Issue 9 • November 2018 • Facebook.com/TalkArts
IT’S ALL ABOUT
ARTS
Supporting Local Arts and Culture
Theo Greenblatt
From the Editor: Freedom of Speech and Fake News This is a troubling time when the very basis for our democratic lifestyle “Freedom of Speech” is being threatened at home and abroad. Journalists are being killed, threatened, bullied and silenced so that they will not report the immorality being perpetrated against humanity. I have always admired those writers and photojournalists who risk their lives to report on affairs that are volatile, whether a natural disaster or an atrocity brought on by war or power mongers. It is their fearlessness, skill and passion that informs the public about things we really need to know about. The very things that impact our daily lives. We must not lose our ability to tell the truth via journalists in our media outlets. My biggest concern though is how one discerns real from fake news. And who are the “writers” who present fake news? Are they exercising their “Freedom of Speech” or are they bloodsuckers using words for profit or control. While researching this month’s editorial topic, I came across the following (from urbandictionery.com) and it spoke volumes to me: Fake news is a piece of news which has been distributed by a news organization which contains some form of dishonesty, typically to promote a political agenda. Fake news can be broken down into a number of categories, which are: Outright lie - The news piece contains a claim which is objectively false. Lying by omission - the deliberate exclusion of information from the news piece which is critical to properly understanding the situation. Lying by structure - the deliberate positioning of critical information at the end of a news report, resulting in many people not actually hearing the full story. Selective outrage - deliberately reporting on a event which supports a particular political narrative, while ignoring similar events which would go against the desired narrative. Emotive appeal - structuring a news piece in such a way as to attempt to emotionally manipulate the audience instead of focusing on the facts of the situation. Hidden retraction - a news organization will make a It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
claim which is false, and then correct their original statement in such a way that fewer people will see the correction than saw the original news piece. I wonder how much fake news I have ingested (and believed) in my lifetime. I don’t remember the topic of fake news in my journalism class but then again I took that class over 40 years ago. I do remember learning how to persuade with words in my marketing class. Today, as I continue to write and exercise my “Freedom of Speech”, I hope that I never have to resort to fake news to make a living and hope that all people (especially writers) have “Freedom of Speech”.
IT’S ALL ABOUT ARTS watch on www.bnntv.org www.itsallaboutarts.com facebook.com/TalkArts Twitter - @itsallaboutarts Instagram #itsallaboutarts BEYOND THE PALETTE RADIO SHOW AND PODCAST www.wbcaradio.org facebook.com/glennspalette Podcast can be heard on www.podbean.com or ITunes ROSLINDALE ARTS ALLIANCE www.roslindalearts.org facebook.com/Roslindale-Arts-Alliance-129685993761701 ART STUDIO 99 www.artstudio99.com facebook.com/Art-Studio-99-145566388819141 Twitter @artstudio99 Instagram - janice_art_studio_99
Published by It’s All About Arts Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved Glenn Williams - 617-543-7443 glennsmusic.williams@gmail.com Janice Williams - 617-710-3811 janice@artfulgift.com TO ADVERTISE - REQUEST OUR MEDIA KIT
ART & ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT by Janice Williams
MH - Art was always part of the curriculum. An art program was in place when I arrived in 1989. However, Art was never fully integrated into the curriculum. It was a stand-alone course. 2) JW - What year was this? MH - Art was fully integrated as part of the S.T.R.E.A.M curriculum in 2013.
Sacred Heart School Roslindale Principal Momica Haldiman with some of her student scholars!
3) JW - How has the program enhanced your scholar’s education? MH - There are numerous studies that have indicated when the creative side of your brain is developed, academic achievement rises. By including art in the engineering design process it allows the scholar to visualize and helps in the prototype creation.
4) JW - Have you modeled your program after “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” an established program? so said one of the greatest minds in history, Albert MH - We developed our S.T.R.E.A.M curriculum. Einstein. “I want to teach 3 year olds to code”, Most schools were just doing S.T.E.M, no art. so said one of our greatest educators, Sacred Heart School (SHS) Roslindale Principal, Monica 5) JW - What aspects of your program would Haldiman. When I heard Principal Haldiman utter you label innovative? those words a number of years ago, I knew that MH - All aspects of the S.T.R.E.A.M program are the students (or scholars as they are referred to) innovative. The unit planning process has totally at SHS were about to have an educational expechanged. Teachers need to think about the big rience that would carry them to great success in picture, including all courses into that unit, always today’s technology driven world. To give this story keeping the end in mind. it’s important art spin (and how art is integrated in SHS classes), I interviewed Principal Haldiman 6) JW - What obstacles have you encounabout the school’s S.T.R.E.A.M (Science, Techtered, e.g. other home room teachers not nology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Mathetaking art seriously, etc.? matics) based curriculum that she has cultivated. MH - Developing a S.T.R.E.A.M curriculum takes 1) JW - What prompted you to include a full art curriculum at Sacred Heart School? It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
patience and a lot of on-going professional development. The faculty has fully embraced S.T.R.E.A.M; now the practice of (continued)
Art and Academic Achievement by Janice Williams (continued)
incorporating art has to be practiced. All teachers take art seriously; it is question of their personal knowledge and comfort level with incorporating it. 7) JW - What kind of support do you get from school administration/Diocese? MH - Complete support from the Diocese. They encourage other schools to visit to look at our model. 8) JW - Do you have any feedback from parents about the art program specifically MH - Parents are excited about the different techniques taught in art and how scholars develop a deep appreciation for the arts. An experienced art teacher is a great plus. 9) JW - Can you give me an example of the interaction between art and another subject? MH - Using symbolism as a tool, students are asked to view a particular piece of art work and analyze not only the painting technique but discuss what the artist was saying about that period of history. For instance, our students studied “The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton” a famous painting of the American Revolution by John Trumbull. This then became part of the curriculum during social studies and history classes. 10) JW - Any other data you would like to share? MH - The scholars of Sacred Heart have demonstrated significant growth academically. We are one of the top schools across the Archdiocese in individual scholar growth on NWEA MAP testing for the past year. It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
I of course personally advocate for solid arts curriculum in all schools, all grades. I cannot believe that in today’s world I still hear that the ARTS are not integrated in some way throughout the whole curriculum across all districts. I applaud the schools like SHS who are innovators, helping our young be better qualified in the world and workplace. As to why? I could not have said it better than Professor Peter Charles Taylor, Murdoch University, Western Australia in his paper Why is a STEAM curriculum perspective crucial to the 21st century?. “The arts can be, for both students and teachers, forms of expression, communication, creativity, imagination, observation, perception, and thought. They are integral to the development of cognitive skills such as listening, thinking, problem-solving, matching form to function, and decision making. They inspire discipline and dedication. The arts can also open pathways toward understanding the richness of peoples and cultures that inhabit our world, particularly during this period of global change. The arts can nurture a sense of belonging, or community; they can foster a sense of being apart, or of being an individual. By acknowledging the role of the arts in our lives and in education, we acknowledge what makes individuals whole”. Read more from Professor Taylor https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=1299&context=research_ conference SHS serves grades K0 through 8th grade and also has a full year, full time pre-school program (also inlcuded in the S.T.R.E.A.M. curriculum). For a tour, stop by or give them a call. Sacred Heart School 1035 Canterbury Street Roslindale, MA 02131 617-323-2500 www.sacredheart-boston.org
THEO GREENBLATT
- Facts About Fiction
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by Curt Naihersey Theo Greenblatt writes both fiction and literary non-fiction. She holds an AS in Fashion Merchandising from Chamberlayne Junior College and, after several interesting diversions (punk rock devotee, kibbutznik, retail wizard, single parent), completed a BA in English from Roger Williams University, and an MA and PhD from the University of Rhode Island, focusing in Rhetoric and Composition and Creative Nonfiction respectively. Since 2002 she has taught composition to aspiring officer candidates at the US Naval Academy Preparatory School, in Newport, RI, where she indulges in both literary and sartorial expression. While a book-length memoir on her counterculture adolescence awaits the attention of just the appropriate press, her work appears in The Harvard Review, Salt Hill Journal, Tikkun Magazine, two anthologies of women's fiction, and many other esteemed venues. Her short story, "Solitaire," recently placed first in The London Magazine's 2017 Short Story Competition. At URI she won numerous awards in fiction, nonfiction, and scholarly writing, and her short memoir, “True But Incomplete,” in The Flexible Persona, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is currently working on a second memoir based on her years as a member of an Israeli kibbutz in the 1980s. Theo lives in Rhode Island with two elderly cats and a herd of dust bunnies. She has three adult children whom she will always consider her best work. We spoke recently about her achievements:
1. First off, big congratulations on winning first prize in a British writing competition. How did you gear yourself up for the challenge? Was the piece already written? The piece was already written and had been submitted numerous times to other venues; there is a lot of luck involved in submitting work - it has to grab the right editor at the right time since so many journals publish so few pieces, and there are a lot of great writers out there. Contests usually charge a fee, so I pick and choose what to send where, and The London Magazine was one that just appealed to me - it’s the longest continuing publishing magazine in the world! I honestly never thought I’d win it. And when I got the email, in true British understated style, it did not even say I’d won - it was a “dear all” email that said “Congratulations on placing”… It wasn’t until I went to their website that I saw I’d won first place.
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2. How was the trip to London to accept your prize? Did you read your story or just collect the “bling”?
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I travelled to London with my middle daughter, Kahlia, to attend the awards ceremony, which was pretty low-key, although it was in the House of Commons, which was very exciting. I did get to meet the other winners but sadly, they didn’t ask us to read, or say much of anything about us…the stories had yet to be published in the magazine, so the people at the party did not even know what the writing was like…that was rather anti-climactic. But we had a fabulous whirlwind week in England (London, Southampton, Chawton, and Cardiff, where I visited my “pen-pal” of fifty years!
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3. Writing is a dedicated craft. How do you do it? Focused or arbitrary? I have to squeeze writing in between the many demands of my job. Often it takes a backseat… I do have a small writing group that I meet with every few weeks, and that keeps me feeling like a writer we always write for a little while, which means I have a notebook full of snips and scraps that eventually might become whole stories.
school I attended - which I’m trying to get published. My publications have been about half fiction and half not. I don’t know if I see myself writing book length fiction, but you never know. A story collection - yes!
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5. As a teacher, how do you relate and achieve success with your students? Any promising young authors on the horizon? I use myself as an example all the time when talking to my students about writing - to get them to see the importance of peer feedback, multiple drafts, and persistence… I share published work with them if it’s appropriate and available online. I have a few non-fiction pieces that I wouldn’t go out of my way to share with them because they contain some explicit details… for example, the essay, “Juicy Fruit” in Salt Hill Journal, is about predatory teachers at my high school and other related “me, too” stuff, and I think it might be uncomfortable for my students to read that.
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Now readers, here is “SOLITAIRE” >>
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4. Will you continue the fictional path, though it seems you have some upcoming projects that reflect upon your “real” life? I am at work on a longer non-fiction project about my years on a kibbutz in the 1980s, and have a full book-length memoir that is a revised version of my dissertation - about my counter-culture childhood in the 70s at an experimental
‘Hey, Miss. Is it okay to pet that cat?’ I looked up at her over the aluminum porch railing. She stood on the
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sidewalk, one arm looped around the chain-link pole, kind of swinging back and forth, with her hands jammed into the pockets of a pink hoodie. She was wearing shorts and those clompy-looking fur boots even though it was still warm out. The front of her blonde hair was dyed pink, darker than her sweatshirt, kind of sexy-looking, but her face was still chipmunk-cheeks and braces. It was odd to be addressed as ‘Miss,’ partly because I’m not exactly young, and partly because kids just don’t do that anymore. ‘Sure,’ I answered. She came up the short path then and sat down on the third step, where Dora was stretched out in a block of sunlight. She scratched behind Dora’s ears and the cat arched her neck upwards. The girl’s hand snapped back fast. ‘Hey, what’s the matter with his eyes?’ ‘Blind,’ I said. ‘How’d he get blind?’ ‘She. I don’t know,’ I said, ‘But she is.’ ‘What’s her name?’ ‘Dora.’ ‘Like Dora the Explorer, on TV?’ ‘No, she’s named after my aunt who died. A blind explorer? That would be ironic, no?’ She shrugged, fingering the woven leash that was hooked onto Dora’s collar and snaked across to the railing. I guessed she didn’t know what ironic means. ‘So she just lies here? She don’t mind if she can’t run off? Chase birds?’ ‘She can’t see the birds,’ I said, shrugging myself. ‘They’re just music to her.’ I started laying out another hand of solitaire on the little table I have there on the porch, the folding kind. The girl just sat there, stroking the cat. ‘You waiting
for someone?’ I asked, after I got the cards set up. ‘Kind of.’ She looked at me a little shifty then and pulled her phone out of her pocket, and started tapping on it. She had purple sparkly nail polish, but it was chipped and her nails were bitten to the quick. ‘Right, I gotta go,’ she said, jumping up from the step with the phone still in her hand. Next time I saw her was on the TV news a few days later. ‘McKenzie Pletcher’ was the name scrolling across the bottom of the screen, with a picture of the same girl, only in a school uniform, yellow blouse with a plaid vest, holding up a book. Catholic school girl, explained the ‘Miss,’ I thought. 13-year-old McKenzie Pletcher still missing from her home on Siebert Street, now thought to have left willingly with the suspect, 42-year-old Frank Willis of Jersey City, New Jersey. Police are following a tip from a local bus driver who saw Pletcher enter a car with Willis on Wednesday afternoon in front of the Giant Eagle supermarket on East Whittier Street. Authorities speculate that Pletcher met the suspect online. Wednesday was the day she was by my house, I thought, so that’s why she acted funny when I asked her if she was waiting on someone. She was on her way to meet this Frank guy up at the Giant Eagle around the corner a ways. A few days later, they found her at the Eldorado Motor Inn in Atlantic City and brought her home. On the news they showed pictures of them taking the guy out in handcuffs. He looked younger than 42, but not scrubby, more like a downand-out businessman type. All I know is, that Eldorado place didn’t look too inviting, and Atlantic City is a long way to
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go from Columbus with a guy you met on the internet when you’re only thirteen. It was maybe a week after that, on a Saturday, I looked up and there she was, hanging on the fence pole, again. Same pink hoodie and boots, digging her toe into a weed-filled crack in the path. ‘What’re you doing up there?’ she asked me, her chin lifted, trying to see past the curlicue railing onto the porch. ‘Solitaire.’ I beckoned her forward with the cards in my hand. ‘Seen my mom play that on the computer,’ she nodded, moving up the cement steps. ‘Not with real cards, though.’ ‘It’s better with real cards,’ I told her. Because you handle them and shuffle them, and they have a certain smell – well, I didn’t tell her that because it sounded weird, but the cards do have a smell like old waxy paper and probably your own hand-sweat. It reminds me of l i b r a r i e s . A n d t h e r e ’s s o m e t h i n g comforting in the sound they make, that whispery slap as you flip them and lay them down. Also you can have different decks for different games, although I have my favourites I always use. I wanted to ask her about the Frank guy and why she’d go off with him like that, but I figured she’d probably been asked more times than she wanted to answer already. So I showed her how to set up and play a basic game, instead. A row of seven, each pile with one card more than the one before it, top card on each pile face-up. ‘Just like on the computer,’ she said. ‘Only not, yeah.’ ‘’Cause you like to set them up yourself, right? Instead of the computer does it?’ That was smart of her to think of that. Maybe that is part of why it’s better.
And then I explained what to do with the remainder of the deck, pulling off three cards at a time, ordering the cards on the table from kings down, alternating colours, when you can move a pile. There’s something mesmerising and addictive about it. I didn’t say that. I said it was relaxing. She nodded, looking very serious, one chewed-up but unpolished fingernail wedged between her teeth. The next time she came was a weekday and she was wearing that uniform like in the picture; yellow blouse, only I saw the vest was actually a pinafore type thing, attached to a skirt of the same plaid fabric, which was hemmed up pretty short. She had red high-top sneakers with stuff magicmarkered on them. It was well before lunchtime, so she should have been in school. Maybe they had a half-day or a saint’s day or something, like those religious schools have, I thought. None of my business, so I didn’t ask her. I brought out another TV table – I have a set of four, they stack into a frame, and each one has a different picture on it, mountains, rivers, and so on. I unfolded it next to mine, and moved my magazines so she could sit on the bench, next to me. And I brought another deck of cards. I have a collection of them. Once people know you like something they start to give it over and over. My mother gave me a deck every year until she passed. I found some German ones that have cats on them that look a little like Dora, and handed them to McKenzie. ‘Hey, these are cool!’ she said. ‘All the kings and queens are cats, too! Look at their little crowns!’ She laid them out carefully, lining them up just so – you kind of need to do that because the table is only so big and
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you’ll run out of room if you spread the cards too far apart. I watched to see if she was getting the hang of it. Her hands were shaking a little but she had it down. Dora came and sat on the bench, squeezed between us. If she’s not in the sun, she likes to be in places where she can feel the edges. Every so often McKenzie would just put one hand on top of Dora’s head for a few seconds, as if to say, ‘I’m here.’ Not sure which one of them she was reassuring. Up close like that I saw there were dozens of knife-thin scar lines running across the back of her hand and up her arm. We didn’t talk, just sat there playing. The cards flipped and whispered and slapped in their gentle way, lining up in order sometimes all at once, sometimes not for long breaks. There’s a rhythm to the sound: flip, flip, flip, as you pull the cards off the deck, a pause while you scan the table to see if you can use the top card, and then a soft snap as the unused cards go to the back of the deck. Or, like a little dance, there might be several quick movements, cards aligning, shifting, being whisked together and fanned out again. It was quiet, except for here and there a quick intake of breath, a muttered “shit,” or click of the tongue. There’re only so many possibilities in solitaire, though. McKenzie heaved a deep sigh as she gathered up all the cat cards after her third or fourth set-up. ‘How often d’you win this game?’ she asked. ‘Not too often, just enough to make you believe it could happen any time,’ I said. She took that in, her brows pinching in the middle for a second, while she shuffled her deck a few times. Then she started laying out the cards for
another game. ‘You know about me?’ she asked without looking up. ‘You mean the stuff on the news?’ She nodded, still laying down cards in precise order. ‘Yeah, whatever,’ I said. I didn’t think she really wanted to talk about it. ‘Cool. You got something to drink?’
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cover photo: Lisa Rigby story photo: magazine staff photographer
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for further info, contact her website: https://www.theogreenblatt.com
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to read her story in the magazine: https://www.thelondonmagazine.org/ article/solitaire-theo-greenblatt/
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Let’s talk about art! Meet abstract landscape painter Ruth LaGue
Tell us about yourself and your art I grew up in Alaska; reflecting on my experience there, I have come to appreciate the vastness of the wild landscape and recognizing that I am a small part of something much larger than myself. Traveling through India in my twenties, I became consumed by the landscape of the spirit – that limitless universe that lives within each of us. The marriage of the two experiences ignited a lifelong quest to connect the inner and the outer within my paintings. To me landscapes represent moments in time that will never come again.
What inspires you? Lately, I’ve been focusing on the practice of art and meditation. I recently read that art, both creating it and viewing it, has the same effect on the brain as meditation. Viewing a piece of art that you love can actually stimulate a mirror neuron inside your brain – the very same response as when you see a good deed being enacted. That is very profound; it means the viewer is experiencing a moment of inspiration, similar to the moment of inspiration that the artist felt when creating the piece.
Where can we find you? Visit me on Instagram @ruthlague and let me know you saw this article! Or visit my website at: www.laguewax.com
FALL ART: INDOORS AND OUT by Sarie Booy What better thing to do on a beautiful fall day than a leisurely ride to the South Shore… to picturesque Duxbury, to a legitimate hidden gem, The Art Complex Museum right off 3A. On over thirteen acres of open fields and woodlands, the Art Museum serves as the center for regional arts and for the collection of the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser family. The history of the museum is interwoven with that of the Weyerhaeuser’s. Carl Weyerhaeuser, grandson of the Founder of the Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company, was offered an expensive car upon graduating from Harvard. He chose, instead, a Rembrandt print. And that was the beginning of the museum idea! In 1971, he made his dream come true. Before you even enter the museum, you encounter works of art nestled in the woods and the trees. My favorite is the shark that hangs from a low branch near the entrance. A true Duxbury welcome from this seaside community (Duxbury Beach is another treasure of this community). The architecture reflects the original industry of the town…ship building. Waves of wood and glass meet the eye in this contemporary building built by Architect Richard Owen Abbot. Inside, the first thing you notice is a magnificent Tiffany stained glass window, Magnolia and Wisteria, hanging opposite the entrance. Until January 13, 2019, The New England Watercolor Society will be displaying its 16th Biennial North American Open Show in the Bengtz Gallery of the Duxbury Art Museum juried by Iain Stewart, AWS/NWS. In Stewart’s words, “to all of the artists whose works grace these walls I give my most heartfelt congratulations. This is a spectacular exhibition and one that does credit to the society and the artist’s hard work and perseverance.“ A lovely show, a lovely venue and a magnificent Sunday excursion. Don’t miss it! The 16th Biennial North American Open Show 2018 The Duxbury Art Complex Museum 189 Alden Street , Duxbury, Massachusetts 781-934-6634 - artcomplex.org Museum Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 1:00 – 4:00PM ADMISSION IS FREE!
It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
THE 16TH BIENNIAL NORTH AMERICAN OPEN SHOW 2018 DUXBURY ART COMPLEX MUSUEM
Mountain Man, Z.L. Feng, Radford, VA The Bernice & Albert B. Cohen Family Trust Award winner!
Citrus, Irena Roman, Scituate, MA The Marilyn Sabin Memorial Award winner!
Work Force, Jane Stoddard, East Amherst, NY Dawn on Gloucester Harbor, Paul George, Ipswich, MA It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
Beyond The Palette Art and Education Talk By Glenn Williams My neighborhood has developed into the example of diversity and acceptance the likes not seen in other areas of the city, some within close vicinity. Forty years ago, Boston endured a court-mandated desegregation of the school system where the children throughout the educational structure were bused to neighborhoods outside of their own. The turmoil it created caused a whole generation of learners to lose their education to demonstrations and violence. The reasoning behind the drastic change in the school assignment policy was to assure that every child in the city would receive an equal education. The thought was that Boston has many different ethnicities and cultures and the students would embrace the diversity as would the city itself. As we were soon to discover, in front of the eyes of the nation, we could not have been more mistaken. Roslindale today is the embodiment of what desegregation was intended to create. It is a community that has residents from a multitude of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The population to date (US Census) is 35,472 where half consider themselves Caucasian while the other half is a combination of African American, Haitian, Greek, Hispanic and Asian Americans. It is indeed a melting pot. There are eight public schools in Roslindale servicing 2,605 students while the school where I teach, Sacred Heart School, is one of two that are private and enroll among them, 471 scholars. The people that live here are considered middle class, working families that have a median household income of $68,655. Sacred Heart School is a traditional parochial elementary/middle school, which has a year-round pre-school. The educators in the particular grades collaborate with each other, and the specialists, to assure that the educational strategies follow the S.T.R.E.A.M. instructional format. Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics that It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
are combined into projects that enable the students to recognize the value and place they all have in the development of a quality education. Because of the diverse nature of Sacred Heart School, the classrooms are designed to reflect the cultures and values of the families attending our facility. Member of the classes fit into a variety of cultural alliances defined by global location, financial status, gender, religious beliefs, and family traditions. If, as teachers, we set aside these differences among our students we will invite conflict. On the other hand, if we celebrate and recognize these variances they can become a valuable resource for the class. When an individual enters an environment, and is greeted with something that represents their cultural heritage or ethnic homeland, it will give them a feeling of attachment. Although it may be subtle, a sensation that this is an area where I can feel accepted for who I am and that my legacy is treasured. A teacher who maintains a positive classroom culture celebrating diversity sends the message to their students that “they are welcome,” “they are wanted,” “they are respected,” and “they are valued”. When the students in one seventh grade class feel that they belong in the learning environment and recognize they are respected because their contributions are valued, they will be ready and willing to contribute to, partner with, and celebrate the accomplishments of not only themselves but their classmate. Lev Vygotsky, a Soviet psychologist, placed more prominence on culture influencing the cognitive development of young learners. Children will develop at different stages depending on the cultural environment to which they are exposed. This socio-historical approach to development puts the source of the growth with the adult or more capable peer. The creation of a child’s zone of proximal development is based on the availability of a scaffolding curriculum directed by someone with a marginal degree of knowledge over the students. When the educator designs the classroom to welcome every cultural norm and developmental levels they are providing every student a place in Vygotsky’s zone of proximally. As the educator investigates the learning styles (continued)
Beyond the Palette by Glenn Williams (continued) and levels of growth that are occupying their classroom, the mission is to assemble students in learning groups that will benefit all the children involved. As the groups begin to develop into cohesive teams of learning, it is imperative that the educator conducts a practice of on-going evaluations to assure the balance in the group maintains a growth consistent with the members. There will be students who will be excelling quicker than others, and the fear will be that these learners will lose interest if not challenged. Teaming these students provides the opportunity to work together in an effort to push each other to their highest potential. This also comes into effect when the classroom has learners who are struggling with the assigned activities or lesson plan. Partnering or grouping students who fit into Vygotsky’s zones of proximal development prevents them from being left behind or muddled in a state of confusion and ultimate failure. Education is a profession that requires a multitude of skills and commitments. Aside from the
creation of a curriculum that directs the student’s growth to comprehend the material in accordance to the individual states mandated standards, educators must produce an environment where these accomplishments can be reached uniformly by students with a multitude of learning capabilities. The days of educators teaching the same lesson plans to a class comprised of children from the same cultural and developmental segment of a segregated community are in the past. Before the school bell rings, the teachers had to have done their research and finalized their realization of every individual placed in their charge. Successful and productive education has become a byproduct of the educator’s intellectual knowledge of their students and how to implement their learner’s abilities and skills as tools to equally distribute their wisdom throughout the classroom. More at facebook.com/glennspalette
BEYOND THE PALETTE
facebook.com/glennspalette
It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
with Glenn Williams ARTS EDUCATION ROCK & ROLL Arts educator, arts promoter and singer, songwriter, Williams can be heard weekly spinning tunes and talking about arts and education. Listen on BNN Radio: WBCA 102.9 FM (Mondays 7-8 pm) or streamed live on wbcaradio.org and at Beyond The Palette podcast at Podbean or ITunes.com.
Cecile Reve: The Reliever behind ARTrelief™ by Mary Ellen Gambon As you approach the ARTrelief™ building at 51 Kondazian Street in Watertown, not far from Watertown Square, a sense of peace surrounds you. It almost seems like a private way, enveloped by trees and shade. ARTrelief™ is set back, with a small patio and flowers near the front door where guests can relax. This is the goal of any journey to the center. Once inside, light surrounds you. There are several windows to let in the sun’s rays. Although the walls vary in color to reflect the mood one needs to experience, the first one that catches the eye is a bright yellow. But the real light is the warmth and joy radiating from ARTrelief’s™ co-founder, Cécile Rêve. Rêve brings to her therapeutic touch, a diverse background and cultural understanding that allows her to help children and adults of all ages and abilities. A native of Cameroon in West Africa, she is the daughter of an American mother and a French father. “My mom was in the in the Peace Corps,” Rêve said with a smile. “She fell in love with Africa, and, I guess, my dad. I grew up among various races and ethnic environments. I love my childhood and my experiences. I feel very rich.” Both of her parents helped Rêve develop a deep love or music, art, theater and dance. She incorporates these practices in her therapy groups. Since the program expanded to its current location two years ago, classes now include art therapy, music therapy, adult hip hop dance, yoga, mindfulness, Action Theater™ and specialized programs geared toward expression for people with disabilities, including epilepsy. Rêve’s mom was a dancer and a music teacher, which is one of the reasons she incorporates music and dance into her therapy, she said. It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
“That is what brought about my interest in learning about African music,” she said. “One instrument that my mom played was the balafon, an African instrument. She was an incredible musician who could play pretty much anything. She also played the piano and the guitar.” Her dad was the artist, she explained. “He constructed glass, was a sculptor, did tie dye, and was a photographer for newspapers,” Rêve said. “Eventually, he even started his own company.” At age 18, Rêve decided to travel to Montreal to study business and marketing. There Rêve realized that she needed to pursue creative endeavors to help others. Today she puts her artistic ideas and energy to use in a therapeutic setting to fill in the gaps in the modern health care system. “I am not just a therapist,” Rêve said. “I am a human being. My job is to provide safety. And we do that through expressive art therapy. Any time I can do that, I’ve had a good day.” The ages of people who attend range “from 3 to 73.” Some went to the recent clowning workshop, while others went to the hip hop class, drumming workshop, or meditation course. “For me, having intergenerational workshops are wonderful,” Rêve said. “Breaking down the feeling of isolation reduces trauma.” When asked where she would like to take ARTrelief™ next, Rêve broadened her smile. “Like a pool, I transform,” she replied. “I jump into the water. I will cause ripples, and I will float a little bit. “In 5 years I will be 50,” she continued. “I’ll be doing this thing that I am doing. I won’t be going anywhere. I am going to evolve and keep responding to people’s needs. It’s an organic process.” Contact 51 Kondazian St, Watertown, MA 02472 artrelief.info@gmail.com FAX: 617-661-0341 artrelief.info
! ! ! Ghost Party
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Words are, “Your place is too small for us.” Heart is, “Your lovers will haunt me here.”
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The new groom shows a man’s ignorance of love’s details. To him their space, is simply his one-bedroom apartment. He does not see his wife papering the large room with wraiths.
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She knows insidious memories step from walls at their moments. Not the women, just their transparent duplicates, the shadows Look out or rise silently from the chairs.
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They duplicate the still living. These phantoms Need not buzz the doorbell. They are already inside. She alone understands the power of the invisible.
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He owns no brass frames and does not replay faces, bodies and deeds Of women who have slept (or not really slept) here. Where he sees painted walls, she conjures apparitions.
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For him, naïve him, bygone is well-by-God gone. He neither sees nor senses ghosts. He never acquired the lore of Cosmo and Seventeen quizzes.
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Neither Catholic nor pagan, she still is love-savvy enough To seek exorcism, to cleanse their space, To her, riddled with specters.
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No herb smudging or spells will work here. Instead, move, close the door one last time. On the rooms, on the past. Lock in the ghosts.
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Michael Ball
___________________________________________________________________________ It’s All About Arts Magazine - November 2018
Comedy
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They’ll make anything a comedy, you know. Tilted pictures blurred and lettered, made for screens. News headlines one after the next, childish fonts vying for attention. Mockery impersonating substance, mockery masquerading with confetti and neon pink lettering. Laughs and nonchalance behind the next scandal. Wide smiles and deep belly laughs behind every talk show, every lie and storm hurtling through the world. Laughter distilled from melted ice caps, all the more pure. It’s always funnier when it’s behind a satin curtain of seriousness, great heaving gasps stifled and turned to smirks on live TV, discussing gun violence and advertisements. Turning death threats to jokes illuminated with fluorescents of a backstage mirror. So comfortable in hatred it becomes a game of who can cause the most harmful joy. Those who cry for salvation lost in screams of wild sobbing laughter, Throwing sponges at tidal waves of disaster, more debris in the storm. Broken winged angels riding the white tipped crests sounding the alarm bell of impending doom, calls of pleading and exhaustion patched by fraying hope, made into statues of disbelieving mirth for the masses Laughter louder than crashing ocean. As long as they can make you laugh you are safe.
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Isabelle Goodrich!
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drawing by “Izzy”
___________________________________________________________________________ It’s All About Arts Magazine - November 2018
T
ess’s November To-Do List
The Frog Pond at Boston Common is Open November through March! It’s time to break out the skates and get to the Common. If you’re a college student, bring your ID on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 9:00pm for half priced admission. For details no hours and pricing, bostonfrogpond.com/category/calendar
Walkable Film Series: Night of the Living Dead Thursday, November 1st at 7:00pm at Rozzie Square Theater on Basile Street The next installment of WalkUP Roslindale’s Walkable Film Series is Night of the Living Dead! Visit walkuproslindale.org for ticket information. Proceeds benefit Roslindale Village Main Street. facebook.com/events/181145019463606
First Friday at the Roslindale Congregational Church, UCC featuring DW2+2 Friday November 2nd, 7:30pm DW2+2 is a quartet performing a blend of original compositions and arrangements of jazz classics by composers such as T. Monk, W. Shorter, S. Swallow, Lee Konitz, and Bill Evans. roscon.org/first-fridays-in-roslindale/
Roslindale Tree Lighting and Small Business Saturday November 24th roslindale.net/annual-programs/holidays-in-roslindale/ Tree Lighting Celebration in Adams Park 3:00 - 5:00pm Join us in Adams Park the Saturday after Thanksgiving for holiday festivities for the 34th Annual Roslindale Tree Lighting. The Pet Cabaret will host their Reindog contest, so dress up your pup like a member of Santa’s sleigh team. Santa will arrive in style and there will be an arts & crafts table for kids to make ornaments to place on the tree as well as live music, a dance performance and more! Grab a cup of hot chocolate and peruse the local shops who will be celebrating Small Business Saturday with specials galore.
It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018
Tess’s November To-Do List (continued) RISE: Bilal featuring Jake Sherman Calderwood Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum November 29, 2018 at 7pm. Local musician Jake Sherman is opening for Bilal for the “ Neo-Soul Affair”. Bilal is noted for his wide vocal range, his work across multiple genres, and his fervent live performances, R&B artist Bilal creates seductive, polyhedric, and chameleonic music. gardnermuseum.org/calendar/event/bilal-20181129
Franklin Park Turkey Trot November 22. Start your Thanksgiving Day with a run or walk on the beautiful paths of our “crown jewel” of the Emerald Necklace, Franklin Park! The scenic 3.1mile (5k) route includes the most beautiful and historic views of the park. franklinparkcoalition.org
Tess McColgan comes from a big family full of artists and has always enjoyed embracing local talent.
She’s lived in many places throughout New England including York, ME and Dover, NH, and moved to Boston at age 14. In 2015 she moved to Roslindale where she found a sense of community that resonated with her. She started as the Program Manager for Roslindale Village Main Street in April 2018 and loves being a part of the volunteer-driven organization that works so hard to support local businesses and to make Roslindale Village a destination where everyone wants to eat, shop, play and collaborate. Tess’s background includes customer service, clinical research, volunteer management & recruitment and Human Resources. In her free time, she doodles and plays with acrylic paints on canvases, writes in her journal, attends yoga classes, and gets out in nature as often as possible. Tess is the new Co-host for It’s All About Arts TV Show that promotes local arts and culture on cable TV. More about Roslindale Village Main Street: roslindale.net
Host Glenn Williams Co-host Tess McColgan
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It’s All About Arts Magazine November 2018