The power of words

I received a phone call this morning from a  mom of one of my students.  She called to thank me for what I said to her daughter during her lesson.  She wanted me to know that the student said how good, self-confident and enthusiastic my comment made her feel.  The mom went on for about 10 minutes saying how I made a difference in her daughters life.  This is the kind of phone call that every teacher dreams of receiving.  It really was incredible for me to hear.  Now, here’s the thing.  I don’t remember saying anything profound, or even that far off from a normal lesson.  This student is tackling something new.  She is going to accompany another instrumentalist for the first time.  She received the music and after playing through it on her own was feeling overwhelmed and like she wasn’t going to be able to do what was necessary.  After hearing her initial play through, I started to tweak where it needed and offered advice in other spots, and just in general encouraged her and told her I was positive she could do this.  I tried to highlight how accompanying is different from solo work and told her some hints I’ve accumulated over the years.  I also told her I was proud of her for taking on the challenge.  Her mom said she was positively beaming because I said I was proud of her.

I think we often don’t realize the impact our words have on others.  I never thought what I was saying would have any effect beyond our lesson time.  I was not stretching the truth or trying to make her feel good.  I was simply telling her the positives I was seeing from her and providing guidance and encouragement as I helped her make improvements  where they were needed. 

So, my simple little piano lesson made a difference to her, and you know what, it made a difference to me too.  By calling and thanking me, the mom reminded me that I am good at what I do.  She renewed my passion in my job.  She made a difference in my life. 

Marie Antoinette

This artwork was done for SuziBlu's "Petit Marie" class. I had a fantastic time working on this and really allowed myself to take my time and enjoy every layer without rushing to the final project. She is waiting at the bottom of the grand staircase for her beloved puppies. I think they're getting ready for a serene walk through the rose gardens. The mushroom birds are twittering in her ear that they are anxious to be in the sunshine. She cant wait to see the sparkling reflection of her new diamond necklace glint back at her from the pond. Her molded paper underskirt will surely twinkle as well since it has flakes of gold for embellishment.

I have always loved Vanessa's paper molded dresses and have wanted to try them out for quite some time. Marie seemed like just the over the top fashonista who would simply adore such a creation. The technique was lots of fun and I'll be continuing on with it employed in new work to see what else might evolve from this start.

In the real world away from art play, my studio is back to its full capacity and I'm really excited about this years students. Only 1 lesson that is a bit trying sometimes. Thats pretty darn good. I think this will be my favorite group of students as a whole that I've ever had. I have 3 adult students, who I adore teaching, and only 1 true beginning level child so we're going to be able to tackle some real music and have lots of fun instead of just learning how to read notes and rhythms. Very fun!!!!

More pretty girls

I'm still working on pretty girls by following SuziBlu's Petite Doll course. I'm not strictly following her instructions even though they are wonderful. I needed to get the girl in front of the piano out of my mind and onto paper/wood. She'll hang in my office for all my piano students to see on their arrival. The quote, from Plato, says: "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything." Those aspects of communication are the reasons that music has been and always will be an integral part of my world. I have always expressed my emotions better through music than a spoken or written word. Unfortunatly, I feel that my spoken word truly deteriorated after my little mini stroke. I'm not truly complaining, I am very lucky at the mildness of the episode, but at times I truly cant find words, simple words, and it is very frustrating to the well-educated side of me to be lacking in this respect. Thankfully my musical skills seem to have withstood without a lasting negative effect. I can sit down and pour out every last drop of emotion. Happiness, sadness, grief, playfullness, just about anything can be articulately expressed through a song. It pours out any emotion and truly leave me feeling better, more level, like I've just been through some intensive therapy.
Anyways, once again my words are jumbling. I hope that each of you has that "something" that allows your world to be more peaceful and soothing. Take care.