Sunday, November 4, 2012

Life as Art and Art Strong in our Lives






I’m a strong believer that art makes a difference in lives.  Humans have physical needs for food, shelter, and clothing; our spirits are supported through love and beauty and expression for our spirits is through the arts.  Arts feed our spirits.  A song can cheer our mood.  A color can lift our spirits.  We tap our toe or gently sway when a piece of music comes to our ears.  The written word in the form of a poem or piece of prose can open our thinking to different dimensions.

I experience this every day.  One of my mantras is ‘Create Every Day’.  I reflect that mantra through the clothing that I wear, the food that I eat, the music that I listen to, the way I move my body through space, and the books that I read.   I share that with my friends through theatre, dance, paintings, and music.  Life is a rich tapestry of art that goes on all around us.  What blessed creatures we are to be humans and have so many choices.

 Americans for the Arts has put some information together about the presidential candidates and their support of the arts.  Here’s how Obama and Romney are weighing in on support for the arts.



                                                   

Barack Obama
Joe Biden
Democratic Nominees
Mitt Romney
Paul Ryan
Republican Nominees



Candidate would maintain or increase federal support of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.
Yes
Proposed increase of $9 million for National Endowment for the Arts.
-FY 13 NEA budget request, Rpt p.2 / PDF p. 6
-FY 13 NEH budget request, Rpt p.11/PDF p. 14
No
“Reduce subsidies for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.”
-Romney/Ryan website
-Los Angeles Times article
Candidate would maintain or increase federal support of museums and libraries.
Yes
Proposed increase of $9 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities and level funding of $232 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
-FY 13 IMLS budget request, Rpt/PDF p.12
Unknown
Congressman Ryan’s House-passed budget calls for eliminating the Institute of Museum and Library Services, but it is unclear what Gov. Romney’s position is.
- Ryan’s FY2013 budget, Rpt p.88 / PDF p.96
Candidate would maintain or increase federal support for public broadcasting.
Yes
Proposed level funding of $445 million for Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
-FY 13 CPB budget request
No
“Reduce subsidies for…the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”
-Romney/Ryan website
-10/3/12 presidential debate transcript








 Candidate would maintain or increase Title I funding, which includes eligibility for arts education.
Yes
Proposed to reauthorize current Title I program, with level funding.
-FY13 budget request, Rpt p18 / PDF p 22
Unknown
Proposes to change Title I funding by expanding choice for eligible students to use federal funds to pay for public, charter, or private schools. It is unclear what impact this would have on arts education Title I funding.
-Romney education plan, Rpt p.23 / PDF p. 24
Candidate would maintain support of national and community service, which includes eligibility for arts and music service.
Yes
Proposed increase of 1 percent to $1.1 billion for Corporation for National & Community Service agency budget.
-FY 13 CNCS budget request
Unknown
Congressman Ryan’s House-passed budget calls for eliminating the Corporation for National and Community Service, but it is unclear what Gov. Romney’s position is.
- Ryan’s FY2013 budget, Rpt p.88 / PDF p.96
Candidate maintains current incentives for charitable giving to 501(c)(3) organizations, such as a local nonprofit arts institution.
No
The Obama plan maintains the ability for households to deduct charitable gifts, but he proposes reducing the value of the deduction from 35 percent to 28 percent for those households that make more than $250,000.
-FY 2010-13 budget request, blog statement
No
Gov. Romney has suggested maintaining a deduction for charitable gifts, but he has also proposed combining those charitable deductions with other tax deductions, such as mortgage interest, all of which would be limited by an overall cap that could jeopardize incentives to donate.
- 10/16/12 presidential debate transcript
National party platform includes a positive position on the arts & arts education.
Yes
“We will continue to support public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts… and for programs providing art and music education...”
- 9/4/12 DNC platform, p.16
No
GOP platform was silent on these issues.
- 8/28/12 GOP platform


Americans for the Arts Action Fund is a bipartisan national advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to appreciate, value, and participate in the arts. ArtsVote2012, a program of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund, was created to secure policy proposals in support of the arts and arts education in America from candidates running for federal office in the 2012 election.
For further information, visit www.ArtsActionFund.org or call 202-371-2830.

Please take time on Tuesday to vote.  It’s really important to have all of our voices heard.   

Thank you.























Sunday, October 21, 2012

Gratitude in Autumn

My gratitude for some autumn beauty:

 

Flowering kale bouquets that I can buy from the farmers at the Winona Farmers Market





 The brilliant blue sky


Bluffs in the Mississippi


Blue water


Birds flying


Good musicians playing music: Jim Reineke and Bob Stuber


Love


Beauty all around



Friday, October 19, 2012

The Squat Song

Brought to you today by Nia Blue Belt Instructor Ta Ma Ra from Winnipeg, Canada. This video will bring a smile to your face!


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Autumn Prairie Yard


Heath aster & little bluestem grass


Seed pods of butterfly weed and prairie cinquifoil


Stiff goldenrod in bloom


The autumn colors in the prairie are bronze, tan, and chocolate brown as the flowers dry to create seedpods with seeds tucked inside.  The goldenrods and asters still shine with color on a September day.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Nia from Toronto

This two minute video gives a  bit of a Nia class with Martha Randall from Toronto, Canada.  I like that there are many shapes of people and that there is lots of smiling.  Pleasure in the movement is one of the principles in Nia.  She involves her students with a bit of contact dance; this is not part of my classes at this point.  

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Green and Light



My eyes move to the lightest leaves of this photograph.  It looks so fresh and new.  What do the lightest leaves lead your eyes to?  Unintentional little wonders.  The Yahara River is a murky green in the mid-day August light.  I see a bit of a reflection in the water; however, and appreciate the multitudes of green shades throughout this photograph. 

 I took the photographs and cropped them for balance in the composition. The colors were not manipulated.

Here are a few more pictures taken on the same day in early August.



The lightest leaves point to the soft curve of the Yahara River bridge.
 


  





































 Iron work and shadows grace the crossing of the bridge.







































A railing close enough to touch.








































Arching shadows.










Peace is everywhere.  Where can you find peace and tranquility? 






Friday, August 10, 2012

Sojourn into Green


Olbrich Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin are filled with greens and colorful flowers at this time in summer.  With a summer of drought in 2012, my eyes took a drink of the luscious depths of greens throughout the gardens.  Here are some images… 



  


These leaves look like a painting.  They are a photograph--mmmmm. 






 

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