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The Vision For This Web Site

Reaching A Global Artist Nation!
Providing A Stable Resource Site
For Creatives In Every Art Arena ... Anywhere


.: A Global Artist Nation

:: The Vision ::

Date:
Time: 11:27 p.m. Arizona Time (sometimes Mountain, sometimes Pacific time!)
Place: North Central part of Arizona, USA (Camp Verde, another obscure dot on a global map ;-)


It has been said that "Global education should not be viewed as a discipline with particular content or subject matter, rather it should be seen as an approach to the study of culture that can focus on international concerns or those related to study of students' own local communities."
(Zimmerman, 1990).

For those of us here in the U.S., multicultural education had its roots in the 1960s and 70s, with the civil rights movement, and policies concerning racism and schooling. New multicultural approaches from museums to school districts to the university level, became available. This seemed to reach an apex in the late 70s, however, and there has not been an appreciable focus on this for many years.

My true background since a young adult, has been the Arts. Print, publication, desktop publishing, authoring for computer-based training, and many years of study in Computer Science and Education ... it all still centered around ART. But from an early age in a school district that not only allowed the learning of a second language (Spanish, and this was the early 60s), but actually required it ... I have always tended to look at all aspects of life from a multicultural viewpoint.

To provide means of access for anybody from any location... with not only tools for the Arts, but the means to comprehend things from one's own culture and language... is a huge part of my Vision for this site.

There are many things I envision for the growth of this Art and Learning space — and for its "sister-sites" that carry topic-specific tools, overviews and recommendations (such as Digital-Art-Portfolio.com and KnowledgeProduct.com). In the "learning" of Art, many times it is best to take art beyond the walls of classrooms and emphasize the teaching of cultural and aesthetic values.

In this way, this site will become a community center, a place where "field trips" around the globe may be generated, where artists can learn the art and history of a given location, and can create and then display, art products based on their experiences. A Day In The Life aspect ... a CreativeSoup du Jour™, so to speak — with a bit of the Nuts (and Bolts) dish thrown in!


For instance — ponder, if you will, the relationship between folk tales and Art. To get a great start on this, only two words are needed: Brothers Grimm. Okay! Instant Red Riding Hood appears, correct? Big eyes, big teeth, and you got it! "The idea is to study Global Community and Cultural Diversity through Folk tales." We ALL learned these bits of culture, no matter where we grew up. Sadly, did we also learn the folk tales of our own immediate location? Not nearly as much... "The folk tale is the way to know problems, customs, traditions, beliefs, living conditions and views... the fight of good and evil, wisdom and stupidity." (Kosinova, 2000).

Field trips. HOW, exclaimed many of my distance learning students (Art Institute Online). Well, first to get beyond our mind-think that everything DO-able, is only doable in real life, hands-on. And begin to see that the virtual term, "real time" is just as effective... if not more so. Consider that there are museums and galleries that, except for the few with the means to travel, none of us will ever see.

The world is a big place. But, with the Net, we can meet as a group, anywhere we choose! And, in "real time," explore, visit, converse, critique, and yes... even CREATE. All the while, as a group, with all the benefits of the group. But with the added aspect that truly we are in our own space. With our own level of comfort. With the ability to tune in and tune out as the need arises... coming back refreshed to either the "real time" experience... or the archived effort of our work. Believe me, there is nothing like it. It is the Ultimate Scrapbook!

We are pioneers in this, you know. Your mission, should you decide to accept it... is to join with me in creating something startlingly new. Here is the reality:
"Most writing about global issues and art education is presently at the advocacy level; it is now time to build a body of scholarship both in theory and practice. Boyer (1987) noted that it is necessary to develop a body of research about cultural literacy using phenomenological methods, social historical methods, cross-cultural perspectives, and projections into the future. A great amount of literature exists related to study of the psychology of the individual, but there is a dearth of sociological research related to art and aesthetics or the interrelatedness and interdependence of sub-groups within the core culture."
(Zimmerman, 1990).
Not that this site or my related sites are a school, as such. But we are all in that same great sailing ship. Uncharted, tremendous horizons. Anxious to throw out the nets to the Net! Our common love of creativity has brought us together, and yes, this is a school and we are all learners. The challenge now, however, is much larger than in the past. We not only have more to explore at our fingertips... but we have it in every tucked-away corner of the Globe — at least those that have connectivity. (And that is ever-widening, every day.)


Again, consider the overlap of custom and culture, in both the visual and written Arts. Again we see that one of the most commonly-illustrated written works are... the Fairy Tale. Why do I keep stressing this? Very often, the core understanding of art, is the language... and vice verse. Fairy Tales are often the stories told to the very young, the very much beloved young. And the stories are imbued with the best and most pure love for "the village" in stories passed down through generations. The heaviest impact is made, of course, on the young who eagerly grasp not just the stories but also the meanings and the teachings of that culture.

"The greatest richness of every nation is [in] its language. [A] countless treasure of human thought and experience accumulates and always lives in the word... national mind is shown, national history, world outlook, social system and life are reflected. People's joy and sufferings, laughter and tears, love and anger, belief and unbelief, truth and untruth, honesty and deception, kindness and cruelty, industry and laziness, beauty of the truth and ugliness of prejudice came from the tales of the past."
(Rekichinskaya, 2000).

And THIS is what has drawn the Artist, over the years, over and over, to illustrate such stories. Some of the greatest art of all time has been in the spirit's response to the stories within each culture... commonly, a Fairy Tale or similar legend.


An Excercise For A Global Community... for Peace

I found this in the research for Creativity sites, finding spaces on the Net who think and believe like I do, concerning Art and the "global reach." You MUST visit this site and consider joining their group. Found-Art.com had a commentary that exactly fit my Vision for this site. In part, this is what it stated:
"I received an e-mail yesterday that gave me an uplifting reminder, just in time for Spring. The writer shared about a speech he had heard recently in which the speaker... started his speech, 'We are living in such wonderful, blessed times. There has been no other time in the world's history as blessed and amazing as this one.'

The man hearing the speech was about to fall off his chair thinking, 'Where has THIS guy been?!'

But the speaker went on to point out that at no other time in the world's history have so many people come together from around the globe to say that they want to avoid war at all costs. There has never been a global effort for peace as we have seen in this last year. In that, I take a lot of hope. It made me realize that change is happening, for the better, even as others plan for our demise."
The writer went on to give the gifts of reflection. They seem very timely for this site, as well — so here is a partial listing:
  • Don't give up this time of reflection. I need this time of introspection as much as I need air to breathe. It really makes a difference in my day.


  • Listen. Be aware. Don't be the gabbing "know-it-all." Instead, listen to what others have to say and quietly learn.


  • Be willing to take action and walk my talk.


  • Live from love, not fear.


  • Be as trusting as a child knowing that nature will take its course. Innocence and playfulness will relieve my stress, and what does it help to worry anyway?


    • (Found-Art.com, 2003)
There is much more by this artist/writer/webmaster, at Found Art's Journal, and I hope you will take time to read this, as it is not only an encouraging Artist's Journal... but an incredible Internet Success Story (which is one of the reasons I imagine that you've sought out my own site, LeanneRecommends.1Gurl.com!)


This truly, is the summation of my vision for LeanneRecommends.1Gurl.com, and the extended group of sites. Even though the resource refers to the then-upcoming decade of the 1990s, this holds true even more today — because of our global connectedness:
"Art should be studied in a context in which people are linked through their communities and nations with people in other communities and nations throughout the world. The next decade can become a time of celebrating all people's past accomplishments in the arts and creating a future in which students gain access to global knowledge and understanding in and through art."
(Zimmerman, 1990).

I invite you to return often, as technology is driving us at NOT the "speed of light," as that now seems outdated and quite slow. We travel at least at the speed of thought, and ideas... much too quickly, sometimes, to even jot down a note! Come and participate and grow with us! Please bookmark this site, and return often. I have new content going up, almost every day!





.: List Of References

:: The Vision ::

Found-Art.com. (2003). Did you find art? Found Art is a community of people who believe that giving of themselves through their art can change the world. Retrieved June 28, 2003 from
http://found-art.com/index.php

Kosinova, Marina. (2000). Folk tales from around the world: Folk tale project. Folk Tale iEARN Global Art. Retrieved March 8, 2003 from http://www.nsc.ru/folk/folktale.htm. Note on 02/06/05: This site is no longer live.

Rekichinskaya, Elena. (2000). Folk tales from around the world: Folk tale project. Folk Tale iEARN Global Art. Retrieved March 8, 2003 from http://www.nsc.ru/folk/folktale.htm. Note on 02/06/05: This site is no longer live.

Zimmerman, Enid. (1990-12-00). Teaching art from a global perspective. ERIC Digest. ERIC Identifier: ED329490. ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education Bloomington IN. Retrieved February 6, 2005 from http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9219/global.htm (Moved from previous ERIC site found on February 15, 2003.)



  


 
 
 
 
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