Stellar Sculptor

I took a break today to savor a glorious summer afternoon with my wonderfully talented and inspirational friend, Nancy Schön. Nancy is the sculptor who created the beautiful bronze ducklings in the Boston Gardens. The installation is a tribute to Robert McCloskey's classic "Make Way for Ducklings." It has become a landmark in Boston.

Nancy and I are currently brainstorming a few collaborations!

I'll share more in the coming months. As I walked around Nancy's studio today, I marveled at all the "works in progress," all the sketches, all the inspirational photos of giraffes (she is working on a terrific giraffe leaning its long elegant neck down to sip water),

and of course, there they were - the original ducklings!

The giraffe project is a tribute to Nancy's husband, Donald Schön, whose seminal book "The Reflectective Practitioner" celebrates the idea that we are a work in progress - that we can continually improve our craft. He was a fan of jazz music - inspiring his belief that improvisation and "thinking on one's feet" was the key to growth. I'm a huge fan of this thinking. In my own work. In our studio. In the workplace, in general.

In schools.

Experiential learning should be at the core of every classroom if we are to transform them into wonderful classrooms. The most creative teachers I know are the ones willing to "wing it" (to use a duckling term!) and to dive into new projects, new ideas, new questions - without having the "road map."

Navigating WITH learners is an adventure!

What a day! Now... back to my studio. I have a book to sculpt!

Nancy in her studio!

Visit Nancy's site at
http://www.schon.com

Stellar Mentor

Derek was a wonderful man.  

His spirit will be with me on my journey – he and I had some marvelous conversations – 

one especially that sticks with me — he said... 

 “Tell your story to the whole world. Be sure you’re speaking their language.”  He went on to say that we often muddle up our storytelling with details, stereotypes, and narrow thinking that shrinks our audience.  He posed this to me: if someone was to ask you to draw a classroom - what would you immediately begin to draw? A room full of desks?  A teacher, lights, maybe an American Flag, some writing on the board?  But think more deeply, a classroom might be a room with nothing in it.... just a safe place to gather.... or it could be  a field  with a wise friend sharing a story.  Thinking  globally is very challenging, but the feeling of having your brain stretch is wonderful! 

I feel blessed to have some “Derek spirit” tucked inside me.

Explore Derek's work including the film "Every Child" celebrating UNICEF's Declaration of Children's Rights. 

Derek Lamb 

(1936 - 2005) 

Born in Bromley, Kent, England, Derek Lamb started his animation career with the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s. He worked extensively as a writer, director and producer in Canada, the US and Europe, both in commercial and experimental film. Lamb was also a teacher of animation and writing, most notably at Carpenter Center for Visual Arts, Harvard University and McGill University, Montréal. For six years, during the 1970s and 1980s, he served as Director of the English Animation studio at the National Film Board of Canada, and he produced over 50 films for the NFB. His work was honored with numerous international awards, including Academy awards from Hollywood and Great Britain, for films he produced.