Last day of school

W-Happy-Summer

The last day of the semester…and for me the last semester, too. For the past fifteen years I’ve been teaching in the Art Department at Middlesex Community College, in Bedford and Lowell, MA. Standing among eighteen new students in each class and encouraging them through fifteen weeks of growth has been an awesome experience. I especially like the Lowell campus because the student body in that immigrant city is like a slice of the world. In the Drawing II class that just ended yesterday, there was an international program student from Kenya, a boy who came here from Costa Rica a few years ago, and first generation kids of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cambodian descent along with kids whose families have been here longer. Some wrestle with language, one with a severe health issue, and others who are seriously talented. I try to lead them into unknown territory and they see good things happen. Sometimes visual firestorms break out and we all enjoy the glow.

Dynnaro You - glazed ceramic. photo by Egils Zarins

Dynnaro You – glazed ceramic. photo by Egils Zarins

One student, Dynnaro You, will transfer to Mass. College of Art in the fall. He aspires to be the next Hayao Miyazaki, which might very well happen. Dynnaro gave me a ceramic tea light holder he had made earlier that is reminiscent of a Chinese house. I am honored by this gesture.

I will miss each of the Britanies, the Dynnaros, the Leangs, and the Hanh Les I’ve interacted with over these fifteen years. The fireworks that happen when someone figures out something about themselves, and the world, is wonderful to watch.

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