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Do Art

Martha McCormick on September 16, 2013

When we were little, my brothers and sisters and I used to sit on the floor under our big square kitchen table and draw on its underside. Thirty years later when I took my daughter back to see our old house, that art work was still there. Something akin to cave drawings.

Art has been part of my life as long as I can remember. When my brother Leo and I were teenagers, we took oil painting classes together. Since I got back into painting as part of my “year of good health“, I’ve modified two of the paintings I did in that class. That’s a detail of one of them at the top of this post. It’s been fun to reconnect with the 15-year-old artist I was.

The Monks of Meteora

Now art is about to become an even bigger part of my life. I met with Dawn Martinez Oropeza and Vince Lewis to plan for a project with the Whyld Girls and Backyard Boyz at Ritual Café. The installation will celebrate Latino culture and Dia de Los Muertos. We’re talking skeletons, skulls, banners and masks. This is exciting stuff!

I’m also going to be helping out with the Des Moines Art Center Outreach Program. I’m excited to reconnect with my refugee art class at Lutheran Services in Iowa in mid-October. My students are from Bhutan and Burma and have very little English. Most of them never had the chance to go to school in their own countries and they are passionate students now. We’re doing clay, collage, tangle webs, circular weaving and painting, but this time each student will combine most of these media into one “self-portrait”. The Art Center will hang a special show to include these pieces and other work.

Tangle Web

So, why am I so pumped about these developments? Because art is soooo important to spiritual growth, to critical thinking and decision making, to seeing the world as it really is. As I developed Teachers Going Green, I found the Four Keys of Character Education—self study, other study, public performance in a supportive, challenging community. All of these things are such integral parts of the process of creating art.

John Dewey asserted that art is proof that people use materials to expand their lives and communicate their emotional experiences to others. Janet Heinicke shares this view, “Art isn’t about creating something beautiful; it’s about expressing yourself and communicating what’s inside to others.” We ALL need to do that. Starting with those cave drawings on the underside of our kitchen table.

Get Healthy

Martha McCormick on November 5, 2011

Driving to Florida for vacation, we listened to three books–Connected, Thrive, and Switch. I learned about all of them when I worked with Healthy Polk 2020 last summer. My task was to gather a group of experts around the priority, “Empower more people to take more responsibility for maintaining their health.”

My team thought the wording of the priority judgmental. They took out “responsibility” and raised the bar from “maintaining” to enhancing. Their proposed priority reads, “Empower more people to enhance their health.” By building on strengths, people can leave stymied life roles behind, and move forward through trust-based relationships.

Of the ten Healthy Polk 2020 goals identified in 2009, this is the broadest, and the only one that addresses lifestyle and behavior. That’s where Switch comes in. It’s by Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Made to Stick, a book I’ve loved, shared, and used as reference for several years. Switch frames research about how change happens around a metaphor of elephant and rider.

All that Priority #8 of Healthy Polk 2020 seeks to change is, well, just the way we take care of our health, not just our physical health. My expert team defined health in broad terms, not just metabolic risk factors or healthy weight, but in terms of mental, spiritual, cultural and financial health. That’s where Thrive comes in.

Dan Buettner has conducted research all over the world, traveling to communities where people live the longest, happiest lives. One result is Thrive. Another is the Blue Zones Web site where it’s easy to spend a chunk of time, learning about yourself, and the things you can do to be healthier and happier. The Expert Team aligned their definition of health with the research of the Blue Zones project, addressing community, flow, meaningful work and other life style choices.

One of the cool things that happened with my Healthy Polk work is that about the same time we were wrapping up our work, Governor Branstad launched the Healthiest State initiative, and Wellmark announced funding for the Iowa BlueZones Project, through which ten Iowa communities will be able to develop tools and programs to live longer, happier lives.

Another gap my team identified was that neighborhoods and communities are not empowered to support and promote health. The action needed to close this gap needs further definition, but the vision is for churches, schools and neighborhood associations to develop networks that support healthy habits. Which is where the third book comes in. Connected explores the profound effect that our friends have on us. The research that caught my eye first is that people who hang out with obese people tend to gain weight. It makes sense, but surprised me nonetheless.

As my team discussed what “more people” meant, they envisioned a ripple effect, beginning with us, and spreading through our community organizations and friends. What do YOU think we need to do to start that ripple? Do you want to be a part of it? Let’s do it!

Mind the Gap

Martha McCormick on October 8, 2011

“Mind the gap” was the theme of the John Friend yoga workshop I attended a couple weeks ago. The message is that what happens between, is what’s important. Between inhaling and exhaling. Between the busy-ness and the being-ness. Between the effort and the letting go. The subways in London warn you to “Mind the Gap.” In NYC, you are to “Watch the Gap.” Not nearly as poetic, nor as relevant.

Watching implies seeing, but if you mind something, you do more than just see it. You pay attention. You listen. You ponder what it means. You take responsibility. You mind the children. You mind your parents. The dictionary says you “regard as important and worthy of attention.” That’s exactly what Friend had in mind at “Dancing with the Divine.”

I’ve been practicing yoga at Shakti Yoga Shop for nearly two years. It is an Anusara shop, and John Friend is the founder of this particular branch of yoga. His visit to Iowa was a chance to learn from the guru. I went with a certain cynicism. My expectations were low, but he was amazing, and far exceeded those expectations.

Friend has a quirky sense of humor, and a depth of knowledge about a broad range of astrophysics to zoology. One of the funniest bits was when he gave us a physical demonstration of how humans are the only critters with shoulder muscles. The message was clear. We’ve got them so we need to develop them. He talked quite a bit about what we do with our bodies has a nearly immediate effect on evolution. Our genes remember our behavior.

On that Saturday afternoon, Friend talked about the increasing weight of the self-help book section addressing mindfulness. It’s a good thing, but these books usually focus on minding what you are doing or what’s happening. If you’re minding the gap, you’re paying attention to what’s not happening. On the resting. On the being, not just the doing.

Friday morning when I called my mentor, I was in a dither. The condition of the house was interfering with my serenity in a big way. She told me “go outside. Not to do something, not to make a list of what you need to do, just to be.”

I sat down in my hammock, with my phone still to my ear, and immediately felt the weight lift. Pat said she felt tears come to her eyes, hearing the relief in my voice. I minded the gap. First I had to create it. Then I paid attention to it. I lay down and looked up at the bright blue gap between the Locust and Pin Oak trees above me. And I minded it.

Afterwards I was able to return to the busy-ness of the day, to put things away, organize the house. And I was able to find some more gaps and mind them too.

Salute the Sun

Martha McCormick on January 1, 2011

Yesterday I did 108 Sun Salutations with about a dozen other women at Shakti Yoga Shop. It was challenging, but went by surprisingly fast. One of the first things we asked was the significance of 108. The answer took up about 3 pages, and included–

the number of beads on a Japa Mala, the beads used to count mantra repetitions during meditation
the 108 suitors of Penelope, Odysseus’ wife; check out “The Penelopiad,” Margaret Atwood’s take on a wifely perspective of the Odyssey
The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters.

…which brings us back to saluting the sun. Winter solstice is less than 2 weeks behind us. It is my favorite day of the year: it marks the day when daylight begins to lengthen. I can only imagine our earliest forbears watching the dwindling light and heat, fearing it was the end of the world, developing ceremonies and bargains to make the sun return for a year.

We continue many of those traditions around the holidays. Lighting candles, bringing in greenery, putting up Christmas lights. On this first day — 1/1/11, I hope for a lighter year, for peaceful, brighter days. I hope for clarity on the problems facing our planet. Perhaps by saluting the sun, still the source of life, we can perhaps begin to mend the earth.

Practice Yoga

Martha McCormick on December 25, 2010

I lost a dear friend a month ago, and what I thought was a lifelong relationship fell apart the next day. To say the least, I was reeling for about a week. The first morning after the breakup, I went to yoga. Paula met me with a box of tissues, saying she had seen my Facebook status change to “single.” She found me a spot in the back row and told me to just do whatever I needed. I practiced my yoga and cried off and on. Afterward, one of the other students listened with sympathy to my tale of woe.

I have practiced yoga most days since then. It’s making me strong, inside and out, and I am becoming part of the kula. I’ve enjoyed dinner, breakfast and coffee with other members, and am feeling a closer bond with everyone. I’ve long preferred to attain spiritual growth through physical practice, and yoga is again confirming that preference. During 2010, my “year of good health,” I’ve lost nearly 20 pounds, and developed a much healthier body image. I’ve become stronger, more balanced and bendier.

I tried a couple of places before I settled on Shakti Yoga Shop in Des Moines. The instructors focus on Anusara Yoga, and offer two to three classes a day most weekdays, and at least one class on weekend days. I love the continuing encouragement, the small corrections that help you get the most out of every pose. Next month I plan to attend my first workshop, and take my practice to new levels next year. If you are in need of a “year of good health,” try yoga in 2011.

Start Your Business

Martha McCormick on January 16, 2010

I think I’ve been a frustrated entrepreneur my whole life, so developing Next Step, Inc. has been an exciting adventure. When I was in high school, a lot of people thought that girls could only be moms, nurses, teachers or secretaries. But now women run some of the world’s most successful businesses–Pepsi is headed by a woman. And then, of course, there’s Oprah.

Do you want to work in the business world someday? You could be an officer in a bank or open a shop and watch it grow. Invent something and sell millions on the internet. One of the Chrysalis After-School groups–the Whyld Girls–started a business about 2 years ago. It’s called Product with Purpose, and with the help of their mentors, the girls run it themselves. The profits from their jewelry sales go into a scholarship fund; two Whyld Girls are set to graduate from high school this spring. The Product with Purpose scholarship fund is there to help them achieve their dreams.

If starting and running a business sounds like fun, check out Business Horizons, a week-long camp for high school students where you’ll learn about the world of business while you have fun and meet new friends. Participants stay on Simpson College campus in Indianola, July 25-30, while they explore their talents and how to use them.

At camp, each business team develops a product and figures out how to sell it. Teams create marketing plans and infomercials about their products, and then present their product ideas to potential investors. The teams manage mock manufacturing businesses where they make decisions about pricing, production, marketing, research and development, and capital investment. Here is what a couple girls had to say about the camp–

“Man I had a great time this summer! I am kind of disappointed that it is only a week long. Someone told me that this was a business camp… who knew business was so fun!”–Kashonna Drain, Waterloo

“Business Horizons was an amazing program. This week I was able to …network with some entrepreneurs in the Des Moines area, and I had a great time doing…this. I would recommend this program to anyone, it was an amazing experience!”–Kristi Philips, Ames High School

Love Your Body

Martha McCormick on August 31, 2009

There’s been a lot of controversy during the last week about a photo of a “normal woman” in the September issue of Glamour Magazine. Body image is certainly an area that trips a lot of women up, and I am one of them. The blog post about the reaction to the photo talks about how important it is for us to see women who look like us to be able to develop healthy self concepts. Being happy in our own skins is something that most women have to continually work on our whole lives.

The Supergirl Dilemma outlines two areas where girls’ attitudes went backward instead of forward between 2000 and 2006–

84% of girls say they are under a lot of pressure to dress the right way
60% of girls say the most popular girls in school are very thin

Dove’s Self-Esteem has a Toolkit and Resources you may find helpful. Here are some other sites you can take a look at–

Memoir to My Former Self–This video, written by 17-year-old Katrina Garcia, explores body image, eating disorders, women’s rights and cliques. It presents several viewpoints and delivers a message of developing a strong sense of self. Some processing questions might be–
- What are the issues facing the girl in the video?
- Have you had any similar experiences?
- How did the video make you feel?
- How do you feel about being female?
- What would you do if you were the girl in the movie?
- What would you do if you were her friend?
A Girl Like Me–This movie was directed by Kiri Davis, when she was a teen living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York. The film is about an experiment Kiri conducted based on one from the 1950’s. Her film was featured on Media That Matters and is an inspiration to any young woman or filmmaker, present or future.
Shea B. invented the #Freshface Friday campaign to combat the pressure she and her high school friends felt to wear makeup. The Miss Representation Facebook page highlights actions like hers that promote healthy body image. Their Web site has a link to a movie and a lot of other stuff you can do about this important issue.

Visit the Art Center!

Martha McCormick on August 11, 2009

You and your group really should see the Tara Donovan show at the Des Moines Art Center. It blew me away! The scale, texture and rhythm are astounding, not to mention the materials she uses! Tara Donovan is a young woman artist who has made a name for herself across the country. The show lasts until September 13, 2009.

Rachael Jackson, Outreach Coordinator is anxious to set up programs and classes for your organization. Contact her and tell her Martha McCormick sent you. Their schedule is online so you can pass it on to your members or register for a class yourselves.

Build a Team with Keys

Martha McCormick on August 11, 2009

I had the neighbors talking the day I cleaned and took apart 12 old computer keyboards for the Chrysalis After-School Kits out on my front deck last fall. Each CAS kit has a set of these keys. Eric Martin and I developed these teambuilding activities and I’m sure you can come up with some more. We started with the International Association of Teamwork Facilitators by Tom Heck.

We used the keys at CAS Facilitator Training 2008 for introductions. Each person got a key and used the character on that key to tell something about herself. Then each facilitator took a letter key and the group formed as many words at they could in a set amount of time. As a group got together to form a word, the leader made a tally mark on a flip chart or white board.

Download the Keyboard Team Building Activity for more ideas–Keyboard Team Building.

Category: Create & Develop