One of my personal practices, and one which I love to share with every musician who studies with me, is this: Kiss or thank your instrument at the end of every session. Why is this important or helpful? Like magic, this gesture amplifies our appreciation and our good feelings. "Thank you" means we have [...]
The second proverb in the series, this one a meditation on our blessed inter-dependence. It unpacks its meaning and its opportunity in a couple important ways and to my mind, it has never felt truer. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine. People live in each other's shadows. As one beloved Irish teacher used [...]
Students in all my classes will attest: I love proverbs and rely on them constantly to help me think, understand, and explain not just Irish culture and language, but also life itself which the proverbs illuminate brilliantly. This morning I conceived the idea of sharing some of my favorite Irish proverbs with you in hopes [...]
Some people can see it. Some people can’t see it. Some people love the approach. Some people hate the approach. Some people feel it was just what they needed. Some people feel it was a big waste of time. Some people agree. Some people disagree. Some people think it’s ingenious. Some people think it’s derivative. [...]
Yesterday, a student asked me to write a letter of recommendation for her application to Harvard. At the end of her note, she asked for "constructive feedback" on how she could grow. This is my reply to her request, and I'm sharing it in hopes that it might reach the eyes of other high school [...]
Read: it’s your civic duty. I have never before felt this more clearly or more urgently. All summer I’ve been teaching students about the necessity of reading critically and evaluating sources with greater awareness and discernment. This is a new idea for many students and I’m aware that it can strike them as [...]
Teaching is really the best game in town if you ask me because it stimulates learning - by which I mean, my own! I faced an interesting challenge this morning and meeting it was fun and fascinating. One of my students asked me to translate a tale collected over Christmas 1930 by the Irish writer [...]
Welcome into my back garden for a chat about some of my favorite pens, notebooks, and inks - and a somewhat mystical notion of how these tools conspire with us to create art and lives we love.
One reason we keep a journal - because in doing so we see what our life really is. I spied this entry from a month ago and it brought me straight back into the pleasure of a late spring snow, pleasurable as a spontaneous and unexpected meeting before a farewell. In case you can’t read [...]
If you've ever heard yourself say, "Why bother?" when it comes to making your art, you're not alone. Here are some thoughts on Futility, the fifth and final installment in my "Creative Hurts and How to Heal Them" series (and if you're interested, the others cover: Rejection, Criticism, Mistakes, and Comparison). I truly hope this [...]
