Category Archives: Friends

At the Bronx Museum with Artist Chris Cook

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The fourth and fifth graders took a trip to the Bronx Museum. It was a wonderful joyous event. They visited many different museums throughout New York City but never visited a museum to meet up with a friend of their teacher.

Mr. Cook and I met a couple of years ago in Brooklyn at Prospect Park. I traveled there to see Art in the Park. When I arrived, I ran into his friend on a bicycle who told me I was going the wrong way. He slowed down and bicycled-walked with me ( I know that’s not a word but it should be!). He slowly rode while I walked keeping up the conversation. He didn’t even stumble as I would have on a skinny wheel bicycle.

“It sounds like I need to introduce you to my friend Chris. Y’all would get along.”

When we arrived the event had already started.

Afterwards, he introduced us and Chris and I have been working together ever since. He visited the school several times creating a wonderful relationship with the children. When I told the children about the next trip, they were overjoyed to hear that they actually knew the artist.

We arrived an hour early and took a walk to the Andrew Freeman home. Mr. Freeman owned the baseball team, the Giants, during the early 20th century. His dilapidated house-home sits there with very little going on with it besides remodel promises from the city.

By the time we circled the Block, it was time to view Mr. Cook’s work.

Students meet Mr. Cook at the Museum

After the museum preliminaries, Mr. Cook started off with fun questions to get them thinking.

Next Mr. Cook and I took turns teaching about other artist who were in the same exhibition.

Work by Kim Dacres
Students creating work

After spending some time on Kim Dacres’ work, the students created self portraits using pencil and feathers.

Self Portrait by Charleigh
Self Portrait by Courtney
Sanaiah
Yahaira
Logan
McKenzie
Self Portraits by the fourth grade
Work by Syd Abady

We also viewed work by Syd Abady and saw moving images from another artist. These works the students spoke about.

When it was time to view Mr. Cooks work, I taught first. Once again beginning with open ended inquiry.

Students viewing Mr. Cooks work

After they explored his work, he spoke openly about the creation process, the ownership structure, and the political messages.

Work by Chris Cook

After viewing and discussing his work, students created their own newspaper or magazine cover addressing an in issue their community using neon colored index cards.

Students examples of Cover Pages for Magazines or Newspapers

When it was time to leave the students were complaining that they still had more questions for Mr. Cook. The most popular question was- how did he get his art into a museum? But some other questions were: Why is Mr. Cook’s work being taken down? What will the museum show next? How you make art out of materials when there are no materials?

The time we are living in is somewhat blissful. My students had so many opportunities and great ones lately and I don’t know if they understand that it’s not only apropos but unprecedented and unbelievable.

Antawn

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I met Antawn at Fordham through United Christian Fellowship. He was a very funny and clean person.

One night he invited everyone to his place for a meal he cooked. He spoke about where his family was from and there was a big funny argument about who cooked better- men or women.

When it was time to clean up, he went on and on about how clean his place had to be at all times…which lead to an even funnier argument about what would happen if he had a disorganized wife.

I remember that night because Antwan had a cute roommate who gave me his number. I can’t remember that guy’s name. I don’t even remember how he looks. I do remember laughing later with the girls about taking his number.

For the most part, I remember laughing a lot in Antwan’s presence. We laughed in the Christian meetings and at the cafe and in the Ram Van on the way to Tarry Town for the retreats.

We laughed because we could. We had our troubles but we also had our youth and constant motivation from adults in our lives who helped to keep us grounded. It was the last time in our lives to be this free. It was the time when adults would remind us that high school that was over and we are grown. So, act like it.  

College ended and we all went different ways. Making promises to meet up again.

In January, Josh sent me a message telling me that Antwan passed and I texted Tasha and asked her if she knew and she said Facebook told her. Cause Facebook tells everyone, everything. And that’s why we don’t need to meet… or don’t meet. Because we got facebook. We kinda went silent after that.

Our conversation ended the same way, we should keep in contact more often. But what does keeping in contact even mean these days?

UCF1

Tima

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I love the mutual admiration and synergy between Tima and her husband. This is the first photo I took of them before they got ‘ready’ to take the picture. I wasn’t going to use it for my blog because it looks fuzzy but their facial expressions are so lovely. It looks like they are little kids in love. 

Feeding the Iguana

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This was taken at Seminario Park in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

We had a lot of fun chasing the Iguana’s and demanding them to eat OUR lettuce.

There were a lot of people there so the Iguana’s stop eating the food after awhile. If you found one that was hungry it was like finding a needle in a haystack. As you can see, all four of us have a piece of lettuce in our hands to feed him. Even this one was a bit fed-up (pun intended)!

If they did not eat it, then we placed the lettuce on their backs hoping they would change their minds. Usually the food would fall to the ground and be placed in the basura by the park worker.

 

Uncle’s Birthday Party

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In January I blogged about Stacy’s 99 year old Grandma, Mi Abuela Ana. Stacy and I thought about actives we could do with Abuela Ana to keep her mind busy. Most of them revolved around Stacy’s family. Her grandma’s children.

When her uncle’s birthday came around, Stacy invited me over.

Abuela Ana was sitting on the couch. Above her on the wall, there was a vintage photo. It was a picture of her and her late husband taken at photography studio. It seemed to be their wedding photo. The picture was striking because of her dress. It was long and modest. She saw me looking at it and through translation told me that it was a pink dress. But I don’t remember her saying anything else about the picture. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember her showing much emotion about the photo.