So it’s been a while since my last post, sorry for the delay. Now that I’m back into to the swing of Semester 2 and school is on my mind again I have been thinking. Tests really prove nothing except for a score that essentially only gives us a less than accurate judgement of what our students are capable of. As an Art teacher I find assessment and examination time quite disheartening, as it always focusses on results rather than process, which is essentially the most important part of learning how to ‘make’ in Art.
Reading through my Facebook newsfeed tonight has shown me that I am not the only teacher that feels this way.
The article discusses how a teacher has written a letter to her students about how testing doesn’t show their true complexity as individuals and it’s gone viral on Twitter.
I know my students so, so well and I pride myself on using this information to enrich their learning and curiosity for Art, Music, Literature and all that life has to offer them. Tests are relevant sometimes, but judging a school solely on these results is harmful to what schools are built on, which is knowing their students, their families and their indivuality – why doesn’t any government policy ever truly look into this, the most intrinsic factor to how well students become whole, rounded individuals. Rather they focus on results and numbers, none of which matters when I see their faces everyday waiting for me to help them through not only the curriculum but also all their complex emotional, personal and raw human needs. I wish someone would really look at the system and give us the support for what we do best – nurture.
I spent the long weekend getting a few things organised for my first drawing workshop, hence the photographs, for grown ups coming up this Saturday. My first one is going to be free and have only invited a group of 6 peeps to tell it me like it is and feed me with feedback. The theme for Saturday’s lesson is an autumnal one, ‘Apples, Sticks and Autumn leaves’. It will be a beginner’s drawing workshop looking at representing objects as shapes, positive and negative space and gestural/contour line. It is also going to be focussed on channelling your inner creativity. I am super excited and somewhat nervous. Wish me luck folks.
Watching romantic comedies is my favourite thing to do to get me feeling fuzzy and warm inside, especially on a Saturday night in.
I love this film.
So today we watched ‘Adam’ about a lovely gentle man with asperger’s syndrome who falls in love with a nice young lady, a little distant maybe, played by Rose Byrne. I really enjoyed this movie and Luke and I spent a good part of the afternoon a little teary. I am planning our next movie session in about an hour….I think something with Jennifer Anniston might be good. (Please don’t judge me. I am well educated and cultured, I promise)
When I was young, until about the age of 11 or 12 I never knew I had brown skin. Weird isn’t it? As I was going through primary school I remember a teacher calling me ‘that black girl’ of which I really didn’t understand because as far I was concerned I may not have been white, but I clearly wasn’t black either (Let me just be clear in saying that this was in Brisbane. In Melbourne I always felt like I belonged, maybe it was all the ethnic people everywhere and the memory that I had Mauritian friends in prep who I spoke to in creole and ate lentils with me). The only reason I really thought about the colour of my skin was when a girl a lot younger than me told me she couldn’t play with me because I was ‘black’ and her parents told her she wasn’t allowed to talk to me anymore because I was a ‘boong’. I was outraged and just couldn’t believe anyone would say such a thing, and what on earth was a ‘boong’? (So, so sorry to use such a horrible word but it is only used in the context of this story, I would never use it in my life and I hate it.) As I got older I spoke to my Mum and Dad about this and they told me many a story of outright racism. Of my Dad being told to smile in the photographic darkroom at Telecom and my Mum being yelled at for taking jobs away from ‘real Australians’. It was then that I realised I was different and that I wasn’t like the other girls in my class or even in my school.
The book ‘Is everyone hanging out without me?’ by Mindy Kaling has sprouted this inspirational conversation in me. What a great book? I have only read about 70 or so pages (it is only 200 or so long) and I totally love it. She talks about being a ‘chubby Indian kid’, eating roti and hanging out with her very anglo friends. Mindy Kaling is a brilliant comedian and role model for all women and girls. However as a woman of multicultural heritage it makes me so happy that a woman who is a) Ethnic b) Naturally curvy c) Intelligent and opinionated d) 100% herself has become so popular. I mean I never had anyone like Ms Kaling to look up to when I was growing up. In fact I feel like I had no one. Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Blossum? Yeah of course I truly loved them all, but they were not like me or the women in my family. So who did I bond with on TV? Yep, The Cosby Show and my all time idol, Lisa Bonnet.
Lisa Bonnet – so cool.
The Cosby Show was for a while the only show that I could say, hey those people look somewhat like my family. I though Lisa Bonnet was so cool, so stylish and yes so smart. She went to college and I followed her their on that other show that I can’t remember the name of. Back in Australia though I was a little lost for role models. I didn’t really bond with Kylie and Sally from Home and Away was just way to boring for me. I do however distinctly remember watching Acropolis Now and feeling some strange affection towards the character Effie, with her big hair and loud personality. She was a woman I could relate to, one I had seen before in my own home, with a little less of all that.
The incredible Mary Coustas as Effie.
I remember watching these women and thinking, they are all very cool and interesting. But where is someone that looks like me?. My whole life I tried to find someone on TV or in the movies that looked like me. No one at school looked like me, no one at the school dances looked like me. Where on earth was I from if nobody in the universe looked like me? (Of course my Mum, cousins and aunts looked like me, but I wasn’t interested in that)
Then came my obsession with Marissa Tomei, who I thought I kind of looked like (not). She was ethnic of some description and totally beautiful and got to act with Robert Downey Junior in ‘Only You’ which for a time was my favourite film.
Marissa Tomei – my idol in High School.
I even went so far as to take a photo of Marissa to the hair dresser and get my hair cut into a short pixie do (very 90s) just like her. When I got to school the girls told me I looked like Toni Braxton – not the reaction I thought I would get. However in hindsight I think Toni Braxton is bloody beautiful but at the time if I wasn’t looking like Marissa something was very wrong.
As I went to Uni a show called ‘The Secret Life of Us’ came on TV and all of sudden a brown woman appeared in front of me every week. Deborah Mailman. When I went out to bars men would tell me I had beautiful lips like that lady from that TV show – what a line huh? Again and again people would tell me I looked like Deborah Mailman. Years later I have also realised that Deborah Mailman is very beautiful, but of course at the time I was outraged, partly because I was 19 and she was way older and I also thought I was much thinner, which turns out I am not. Whoops.
The beautiful Deborah Mailman. Photography by Harold David, styling by Judith Cook.
The point of all this ranting about brown skinned women is to say that I think the next generation of half Sri Lankan, half Mauritian girls will have Mindy Kaling to look up to. A woman that is not a caricature of her ethnicity, nor is she overly serious about her heritage, the jokes about Sriachi and chicken wings are ones I hold very dear to my heart. She is hilarious, went to uni, has her own show, has written a book, wears awesome clothes that have totally inspired me to add more colour into my wardrobe and she isn’t afraid to say she likes to eat two breakfasts or has a very, very healthy appetite. Her character of Mindy Lahiri in ‘The Mindy Project’ is also slightly delusional like me in that she sees herself as ‘petite’ like a tiny bird. So thank you Mindy Kaling for bringing me joy and helping me find a woman on TV that does look a little bit like me and who is young, hot and completely herself.
P.S. Also a special mention to Neneh Cherry, who when I saw ‘Buffalo Stance’ made me think one of my cousins was on TV and made me want to wear high top sneakers and a gold puffer jacket, this lead to a short time thinking I was actually black and sassy. I wished for some time that I could look just like her and had an English accent too.
Role models, idols, obsessions?? I will elaborate on these topics even more very soon. For now enjoy a flashback video:
Luke and I celebrate 9 years together tomorrow. Woah! The only reason we know this is because our friend Eric had the moment we met on film on his camera, how bizarre? And the date just stuck in our minds. Now I know it’s not 10 years, but I’m pretty impressed that we are still just as the photo above shows, in love and happy. Yes I know it sounds corny but it really is the truth. We married I think about four years ago, but what we really like to celebrate is the day we met. After all if we didn’t meet we wouldn’t have the life we have now.
I was only 23 when I met Luke. We moved to Melbourne together after only 8 months of knowing each other. He is my best friend, biggest fan and all round super beautiful person. Of course there are times when I want to just ignore him or need to hate him for a little while, but I don’t know any couple that doesn’t go through this. We live and breathe each other everyday, it’s not a walk in the park but it sure has a nice breeze, and come on, who doesn’t like a nice breeze?
I feel like the last 9 years have kind of helped me become the person I am today, I mean of course they have. But without this relationship I think I would have turned out to be a really different person. Luke has taught me so much about the world of film, literature, his brain, his book collection, music, art and all that good stuff. Most importantly though he has taught me about myself. I have been able to learn my strengths and vulnerabilities. I have learnt that loving is something I really like doing. I also really like taking care of people. That touch, you know like hugs and squeezes (not the sexy kind), is something that instantly makes me feel good, safe and loved. He also taught me that I am a nice person, which I always kind of thought wasn’t really part of my person, I always thought I was tough and abrupt.
I told Luke the other night, as we were lying in bed, that I never thought I would ever meet someone who I could be totally 100% myself with, completely vulnerable and with my heart on my sleeve. So thanks Luke for being that person that I can be totally myself with. You are so super awesome, a little eccentric and a lot lovely. You are my family, you are my person (words taken from Offspring, sorry I had to, was just so beautifully stated last week) you are my love. X
My husband first introduced me to the work of Kara Walker a couple of years ago. He bought me a book about her silhouette/ paper cut out works to help inspire me. Of course her work resonated with me straight away, dealing with issues of cultural identity, African American culture, as well as questioning one’s own culture and heritage. In her new work Walker moves past the delicate paper cuts and creates a sculpture that evokes all kinds of primal emotions, like looking at the great pyramids or the Sphinx. I just wanted to share her awesomeness with you. Here’s a link to a great article in the New York Times all about it: http://nyti.ms/1kZVZ7s. Enjoy!
Our wall of stuff. Luke and I have collected images and other stuff over the years and I put it altogether like this in our new place.My favourite nook in the house. I love collecting and arranging objects, could do it for hours.Luke bought me this image a few years ago. I feel like these are the Mexican versions of me, both as a girl and as a boy.
Artwork by Casey Payne given to us for our engagement. Tiny lady from Paris.I love this corner of stuff. The scales are from my Dad, I think they were his Dad’s. Cooking books are my favourite kind of book.This little ensemble is a mix match of presents etc. Over the years my friends have always bought me little treasures that I absolutely adore. Luke and I bought the egg cups in Gent, Belgium at the beginning of the year.
So I have just posted a few photos of my favourite little nook in our new place. Although the overall aesthetic of the architecture is minimal, Luke and I are definitely the opposite of that. Luke has a lot of books to say the least and I love objects, pictures, knick-knacks and all things like that. I think we are both collectors and it’s what I love the most about our home – it reflects us. Objects have been given to us or we have bought them over time, some totally tacky and others pretty lovely. Since moving to the birdhouse Luke and I have had the most awesome time arranging and re-arranging objects, furniture and so on. The op shop down the road (Salvos) is somewhere we like to go to forage for goodies. Also ‘Lost & Found’ is another favourite place, although the closest one has close down, maybe this isn’t such a bad thing :).
I have kept some ornaments etc. from my parents home when I was growing up. The images on the wall above have a couple of small artworks from my grandparents home, a little token to remember them by. For me objects, although materialistic, hold a nostalgia or ‘energy’ for one of better word. They evoke emotion and memory and make me feel at home. I’m not sure why I like to be surrounded by little things, they just make me happy. Sometimes I pack them all away and try to be minimal for while. This never lasts long as I always crave to look at them, almost missing their company.
One of my favourite things about going to Europe at the end of last year was staying in apartments through Air BnB. Each apartment we chose had a collection of pictures, objects and artifacts, telling us something about the owner or something they wanted us to believe. Even the shops in Spain seemed like they used objects to create curiosity from the passer by. Of course Luke and I were hooked and went into any interesting knick-knack/ op shop looking shop we came across. We came home with more objects and images, adding to our collection of narratives past and present. Do you collect?
So today I finally worked for more than just an hour on some artmaking. Usually I find every excuse under the sun to not make, when really I’m just scared of seeing what will happen, fear gets in the way of the fun in making. So I’m back doing the fun stuff …yay. During the last school holidays I worked on some paintings and drawings based on some patterns from Sri Lankan homewares I have in my house. I started photographing these and then creating patterns out of them on Adobe Photoshop. Today I started to cut into the print outs of the patterns and ‘played’ for a while. Having a background in installation art it isn’t surprising that I ended up sticking stuff to the walls of my house. I’ve also been looking at Beci Orpin’s work lately, finding inspiration from the playfulness in her use of shape and repetition. So here it is peeps, my first step into artmaking for a while. Please be nice, I’m still tender from the BHB un-conference, you know layers of feelings to work through and all that. But feedback is always welcome.
Tracey Emin, always with something enlightening to share with the world through her artworks, books and interviews, ‘love’ is what I feel for this woman.
So anyway this morning my alarm went off at the usual time and I woke up in shock that I had to get up, my body wasn’t ready.
What a strange feeling sleepiness is? I haven’t been able to shake the sleepy, almost groggy feeling all day. Students at school requested a nap this afternoon, what a bloody great idea? I wish I could have a quick power nap, at work, on a couch or something or even on the carpet. The kids seemed to think it was a brilliant idea and their faces lit up when I suggested it. They want to have a little kip every Thursday afternoon in Art class….wow, what would my principal think of this? I think it would make for a more productive afternoon altogether really. Siesta, nap – call it whatever, I really miss them at work and wish it was incorporated into part of the curriculum at school and normal work day for us grown ups. Maybe I will incorporate nap time into my school holiday workshops sometime :). What are your thoughts on nap time at work?
So after a most beautiful day spent eating and chatting with my Mum I find myself laying about my house on a Sunday afternoon. I think this may be one of the greater things in life. Sunday afternoons seem filled with a quietness and stillness unlike any other day of the week. Is it just me or do other people notice this also?
Laying about my house feels completely luxurious and almost self-indulgent, both of which I quite like the feeling of. Although I have some anxieties about having to get up and go to work tomorrow I still feel a sense of calm and almost sleepiness about the afternoon. We have the most amazing light that comes through our lounge room and the day becomes part of us. I can see the sky, trees and hear the birds singing. I feel utterly grateful for such a feeling and for having a life where I get to do such things that I’m sure not many people in the world get to do.
After hearing about the state of affairs in Nigeria and thinking about mothers in detention centres and all the other thoughts that have filled my head this afternoon I feel totally grateful for the most awesome life I get to live. I know I’m crapping on a bit but I feel the need to share my thanks beyond just my own crazy mind.
Today of all days I have been thinking of my Dad and how he lost his mother at the age of 18. I think about my grandmother and the love she gave to him and all of us grandkids. I have had a truly blessed life filled with much love and it is only getting better. For those of you without a mother to kiss or hug today I empathise with your feeling of loss or pain. Afterall we really should be thankful for those who give us unconditional love on more than just one day of the year. I hope to be able to tell my loved ones that I cherish them on a more regular basis, maybe I’ll call more or send text messages. Or maybe when I sit on a Sunday afternoon pondering the world and my meaning in it I will take the time to think about them and let my love beam into the air and maybe even into the universe, even just for a moment.
artist teacher creative 
