the seeds proved to be still potent, the first ones were lettuce seeds to show up. my students seem to be excited about the progress, I believe it’s my first attempt at gardening so you can imagine my optimism growing every day due to this new beginning. one student asked if we could eat what we grow, and i said, Yes, when they grow a bit bigger…
in a couple of weeks we will plant them outside, the weather seems to be getting warmer and warmer. my only concern is who will harvest them when students and teachers are gone over the summer break? i hope someone will.
summer is the time to be brave and do what you’ve been waiting to do all year long. i don’t know what i am going to get done this warm season but i have plans to be out and about, fingers crossed life will let me get closer to my dreams. national parks are calling and art in the park is as great as ever. i can’t wait to be free.
this week we started the fourth quarter, growing more and more confident with language skills we practice here in class. we are going to talk about family and friends today making family trees and presenting them to peers. seems like this may take more than just one day, good news we still have time to do it. we are going to dream big and grow slow, this is the main thing we are trying to achieve with newcomers.
today we have started a garden with my students, they put the seeds in soil and watered them. very humble beginning of a big project we are joining. the school got the grant for land conservation, so it’s pretty incredible that we can be a part of this labor of love. we have a few raised flower beds and are looking to add more. Today we planted seeds to grow cilantro, bell peppers, basil and lettuce. we could potentially grow other vegetables as well, they say tomatoes and strawberries, technically those are fruits but we could still grow them here in Oregon.
Blessings
my students in the newcomer center are learning English and integrating into a new culture. they are all very different yet united by the same goal. beautiful young people full of hope and optimism. after finishing high school they have to start a new adventure in the new country they now live in. I am wishing them the best of luck!
Do nothing, eat whatever you want. – I managed to do a lot of something and eat well. half done.
Breathe and let go. – Breathing this year was much better, letting go was great. done. will keep it for the future.
Expect less from others. – This one worked wonders for me yet I feel like we could always expect even less than we expect. will keep it for the future.
Try to stay yourself despite criticism and disapproval. – This one was not always easy to do. half done. still going to keep it for the future.
Write down all the bad ideas you got, you might need them later. – failed.
Enjoy the silence. – failed. did lot’s of concerts and social outings.
Read all the good advice to never listen to it. – failed. i listened to some.
Do things your way or just chill. – done. did and chilled a lot.
Give up all the hobbies, they are useless anyways. – failed miserably.
Create a comfort zone to stay in it as long as you can. – failed miserably, went to China for the first time like a crazy nut. it was fun filled with stress.
This year I am going to write new goals. Number one is I need to learn how to be a better listener. I started working on audiobooks, hopefully it helps. I need to listen and reflect, and just breathe to let things happen the way they need to happen. I want to observe and see, it’s my other goal for this coming year. So let’s sum it up here:
Listen carefully. Speak less.
Notice and observe without judging.
Stay yourself despite criticism / disapproval.
Expect less from others.
Keep writing no matter how good or bad it can seem.
Keep reading good books / advice.
Breathe and let go.
How about you? Do you have any new goals / old ones remastered?
Last week I wanted to get away from middle school problems for a quick second so I took an assignment in a high school nearby. I didn’t read an assignment very carefully and ended up in an auto body shop in Tigard High School. Well, first I wanted to close the door and walk away, what was I supposed to do in a garage? I don’t even know anything about auto body and car repairs. Bummer! Could I have read it before I accepted the challenge? the subject said Industrial Technology, for some reason it didn’t ring the bell. I took a deep breath and entered the shop, reading through the sub plans I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The students had to do certain assignments in Google classroom on their laptops, and other classes were supposed to watch a documentary, okay I thought, I can do it. Maybe…
In my first period class I had only one girl, she was happy to be there just like the rest of the kids. They worked on their assignments and talked and chilled. Next period I couldn’t believe my eyes, I saw my last year middle school kids all grown up, ready to learn and brave the world. We watched the documentary, which i really liked, I used to watch this kind of movies when i was younger, it was NASCAR the IMAX experience. Here is the link in case you were wondering: https://www.documentaryarea.com/video/Nascar%20The%20IMAX%20Experience/
I was so stoked to see my special ed kids thriving in a new school. One very shy kid who is not tall or big completely blew me off my socks, last year I looked at him thinking: How is he going to fight everyday battles? Or survive the harsh realities of being out there? He did it just fine in a new environment, high school experience made him a lot braver, he actually brought a game to class, all boys sat there playing after we were done with NASCAR movie, he got all the respect and affection of his peers. After the game he casually came up to the girls, I had two in that class, and started a small talk feeling completely at home, like prince charming, confident and suave. Alex is my hero. I can tell that those Social skills classes didn’t go to waste, some things we do have a long lasting effect looks like.
Another student I was happy to see hated middle school period. He hated the classes and the peers he had to hang out with, he was so over it, so over it. This kid was in one of those classes due to anger management issues. I was so surprised to see him in high school, focused, mature and surrounded by a group of friends. In his friend group I saw my favorite kids, which means good in sports and academics with great social skills. Nice kids in general, the only reason I know them is because they volunteered to be peer tutors for special ed kids we have. Overall, I love seeing boys growing up to be young adults, it makes me wanna be a teacher no matter how many times I wanted to quit. Still there.
I finished the day with a feeling of a great accomplishment, high school is a lot easier to sub at and because it was Friday I was happy. Easy end of the week makes me optimistic. And now back to school I am always on the brink of becoming a total positive thinker, I feel it even stronger on Fridays when I get paid.
All in all, middle school is not an easy transition from childhood to adulthood, believe it or not, some people never grow out of it, slight exaggeration. Yet when they do, it’s always the reason to celebrate, especially when it happens there and then. I mean at the time when it supposed to happen. I don’t want to sound like I am there myself #adulting is not easy even at the age of 40. When I grow up, I will be one of those people who know their worth and don’t lose their cool over little things. First things first, keeping laser focus on what really matters. I am getting there, you watch me.
I have never gone to an art school, all my skills are from learning things on my own or taking a class or two with an instructor. I am not a very good student, I have to admit. I find it hard to be a humble learner or maybe I never met a mentor that I really looked up to. The question of mentorship is not an easy one, how does one find a mentor in their professional or personal life? It’s something so sensitive on a very deep level of spirituality and self-actualization, that I find it almost impossible to address. I don’t know the answer, maybe you have advice for me… It should be some sort of a father figure, someone older and more experienced but also willing to help.
Spooky Forest
In my painting and photography I was always leaning towards landscapes. Have you seen my landscapes yet? No, because I never thought they are good enough. It’s so sacred and so much beyond my scope of abilities that I find it hard to even think about touching. And I was going to take an oils class on landscapes, the teacher told me that I have to take at least 4 classes on that which somehow intimidated me. Yet I do have a few landscapes, mostly in photography section. The pictures that you can find below are just the color experimentations, the paper I used wasn’t proper paper for wet media.
Sunset in the Mountains
These days I am thinking of trying something completely new, something fresh, never touched before. Maybe I will start making abstract art, which feels like cheating to me. For some reason, photography also feels like cheating, I am not sure why. Should I push myself harder to do something highly professional or just mess around with old familiar ways to express myself? I guess it’s all about the goals that I set for myself, the difference between art therapy and building a career in arts. I haven’t made up my mind about it yet.
Winter Landscape
Commercial art sometimes makes us do some strange things, the ones that we wouldn’t do for ourselves. Here’s an example of such, Colorado weed-smoking culture kind of prompted me this one. I like it and find it funny in a way. Mostly people take it as a statement which okay with me. I can be whatever I want to be, right? In this picture I used the traditional pot smoking color-scheme, it’s named ‘Beautiful Marijuana’.
I also have just one sample of a still-life, it represents my country and its cuisine. If you are into cooking you must have heard of such a dish as borsht, it’s essentially a vegetable soup with or without meat. On this picture below you can see that this is a vegetarian one. You can find the pictures and the recipe online, and if you are really lucky, you can also try it in one of the Russian or Ukrainian restaurants. I named this piece ‘The Borsht is Ready’.
Continuing the topic of Ukraine, I made another experimental landscape in yellow and blue. It’s more like a logo or a design for some sort of a product made in Ukraine. You can see that the paper is not perfect for wet media. I think I have to paint this one on a canvas. Or make a digital copy of the painting, this is probably going to be the best solution. I can totally see ‘The Sunrise’ printed on all kinds of merchandise.
I would like your feedback on all or any of these pieces. And also any thoughts / ideas about mentorship would be appreciated. Thank you for reading and following me!
Why I quit my job 