distractions removed (anything that might buzz or ping or flash turned off)
clear workspace
2. Inner Space
body relaxed
connect to your breath
clear head
3. This is an interpretive drawing.
What is one possible way that our society or our way of being might be changed for the better by this present experience? Draw that. Keep your pencil moving for the entire five minutes.
Doing > thinking.
This is the music to play while you do that – start when it starts; stop when it’s over:
4. Take a look at your work without judgement. Did you answer the question that was asked? Is there anything you need to add to make your intention or meaning clear to an outside observer? Labels, thinking bubbles, captions, etc?
5. Date it.
6. Take a clear photo.
7. Email it to me before the class meeting.
And hopefully you’re now feeling sufficiently groovy enough to start a relaxed and purposeful day.
If you can, bring a calculator or a phone with a calculator app, or have a calculator up on your computer screen. Get ready to work with some data sets, kids!
PS: The music is Erykah Badu. Actually, her full name (or part of it) is Erykah Badu also known as Medulla Oblongata also known as Sara Bellum also known as Annie also known as Analog Girl In A Digital World also known as Maria Mexico also known as Lowdown Loretta Brown.
Don’t you wish you had a name like that? What would your version be?
This isn’t a dream. Follow me toward your index card drawing prompt.
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Okay, now that we’re here, take a moment to still your mind. Actually.
And now, calmly and purposefully, practice reading instructions carefully. Do the steps in order, one by one. Actually.
Steps:
Outer Space
1. Remove distractions. This includes turning off notifications and text alerts.
2. Clear off your workspace.
3. Prepare your materials: sharp pencil, comp book, a sense of focus.
Inner Space
1. Relax your body. Start at the top of your head and end with the tips of your toes.
2. Take an extended moment to focus on your breath and try to get into that calm and friendly place Lynda Barry says images are attracted to.
When You’re Ready
1. Draw an index card-sized frame. Dare yourself to do it without a ruler. Breathe through the discomfort. ; )
2. Your job is to copy the below image of a Welsh countryside.
You need to draw the entire image within the time limit – six and a half minutes – calmly, without getting OCD about any one particular area.
If you want to challenge yourself, try to capture as much detail as possible while still capturing the whole picture. Think lines of a map. Think spatial relationships.
Let go of perfect. Capture the place.
When you are ready, press “Play” in the YouTube window below the image to drift on a cloud the sublime Sabine Meyer playing the 2nd Movement of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic: an old classroom classic.
Keep your pencil in motion for the entire six and a half minutes; stop when the music stops.
This is the image:
This is the music:
3. Date your image and add the title: “Welsh Countryside.”
You do not need to send me this drawing, but file it somewhere safe: we will look at it when we do one-on-one conferences a little later in the term.
Now, reread the instructions and look at your drawing. Did you do what was asked of you? Did you miss any of the instructions by mistake?
Is there anything in this image that might be useful for your The Black Cauldron work?
Next:
Consider making a checklist for the day and/or checking yesterday’s homework sheet (did you forget anything?).
See you at 10:00. It will be a slightly shorter meeting that usual as I have a staff meeting at 11:00.
Until then, tootles.
PS: I once asked two clarinetists with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra what the best recording of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto was (this is not how most of my conversations go) – they looked at each other and then said, at the same time, “Sabine Meyer. Abbado.”
2. Gather your materials: comp book, pencil, a willing spirit.
3. Clear off your work space.
4. Draw an index card-sized frame on your page.
Inner Space
1. Relax your body.
2. Take an extended moment to focus on your breath.
3. Press “Play” below to hear two great tastes that taste great together: Simply Red’s mid-80s British soul-pop hit sung by the heart-filling Angie Stone, lynchpin of the neo-soul movement that slid across the late 1990’s into the early years of the 2000s.
What are you willing to wait for?
Draw whatever this is in detail, keeping your pencil in motion for the entire 8-minutes. Label the important details.
Date it. Give it a title. Email it to me.
What could you do from now until our meeting that would be productive and set you up for a relaxed and efficient day?
So, the challenge is on: a full “sit,” guided by Dr. James Maskalyk. This is open to family members, too! (Not required!)
Set aside about 45 minutes. Have your comp book handy. Read this whole post before beginning.
I’ve cued up the video to begin just before the guided meditation starts; you are more than welcome to dial it back to the beginning and listen to a report on life in the ER and in Toronto from about two weeks back, if you want the full ride, but that is optional.
Steps:
1. Find a place where you will be uninterrupted for about 45 minutes – let your family know you’ll need time and space.
2. Establish a comfortable sitting position – something upright and alert, but also something you can maintain for an extended period of time. This could be lotus position (if you are bendy and used to sitting that way) or crossed-legged, or in a comfy chair (we’re not jealous at all, Ancie and The REAL Maya, really we’re not) (okay, we’re totally jealous), or seated upright on a sofa with your legs stretched out in front of you. Make sure you have something soft under your butt, but not so soft that your posture collapses – think rug, yoga mat, a towel folded in half, etc.
3. Have your comp book and a pencil or pen beside you.
4. If you are doing this alone, you may want to use headphones.
5. Press “Play” on the above video and listen to the introductory ideas (don’t get hypnotized by the groovy t-shirt!).
6. There are four bells during the sit – one to start, one at the halfway mark, one three minutes before the end, and one at the end. Use those bells like we use the chime in class before reading or writing: open up your hearing and listen all the way to the end of the tone. When the first bell starts, close your eyes and do your best to keep your eyes closed for the duration of the sit.
7. “All” you have to do is focus on your breathing, and follow the instructions from Dr. Maskalyk. When distracting thoughts come up, acknowledge them, and then let them drift away. Watch your thoughts passively rather than analyze them. Try to avoid “should” thinking. Allow what happens to happen.
8. If you lose focus or get caught up in your thoughts, forgive yourself, and then go back to breathing in through your nose, noticing the sensation of the air entering your nostrils and the feeling of expansion in your chest and/or belly, and then the release of the breath and the feeling of emptiness.
9. If you are struck by inspiration during the sit, make a quick note in your comp book and then close your eyes again and go back to focusing on your breath.
10. There are many periods of extended silence during the video – just keep breathing.
11. For some of you, this time will pass in the blink of an eye; for others, it will feel like an eternity. Both responses – and anything in between – are totally natural and acceptable.
When you are done:
make notes in your comp book about what stood out for you in the experience – things Dr. Maskalyk said, images that drifted into your mind, what your body felt like, your emotional response, etc.
Post at least one comment using “Leave a Reply” below, using your class name. Feel free to build on others’ comments. Possible ideas:
– what were the positive aspects of this experience?
– many cultures and traditions have some form of meditation practice at their core, going back millennia in time – why do you think this is so?
– how might this mindfulness practice be useful to you in your life? What aspects of it might be helpful for you? When might you use it?
– connections to Wagamese and/or our work in mindset?
– what images floated through your mind during the sit?
– how did you feel afterward?
Please complete this by Monday evening, including posting your comment(s), and bring your ideas to share in our Class Meeting Tuesday!
(PS: I believe most people engage with Dr. Maskalyk’s guided meditations through facebook, but there are a few more uploaded on YouTube that you can explore if you like!)
Wakey, wakey, y’all. (Somebody text Obi: tell him to wake up Donkey!)
Steps:
1. Think about your external space. What do you need to do to get ready?
find a place where you can work uninterrupted
get your materials: comp book or paper, pencil, willing fingers, a slow, calm mind
clear off your work space as a visual cue for your mind to also clear space
2. Think about your inner space. What do you need to do to get ready?
relax your body
slow down your breathing
be willing to let what happens happen without judgement.
3. Draw an index card-sized frame.
4. Press “Play” below to listen to the unworldly beauty of Rachmaninoff’s Vespers. This is what I imagine the Children of the Evening sound like when they sing for King Eiddileg in The Book of Three.
5. Copy the image below. You only have four minutes to do so – what do you need to draw in order to capture the essence of this place? Try to do so with some degree of precision and calmness. Think about lines. What kinds of lines are here? Where does one line end and the next begin?
5. Put today’s date outside the frame of your drawing (inside the frame is okay if you have actual index cards).
You do not need to email me your work. At some point this term we will do one-on-one conferences; I’ll ask to see your drawings, so if you’re working on loose paper, file it somewhere organized and safe.
See you at 10:00!
PS: the photo is of the countryside outside Milford Haven in Wales. You’re welcome.
Rise and shine, y’all. Who fell asleep with visions of cheesecake dancing in their heads (or, alternatively, things covered in plastic in the microwave…)? Who cares if it’s a pie or a cake, I just want some.
One thing to keep in mind as we start our day: reading instructions. Remember what we talked about yesterday – the need to calm your mind before you begin reading so that you get all of the information you need instead of just quickly jumping on what you think the task is, and then the need to reread the instructions when you think you’re done, so that you can confirm you didn’t miss anything. Let’s practice that right now : )
Steps:
1. Find a place where you can focus and where you will not be interrupted.
2. Clear off your work space.
3. Prepare your materials: comp book, pencil, bravery, a calm mind.
4. Take an extended moment to focus on your breathing.
5. Draw an index card-sized frame on your page.
6. Press “Play” below to start the late, great Bill Withers singing “Lean On Me,” and then draw you, Ivan Brunetti-style, telling your The Black Cauldron partner(s), also drawn in Ivan Brunetti-style, something you appreciate about them (for reals).
Rules:
full bodies
faces visible
keep your pencil in motion for the entire four and a half minutes – consider things like details in clothing or personal objects, setting, thinking bubbles, abstraction to suggest atmosphere, mood, or emotion (not required, but if you need to fill the time)
Go!
When you are done, write today’s date on the outside of your frame. Take a picture and send it to you partner(s), and send the picture to me as well.
Now that you’re done and you’re in a focused state of mind, consider using that calm energy to get a jumpstart on the school day. Maybe reread yesterday’s virtual Homework Sheet and create a checklist for yourself. Perhaps write down your schedule for the day. Consider practicing your drawing and printing skills for The Black Cauldron.
See you at 10:00. Who can get the conversation rolling in the pre-meeting wait-time? Is it you?
Looking forward to hearing the next exciting instalment of The Microwave Diaries,
Prof. G.B.
The results (hover over an image to pause the slideshow):
Morning, sleepyheads. Time to shut down the Minecraft server, press pause on the anime, stop rolling your eyes ironically, text Your Highness to make sure she’s 1) up, and 2) practicing her incredible microwaving skills, and get to work!
Steps:
1. Find a place where you can focus and where you will not be interrupted.
2. Clear off your work space.
3. Prepare your materials: comp book, pencil, bravery.
4. Below is an illustration by Margaret Jones from The Mabinogion – you may remember from our work in Term One that this text is the basis of all early Welsh mythology. In those tales, Gwydion is very different from Lloyd Alexander’s hero – here, he is a villain!
Your job it to either zoom in on one aspect of this illustration and copy it in detail, or to try to do a rough sketch of the entire image.
When you are ready, press “Play” on the music link below: the superlative Claudio Abbado conducting the mind-boggling Lucerne Festival Orchestra in the Prelude to Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. Once the music starts, keep your pencil in motion until it stops (approx. 10 minutes). Don’t get hypnotized by the video – you can always go back and watch again after.
If you’d prefer a large version of the image, right-click (or control-click) here to open a new tab after you click “play” below.
You do not need to email me your drawing; I may ask you to hold it up during our morning check-in.
This illustration might also provide inspiration for various aspects of your The Black Cauldron work. How awesome is that swoop of the Milky Way?
Good morning, friends, and welcome to your first Do It at Home Index Card Drawing!
This is required work for all members of the Mental Asylum for Corrupted Children (MACC), and optional fun for parents, siblings, or any former students trolling this blog – if any of you feel like you might benefit from taking an extended moment to focus your mind and channel your creative impulse, please join in (and email me a photo of the final product!).
This is bound to feel a little strange at first, but I am confident that we’ll all find a rhythm with this – and who knows, you may even grow to love doing this within the comfort and (relative) privacy of your own home.
My advice: use this activity as we do in class – to focus and calm our minds and prepare ourselves for our work day. Try not to do this and then just go back to playing Minecraft; instead, use it as your external and internal cue to begin your at-home school schedule, in a certain frame of mind.
Read this entire entry before you begin, but try to not think about what you are going to draw before you start – like in class, try to read the prompt, start the music, and begin drawing, following your first impulse and doing your best to silence The Two Questions.
Steps:
1. Find a place where you can focus and where you will not be interrupted.
2. Clear off your work space – we create space on our desk (or whatever) so that we can create space in our minds.
3. Prepare your materials: comp book, pencil, bravery.
4. Draw an index card-sized frame in your comp book (unless you, incredibly, have a secret stash of index cards…) (Hey! I want those back, klepto!). Try to resist the impulse to use a ruler. Your choice as to landscape or portrait.
5. Picture someone around the same age as you, with the same hopes and fears and challenges, in this present moment in time, somewhere in the world. What message would you like to send to them?
Draw you, Ivan Brunetti-style, sending that message to them, Ivan Brunetti-style. How you communicate with them is entirely up to you – it could be literal or abstract.
Rules:
Faces visible.
Whole bodies.
Be brave.
Keep your pencil in motion until the song ends (7 minutes), then stop.
Press “play” to hear this so-good-it-will-blow-your-mind song by Stevie Wonder.
Put the date on the outside of the frame, take a clear picture, and email it to me. Resist the impulse to perfect (used as a verb) the image before you send it; it is perfect (used as an adjective) just the way it is. You are not being judged on your artistic abilities, only on your willingness to fully engage in this activity.
(You won’t be sending me every index card – only sometimes.)
Now go look up Stevie Wonder. See you in the class meeting!
PS: all credit goes to the one and only Lynda Barry for creating this Morning Index Card Drawing structure.
The results (you can hover over an image to pause the slideshow):
You do not need to read the article (but can if you so wish); instead, when you are ready, click on “Listen.”
I’d like you to focus in particular on the section from around the 6-minute mark to the end, but please do also listen to the beginning. In today’s world, last week is old news, but it does help the stage for the reset of the interview.
While you listen, from the 6-min. mark on, take notes in your comp book of images and ideas that stand out to you (you can write or write and draw); however, when Dr. Maskalyk leads the audience through the breathing exercise, put down your pen/pencil and join in.
Afterwards, either on your own or with your family, if they joined in, discuss and/or make notes about what stood out for you. How might you use these ideas in your own life? What difference might it make? Can you make any connections to Richard Wagamese or other previous learning?
Then, use “Leave a Reply” to leave at least one idea of when what you just heard might be useful/helpful. Try to be specific. You can build off of others’ ideas if you like. Remember to use your class name in the Name field (if parents post ideas, they can perhaps use “Mr. [your child’s class name]” or “Mrs. [your child’s class name]”)
Please complete this by Monday morning. Bring your ideas to share in next week’s class meetings!
“On my island, I can live out my wildest dreams!”
