Three polished opinions in a row, bronze-kissed for tourist photo ops:one is the orator—always on, voice sold separately—one is the diplomat—measured, market-tested, certified non-offensive—and one is the “silent partner,” trademarked for dramatic effect. Plaque reads: “We represent nuance. Buy a postcard.”First statue throws headlines like confetti: “Vote for clarity!”Second replies with buffered clauses: “Let’s convene … Continue reading Revisionist Poetry – “Satirical” – Discussions #2, v.4
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick's hybrid "novel in words and pictures" re-conceives narrative pacing by treating images as scene — and sometimes sequence — rather than mere illustration. The reader moves through long stretches in which single sentences act like inter-titles while spreads of meticulously rendered, black-and-white images perform the work of action, pause, and revelation. This formal … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Revisionist Poetry – “Lyrical ” – Discussions #2, v.3
They rise from kiln and weather, clay and slow astonishment,three figures cupped in light like questions held against a palm.One breathes in quick syllables—peppered sparks that catch the dusk—“Remember,” it murmurs, “the maps, the names, the children’s rooms.”The second measures its words as if weighing bread, soft and exact:“Count what we owe, then cut away … Continue reading Revisionist Poetry – “Lyrical ” – Discussions #2, v.3
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
Ivanhoe is Walter Scott’s most famous excursion into English medievalism: part pageant, part moral romance, and part antiquarian essay. Its theatrical scenes (tilt-yards, sieges, trials by combat) sit beside pointed reflections on identity, religious prejudice, and the uneasy reconciliation of Saxon and Norman England. The book is at once intoxicatingly vivid and uneven — grand … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
Revisionist Poetry – Discussions #2, v.2
They rise from earth and flame: clay fired into witness,three figures planted on the plaza like a question.One spits syllables—short, bright as flint—“Remember the border,” it says, “remember the lists.”The second counts each answer, folds it into its mouth,“Measure the rent, count the votes, soften the edge,” it counsels.The third hunches, palms pressed to its … Continue reading Revisionist Poetry – Discussions #2, v.2
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Setting Up Your Ceramic Studio: Ideas & Plans from Working Artists by Virginia Scotchie
Virginia Scotchie’s compact, image-rich manual reads less like a how-to pamphlet and more like a set of curated studio portraits: clear-eyed, practical, and quietly persuasive about the idea that a maker’s workspace is an extension of their thinking. She, herself a practicing ceramist, organizes the book around photographic tours, measured floor plans, and concise commentaries … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Setting Up Your Ceramic Studio: Ideas & Plans from Working Artists by Virginia Scotchie
Revisionist Poetry – “Statue Gallery Negotiations” – Discussion #1, v.4
In the dim gallery a single bulb walks the floor.Three sculptures lean together, elbows of stone touching,a private parliament on a shared plinth. Bronze clears its throat — a small metallic scrape —and speaks first, hands like oars pointing outward:“Borders are wounds,” it says. “We stitch them with paperand call the stitch a treaty. It … Continue reading Revisionist Poetry – “Statue Gallery Negotiations” – Discussion #1, v.4
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Art Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Adventures in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Mixed Media by Susan Schwake
Susan Schwake’s approach in this compact manual is quietly ambitious: deliver fine-art experiences in short, repeatable labs so that a parent, teacher, or small-group leader can run a semester’s worth of explorations with minimal prep and maximum creative payoff. The book is organized as six units (Drawing; Painting; Printmaking; Paper; Mixed Media; plus usage/how-to material) … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – Art Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Adventures in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Paper, and Mixed Media by Susan Schwake
Revisionist Poetry – “Silent Council” – Discussion #1, v.3
Three statues lean into a private parliament of stone.A single bulb makes slow decisions across their knees;bronze knuckles etch coastlines into the gallery's base,marble eyes hold the names they dare not say aloud.They quarrel with the language of the body —a cracked thumb points east, a jaw tightens like a border,a fractured nose becomes the … Continue reading Revisionist Poetry – “Silent Council” – Discussion #1, v.3
The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – American Surreal by Todd Schorr
The lavish monograph published by Last Gasp and issued as the catalogue to a mid-career retrospective at the San Jose Museum of Art is more than a handsome picture book: it stages a sustained argument about how “low” imagery—cartoons, B-movies, advertising—can be retooled into a repository for moral satire, visual allegory, and painterly virtuosity. The … Continue reading The Adaptable Educator’s Book Review – American Surreal by Todd Schorr
The New Renaissance Mindset 