How time flys by!

The past few days have been busy. Being with my family is always a busy time. There are meals to eat, and jigsaw puzzles to put together and meals to eat, and things to catch up on. I am so very proud of each member of my family. I remember eight years ago when my then 5 year old great – nephew, Reese, asked me, “Who are you?” I was somewhat stymied by the question and finally answered, “I’m your grandfather’s sister.” Suddenly I felt quite old! I worked on this feeling for some time until I finally realized that I wasn’t old at all; I am one of the matriarchs of the family! It is quite a different feeling because matriarchs and patriarchs get to say “wise things” and even occasionally issue a proclamation. My brother (the tallest person pictured above) is better at this than me. He is such a gentle, loving man that you want to listen to him. My sister-in-law (in the striped shirt) is equally capable. I have known Bobbie since I was 15 years old and she is my most-wise sister. As I have already said, they are my family and in good times and in bad I love them.

I arrived at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC on Sunday afternoon. Campbell School was established in 1925. John and Olive Campbell were interested in the culture of the Appalachian people. During the late 1800’s they travelled extensively in Southern Appalachia staying in people’s homes and learning about their wants and ways. They were sociologists who set out to write a factual account of the region. One of the desires of the people of Appalachia was for education. Because their lives were often hard and filled with work, they wanted education that brought them together for fun and collaboration. In the early 1900’s they encountered the Danish folk schools. They used the word “folk” to mean that the schools were for the folks. These schools utilized collaborative learning. People came together to learn and have fun. There was no grading system and people shared what they learned with each other.

The Campbell School continues to be a school that is about “the folks”. In an atmosphere of communal living on this 100 + acre campus, we are encouraged to bring our individual gifts together to learn new skills. This week I am taking a course in bookmaking. The instructor is a book artist from Asheville, NC. There are 4 other people in my class who bring a variety of experience and gifts to this new learning experience. It is Tuesday morning and we have already completed two books and have three others in progress. I love the class time and I am gathering as many skills and ideas as I can. One of the books we started yesterday is called a Star Book. When finished it will open into a star shape and its story will unfold in the star’s multi – faceted windows. Pictures will be better than words for this project!

One of the things I like about this class is that it is not just about the structure or sculpture of making a book; it is also about the content. We are encouraged to think about what will go into the book. I am planning at this point (very early in the process) to use the star book as a way to talk about (visualize) the olives I experienced in both Israel and Italy. Well, we will see how it turns out!