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When we last left our hero, she had a few irons in the fire. They seem to be panning out, and there may even be room for more later on down the line. For right now, my schedule includes A Space, with extra fun filing of archives in preparation for the new programming director, whomever that may be. We will also be hosting workshops for the Hive Dress (which, Torontonians, you should go see if you haven't. It's up until the 3rd, and it has been getting really great reactions, and more comments than any other show I've been around for).
Last Friday i did my first volunteer stint at Sketch, helping out with massive studio cleanup for summer. It was massively awesome. Yesterday was my first day volunteering in open studio. A very nice man named Julian walked me and a new kid through their screenprinting setup. Soon I will be taking over animating that section of the studio, which basically means i get to do my own stuff and help anybody who needs it. Maybe we will also set up some workshops on other lo-tech print strategies, good for when you don't have a studio cause yer poor and/or homeless. I am really happy to finally be involved with them. They are a really great resource with amazing energy.
After screenprinting at Sketch, I go straight to Open Studio for etching class, at least for a few more weeks. its nice to feel like i am getting the technical instruction I've always wanted in that. Up until now, it was all just guesswork. It irks me to have to re-invent the wheel when practicing a technique that has been around for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, it looks like I will be missing the last class, as we leave that night for Poland. Now that I've had this intro to the studios, and they are so nice and clean and ventilated, I think I ill be going on my own. Yay!
(I'm not so sure about this Poland thing. They are making us wear matching track suits or something now. Even the spouses. I'm against it. Damn military, taking us to Poland and then trying to make it suck. I am not a big fan of the marching band music to begin with, but I think I will definitely have my fill by the time it's over. But it's Poland!)
So, we're up to Wednesday. For the past few Wednesdays, and few yet to come, including today, I have been/am/will be leading drop-in sessions for kids 6-13 at Art City in St Jamestown (a neighborhood of high rises, populated mainly by new immigrants to Canada, especially South Asian and Tamil). It is a really interesting challenge, and Mona has been great support. I had forgotten how different it is to work with that age group. They are so desperate for peer and adult acceptance, such perfectionists, and often really judgemental of each other. They are sweet awesome kids, though, and they like to make stuff. It is "more interesting than staying home watching TV and doing homework" so I guess that's something.
In June, I will be doing some printmaking workshops at ArtHeart, a drop-in arts and support org in Regent Park (a notrious housing development and 'bad' neighborhood in TO). I'll be working with adults, mostly, though maybe kids later on. I went in last week to chat with the woman who coordinates it, who is 100% sweet and cool. She is not optimistic about the new development projects in Regent Park. I had never been out there before. The first thing I noticed was how much it reminded me of the apt complexes I grew up in. It was actually quite pretty, with trees and such. It's lived-in, there's a palpable presence of neighborhood dwellers. I understand that its the kind of neighborhood where you see drunks all times of day and there's crime and whatever, but Celeste's point was that while new development might 'improve' the neighborhood, it doesn't actually help the people living there now. In fact, many will be pushed out, or forced to move from their homes into the high-rises that will no doubt replace the low rises that are being knocked down to make room for market-value housing (TO market values being sky-high). It's a lot like expelling the students who act out in school. Sure, the school is 'better,' but what happens to those kids?
I heard a story on the radio this morning about a man who is now a cop (OPP) and this girl he worked with years ago in a school program for 'problem' kids, before he became a cop. They were both interviewed about how over time, she started to trust him enough to stop being so angry and try to make her life something more than a way to piss off every adult she came into contact with. She had reasons for being angry and distrustful, good ones, and he just slowly got through that. The radio guy went on about how cool it was that an adult was able toconnect with this angry young girl, and I just thought... this shouldn't be an exception. Why is it a fluke, a minor miracle, when one adult bothers to pay attention to a kid? There's this assumption that they are just bad, with no hope, but how do people get that way in the first place? Why wasn't anyone paying attention when that girl was being abused by her mother's boyfriend? Why wasn't anyone paying attention when the boyfriend moved back in -after- being convicted of abusing her? And you wonder why she's mad. Paying attention to things said and not said makes such a difference, why is it an exception, and not the rule?
Anyway. I just want to be around, paying attention, accepting people for who they are, all that hippie shit.
Did I mention that I'm really happy with my life right now? cause I am. I noticed it while gushing to a lovely girl who works at Sketch on Friday. I am actually really happy, and I sincerely hope its more than just the extra sun (although I'm sure that helps). I feel like things are headed in good directions, I heve more energy, and motivation. It's not easy, but it's a lot easier.