No Walls For The Small

In light of the recent massacre in Arizona, where 9 year old Christina-Taylor Green was shot and killed, and the murder of two teens in Florida by their mother, I thought this week we should explore kids and gunfire in America.  It is more than a problem, it is a tragedy.  Some terrifying facts from the Childrens Defense Fund State of America's Children 2010 report:

• In 2007 17,523 children were shot in the USA, suffering non-fatal injuries.
• 8 children a day are killed by gunfire in the USA.
• On average 50+ children a week are shot to death in the USA.
• Since 1979, gunfire has ended the lives of 110,645 children and teens in America.

17,523 shot children in one year.  That is a huge heavy number.  Each of those children, survivors of gunfire, bear the scars, both emotionally and physically of gunfire.  In a nation that prides itself on being "the best in the world" I find these numbers appalling.  Based on these numbers alone I think it is safe to say that we have a major problem with gun violence in this country.

The second amendment reads:  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The key phrase is "a well regulated militia." IT is the entire purpose for this law, designed to give states a means to protect themselves from tyranny in government.  Constitutionally there is no other reason to own a gun.

This is a blog about solutions...and I would love to hear your ideas as to how we can end the massacre of children in this country.  8 a day die by gunfire.

Here are a few I have come across...

• ban gun shows...they are the pipeline to unregulated gun sales
• tax bullets so they are utterly unaffordable (Chris Rock pointed out if bullets were $5000 a pop there wouldn't be any wasted on innocent bystanders)
• institute a government buyback program (Australia did this after a massacre in the 90's.  Over 650,000 guns were turned in to the government, who in turn gave each gun owner a rebate check)

Me personally I think handguns make killing people too easy...and killing people should be hard.  Really hard. The only reason people have handguns is to use them against other people with handguns.  If you take the handguns out of the equation you have solved the problem.   People are much less likely to murder in general if stripped of guns, and much less likely to harm innocent bystanders, or take their own lives.  Where there is a will there is a way, but why not make the way as hard as possible given the nature of the consequences.  But that is just my humble opinion. 

This much can be said though, if guns were outlawed tomorrow 8 children in the USA would live to see another day.  For me, that is reason enough.

Painter, jewelry designer, and mixed media artist...meet Andrea Adair Lasserre.  She has devoted her adult life to sharing her skills as an artist with children and adults alike as a teacher and mentor.  I think art teachers in particular have a unique perspective on children and how their psyches develop.  They open little minds by giving them the tools to express their imagination in a variety of mediums...and imagination is what makes us exceptional animals, don't you think?

1. You have worked with kids in the arts for over a decade.  In your expert opinion, how do you see art as a positive tool in shaping children's lives?
Art gives children an outlet to channel both positive and negative energy.  It also shows them alternative ways of viewing the world around them.

2.  When did you know you were an artist?  How was that part of your self nurtured (or not) during your childhood?
I knew I was passionate about the arts by age 8.  I was comfortable calling myself an artist at age 17.  I surrounded myself with art when I was a child.  At 8, I had my easel, my sewing machine, and a wood burner set up in stations around my bedroom.  I also wrote poetry and loved music.  In retrospect as a child of a single parent household, the art was a very strong part of my self nurturing.

3.  You are a Big Sister, and in Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Tell us a little about the program and how it has changed your life.
I am the luckiest lady alive to have been matched with such an awesome "little."  Her mother has been deployed in the Air Force medic training since school began and she (my little) holds her high, there is not a bit of "poor me" in her step.  She's made honor roll, joined a tennis team, and she is super involved with church.  She has changed my life by helping me keep things in perspective.

4.  As an art teacher, what advice do you have to parents out there to help encourage their children to be creative thinkers?
Creativity is everywhere and in everything we do.  I would start with a sketchbook/journal.  Also, keeping a library of arts oriented books and creating an art"station" somewhere in the home is always helpful in encouraging creativity.

5.  You work in a variety of mediums...a very versatile artist.  Which is your favorite and why?
That is a toughy- I paint, I sew,  I work in metal smithing...I think my favorite would have to be the metals (probably because it is still new to me).  I love it because the concept of pulling the gems out of the earth and bringing them full circle from a jagged looking stone to a beautiful piece of jewelry is amazing to me.

You can see some of Andreas fabulous jewelry, clothing and inspiring artwork at her Etsy.com shop Adair-Lasserre.  Stop by for a visit...I think you will enjoy it!

I grew up with a mother who worked between 45 and 60 hours a week.  It was a different home life than what many of my friends had growing up, and I look back on it and wonder how she did it all.  

Recently I was reading the forward in Edna Lewis's epic cookbook The Taste of Country Cooking.  Her grandparents were slaves, who after emancipation founded Freetown, Virginia with other freed slave families.  She shares in the forward a very different picture of what it meant to be a mother working outside the home.

"My grandmother had been a brick mason as a slave - purchased for the sum of $950 by a rich landowner who had several tracts of land and wanted to build two imposing houses on different locations.  Grandmother was put to work molding the bricks, then carrying them and laying them (one of the houses she worked on still stands today, owned and restored by a college professor, the other was destroyed in the Civil War.) It was a job that caused my grandmother great anguish because she would have to go off all day to work on the big house, leaving her babies in their cribs and not returning until late in the evening to feed and care for them.  The fact that years later, after her children had grown up and were living in Freetown, she would still take her kerosene lamp and go upstairs to make sure they were there and all right is a measure of the pain she bore."

I read this and it almost brought me to tears.  I could not even imagine the fear her grandmother must have held in her heart all day long while  as she counted the hours to return to her babies.  In this country, times have changed, thank goodness, but I know that most women who have to return to the work force after having a child do so with mixed feelings.  For many it is not a choice, but necessary for the needed income. 

I want to kick off the New Year by giving props to all mothers who work outside the home.  As a mom who works from home, who will one day undoubtedly join your ranks, I just want to say it takes courage and strength to do what you do.  Thank you.

I still remember my kindergarten teacher.  This is probably because her name was Mrs. Shanky...which made for some terrible playground rhymes!  Kindergarten is the first experience most of us have in a structured learning environment, and we have a lot to learn from the professionals who teach the littlest students.  Michelle Poussin, artist, crafter and kindergarten teacher. She is a person who day in day out witnesses the awesome freshness of youngsters, while maintaining a thriving creative life as well.  I thought she might have a few things to teach us...enjoy!

1.Tell us a little bit about how Magnolia Designs, your Etsy.com shop, came about.
Magnolia Designs came out of an idea I have always had for a boutique shop for children.  I chose the magnolia flower because of its beauty and uniqueness.  I have always been a doodler and have sketches from back in junior high school!  I always knew I would make my own products someday and my main inspiration for that is my mother.  She is a very crafty lady, and the bug bit me at a young age. 

2.  You work with kindergartners, which is such an awesome age for human beings!  What about your students do you find the most inspiring?  
I am inspired a lot by my students.  Kids know what they like and they will be honest about it!  I love how innocent, full of life, and honest my students can be.  They are so young, yet have so much knowledge of the world around them.  Their future is what inspires me to do what I do everyday.  They are not afraid to be creative or make mistakes, which a lot of us adults could take a lesson from. I encourage them through art, dance, music, and recycling products into new ones instead of just ‘throwing everything away’ like so many people do these days.

3.  Working with younger children, in your opinion what are the most pressing obstacles that they face today?
The biggest obstacle that children face today is all of the technology available to them.  They are not challenged to be creative, play outside, TALK to people to make new friends, or just be social in general.  This generation is being brought up in a very different society than all of us were when we were children.  We have become a society of convenience and this is reflecting onto the children’s behavior.  I do my best to teach my students how to communicate through many different medias, whether that be talking to each other, painting, dancing, singing, or even playing outside. 

4.  Your creative expertise is in fashion. What role do you see the fashion industry having in shaping children today?
Fashion has a huge influence on children today.  I would say that celebrities, more than the fashion industry, play a huge role in shaping children today.  Last year all of my students dressed like Hannah Montana and it has trickled into this year too.  They want to be ‘cool’ like the kids on TV or movies that they see.  I applaud the celebrities that still dress the age that they are and who do not try to be older or ‘sexier’ than they need to be as a teenager. 

5.  As a teacher and someone who spends a lot of time with a variety of children...in Las Vegas mind you! Is there any lesson they have taught you or any advice you may have for parents that only a teacher could share?

The greatest lesson that I have learned from my students is that it is ok to laugh and laugh often.  My favorite sound is children's laughter and that can brighten up any gloomy day that I am having!

The advice that I would have for parents today would be to be just that, a parent.  They look up to you as their parent and want to be just like you!

Hanukkah began on Wednesday after sundown.  Across the world people who share the religion of Judaism prayed together by candlelight, and do so every evening until December 8th.   It is a holiday that celebrates the Jewish victory over the Syrians in Jerusalem.  Jerusalem, a holy city of all three biblical religions is home to over 700,000 people...over 200,000 of which are children.

Both Israeli and Palestinian children are given no choice but to suffer the hardship of war, as are all other children living in war torn regions.  In the Middle East, United Nations has an organization called Children of Peace, which "seeks to protect all the children and their communities in Israel and Palestine - Bedouin, Christian, Druze, Jewish and Muslim."   The Druze faith is one I was not familiar with, so I looked it up.  It is almost a form of Unitarianism, combined with concepts of Islam.  One of its core values is that God is "the whole of existence" rather than "above existence" looking down from his throne.  If all religions truly recognized God in all of existence, there would be much more love and respect for the world as a whole don't you think?

Children of Peace provides funding to groups that bring the children of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank together, nurturing their common humanity, so they can trust in what unifies us rather than live in fear and division.  Through programs in the arts, education, and athletics children in this war-torn region are given the opportunity to grow and learn together. 

The brilliant Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest champion of peace in modern history, once said "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."

Hanukkah is a holiday celebrating the triumph of war and the miracle of the endurance of light in Jerusalem.  Hundreds of thousands of children living in this region of the world, two thousand years later are still suffering the same terrors of war that children in 168 B.C.E. faced.  Thanks to organizations like Children of Peace children of this area may just have a chance to let their little light's shine, ending the terrible darkness of war.

Something to think about as we light our own candles this holiday season.   

Thanksgiving is the only true feast day we celebrate as a culture in America.  It is a day where people across all economic divides sit down and eat, and eat and eat.  It is so easy to take food for granted when you have it in plenty, but there are 17 million children in America that face hunger on a regular basis.

One in every four kids in the great USA struggle not knowing where their next meal is coming from. That number is shocking don't you think?   This detrimentally effects their health in a number of ways from weakened immune systems, tummy aches, headaches, behavioral problems and ear infections...just to name a few.

Food insecurity is most common in urban areas, but still exists in rural areas as well.   Thanks to the few programs the government provides, SNAP (food stamps), WIC, and school lunches 57% of the 17.4 million households that are food insecure have some relief.  But what about the other 43%?

Organizations like Share Our Strength are combating child hunger, and for them I give great thanks.  One of the coolest programs they offer is The Great American Bake Sale.  Basically you sign up, host a bake sale and then donate your funds to fight child hunger. 

We are about to enter the season of baked goods galore!  Why not get some friends together and hold a bake sale before Christmas and help feed children across the country?  It is a simple way to celebrate the spirit of the holiday, to give rather than receive.  Plus, baking is cathartic and we could all use a little stress relief this time of year!   But the most important reason is that there are over 17 million children out there that would be very thankful for your giving

Kids.  Kids are not some strange enigma...we were all kids at one point in our lives.  From the homeless man living on the park bench, to the C.E.O. bathing at the country club...one thing every human being has in common is that we were all once children. 

Humans are extraordinary animals, and children, baby humans if you will, are brimming with potential.  They are new to the world, fresh...but have a wisdom that is lost to adults because kids are so close to The Source.  They are in tune with something that we seem to tune out more and more as we age. 

Grownups have a lot to learn from children, and that is the purpose of this blog. We are going to delve into the issues children face today by focusing on creative solutions, because the issues they face today are the problems adults will face tomorrow.  We are going to meet cool kids that are changing the world all by themselves.  We are going to have fun....because fun makes for a better life, don't you think?

Speaking of fun...my daughters and I have been rocking out to Cyndi Lauper's epic song Girls Just Want to Have Fun in the car everyday this week.  The one thing about kids is that they don't mind if you want to play a totally awesome song over and over and over again.  It is how they prefer to listen to music, and in the case of this song it is just fine by me.

Music can change your mood in an instant.  Like kids, sometimes it just makes you want to throw your hands up and shout. Break out in dance. Sing your heart out.  And like music, kids rock.  Big time.

Welcome to the No Walls For The Small blog!  For those of you who know us...you know this book has been in the works for a long time.  Sevenish years.  You may ask yourself, how the heck does it take 7 years to write a kids book?

I thought I would share the story of how this book came to be as our first post.  Ryan and I met in Asheville, NC.  We ran with the same crew of motley artists and became fast friends.  He moved to Brooklyn to pursue a career as a fine artist, and I moved to Florida to care for my grandmother and write a book.  

In Florida I began to write poetry.  I happened upon a book of Shel Silverstine's poems in my granny's library.  As a child his writing really resonated with me, and in becoming reacquainted with his work as an adult it inspired me to try my hand at writing poetry for kids.  The first poem I wrote was titled Hocus Locusts.  It was about a cat with a hankering for locusts.  I had the words, but needed illustrations.

I immediately gave my pal Ryan a call.  Of all the artists I know and love, his work seemed to be the best match.  He was excited about the prospect, and our collaboration began in 2004. I would email him a poem and he would snail mail me the illustrations.  Every time one of his packages arrived on my doorstep it felt like Christmas.

We completed our book of poetry in 2007, and after numerous rejections we had the revelation that publishers don't print collections of kid's poetry by no-name authors.  So we took the poem with the strongest narrative, No Walls For The Small and turned it into a 24 page kids book...and tried again, but to no avail.  Our story was just too cool. 

In 2011 we decided to self publish.  We believe in our story.  We believe in independent media.  And here we are today awaiting our book to hit the virtual shelves of Amazon. 

December 3 is our launch date for Amazon.com, and we will keep you posted as the day comes. Wish us luck!