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From Death Springs Life
The following piece was inspired by an encounter with a partially fallen tree in our forest. From death springs life. We gather around a large fallen tree- half fallen actually; the top is supported by the limbs of a neighbouring one. It is suspended at an angle; its root base lifted from the soil and exposed. The tree is lifeless; no new growth is evident on its upper limbs. Its greyish hue is washed out, colourless. The tree is dead. Or is it? We begin to explore this tree with fervour- poking, picking, kicking, scraping, knocking- trying to scare up any sign of life. Maybe deep down I hope that…
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Simplicity: Simple and Slow
Thinking a lot about simplicity lately and was inspired to be poetic… Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Everchanging. Ebb and flow. Search for answers. Knowledge grows. Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Transformations. Shifts and change. Thoughts and feelings rearranged. Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Reconstruct, revise, redo. Discover what works best for you. Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Seeing things through different eyes. Understandings realized. Simple. Slow… Static? NO!
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Living on the “edge”: Bridging the gap between inside and outside experiences
As we walk through the forest, we stop every now and then to think about how we can continue to live deeply in our forest experiences when we are not physically there. In our minds and hearts, we search for meaningful experiences and materials that would satisfy our curiosities, nudge at our comforts a little, and maybe even pull at our heartstrings. Passions, connectedness, meaningful, exciting… all the words and concepts make their way into our discussions. I think about what inspires me to come to work each day—what excites me, what drives my curiosities, where I find joy. Some days it’s easier than others to realize these things. Thankfully,…
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Snow Monkeys?!?
As one child began to look for the snow monkeys we wondered where this came from. Of course, we can never be fully sure, but the guess is that it began with the vines that are intertwined throughout the forest space, tangled around and across the trees (both the living and the dead). The vines are called monkey vines. But one particular walk there was a lot of snow that clung to the trees and vines, and when you shook them the snow fell and hit our faces, bodies, and the ground. Perhaps the movements of hands, limbs (human and nonhuman) and snow together storied the mythical snow monkey. Perhaps…
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Paths
Seeing tracks on the ground from animals and others. Making our own tracks in the snow. Noticing and following tracks and paths of tree branches and vines twining through the snow. Trying to follow an auditory track of a bird we hear in the trees but cannot see. Using landmarks like the school, the path, to find our path out of the forest. Looking at a path as a route or course that tracks movement. We see this in charcoal works, in the concentrated energies in some places, then the trickle-out effect where marks and energy are less dense but still there. Following animal tracks that will presumably lead us…
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Working with Charcoal and Paper
My relationship with charcoal is one of indifference. As much as I adore stirring the hot coals in a bonfire, boxed-up uniform artists’ charcoal for me leaves something to be desired. I sat back, committed to observing the toddlers as they confronted this new material in their space. As I watched, I started to make marks with the broken bits of charcoal that had scattered across the paper. I found myself distracted by the movement of the little bodies all around me. Distracted in a good way… I began to attend to the physicality of the experience—the energy shifts, the varying density of the marks they left behind on the…
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Working with Charcoal and Paper – response
