Observation and reflexion on blogging

I was just reading Carla's words on this post<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogging4educators/message/997> which took me back to my first post in my blog. I compared learning to blog with watercolour painting. I said it was a question of learning to observe things around, to watch carefully into and through things, nature, people, colours, highlights that change along the day. Well, I'm happy because it seems I was right.

Carla says: " One point that you mention and that I'm always saying it out loud is the
fact that blogging is about habit. Educators and learners just don't start blogging. It takes time to find your voice and your pace. Mine is still a hoarse voice, but I'm there, revealing myself and learning more about myself and my teaching style. It's about an encounter with your inner voice that sometimes you didn't even realize it was there. It's funny because that nowadays little facts that happen around me call my attention and I keep thinking to myself, "oh, this could turn into a nice blog post!" or "oh, I HAVE to blog this! I can't just see this and keep quiet". Time is always an issue for us, but still not an excuse for not trying it and seeing how it feels. Yes! As you said, we need to be passionate to inspire our students!"

The main difference between watercolour painting and blogging is that for watercolour you use paints and brushes to express you rideas and thoughts, whereas for blogging we must go round words and thoughts, words and thoughts, which means reflexion in our own learning, until it becomes a habit. The cycle is endless, observation, awareness of the subtleties of communication, of our emotions, the intricansies of interaction, the discovering of 'the other', the reader, the user, the learner's needs, then searching for the appropriate language to express ourthought, to communicate effectively, purposely, to be able to engage others in that endless thread. It's amazing!

Thank you Carla for sharing you learning experience. I think you are a very
able communicator!

A warm hug from Small, but Beautiful Misiones!

Adding some widgets

Hello folks, today has been exhausting! I've spent hours trying different gadgets for my blog, until finally I succeeded.

You will see there're a clock and an English -Spanish dictionary I downloaded from Google gadgets, a shout out box, where you can drop your comments.

I'm not sure about the design , but, you know, I'm already tired and must rush to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

I'm fascinated but do not what my family lurking at my back....

Musical watercolours from our countries

I was just reading Fabiana Bredi's post on her travel blog http://eaustralia.blogspot.com/ about songs that represent our countries. Her link led me into YouTube where I found Gal Costa's version of 'Watercolours from Brazil', Acuarelas do Brasil an excellent production with the most beautiful sceneries in slideshows.

I really like music and could not avoid rejoicing at watching the video. As I live next to Brazil, we frequently travel there for our summer holidays. In general, I think, music from the northeast of Argentina receives a strong influence from Brazil and Paraguay, as well as from European cultures, due to the immigration stream of early 20th.C.

Well,I took the challenge and I looked for some YouTube videos to share with you, these are two chamames that represent our region: 'Sobredosis de Chamamé'
and Chango Spasiuk's 'Mi pueblo, mi casa, mi soledad'
which means 'My town, my house, my loneliness'. How do you like them?

Travelling south into the Argentinian culture, from Misiones to Buenos Aires, you will find tango as the most representative musical genre. I suggest you to watch this audio-video 'Libertango' a version of Piazzola's musical by Spasiuk, too. This is really cool!

Blogging is wonderful. In four weeks we already started sharing our feelings, tastes and knowledge from all over the world. I'm really amazed! still awkward or clumsy about widgets, twitters, RSS, tags, pings, and so on , but joyfully learning ! Congrats for the moderators whose willingnes and encouraging words help us to go on.

I'll be looking forward to every kind of comment, so I may go on learning...

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5 things you don't know about me, yet...

Hello dear all,

Here are the 5 things you still do not knwo about me:
First of all I must confess I love the place where I live, Misiones Province, very much. I could never live anywhere else, or I would miss it a lot. I love its geographical features, it's hilly and full of sub-tropical vegetation. Iguazú Waterfalls is just a bit of the whole nature around. The province is criss-crossed with streams, creeks, and rivers. Nature is exhuberant here, full of inspiring visions for painters and artists... and visitors from all over the globe.
The woods and forest create a wonderfull environment for different animals, birds, monkeys, jaguaretes, snakes, fish, and so on. Just to show you one of them, here's a photo of a tucan for you all.

We all love animals, in the family. We always have pets around, though now we just have a cat. up tonow we have had a toucan, a parrot, two hamsters, a guinea pig, five gold fish, three dogs, two canaries....

Here's where my ancestors migrated in 1911. My surname is of Swedish origin: Prytz Nilsson. You know why I have double surnames? well, it comes with the evolution of women's rights....When my great grand-mother re-married, after becoming a widow, her five children lost their father's name to take their step father's. Yes, believe or not, from being Prytz they turned into Nilsson. Well, when Einar, my grand father came on age he wrote a letter from Argentina to the king of Sweden asking for permision to go back to his original family name and he got the answer, he was allowed to sign Prytz Nilsson. But yu know, he was the only member of the family who made that request, so we are the only Prytz Nilsson in the world....

Derived from my family tradition, I like embroidering and specially cross- stitching. My great grand mother and grand mother belonged to a women's circle of the Lutheran church, who met every Saturday for reading, chatting and embroidering. Well, that's another thing you did not know about me...

And the last thing is that I guess I'm a slow learner of digital citizenship. I feel I'm coming late to this new era... I start searching for the sites you suggest and it takes me ages to read, understand and apply...I'm lost in this huge, new, brave world... But, there's a but with expectations, too. I do hope I'll be able to overcome this morose way, little by little....never lose hopes....

Dear all, I think I've completed this task for today! See your feed backs later on...

Here's a short video for sharing: parrots from a birds park in Misiones (taken with my cel-phone)

Let's start with my gallery

Hello everyone! I just want to start reflecting on what is watercolour painting for me. Well, I think you'll be able to understand from your own experience.
You know that one importat skill we develop as teachers is the ability to observe our students. After some years of practice you are able to see whether each one of them is having a problem, is going well or will need some extra help, don't you? It's a sort of mother's sixth sense we develop.
Painting requires the developing of similar observation skill. But you should be able to keep quiet for a while to feel nature, either still or alive. So, you see, anyone can paint, or start painting, provided you're ready to devote some time to studying, observing, going into things around you.

For example, the painting "En el monte"which is shown here, is just some peices of wood, ferns and fungi I brought home one day. I collected them, arranged them in, we could say a composition, and started drafting what I had in front of me. Finally, when I was sure of the final layout, I searched into my watercolour and brush box for the most suitable tools I had. It took me two week ends to finish it, because, like many of you, I'm a mother of two adolescences and I work the whole week.
Well, I do hope some of you dare to take the plunge and start watercolour painting sometime.

Let's start with my gallery

Hello everyone! I just want to start reflecting on what is watercolour painting for me. Well, I think you'll be able to understand from your own experience.

You know that one important skill we develop as teachers is the ability to observe our students. After some years of practice you are able to see whether each one of them is having a problem, is going well or will need some extra help, don't you? It's a sort of mother's sixth sense we develop.

In the same way, painting requires the development of similar observation skills. But you should be able to keep quiet for a while to feel nature, either still or alive. So, you see, anyone can paint, or start painting, provided you're ready to devote some time to studying, observing, going into things around you. You must become aware of contrating colours, shades, textures, visual composition, that is the equilibrium of the elements you choose to portray. And you must be able to imagine a new world from that observation, as well!

For example, the painting "En el monte"which is shown here, it just came out from some pieces of wood, ferns and fungi I brought home one day. I collected them, arranged them in a way that, let's say a composition, and started drafting what I saw. Finally, when I was sure of the final layout, I searched into my watercolour and brush box for the most suitable tools I had. It took me two week-ends to finish it. It is not just a simple question of copying things like a photograph, it's an inner communication with your visual perception and the spirit, the feelings and sensations that as a painter you want to transmit.

Well, I do hope some of you dare to take the plunge and start watercolour painting sometime. Blogging will also reveal us a new world of communication.

Hello dear friends, today I want to share with you some photos of my watercolour production. This first picture represents my love for the sea, and its mysterious nature. Sea shells are the most representative creatures of the sea context. Children and adults alike enjoy gathering them on the beach. And I love observing them, trying to grasp their secrets.
Sea shells grow in different sizes and shapes, they keep the secrets of the seas inside. Their suggestive colours and shape inspired me to paint these pictures. in the year 2001.
Ferns and fungi, on the other side, bring us the mystery of the forest. 'El monte', as we call it in Misiones, is as inspiring as the sea for me. Collecting bits from the woods or the sea makes you believe you can grasp nature in some way, well, painting is also a way of keeping nature alive, bringing it home with you, isn't it?

Today I've added some links that will take you to famous Galleries and painters' blogs. I do hope you enjoy the beauty and freshness that watercolour transmits. Just let your imagination go and think about Shakesperare's words:

"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."

Watercolour gives painters the possibility of dreaming while the watery colours flow from the brush into the paper.

Enjoy the journey into the Galleries!

Links to Art Galleries around the world

Today I've added a new element to my blog. I've searched for Art Galleries or painters' blogs where watercolour has a prominent space, so that you will be able to make a tour around the world and see beautifull pieces of art.

Let's get started

Dear all, this is a project work for EVO 2008, Blogging4Educators, so this blog will be my travellingroute towards the acquisition of social networking, for pedagogical purposes. On the first week, I've met some people with whom I can share common interests like watercolour painting, travelling andteaching English! and I found that coincidence as a blessing to start communicating with themaround the world.

I do hope to have the contribution from watercolour lovers and painters so as to foster and enhance our knowledge of art, at the same time we'll be strenthgening human fraternity around the world.

Starting to learn about blogging

Dear all, this is a project work for EVO 2008, Blogging4Educators. So this blog will be my travelling route towards the acquisition of Social Networking for pedagogical purposes.

On the first week I've met some wonderful people with whom I can share common interests like watercolour painting, travelling and teaching English!

I found that coincidence as a blessing to start communicating wiht them around the world.

I do hope this journey becomes a turnover in my teaching life!

Waterblog

"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."


Shakespeare's The Tempest, Act 4, Sc. I

Bajo el mar I- Acuarela- año 2000