Teaching at Ross Creek

With the mystical address of 555, on a Mountain, exists a facility of life altering, creative magic. What an absolute privilege, and dream come true, to have had the opportunity to teach at Ross Creek Center for the Arts. I started to feel concerned about my path as an art teacher after learning that academic arts in public schools are converting to online platforms. Fearing that there was no place for art in our growing, technological dominant, business oriented world. Then this space on top of North Mountain in Canning, Nova Scotia, revealed itself. Wow! I am forever inspired. The passion of the staff, support from the camp counselors, and beauty of the space was astonishing. I am still pinching myself! ​

I acquired a position teaching a fashoin workshop to children ages 8-11, that take part in the summer arts camps. Thrilled to be in my natural habitat, facilitating creativity, I planned an epic lesson about “fairy fashion”. Exploring the problems with fast fashion, the plastics used and its effect on the environment. How can we, as fairies, use our magic powers to work with our environment to help it, instead of hurt it? We explored eco and ethical fashion, natural dye & fibers, how to make patches and sew them to our clothes, fashion illustration/collage with real flowers, and up-cycling. We went on a field trip to Value Village and had a fashion show! Two guests visited and shared their knowledge with us; Michelle Kyuk taught us in depth about natural fibers, showing real examples and discussions on child labor and ethical fashion. Woochang Kim helped us further understand up-cycling, finding gold at Value Village, then how to use a sewing machine to make it unique and brand new.  The energy, skills and knowledge of the children astounded me. Their creations leaving me in awe and full of joy.

I left The Center with a fresh perspective and new found hope. Still wondering how the government could remove this essential form of expression from public schools, I have an even bigger drive to be a part of spaces like Ross Creek, where humans mentor, grow, create and learn in collective harmony.