way with the hope of getting some funding. Unfortunately, in this economic climate it seems that 'funders' are cutting back a lot. The Columbus-Phipps Foundation in Clintwood would have been a good possibility for funding for the seminar since it is usually the sort of thing that they fund. Their financial advisors have told them that, due to the uncertain economic times, that they should stick to just funding student scholarships over the next year. It looks like we will have to find others ways to raise money for the seminar. Any ideas are welcome!


Clintwood - January Preparation Meeting
01/07/2009

The first preparation meeting for Clintwood. Ron Kennedy, Sister Jean and Scott Mullins attended. Ken Childress and Cindy and Ray Mullins were not able to make it since it was very rainy and foggy and travelling from their place would not have been easy.

I showed the Power Point presentation about the seminar since both Sister Jean and Scott had not seen it. We had some interesting discussion about how even though there is a strong tradition of creativity in this area, the traditional activities (such as old-time music, quilting and storytelling) are starting to disappear in a new generation of increased mobility and technology. I suggested that there might eventually be an 'evening out' of this since I see signs in many other places, in part thanks to the internet, of a ressurgence of interest in things traditional whether it be blugrass and Old-time music taking root in Europe and in general an increased interest in all types of traditional music (a reaciton against the over commercialized music industry), the rise of the organic and 'local produce' wave in Europe and other places (a reaction against various food growing and production practices) and probably other stuff that I can't think of right now. Who knows? Only time will tell!

Sister Jean has already booked for us the church owned Dorothy Baker House for the seminar which has a lot of beds for our guests from out of town. She also said that she will have housing groups before the seminar (Church and school groups that come and work on low income people's houses for a week). She said that she could spare a few of them if there will be work to do for the seminar preparation.

It was suggested that the Health Wagon may have a number of tents that we could use to increase the space on Reedy Ridge during the seminar.

Other people to associate with the seminar also came up including the Historical Society, the Art League and the Cooperative Extension Office, all based in Clintwood.

I meet with the Reedy Ridge group on Wednesday...


Clinchco - January Preparation meeting
01/06/2009

During the second week of each month, I will meet with locals in Clinchco, Trammel, Clintwood and Reedy Ridge to talk about the seminar. These meetings will be for local people to give their input on the seminar content, to have their ideas on how to organize the seminar, to give them news about how the preparation is going for others (nationally and internationally) and to generally keep them connected to the seminar.

Barney and Vina Reilly, Edna Gulley and Sister Bernie attended the meeting. After watching the Power Point presentation that I put together to present the Seminar we still had some time to talk more in general about the seminar. Here are some of the points that came out.

- Barney said that he would schedule a TV interview the Friday before the Seminar to announce the public opening and closing of the seminar and a radio interview (Mountaintalk on WMMT) the Wednesday before. He said that both would maybe send news crews to cover what will be going on duing the seminar and he would contact them. What might be good is that some of the national and international participants may already have arrived at that time and so there will be plenty of people to take part in these, especially the radio interview which is usually an hour long so there is plenty of time to talk about a lot of stuff

- Sister Bernie suggested a sub-theme on Health and Creativity, I expanded on this saying that maybe Art, Creativity and Personal wellbeing might be a good working group theme. This ties in with what WC says about the subject when he talks about art and creativity being something that people cannont take away from you, even if you have lost everything else and what people living in poverty tell us in general about art, beauty and creativity etc.

- We probably will need extra space at Reedy Ridge during the seminar. There is a possibility of getting a big tent (40 by 30 feet) through a contact that Kids Central have. It was suggested that the local funeral homes will happily lend small tents for events and so maybe several smaller tents rather than one big tent might be better.

- Funding ideas: Edna said that Southern Partners might fund us but their cycle is finished. Sister Bernie already donated a ham for the lunches. The Columbus Phipps Foundation was suggested as a possible funder. Sister Bernie said that she would contact the Pepsi bottling plant to see what they would donate. Local grocery stores will often donate food and drinks if you ask them.

- We talked a lot about how the working groups would functions. Sister Bernie asked what the scheduling would be like because she said that in other meetings there is often much too much scheduled. Edna said that after a certain time she switches off. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that giving the tools to the people to be intellectual and creative and to set their own way of working would give the best results. Edna said that we should insist that each group come out with something 'finished' at the end of the week.

- We discussed the size of the working groups. Me, Edna and Sister Bernie said that we thought that the groups should have an odd number. Groups of 7 seem to be the optimum, so we should be aiming at 5 groups of 7 people.

I meet with the Clintwood group on Tuesday.


And the meetings begin...
12/15/2008

Over the past week I managed to catch up with a few people who were not able to make the Saturday seminar presentation meeting at the Learning Co-op earlier in the month. I met with several from Trammel where I showed them the slideshow we put together to present the seminar. Similarly I also met with the Learning Co-op quilting circle where the seminar idea was greeted with much enthusiasm. I hope to be able to continue these local meetings on a monthly basis at Trammel, the Learning Co-op, Clinchco, Haysi/Lick Creek and Clintwood which will make 20 local preparation meetings in all. Additionally, we hope to have a few central meetings for everybody at the Learning Co-op to bring the various small local groups together to further explore possible themes for the seminar, to discuss organizational aspects, to help potential participants to prepare and just to keep our local members and others informed and enthusiastic about the seminar. Wish us luck, that's a lot of meetings!


First Local Meeting
12/11/2008

So, on Saturday December 6 we had our first local meeting at the Learning Co-op to present the seminar. We were in competition with Christmas parades and an important local football game and to top it all it started snowing about an hour before the meeting was due to start. We had 6 people come nevertheless and we had plenty of great food so I hope those who didn't make it are jealous. We presented the seminar with the help of a slideshow (availible on request) and people seemed genuinely interested. I will start to meet people in localized groups to present the seminar to those who couldn't make it and to begin to prepare the theme. In fact I met yesterday (Wed Dec 10) with the ladies who come to quilt at the Learning Co-op and gave them the presentation. They seemed genuinely interested, asked a lot of questions and had some great ideas for fundraising (including some good contacts for that). I hope to get a couple more local meetings in this week and maybe next week before the holidays begin.

________________________________________________________________

Inauguration week
01/20/2009

Hi everybody,
I am writing that with the inauguration speech of Barack Obame still in my mind. Something that stood out particularly to me was the following passage:

The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

I think that we can all agree, no matter our political persuasion or who we voted for (or would have voted for if we were able to) that this is a powerful statement and goes to the heart of what we are trying to do in the Movement. With the art and creativity seminar also very much in my mind (it would be hard for it not to be at the moment!), what Obama says also resonates with me personally on what we are trying to do on this theme of the importance of art and creativity for all individuals and communities and the barriers and inequalities that still exist for people to realize their full potential as human beings. I remember something that Elisa Hamel (Fourth World Volunteer Corps Member) said to me while I was in the Montreal team (I don't know if she was quoting from something else), it went something like: how many Mozarts, Picassos, Einsteins never realized their full potential because they born into a life of extreme poverty? Anyway...

Back to the seminar...

I am going to try to give some general news each week about specific things happening concerning the seminar preparation. I will try to do this in an orderly manner and with a layout so that you can find the information you are looking for quickly and easily. I am already blogging about the local preparation meetings under the Category 'Local Preparation'. In addition to writing about 'General News' I will branch out in more details under several catagories:
Practical information
Local Preparation (already created and populated)
Themes
Funding
Facebook Group News
And maybe more...

I have set up a Facebook Group for those who would like to get involved in a more interactive way. There are 25 members of the group so far, many from the US, some locally, and others from as far away as France, Belgium and The Philippines. The idea is to create a conversation on the theme and sub-themes during the run-up to the seminar which will not only help us prepare the content of the seminar but help potential participants prepare personally. The group is open to all Movement members and others who are interested in participating whether they plan to attend or not. If you are interested in joing the group you can email mail me saying so and I will send you an invitation or search for the group 'Art and Creativity Seminar - Open Forum' and ask to join.


Documents for Downloard
12/12/2008

You can now find documents for download on this site. There are information documents in English and French and a one page overview of the International Movement, US Movement and Appalachia Team. I hope to add to these documents as the Seminar gets closer. Any ideas or suggestions for this web site or the Facebook groups page are welcome.

Have a good weekend.

J


First try, Seminar Introduction
12/11/2008

So this is my first effort at blogging and I will use this Seminar to try it out! This blog will primarily be to give ongoing news of the preparation of the seminar in a continuous way. Some of you may be aware that I have set up a Facebook page to help to prepare the seminar. You can search it using 'art and creativity seminar - open forum'. Membership to the group is by invitation only so make sure you explain who you are and your connection to the Fourth World Movement if you ask to join.The facebook group is an experiment to check out its capabilities and to see if it can be a tool for preparing the Seminar. Not to put my eggs all in one basket, I have started this website which might or might not develop depending on the time I find to put into it... any help would be welcome....:)

First a little history. The idea of an event around Art and Creativity came about roughly a year ago by the way of small informal conversations. These conversations spread and grew with the help of the World Session and the emergence of the 5 ambitions, and before I knew it I was writing a 14 page proposition on what such an event might look like and submitting it various people for comment. Dates were decided, participants discussed, format kicked about etc.  and here I am today, writing my first blog. I know that was a very brief introduction to the seminar but I hope to post some information files at some point. These files can also be found on the Facebook group page.

Although the Facebook group thing is going well, (though I wish people would interact more!), It has its limits. This blog will hopefully be able to fill in some of the shortfalls, especially in the form of news of the preparation whether it be local meetings, information about the seminar itself or just general thoughts on the subject. I will try to post something each week or after significant developments.

At the rist of being too brief I am going to sign off here to see what this looks like, haven't even published the website yet!

 Later

Jason