Overcoming Challenges

Some assignments are more challenging that others. For instance, no one in our family HAS a bald spot, so we had to create one. Here's that work in progress...

Our To Do List

Here's a photo of the back of our front door. It has all the assignments posted there so people can refresh their memory or pick something new to do as well as scribble ideas in the book nearby.

Hair we go!

Perhaps totally unrelated but perhaps part of learning to love more, today half the family donated collectively about three feet of hair to the "Locks of Love" organization. See www.locksoflove.org for details. We all look very different. It was an easy thing for some and much harder for others. Perhaps we should post new pictures?!

Sunday

Today is graduation day. The whole family will be goin to see me Pete, graduate from 8th grade. I'm graduating from the Bright Water school and there making a pretty big deal out of it even though it's only 8th grade. We're also hoping to get project no. 29 accomplished today. By recording my choir sing Seasons Of Love, from the movie Rent at our graduation. So this is my first blog and i don't know what else to post.

Yesterday we had a meeting with Avery about setting do dates for all of the projects. So every monday for 6 monday we are going to give him at least 10 projects in full completion so for this upcoming monday the 18th we are going to have accomplished 13 projects about 6 or so of we already have mostly done.

Making waves and inroads

I suppose in Nigel's absence I will step up to the plate and fill in for him. Several projects have been finished and several more have been started. Then there are those in dispute. We have been having very interesting philosophical discussions of late about the nature of an assignment being "done". Since this art will be displayed prominently and viewed by thousands in person, there is an aesthetic sense felt by our project manager that is perhaps a step above or maybe a step beside where some projects might end were they only to be photographed and then viewed in two dimensions.

So topics of discussion are "Who decides when it's good enough?" "If the artist thinks it's 'done' but the project manager thinks it could be better, what's to be done about it?" "Will it be inhibitive to the creative process for a 'do-over' or just to know that someone is passing judgement?" More importantly might it cause a reversal of enthusiasm if judgements are made?

All interesting questions. There are some who feel that nothing should inhibit the creative process and an assignment is done when the person enacting it says so. Then it will be up to the Project Manager to display it or enhance its appeal by how they display it. Others feel a responsibility to make such an important representation of our family as good as we possible can make it, no matter the cost to the ego of the artist. Furthermore, can the ego of an older artist take more criticism than that of the younger? or vice versa?

Ultimately is this about the art or the learning? Art is the expression of what the mind knows and sees through what the heart feels. This begs the question - who is it for? Is the objective in the expression, in the experience, or in the manifestation which provokes the same emotions in the beholder? A combination of these or something else entirely?

Perhaps the answer is yes to all.

Now I must go and quite literally "make my bed." (See assignment #15)

-Carol