I'm getting started on my raffle painting tonight, and hope to have progress pics available by this weekend.
We just got back from Florida, and I have to say that all of the prep for the raffle and the trip have sucked up my studio time. While I still have to do the same work for the second leg of the trip, I'm hoping I can really crank out some art in that time.
We headed out for the 22 hour trip in good spirits. We listened to Neil Gaimain's Graveyard book on tape, talked, listened to music, and Ashler watched episodes of Smallville on the portable.
We encountered some severe thunderstorms travelling through the mountains in Georgia, which made all the twists and turns really hairy! The rest of the trip was smooth sailing though and we arrived in Florida in record time.
It wasn't long before we saw palm trees! They were his first palms, and he was super excited to see them.
We arrived on time for Ashler to check in and get dressed for the evaluation class. We really thought we were going to miss it, so we were thrilled that we had made such good time on the road, especially given the storms in GA.
Everything happened so fast, though. His host family met us in the parking lot and asked us to move his belogings into their trunk. (I had thought we would have the chance to get him settled in at their house) Before we knew it, Ashler was wisked away and we were not to see him again.
We got to meet the director and office manager though, and attended the parents meeting. There was the opportunity for questions and we left feeling like things were well in hand.
I got to talk to Ashler the following night and he is having a glorious time there. He says its a challenging program without being too hard. He dances from 9 to 4:30 every weekday, with rehearsals on Saturdays. He was placed in the Intermediate 2 level, with only the pre-professional level above his. There are about 30 people in each level and he says that kids have come as far away as Amsterdam, Russia and South America! There are 4 other boys in the program, one in his level and the others in lower levels.
His teachers are Russian, and speak little English - but everything seems to be going along well. He is staying with a Hispanic family that have a 12 year old girl in the program and a 10 year old boy that Ashler shares a room with. They have been absolutely terrific to him, and he is as happy as a bug in a rug.
We'll go down to see his performance and class demonstrations on the 31st! I can hardly wait.
Thom and I went to stay with an old college friend for the night, before we turned around and headed back home. It was a glorious visit that included a trip to the beach - complete with dolphins, fish against my feet, pelicans and more.
The trip back was entirely uneventful, although exhausting by that point. Thom and I switched out driving a number of times and we got home early Wed morning to sleep for as many hours as we could manage. :)
We'll be heading back down to Florida on the 30th, with the whole family in tow this time. Ashler has a performance on the 31st and open studios on the 1st. It will be exciting to watch, and I will have to check about whether or not I'm allowed to take video. For sure, I'll take more photos.
I don't know if there will be more updates between now and then. If I hear good stories from Ashler, I'll send them along - but not more than once a week, to keep your email inbox managable. Thanks again to all of you - this has been a really inspiring project, and I feel like all of you were with us in spirit as we travelled to Florida and back.
I twittered a lot during the trip (which you can review if you go back through them) and I expect I will again during the next leg. If you're interested in that kind of thing, you can follow me here: twitter.com/tauwillow
We just got back from Florida, and I have to say that all of the prep for the raffle and the trip have sucked up my studio time. While I still have to do the same work for the second leg of the trip, I'm hoping I can really crank out some art in that time.
We headed out for the 22 hour trip in good spirits. We listened to Neil Gaimain's Graveyard book on tape, talked, listened to music, and Ashler watched episodes of Smallville on the portable.
We encountered some severe thunderstorms travelling through the mountains in Georgia, which made all the twists and turns really hairy! The rest of the trip was smooth sailing though and we arrived in Florida in record time.
It wasn't long before we saw palm trees! They were his first palms, and he was super excited to see them.
We arrived on time for Ashler to check in and get dressed for the evaluation class. We really thought we were going to miss it, so we were thrilled that we had made such good time on the road, especially given the storms in GA.
Everything happened so fast, though. His host family met us in the parking lot and asked us to move his belogings into their trunk. (I had thought we would have the chance to get him settled in at their house) Before we knew it, Ashler was wisked away and we were not to see him again.
We got to meet the director and office manager though, and attended the parents meeting. There was the opportunity for questions and we left feeling like things were well in hand.
I got to talk to Ashler the following night and he is having a glorious time there. He says its a challenging program without being too hard. He dances from 9 to 4:30 every weekday, with rehearsals on Saturdays. He was placed in the Intermediate 2 level, with only the pre-professional level above his. There are about 30 people in each level and he says that kids have come as far away as Amsterdam, Russia and South America! There are 4 other boys in the program, one in his level and the others in lower levels.
His teachers are Russian, and speak little English - but everything seems to be going along well. He is staying with a Hispanic family that have a 12 year old girl in the program and a 10 year old boy that Ashler shares a room with. They have been absolutely terrific to him, and he is as happy as a bug in a rug.
We'll go down to see his performance and class demonstrations on the 31st! I can hardly wait.
Thom and I went to stay with an old college friend for the night, before we turned around and headed back home. It was a glorious visit that included a trip to the beach - complete with dolphins, fish against my feet, pelicans and more.
The trip back was entirely uneventful, although exhausting by that point. Thom and I switched out driving a number of times and we got home early Wed morning to sleep for as many hours as we could manage. :)
We'll be heading back down to Florida on the 30th, with the whole family in tow this time. Ashler has a performance on the 31st and open studios on the 1st. It will be exciting to watch, and I will have to check about whether or not I'm allowed to take video. For sure, I'll take more photos.
I don't know if there will be more updates between now and then. If I hear good stories from Ashler, I'll send them along - but not more than once a week, to keep your email inbox managable. Thanks again to all of you - this has been a really inspiring project, and I feel like all of you were with us in spirit as we travelled to Florida and back.
I twittered a lot during the trip (which you can review if you go back through them) and I expect I will again during the next leg. If you're interested in that kind of thing, you can follow me here: twitter.com/tauwillow
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