How can I describe Barcelona?

Barcelona is full.

Full of tourists.
Full of history.
Full of art.
Full of passion.

Everything is intensified.

Sound
Color
Light
Smell

In the Boqueria it overwhelms. Although the light is limited it's as though the odors grew large to take the lights place. Each stall I pass sends out scented tendrils to lure me in - luscious white Spanish cheeses here, ham still in the form of a leg there - suddenly strawberries - then fresh fish overwhelms it all - spices - chocolate - gelato - crepes cooking - the mouth waters and the mind is boggled . . . .

Oh, to have just a taste, a tiny taste of each one.

I wonder where the true Barcelonans are?

Where do they live?

Surely not in this mass of uncouth tourists
who only come to look
All the time snapping pictures,
pictures,
pictures.

Flocks of tourists
Herds of tourists
Schools of tourists

Walking dazed,
Seeing the world through the LCD screens of their cameras.

I am not of Barcelona.
I am just another awestruck tourist viewing the world through all my shiny toys.
Such a barbarian,
I can't even speak the language.

Wandering and wondering

As usual, I seem to be having a difficult time keeping you up to date on here, but that may have changed. Suddenly for some unknown reason I'm able to pick up a strong wifi signal in my hotel room. Prior to this I had to go to the first floor (That's the second floor back in the states.) to be able to email or post or tweet or otherwise play around on the world wide web. This is wonderful so far. I hope it lasts.

I've been all over the place since I got here. I've walked the Ruta de Modernisme, rambled all up and down La Rambla, and nibbled my way through the Boquería all the while taking photographs like a fiend. I've been looking at mosaics and ceramic tile work anywhere I can find them, which seems to be just about everywhere, from the obvious places like Gaudí's Casa Batllo and Park Güell, or Domènech i Muntaner's overwhelming Palau de la Música Catalana, to the odd bits and pieces hiding over doorways or decorating pharmacies all around the Old City. It's been a safari of sorts. Each corner I turn reveals some new jewel like vista.

Barcelona is old, old in a way that is hard for me to even conceive. It was founded by the Romans and bits and pieces of its Roman past pop out when least expected. A little over a block from my hotel is a portion of a Roman necropolis that has been excavated. Sticking off the Cathedral is a bit of Roman wall. Here there's a bit of Roman wall jutting out or it may be just as likely hiding in the back of a restaurant.

I ate lunch in a restaurant, Set Portes, that was opened the same year, 1836, that my hometown of Houston was founded.

I've been to all the major Gaudí sites, La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Casa Batllo, Palau Güell, and Park Güell. I still have a few of his creations to tour. I've also learned a little about other Modernist architects. Turns out Gaudí didn't build Barcelona all by himself! Imagine that! I have to admit that he is pretty outstanding.

I've been to Montjuic and gone to the Fundacio Joan Miró. I've photographed Miró's large mosaic in the middle of La Rambla and tracked down his family home where he was born and where he lived and worked after World War II.

I've walked the neighborhood where the young Picasso lived and painted, and visited the Picasso Museum. I had lunch at Els Quatre Gats, the hangout for anybody who was anybody in the Barcelona avant garde art scene of the early twentieth century. Picasso designed a menu cover for Els Quatre Gats when he was 19 years old.

So, you can see I haven't been sitting still. I still need to make it north to the Costa Brava to see the place where Salvador Dalí started out and ended up and south to see the birthplace and childhood home of Antoni Gaudí. Then, if there's time, I hope to make it over to Palma de Mallorca to visit the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation and the Cathedral. Gaudí worked on the Cathedral in Palma for ten years, but he didn't finish the job. He walked away from it with little or no explanation.

I've taken literally thousands of pictures, even though some local thief picked my pocket and stole my camera. I replaced the camera the next day and was right back at it! I won't subject you to all my pictures, but I'm posting the best of them via Flickr and Instagram. Try www.flickr.com/photos/jean999/ You can also find them posted on my FaceBook page and on Twitter. I'm on Twitter as @jean999.

My little home away from home (just in case you're curious)

Lying awake very early, no noises outside. The city slumbers.
Then the first delivery truck arrives. Noises echo with great ease through the narrow street. Dollies rolled on cobblestones rumble and the sound of early morning deliveries seems to go on forever.

Voices lose their language in the echo.
Sound builds as more and more people awaken, begin their work, and start their days.

My hotel, the Hotel Catalunya, is not a fancy place, but it suits my needs and the price is right.

It has a small elevator and a steep almost spiral staircase.

My room is on the second floor, which is to say that it is on the third floor. Here the first floor is called the basement and holds the reception area and little more. On the first floor (in the States this is the second floor) there are two vending machines ( water, sodas and beer in one, the other dispenses hot coffee, tea and hot cocoa), two computers, the hotel office and a restroom. WiFi is only available on this floor. I've spent some rather long hours here. Thankfully the hotel has created a sort of brightly lit lounge area with upholstered chairs and a coffee table. I've discovered that if I stand by the stairwell on my floor I can pick up the WiFi. It's rather awkward to simply stand there and the stairs are too narrow to accommodate more than one person at a time. I think it appears a bit odd to my fellow travelers, this American woman in her fifties standing by the stairwell cradling her iPad, so I spare them the sight and instead I enjoy the amenities of the little common area below.

My room is small, although it's not small for a single room by European standards. It has a closet that has been added into a corner of the room. I sleep on a twin bed. There don't seem to be many true single rooms around these days either here or anywhere else I've traveled. Tourists seem to move in groups of two or more.

To turn the lights on in my room I have to insert my card key into a little holder next to the door. I had the same set up in Japan in 2008. It's a great way to conserve energy. There'll be no leaving all the lights and the air conditioning on with no one around to use them.

My room has a sliding glass door that opens onto a narrow, dead-end street, more of an alley than a street actually although it does have a name, Carrer de Bonaventura. There is a wrought iron rail outside the sliding glass door and I have a balcony,of sorts, about nine inches of it. My bathroom has a window that opens onto the same street. If my neighbors across the way open their curtains at the same time I do we will find ourselves face to face with a mere eight feet of open space between us. A little too close for my needs for personal space. I keep my curtains drawn most of the way, thus avoiding awkward moments.

The furnishings in my room are minimal: the twin bed, a small night stand with two drawers, a writing desk without drawers, a small refrigerator, a straight backed chair, a bench/coffee table-ish piece of furniture, a TV attached to the wall high up in the corner, a mirror in a plain frame on the wall and a small reading lamp also wall-mounted. It's a very efficient use of space.

There's a step up into the bathroom. The bathroom has a freestanding sink, a toilet, a bidet, and a small shower/tub. If I plug the drain I can fill the tub and soak in a little over a foot of water. There is no coffee maker, but there is a blow dryer.

What the Hotel Catalunya has more than anything else is location. It is on the Carrer de Santa Anna. If I head left as I exit the building I come to the intersection of Carrer de Santa Anna and Carrer de Canuda at La Rambla. If I go right I come out at Avinguda Portal de L'Angel. It's about a block to Plaça Catalunya where everything comes together, Metro lines, major streets and the main tourist office.

For most of the day Carrer de Santa Anna is pedestrian traffic only with the occasional bike rider or skate boarder for added excitement. In the evening it opens to vehicular traffic which consists of delivery trucks, taxis, police cars and garbage pick up.

I don't use the air conditioning. The weather is mild and the breezes that blow in coupled with the shade of the buildings keep my room cool. I keep the windows open and enjoy the sounds of the city. It keeps my evenings and my mornings more interesting.

Moving, looking, learning, and posting

It's almost midnight in Barcelona. For the past several days I've found myself up until 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning attempting to keep up with loading in photos, reading and writing emails, writing postcards, tweeting, posting on FaceBook, and journaling. I thought all this electronic stuff was supposed to make life easier!

I've been going all day, every day. I've made it to Palau Güell, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, Palau de la Musica Catalana, Park Güell, the Gaudí Museum, La Sagrada Familia, Fundacio Miró, Montjuic and Montjuic Castle, the Picasso Museum, had lunch at Els Quatre Gats, and attended a classicsl Spanish guitar concert. I've ridden the Metro, a funicula, and two different teleferics and walked until I've blistered both of my feet. I've had my pocket picked and I'm still going, shooting pictures and posting all over the place. I'll catch up on posting here tomorrow. For tonight I have to catch some Zzz's!

Hasta mañana, muchachos!

My first full day in Barcelona

I'm having some problems posting pictures to my blog, but you can find my photos on my Flickr account or on Instagrid.

There have been a few additional photo problems, but more about that later.

Since I arrived in Barcelona I've been in hot pursuit of mosaics, Modernisme, Miró, Gaudí, Picasso, and Dalí. It's been easy in some ways and difficult in others. There are numerous sites for each item and many of them overlap. The public transportation system here is excellent. I've been able to get around easily via bus, metro, and on foot.

On day one I set out to explore on foot. It's a bit of a walk down La Rambla to Palau Güell. One Of Gaudi's masterpieces, it's located less than a block down Carrer de Nou Rambla. The house, or perhaps palace is more appropriate, is extraordinary. The attention to detail is exquisite. Everything is handcrafted exactly for this space. I can't begin to describe it, but the thing I was seeking was on the roof terrace. There I could get up close and personal with the mosaic chimney pots. I've seen photos, but this was right there in front of my eyes and in reach of my hands.

The chimneys have been restored to their original splendor. The documentation on the restoration of the entire building is on view in the attic. I was able to see what went into the creation of these incredible sculptures. The work was done both by and under the supervision of Josep Gardy Artigas, the son of the original mosaicist, Josep Llorens Artigas.

Back down at street level I turned back to study the wrought iron work on the front of the building. I was reminded of Albert Paley's work. It is easy to see how Modernisme influenced this contemporary American sculptor's work.

Back closer to my hotel, as in across the street closer, I wandered over to the little Eglesia de Santa Anna. I haven't explored there yet. I did peek through the gates at the shaded and colonnaded courtyard. I'll go back there later.

Palau Güell

Palau Güell
Originally uploaded by As the white crow flies

Chimneys of Palau Güell

Welcome to the Hotel Catalunya

I arrived in Barcelona yesterday morning. Was it only yesterday morning?!? My hotel is a little over a block from La Rambla. Since arriving I've been on a photo safari. There are mosaics and tile work everywhere. Art Nouveau and Modernisme architecture are all around. I've toured the Palau Güell, located the two street lamps designed by Gaudí, found Miró's mosaic near the Liceu Metro stop and walked the length of La Ramble twice. Tomorrow I plan on following the Ruta del Modernisme through the city. I have found that the only problem with traveling alone, besides not having any one to turn to in my enthusiasm, is it's hard to take photos of myself.

Barcelona or bust!

I've made my way to my three hour layover in Newark. The airport is crowded with student groups. I'm people watching. There's a lovely young woman with turquoise and lime green hair. She's talking with a grandmotherly looking woman. The rest of the young people in her group are just your regular, normal high school students. Her hair makes me think of mermaids. I prefer her look to that of the bevies of bleached blonde babes and their equally platinum chaperones that I found surrounding me at Bush Airport. They all had the same look, same monogram jewelry, identical tans. It was very Stepford of them. Even their conversation seemed dulled by their lack of individuality. They reminded me of a school of golden fishes darting about. The mermaid girl would stand out in any crowd, or should that be school.

I'm looking forward to getting some rest on the plane. I had difficulty sleeping last night between waking up thinking of this or that task that still needed doing and the strange dreams that have been nagging at me. I've been having dreams of school. Imagine that!

But now the trip has begun. There's no going back now.

More people watching: a WASPish looking gentleman in Buddhist monk's robes, a flock of stewards and pilots, a heavyset man in a white suit with a black shirt and mirrored shades. It's hard to get bored here. No need to watch the TV. If I get tired of people watching there are awesome cloudscapes just outside the windows.

It's time to charge up the electronic devices and get a bite to eat.

Hasta Cataluña.

And so, the white crow flies to Newark

Ah, the joys of queuing up at the airport. The first leg of the flight takes me to Newark with a three hour lay-over before I head on to Barcelona.

Up, up and away!

Research, reading and more

My Fund for Teachers' work station, research center and day dream central!

Counting down

The countdown is definitely on. I've posted information about my Fellowship on the board at school. I've been passing out the URL for this blog to anyone who cares to follow along. I've had my students helping me figure out the exchange rate from dollars to Euros. They've been assisting in figuring out my budget. We've talked about Barcelona, Spain, soccer, and more. Almost all of their work is returned. Looking around my classroom, I'm about half finished. I'm hoping to finish up tomorrow. I must have everything in my room boxed and put up by the end of the day Thursday. Friday morning the contractors come and start moving furniture and boxes about, so there won't be any more opportunities to straighten anything up after Thursday afternoon. I've been online looking at Barcelona info, collecting apps and ebooks, and generally setting up to go. I have apps that translate Spanish to English and back again. I found a children's app for learning Catalan. It works for me! All my travel books are loaded in to my various i-devices. I'm looking forward to this weekend when I can truly focus in on this trip. By this time on next week I'll be on my second day in Barcelona! Gaudí, Picasso, Miró, Dalí here I come!

Technical difficulties

It always seems that technical malfunctions happen at the worst of times. I try to remember to never say, "Let me show you how easy this is . . . " or "Let me show you how well this works . . . " I am absolutely sure that those are the famous last words of someone who met their demise strangled in a mass of cords and cables. Right as I'm testing out gear, in between all the tasks that have to be completed before the end of school and my departure for Spain, my e-mail decides to malfunction. My primary account was determined to neither send nor receive mail. ARGH!!! I went on line. I checked the help desk. I followed directions. I printed out pages of instructions. Nothing, nada, zilch, zip, as a matter of fact, things only got worse, if that was possible. The final instructions said to delete, yes, you heard me right, delete the account and start over. After much nail biting, lip chewing, file moving anxiety I pushed the button. You guessed it, it was not a success. It was an abject failure. Oh, the account was deleted alright. The problem was I couldn't set it up again. I got message after message telling me that either my user name and password was incorrect. I could go no farther. I was finally reduced to calling the tech help line and relinquishing control of my computer to a perfect stranger. Ruth walked me through the whole horrid ordeal. In a few short moments she had me up and running again. I spent this morning, before the frantic e-mail fail, setting up techno-gear and accounts for the trip across the pond. I'm ticking off the items on my plan. Data plan, check. Text messaging, check. E-mail, check, thank you, Ruth! This time next week I'll be on my way to Spain!

Good news from the Fund for Teachers

On 29 March 2012 I was sitting in the Fort Lauderdale airport feeling like something the cat dragged in. I'm compulsive about being on time so I had a while to wait before my flight. It had been a rough trip all around. While the turn of events in Florida had been better than I originally expected, it wasn't good news. With nothing better to do, I begin checking my e-mail. My whole day changed when I read: "Fund for Teachers Fellows, Congratulations! Fund for Teachers is incredibly proud to call each of you a 2012 Fellow. We wait with anticipation to hear more about your incredible journeys this summer." I had been making plans to spend my summer cleaning house, but all that changed with that one simple message. I could clean house after I got back. I had received my third Fund for Teachers Fellowship! I wish I could show you in vivid detail how much the Fund for Teachers has meant to me so far. I'll give it a try, but I really can't do it justice. In 2002 I received my first Fund for Teachers Fellowship. I asked to go to Europe and see the artworks that I teach about first hand. I had been to Mexico before and I once went to Canada for about fifteen minutes, but that was the farthest I had traveled from home. The Fund for Teachers had said to plan my dream professional development and I did. I never believed that anyone would say, "Yes." I think the hardest part was realizing that now I really had to go! Lo and behold, off I went! I spent a month touring Europe, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Venice, Orvieto and back to Amsterdam. I traveled alone. I purchased round trip airfare and a Eurail pass and off I flew. It was the most eye opening trip of my life. Traveling by train and booking a room through the tourist office in each city kept everything exciting. I returned home with a wealth of new experience and knowledge. I brought back souvenirs and materials to use in my art room. I brought back a new self-confidence. If I could undertake this trip and survive, I could do anything. Most importantly, I had a new found empathy for my Spanish speaking students and their parents. This first Fellowship opened the flood gate. I saved my nickels and dimes all the next year. The summer of 2003 I returned to Italy, spent time with a friend in Orvieto where she taught me to knit, and looked at art in Florence and Rome. My second Fellowship in 2007 is documented in this blog. I followed in the footsteps of Georgia O'Keeffe across the Texas Panhandle where she taught art and on to Santa Fe, New Mexico and beyond. The next summer, 2008, I received a Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Fellowship. I spent eighteen days with a group of American teachers as guests of the Japanese government. You can find that trip on this blog also. I want to thank Raymond Plank, the man who founded the Fund for Teachers, and all the donors who make these fellowships possible. You have no idea how much your contributions mean to the teachers who received Fellowships. The effects of your giving ripple out from teachers through their students and the community. From the bottom of my heart, thank you one and all.

It's been a little while, but here I go again!

Here I am again. I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd logged in here.

I've been so busy that a lot of things fell by the way side. I've been on my school's Shared Decision Making Committee for the past three years and I've been one of three area representatives for Area 6 of Texas Art Education Association for the past six years. I'm lead specialist/core enrichment teacher on my campus and I've spent this last year serving on the Student Performance Work Group for my district. I was chosen TAEA Elementary Division Outstanding Art Educator of the Year for 2011.

There's been a lot more going on than all of this, but what I'm really excited about right now is the opportunity to go to Spain this summer courtesy of the Fund for Teachers. I'll be in Catalonia to study Spanish, Catalan, Modernist architecture, particularly Antoni Gaudí, and the lives and work of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí. I'll be focusing on the ceramic and mosaic works of these artists. I plan to use Barcelona as my base of operations with trips to Reus, Mont-roig, Figueres, Cadaqués, and Mallorca.

Once back stateside I'll be developing lessons for my art room incorporating ceramics, mosaics, math and science.

Stay tuned, the journey has only barely begun.

This is a test to see how mobile posting looks on this blog. This is only a test.

So many networks, sites, etc., so little time

For most of this trip I have been posting on my FaceBook account. You can find me by my user name, kingjean. All the photos are there.

I'll be updating this blog once I'm back home. Right now I'm at the tail end of my trip. I'm sitting around in un-air conditioned London typing this as I wait to print out my boarding passes for tomorrow's flight back to the states.

All in all it's been a good trip, drank from a water fall, went to a castle or two, toured a fjord, rode the vaporettos around Venezia, and went to art and museum shows everywhere I went. What more could I want except more time and cooler temperatures?

See you all soon back home in Texas.

Day 2: Milan

First view after exiting the Metro

I took the Metro down to the Duomo this morning.

After looking around the neighborhood of my hotel, which feels a great deal like Houston, flat, hot and humid, it was wonderful to come up from the underground to a setting that could be no place else but Italy.

The morning was cool enough to be enjoyable. I wandered around the area of the Duomo and the Galleria for several hours observing architecture and people.

I have no pictures of the interior of the Duomo. Apparently I am one of the only people taking the signs at the entrance seriously, for inside the Duomo is full of tourists blatantly violating the rules posted at the door. A series of signs using the international "No" sign show what not to do. No cell phones. No cameras. Inside the cool, dim interior is a light show of strobe flashes from the tourists' cameras. Several people walk about, cellphone to ear, seemingly unaware of their surroundings. In the midst of all the intrusions and confusion, over on one side of the church are several confessionals where several priests are listening to the various sins of their congregation. I have to wonder if any of them are confessing to taking photos and talking on their cellphones.

For 8 Euro, I took an elevator ride to the roof of the Duomo


Gargoyle on the roof of the Duomo


Bambini should be held by the hand. Do not dangle them by the feet or hold them by the throat or hair. Oh, yes, and no smoking by you or the kiddos.

Meanwhile, back down on the piazza.


I was wondering whether this boy's older brother was helping him out by turning him into a human bird feeder or if he was hoping the pigeons would either fly away with or devour him.


Bicycle rental on the piazza


In Milan even the fashionistas ride bicycles, in platform shoes yet. I loved this woman's attire and her well-groomed dog.


The Galleria, inspiration for the Galleria in Houston, Texas or so they say.


Inside the Galleria, in the same structure where you find Prada, you can find a lovely McDonalds.


A beggar just inside the Galleria. It was impossible to tell anything about this person. The scarf completely concealed their face and head. They shook and quivered, although I noticed that the hand with the basket for coins seemed steady enough.

I was reminded of Hieronymous Bosch's paintings. There was something incredibly disturbing about this person.

I took this last photo and wandered back outside. When I returned less than five minutes later there was no sign of the beggar anywhere. Your guess is as good as mine.

I wandered on.

I took a break in one of the stores, enjoyed a gelato and headed back to the hotel in time to take a nap before time for dinner.

Summer Approaches

The countdown is on. Only two weeks to go. Only 9 work days to go. Only 7 and a half days with kids to go. Now, subtract the 5th grade field trip on Tuesday and Field Day for the third through fifth grade on Friday, and you have 5 and a half days of teaching. Minus, of course, the class parties and awards ceremonies leaves what?

This summer there is very little travel in my plans. Instead, I will be taking time to do more here at home. There's so much to do and there just may be enough time!

There are two one-day mini conferences scheduled during the first two weeks of the summer by the Museum of Fine Arts and Area VI of the Texas Art Education Association at the museum and the Glassell School. CEDFA has it's usual summer session. A Community Bridge Program course is being held at the Glassell School during the end of the summer. The Holocaust Museum Houston has a Summer Institute.

I'll be setting up my studio which involves rearranging the entire house. I'll be spending some time in the studio for a change. I've been filling up on ideas and images for the past few years. Now to process them.

There's also all this new technology to play with and plans to be made. There are wikis and VoiceThreads, Twitter and FaceBook, not to mention Nings. There are presentations to be planned and lessons to be put together.

I've already started putting together the materials I need for Area VI of TAEA. Lots of new ideas there, too!

Finally, I'm working on a program for teaching knitting with parents and kids. I have a lot of work to do on that end. More about this project, Knit Together, later.

We need to do a lot around the house. Our deck and porch need to be redone. We need to get a new refrigerator and mattress. Lots of fun projects to come! You can follow along if you like.

For those who've gone before

Once again, I've managed to go months without posting.

Since last I posted I applied for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to attend a seminar in Assisi and Siena, Italy. I didn't get this one. I don't receive every grant I apply for, I'm simply hard headed enough or possibly determined enough to keep applying. Persistence pays off.

Barb and me

Right now I'm thinking about my friends who are no longer among us. My friend, Barb Jones, passed away of cancer on my sister's birthday back at the beginning of March. Virgil Grotfeldt, who I was acquainted with from my UH days, died on my daughter's birthday in February. No causal relationship between the birthdays and the deaths, just weird coincidence.

Barb's self portrait, painted not long before her death from uterine cancer

Both of them will be sadly missed. Two excellent artists gone. The world is a little less for the loss.

When I travel I carry a small leather photo album. Inside it are photos of friends and family, At the very back are photographs of friends who never got the opportunity to travel to the places that I've gone.

There's Allison Magee. She taught fifth grade at the same school as me here in Houston. She was an awesome teacher, creative, talented and loved by her students. She was talented and creative. She died July 4th, 2001, a month after Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston, another one of those coincidences. I miss her. She was fun to work with and we roomed together a couple of times at conferences. Her death was a tragic case of the state of the medical system here in the US. She was waiting on the insurance company to stop procrastinating and get her in for testing. It was a sad, unnecessary loss.

My friend Malcolm Smith is there, too. He was almost 45 years old when he died on October 27, 1996. He was a good musician and friend. He died in his sleep.

Roger Ruffcorn, Zeke Zuelke, Bruce Henry Davis, Bruce McIlheny, Townes van Zandt and Colleen Cade are all gone, but not forgotten. I still remember holding baby Colleen while her parents, Bill and Lucille Cade, performed at Anderson Fair. The longer I think and remember, the more friends come to mind.

When I travel I remember all of these friends. I carry them with me in my photo album, in my mind and in my heart. They inspire me to keep on going.

Well, gotta go. I'm trying to figure out where to go next. Will it be Yad Vashem in Israel? or a mosque in New Mexico? Who knows, but I'll be taking my friends with me where ever I go.

Time goes by

I wonder how I let time get away from me. It's been ages, literally, since last I posted.

I've been consumed with school. I changed classrooms over the summer. Due to the broken wrist, I was unable to do my own packing of materials or unpacking for that matter. I went back to work at the start of the school year, but I've had to spend an absolutely incredible amount of time negotiating the miracles of the modern medical jungle: insurance adjusters, doctors, physical therapy, occupational therapy, on and on it goes.

So much to do and so little time.

My photographs of my travels in Japan, London, New Mexico and New Orleans are available at http://gallery.me.com/jeanking9#gallery . This site can give you a better view of what I've been up to.

You can also find me on Facebook, H-town Art Teachers, and several other places around cyberspace.

We'll see if I manage to keep up with this space over time. This tends to be my summer blog, more than anything else. My other blog, News From The Art Room, has also been sadly neglected. So many places, so little time.