The Big Easy

Somehow when I was leaving for the National Art Education Association conference, I forgot to pack my camera, so this entry will not have any photos from the visually amazing New Orleans. I would have taken photos of the fine details of beautiful houses on St. Charles, Echo and Sonny's amazing patchwork quilt beneath which I napped, the beaded fence of the house across the street, the roiling Mississippi Paddy, Charlie and I viewed from atop a levee, or Nancy's smiling face as she drank in Emeril's restaurant's beautiful interior. It was a GREAT food trip (grilled oysters at the Bon Ton Cafe, baked oysters bienville and amazing roasted lamb at Tommy's, the breakfast special at Mother's, gingered bread pudding at Emeril's).

And the conference was good too. Nancy and I presented on our quilt curriculum and pitched it to Crystal Publications, which is now interested in carrying it. I attended several insightful sessions and gathered ideas that will definitely relate to the Teaching Artist training I'm in the process of developing. I made several new connections with colleagues, and Paddy and I planned a session for next year's conference with folklorists/art ed professors Kristin Congdon and Doug Blandy.

It was hard to return to temps in the 30s after the balmy high-70s of NO, but the beauty of the cherry blossoms Ack and I toured on Sunday helped.