New batik paintings and keeping a balance in life

Teaching, family, friends, community, and creating my own art is a balance that is never ending. The scales are tipped in any one direction and not always the direction you might want at that particular time. How do we balance our lives? How do we find time for ourselves and creating our own art? I don't know except that if you want to be happy you better pay attention to them all! In the last 15 or so years I have put my art life on hold to be present with my kids and family. I've focused on my teaching career and my summers at Camp. I spend my summers in Maine so my son can have the same awesome experience I had at Camp Timanous and my daughter at Camp Wohelo. Though Camp is really fun for me and some of my best friends on this earth are part of the Timanous community. It takes away the time I would have to create art. Spending time with friends is a crucial part of being part of a community too.  But when the creative bug hits there is no flu shot that can cure it except time in the studio. As my children grow older and demand less of my attention I'm finding myself in my studio painting again. 

In the last few months I've managed to do that and I have some new Batiks.

Timanous Chapel

Evan's Chapel

Loons

Evening Loons

Main Dock

Brook's Main Dock

http://mikecongletonart.com

Body Mind and Spirit

(Reflections of the 100th summer of Camp Timanous "The Hundy")

School starts in a week, the students will pour into the classrooms with excitement, maybe some good stories, curiosity and anxiety about the new school year ahead. What will this group of students be like? Will I be able to help anyone learn a skill in the art room? will I be able to help them be a better person? I often wonder at this time of year when I transition from Camp counselor to Art teacher and advisor how I can create community in my classroom. It is much easier at Camp Timanous but we spend a lot more time at school and in the classrooms. Cabins are crowded and living with others in close spaces forces us to learn how to respect each others things, differences and have tolerance for others not exactly like what we are used too. Maybe we should give students more responsibilities as they earn them kinda like the Woodsman and Voyagers Club. Camp is great because the teachers are not much older than the campers but teachers cannot stay young forever. Allowing students to be heard, fresh air as much as possible, and positive reinforcement are the keys. Being outside where kids can move walk and run. This is why I spend my whole summer at Camp, because we can make a difference in such a short time. Teaching to the Body, Mind, and Spirit.

Body-

Pineman. Campers run to the bell the bell rings somebody yells "That's the Bell!" Swimming in the Lake, Loons driving underwater, the mist rising up into the dawn sky. ducks diving for water snails who leave cryptic messages for us in the sand underwater. The eagle that flies overhead near main dock and someone always yells "the eagles are coming!" dips diving into the lake coming out and seeing the sun come through the pines. Swimming from main to Crows Point to beginners beach. Sailing on Panther Pond. Watching for the sail boats to come back in so we know it's the end of the period. Flag raising mingle with campers and in line with counselors excited about the night before but more about the day ahead with the kids. The capture the flag barn announcement. 40 campers and counselors making a charge on the field or infirmary hill in the green and gray capture the flag game. This years games ending up Gray 8 Green 6. Shushing the barn at lunch and the hammer being turned to Gray. Counselors suddenly turning into Gorillas in the barn for the Grand Daddy Gorilla Hunt game. The head counselor "Murder" game started 50 some years ago.  The whole camp starting the fire at council fire. "8:45 bring a buck". Cabin clean up, cookouts, sports, twilight league, and camping trips help the body become stronger and more connected to the community of camp.

Mind-

Dave Suitor, Linda Suitor! Learning to get along with others who are different from us. Learning how to swim, sail, shoot a gun or a bow, make a basket, an Adirondack chair, build a fire, set up a tent cook a meal etc...Managing your time at camp. Working towards an award as a camper, working with a homesick camper as a counselor. Helping campers learn how to make their beds and keep a clean area all day. managing campers who won't get out of the water at dips or campers who won't get ready for bed. Barn announcements, birthday speeches, sports "west coast!"Suitcase trivia, and the most important of all what to say about a camper's commendation speech at council fire.

Spirit-

Sandy Tattersall, council fire, chapel talks, chapel songs, seeing old timers come back to camp with big smiles on their faces. Chippy Hatch! Camp songs! story telling, Herman Schwartz! Shushing the barn "Great Chapel Jake Congleton and Dick Howlett!" The pine trees, the tears that roll down camper and counselors eyes at the end of camp and at chapel after singing any camp favorite. The energy of the 100th anniversary with 300-400 alumni wandering around camp with wide eyes and happiness beaming out of them like a disco ball at night. The spirit of Timanous is the most important and the loyalty that Timanous has among it's counselors who come back year after year to learn teach and experience camp for just one more year. It's the greatest learning environment in todays troubled world of too much technology, hate and the me firsters! The spirit of Timanous, the spirit of adventure, the spirit of learning, and the spirit of living well.

After 100 years Timanous is live and well on Panther Pond in Raymond Maine!

Man I love camp! and I hope I can somehow carry the energy of Timanous into my classroom!

To the Hundy!

The summer is a distant memory... Camp Timanous, Raymond Maine is a boys summer camp where I grew up and learned many valuable lessons in my life. In particular the role models that came before taught me how to be a positive part of my community and more important how to be a good Man!

As I reflect on the past summer, it occurs to me that Camp Timanous where I spend each summer since 2009 and 1962-1978 before that. It has changed but at the same time the spirit of Timanous has not changed. The people change a little from year to year and a lot from generation to generation. The weather and climate is changing from day to day and from year to year. Some years are more wet where some years, like 2016 the weather is a perfect balance of rain and warm weather. The activities do not change much though different counselors bring a different energy to their craft. More cabins and additions are built, boats are retired and new boats take their place in the water. The idea of Timanous does not change. Working and playing outside, no technology, positive role modeling and praise of a good deed. The community is the key. It is a thriving positive accepting of differences special kind of place that makes it something people want to be a part of. A place people want to come back to as long as they can. There are a lot of choices out there for boys and young men to do in the summers. But many Timanous alum come back year after year to be part of the special community of Camp. Body, Mind and Spirit lives in us and we hold onto it until we can get back to Raymond Maine and recharge the spirit! I don't know whats in store for me next summer, but if i can spend it at Camp Timanous that's a pretty great way to go!

 Now I'm painting a series of Batiks to try to capture the spirit of Camp Timanous as it celebrates the 100th anniversary! All the people who have gone there before me, who are there now, and for years to come. I hope these images ring true.

 

Art opening at the Posana Restaurant in downtown Asheville

https://posanarestaurant.com/

 About 2 months ago Nancy Joyce asked me if I wanted to do a show at the Posana, my instant reaction was YES, I'll be able to handle that, though it's the busiest time of year, my wife, LG Hall is starting up a new business, we have kids to feed , drive to school, alot of events, and I have a million projects in the works already. No problem, so I started some big batiks which are paintings with wax and dye. I make my own brushes and paint the wax on then apply dyes to it. It takes a good 2 weeks or so to finish each one because you have to wait for the dye to dry before putting the next wax lines on. I love the way the colors look in a batik and the vibrancy of the initial lines which are the color of the cloth. You start with lighter colors and get darker with each coat. With each layer of color the wax lines begin to become more visible. It is a challenge though and there are many mistakes. But the good ones are worth it! here are the good ones...

the exhibit at Posana's gallery and private party space

"Cold Mountain Pool"

"somewhere on the AT with Pedro"

"devil's courthouse"

"lower falls"

"blue ridge parkway view from big butt"

"blue ridge parkway view of mt. pisgah"

"graveyard fields"

"graybeard morning"

                                                                "looking glass falls"

                                                                    "lower falls fall"

The opening is Thursday June 9th at 5:30pm at Posana Restaurant, come out and join us!

The 7th Grade annual animation is a collaborative project that takes many months to draw and as much time to scan and create into a movie. The students start by picking a spirit animal and drawing it. The idea is that the animal should capture the spirit of themselves not necessarily a visual likeness. If they chose they can create a "random" object to draw. Then in their "core" classes they are given (randomly) another persons spirit animal/random object. They have to draw on a 6" x 9" piece of paper that persons spirit animal/random object into their object in a fluid and gradual way in at least 18 frames. Most students draw many more then that. The average amount of drawings is like 50. It is a great process seeing them come up with ideas, working with the people before them and after them about what they want to do. We watch "BIG BANG, BIG BOOM" by Blu for inspiration.

https://youtu.be/cyXSWmLBXVk

We talk about the history of animation as well. We sometimes watch this about the famous cartoonist Windsor McCay and how he drew thousands of drawings himself to create a short film.

https://youtu.be/kcSp2ej2S00?list=FLe8OT5snVVWqvOZzHcXFgfQ

When they finished their part of the animation we scanned them onto the classroom computer. We organized them and when we had everyones we put them into iMovie. Each class had its own iMovie.   We exported them and then combined them into a final cut movie and added sound effects and music. 

We started in September and finished most of the drawings by thanksgiving (Late November) This was the final movie for 2015 (though we didn't finish it till 2016.

https://youtu.be/SLb7w67zrXg

What is going on in the Art Room?

Right now, the 6th graders are putting the last bits of the detail into their ceramic face jugs. and face cups. They are smoothing adding details with under glaze color but mostly it's all subtraction at this point.






 7th grade is working on "going as far as they can" with their face drawings, but are also working on pinhole photography. Pinhole photography has a way of creating a fever every year, and there really is no other project like it. The students love learning about the process and discovering the "magic" of photos developing and slowly appearing as an image right before their eyes in the paper chemical.





 The 8th graders are working on their year long photography project (Shooting film, developing them, and enlarging them in the darkroom), self portraits, and "independent projects"





 I recently made a time lapse of a day in my room.

https://youtu.be/Ih7luu0kEz0

                                       6th Grade Face Jugs

                                                 (Congo jugs)

In 6th Grade we are starting the Face jug project. It is an annual tradition and it works well with the year long study of Asheville and the Appalachian culture in other subject areas. There are many stories about why face jugs are made but it seems most of them are folklore at best. But I do love sharing a few of them with the students. It seems especially important and somewhat of a coincidence that we start the project during Black History Month. Many people believe that face jugs were first started in this country by African Slaves. For more info you should check out these links.

http://river.chattanoogastate.edu/orientations/ex-learn-obj/Face_Jugs/Face_Jugs_print.html 

https://www.saskcraftcouncil.org/the-history-of-ugly-face-jugs/

This project usually takes 2-3 months. the first day we go over "Jobs and Responsibilities" and the 2nd class is a test where they come in and practice their jobs and build a small pot. This helps them know what is expected each day and helps me know who is going to need help in various areas of building a "Jug" with a "Face" out of clay.

The Objectives: 

1. To make a jug at least 8 inches high, with a handle and a "face"
2. The ceramic jug stands up and stays up, is neat, smooth where it needs to be smooth, and nothing falls off.
3. Contrast, good use of color, and or neatness with glazing

The Responsibilities:

Helping to set up, doing your job to help have the maximum amount of class time to work on clay and helping clear and sponge the tables at clean up.






(more Congo Porch Jugs)

The Jobs:

Clay:  Setting the clay out for beginning of class, and putting clay away at the end of class.

Boards; Putting boards on tables at the start of class, and stacking boards up at the end of class.

Tools; Make sure the tools are organized and put away in the right place during and at the end of class

Cart; Pulling cart out, pulling slab rolling table out, and carefully getting projects from kiln room

The "Mad" Spongers; preparing sponges for the sponging of the tables.

Let the fun begin!

https://youtu.be/zACeC2GDCFE