Thursday, September 24, 2020
Something That's Driving Me Crazy
Thursday, September 17, 2020
A statue of someone we can feel pretty good about
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Thank the Teachers
Fall is almost here, which means it's back to school.
Mr. Rogers once began a talk by saying, "Let's be quiet for a minute. Think back to a teacher who made a difference in your life." My friend, Jim Carroll, was there; he said it was a sacred moment.
Do you remember your teachers?
One I remember is Mrs. Brilliant--that was really her name. Doesn't she look like a kid?
I didn't realize it then but Mrs. Brilliant showed me what to work towards in my life--to get that much joy from my work. Not as an algebra teacher, but as something meaningful. I wish I could let her know how much she meant to me.
This year will be and is already especially hard for the teachers. How can we help them? Maybe hope for a Secretary of Education who's worked in a school? Who believes in public education? Can somebody tell me how we've let it come to this, that teachers have to buy their own supplies?
Okay, I'll take a deep breath. Here's a quote from Dorothy Parker I just happened upon. It's about New York City, but I want to apply it to us all.
"New York is hopeful; always it believes something particularly good is about to come through and it must hurry to meet it."
So be hopeful. Think about your teachers, send them good thoughts and maybe a letter if you have their address. If you can, do something nice, like this.
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Another Artist I love; Hilary Knight
Drawing faces with just lines is hard. I've studied many who succeed-starting with Durer,
Hans Holbein the Younger
Aubrey Beardsley, well, now that I look at his work, he does what I do--put in lots of texture and pattern so you don't notice that the faces are not all that great.
Mark Summers: This is a portrait of Dr. Seuss.
He won my heart with his illustrations of my edition of Dr. Spock's classic Baby and Child Care. Dr. Spock marched against the war in Viet Nam, saying,
"What is the use of physicians like myself trying to help parents to bring up children healthy and happy, to have them killed in such numbers for a cause that is ignoble? "
He was a mensch, and he was a big help to me. When I was about to leave the hospital with newborn Jessie the obstetrician and the pediatrician stood in the door of my room and said, "OK, you're on your own now."
I was terrified. Wait, shouldn't I have to take a test? Get a license?
Dr. Spock said, "Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do." that was a big help.
Here's a picture by Hilary in the chapter about when a new baby comes into the family. I think he captures the ambivalence of a big sister--and look at that poor baby brother!
Another Artist I Love but First
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