My desire for learning extends beyond what I do for classroom activities and to learn more about my professional craft.
Over the years, I have always enjoyed my time spent being creative and expressive through different creative mediums: music, art, writing, even performance and movement. Click on the mediums listed here to get a glimpse of the creative learning I have done and continue to do.
My hope for this blog series is that there will be something inspiring to my audience.
Learning to play the guitar is something I always wanted to do, but it took a trip to where this instrument is king to ignite the flame for this passion.
As a girl, I remember listening to my father and uncle strum their guitars. Neither had any formal musical training; as an adult, I know that music can come from within so musical training need not be with a professional. Just someone else who shares the same kind of passion for rhythm and sound can be enough to encourage ability.
Unlike my father and uncle, I did take on a formal musical class to help me with my musical learning. I practice weekly with a helpful and formally trained instructor who pushes my ability and appreciates my interest in the instrument. And though I know she has the expertise, it is the shared passion that pushed my learning. We both have a love of music, often reminiscing about the music we grew up with and the soundtracks to our lived experiences. Through this, we have created a friendship. I like to believe this is because, like many things in life, music is best shared with a friend.
Check out this page to see more of my musical journey in playing the acoustic guitar.
During childhood, one of my favorite past times was to draw. I loved sitting in my room, a piece of paper and some colored pencils in hand a favorite cartoon character from a book perhaps (this was pre-internet days!) and I would perfect my copy of someone else's creation. I remember practicing with the likenesses of Bart Simpson and Winnie-the-Pooh. I would tuck these into journals and scrapbooks, being sure to always record the date on my page so I could remember this drawing session. I can close my eyes and visualize these exact drawings and sketches even now in my adult mind.
A love of drawing has never left me. Even now, when the mood strikes, I take up a pencil - coloured or otherwise - and try my hand at an image I found or a scene in my head I would like to try to capture. Over the years, I have seen I have some ability and I am continuing to make progress in this skill.
Check out this page to see more of my artistic journey in drawing and sketching.
I have long dappled in forms of artistic expression, going way back to my childhood.
I always enjoyed colouring books and drawing. In high school, there were not many art courses available to me, but I did get to enjoy one in university (at the agricultural college ... how unexpected!)
Though my in-school experiences were few, my adult years (and especially since turning 40) have been somewhat of a Renaissance period for me. I am discovering and re-discovering what I can create. Online art courses are helping me tap into my creative abilities and refine the skills I may have already.
Check out this page to see more of my artistic journey in watercolour painting.
I have always wanted to be a writer. My love for the way an author can pen lines that have so much impact on the world is what led me to study English Literature and want to teach reading and writing in my career. I believe myself to be a romantic with a poet's heart; I like to think about the concrete and literal in abstract and figurative images and analogies.
Now that I have taught writing for more than a decade, using the works of other authors' as models, I want to create writing of my own that can mentor and inspire. My poet's heart is ready to pen my own lines that are meaningful and memorable. Whether for my own personal enjoyment or to share with an audience, I am trying to create more content with hopes that one day I will also be confident to seek opportunities for publishing.
Painting & Mixed Media
Painting & Mixed Media
There are many art forms that I have appreciated and wanted to try for myself. Painting and mixes of other media are one of them.
Whether my newest attempt in artistic learning - watercolour - or more accessible forms like working with acrylic on canvas or wood or ceramic, I have enjoyed my time spent adding a smear of paint in an attempt to create something aesthetically pleasing to my eye. And when I can add something extra to the mix to bring it to life, it makes it even better.
Check out this page to see more of my artistic journey in painting and mixed media.
Finding an exercise routine that matches my personality and athletic ability has been key to making this a meaningful part of my daily routine. Physicality in and of itself has the potential to improve my creative expression - learning how I can move my body, not to mention the benefits of a calm and clear mind that come from movement and physical activity. I found all of this and more in my yoga practice.
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