Janice’s introduction
I’m intrigued by this activity, practicing calligraphy on a sidewalk using water, because it shows a different view instead of writing as communication, or as a means of recording thought. Here, writing is an art with an ephemeral product – words that will evaporate, maybe before anyone has read them. The scale of the characters means that the writer is more physically engaged than if he had used a pen or a keyboard to record the words, and the characters are produced with careful attention that involves more technique than technology. The calligrapher expects that the results of his efforts will disappear in a few minutes, although the photographer has given the text a permanence that the writer didn’t intend.
My name is Janice Longo and I teach in a multi-grade class at an alternative high school in Ontario. This is my fifth and final course in a TBLS certificate. I’m very interested in exploring how different communication technologies encourage, or make possible different types of thinking. I’m looking forward to learning with you!
Hi Janice!
I am also quite intrigued by the image you have chosen. It reminds me of the art of journaling, when you write for the experience of putting thoughts down, perhaps never intending for those words to ever be read, but the immersion of self into the experience is very Zen, and can be very transformational. Looking forward to working with you in this course!
Sandra
Wow , really fascinating image. I am especially amazed to see the writers efforts knowing that his work will eventually disappear. Isn’t it though provoking !!! Thank you for sharing. Mehdia
Welcome Janice! Great picture indeed.
What a lovely image and description you have provided. I agree that sometimes we write for the sake of writing and not for an audience, something I think we should all do more of. Seems so fleeting in our technological world where words live on forever.
Such a terrific image choice! I am so curious as to what the man is writing…. perhaps these would be words of things the writer wishes to put into the past…. flush them out of ones system, get them out and then let them go away? Or maybe they are thoughts of prayer, evaporating into the sky? The entire idea is very beautiful! Thank you for sharing!!
Tina
Well chosen image Janice. While the physical elements of what he is writing may disappear, the knowledge lingers.
I, too, started with the certificate one course at a time then couldn’t stop. There were courses that I was still interested in taking. So I transferred into the full Masters program. Hope you are thinking of doing the same. It is quite rewarding.
Terry