The Value of Adventure Camp

 The Value of Adventure Camp

I just returned from a five day excursion with my two kids and our school group, Conejo Valley Homeschoolers, to the Catalina Island Marine Institute. I was one of five chaperones and I was ready to take part in the adventure. Here is my summary of the highlights of our trip.

There is nothing like the adventure camp experience you have when you’re a kid. You’re away from home, without your parents, and under the care of chaperones. You’re expected to eat unfamiliar food, withstand extreme temperatures, and layers of dust and dirt. You endure rustic sleeping arrangements and strange animal sounds that keep you awake at night, and you’re expected to get up early every morning and begin that cycle over and over again. But all of that work, all of those discomforts, add to the charm and uniqueness of the adventure camp experience, and because you’re in it with your peers, you try your best to be strong and rise to the occasion. 

Adventure camp, however, delivers high moments and character building opportunities that make all the grunge and sweat worthwhile. I was one of the chaperones for the younger group - CVH kids I have known and loved for many years and consider my own - and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been a witness to the profound experiences these kids had this week. This is not a complete summation of what we did together, but a description of what I consider to be the highlights.

 The first time we snorkeled, our camp counselor Chad dressed up as “Larry Rubbish,” a homeless surfer, and proceeded to show us all how to get into the tight-fitting wetsuits we’d wear in the ocean. He was hilarious, and had us all laughing, before we grabbed our garb and suited up in the 85 degree heat. The memory of all of us tugging, laughing, and falling over while putting these outfits on (be sure you ask one of us for a picture), was one of the highlights for me, as it unified us as a group that had successfully overcome the first of a series of unpleasant (yet rewarding) challenges. Our other counselor Nicola, worked with the youngers to ease them into the water, paying extra attention to my daughter Summer who was crying because she was uncomfortable in the gear. It was one of the first magical moments, to see her transforming my daughter, to see how much Summer already trusted Nicola after being at camp for only one day. 

We kayaked that afternoon, and Sandra invited the olders to be leaders and pair a younger CVHer. It was wonderful to see the youngers and olders paddling together and getting to know each other more, all while experiencing the beauty of the open ocean. It was invigorating out there, and to look around and see all of my friends smiling and working hard together.

 Wednesday was our “Day Trip” where we kayaked out to a beach called Little Fish, most of the youngers once again paddling with an older buddy. I enjoyed riding with Sandra as I’ve always respected her but don’t get to talk to her very often, so sharing that time with her was special for me. While on these adventures, I always felt safe under the competent guidance of our two counselors as you could sense their love of kids and their enthusiasm for teaching us about the ocean. 

Another high point was suiting up for night snorkel on the dive deck under multi-colored swirling party lights and pop music, all of us laughing and pulling on our gear, a bit nervous about getting in the dark waters. It was a beautiful sight, seeing 14 glowing snorkels bobbing in the water, and hearing the excited squeals the kids piped through them as they looked underwater. We gathered around and shut off our lights, and Nicola invited us to look down, swirl our hands and feet, and in a glorious instant, a million bioluminescent algae particles lit up like little stars all around us. Many of the kids said that night snorkel was the highlight of their camp experience.

Thursday, regardless of the heat, we hiked up a rugged creek bed to cliff side overlooking a million dollar vista. I don’t recall any of the younger kids issuing a single complaint, as at this point our group was a solid unit, and none of us were coming down off of the high that was filling us up and bringing us deeper into the magic of this overall experience. 

That afternoon we geared up once again for snorkeling, and hiked to a somewhat rugged but incredibly scenic beach entry point. This was when Nicola and the chaperones really earned their keep, helping the youngers stay together and acclimate to the rougher water, and working to keep track of the gear (that for some reason was refusing to stay put on some of those little bodies). After we rounded the point and got into the calmer and shallower areas, the kids really began to settle in and enjoy the pleasures of the sea below them, experimenting with diving down to see deeper creatures, and experiencing the surreal wonders of swimming through schools of shimmering fish. This was a huge high point for me, as again, these young kids had overcome a difficult beginning and were reaping the rewards of the adventure. They looked incredible in those moments, and we were all overflowing with a pure and exhilarating high.

That evening we walked to the cliff side overlooking Cherry Cove, and performed skits around a glowing camp fire. The cove below us was buzzing with the lights and excitement of another group’s night snorkel, there were palm trees around us, and we were all “the good kind of tired” you feel after four days of making memories. The atmosphere was cozy and tropical, and I really felt like I was on a vacation with my best friends. After the skits we each, one by one, shared our highs, our lows, and our “heroes” (the people we felt made camp extra special for us). It was a wonderful time to reflect, and to hear how this camp had moved each one of us. The counselors, Chad and Nicola, both said we were a very special group, one of the best they had ever had, and we all felt the same about the two of them. They were incredible mentors who truly cared about us and I am certain that the chaperones and kids will never forget them.

We each got to say goodbye to Nicola and Chad right before boarding our ferry home. My daughter cried as she hugged Nicola, and I saw Nicola shedding some tears as well. They had grown so much together that week and they both knew they’d never see each other again. It’s like when you fall in love with someone on summer vacation, in an idyllic atmosphere, but you must eventually return home to your normal life. My daughter had been in awe of this warm and caring person, had come to see her as a hero, another mother, who had shown her she could do things she’d never thought possible. Summer cried for a solid twenty minutes as we sat on the boat, and I hugged her and cried too. I told her how I had cried when I left sixth grade camp, and for the exact same reasons. I had had a counselor - I still remember his name, Sage - who had taken me to find fossils, and taught me about the stars, and sang songs and told me new stories. I had bonded with him, just as these kids had bonded with Nicola and Chad, and to this day I still remember him, and my incredible adventure camp experience. 

Femme to Femme Fatale @ Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco

I haven't posted in a while as I've been focusing on making art, homeschooling, and art writing, but I'd like to share an amazing exhibit curated by the editor-in-chief at beautiful.bizarre magazine. It is called Femme to Femme Fatale and damn is it exquisite! Here is a quote about the show:
“The artists that have come together to be part of the “Femme to Femme Fatale” exhibition are incredibly impressive. I am honoured that I, and beautiful.bizarre have been able to inspire such a exceptional and diverse group of artists from various styles and genres to come together and explore the feminine in contemporary art and society. I think this speaks to the wonderful reputation that beautiful.bizarre has built over the last 3+ years as a business that truly respects and values artists, and of course is madly in LOVE with the incredible work they produce.” ~ Danijela Krha, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, beautiful.bizarre

Sandra Chevrier
La Cage, à travers son regard, 2016
Mixed media on canvas, 14 x 14″

Opening Reception:

Saturday, September 17, 2016 | 6– 9pm

Exhibition Dates:

September 17 – October 8, 2016

Modern Eden Gallery

801 Greenwich Street @ Mason and Columbus
San Francisco, CA 94133 United States

Sounds pretty enticing, doesn't it? Here is a link, followed by a couple of images of the artwork. Enjoy, and please spread the word!

Susan Amorde: Emotional Baggage by Jennifer Susan Jones
View this essay at beautifulbizarre.net

We humans have a love/hate relationship with our emotional baggage. We subconsciously carry the warm fuzzy part of our baggage with us because it serves both as a winter coat protecting our raw wounds and most tender emotions, as well as a constant comforting presence which looks over our shoulders asking, “Can this person really be trusted?” After all, our brains are wired to learn from experience, and very often it is within our best interests to stay away from relationships that mirror unfavorable ones we’ve experienced in the past.

However, this protective baggage also has a dark, less comforting side which resembles an “internal exoskeleton” of metal armor. It is heavy, it slows us down, it blocks efficient communication, and it prevents us from fully engaging with and enjoying time with other people. Picture for a moment a giant snail carrying a bulky, “inefficient shield” on its back like a cursed, unfortunate burden, and you can imagine what it feels like to hold the memories of a significant trauma.

Mixed media artist and sculptor Susan Amorde states that her “Baggage” series is “a personal examination of the universal themes associated with how what we carry around impacts our identity. Apart from the literal meaning of ‘baggage’, everyone carries with them baggage in the figurative, emotional or metaphysical sense. My work investigates how such baggage is perceived, how it feels, and how it impacts the living of our lives. For me, sculpting people and their ‘baggage’ provides me with an endlessly fascinating journey of creative expression.”

Susan explores the human form and emotions by sculpting in an expressionistic style and working with mixed media and found objects. She often alters suitcases by inserting arrows into them (as in Wounded Baggage I and II) or installing port holes into them to further display the symbolism of the baggage metaphor.

Through the use of port holes - the thick, metal-framed windows in submarines –Amorde sublimely suggests we are looking deeper into the unknown. We are looking straight into that guarded, subconscious realm that is anyone’s psyche. We are tiny observers on board a sub-surface vessel, peering through the thick, pressure-resistant windows at whatever lies mysteriously below the dark waters. Emotional baggage lurks so deeply in our subconscious that often our friends - and even ourselves - are unaware of its presence and the power of its influence.  Baggage often lies waiting like a set bear trap: jaws agape and expectant, ready to slam down on anyone resembling a previous offender.

In the sculpture titled “The Key” a nude female figure stands behind a wall with a keyhole in it, while lying her head and one arm across the top ledge.

She looks exhausted, like she’s been waiting there for weeks, waiting for the right person or thing to free her from the wall - the robust shield - that she has built up, either deliberately or subconsciously, to protect herself.

The viewer may very likely identify with the subject and ask: “What blocks my growth as a person - as a writer, as an artist, as a mother - and who or what do I need to get past this obstacle?” The fact that the figure is nude behind the wall works both to show the figure’s vulnerability, as well as to deliver the stark contrast of soft, warm skin, against a cold hard wall.

Old baggage and old wounds can leave a person so vulnerable, so raw, that to protect oneself - at least initially - within a shell seems very logical. However, that shell can gain strength and mass if not consciously acknowledged and what was once a practical covering, can become a thick, illogical barrier that is difficult to break down.

Amorde’s work is an examination of the myriad possible influences of baggage, including acknowledging, healing from, and overcoming it. In her piece titled “Pandora,” the nude female figure sits atop her suitcase with her head held high and her hand on her hip, showing she has come to terms with her past, learned from it, and has gained strength from her experience.

Baggage can be also be the memories that we hold dear as we age, as illustrated in the sculpture titled, “Quite the Journey.” In this piece, the bust of an older man is shown with a staircase leading up to the crown of his head where a diminutive figure of the man sits holding his baggage under his arm. In the bust of the man, his neck is held straight in a neutral posture, and in his face we see humility and wisdom. The smaller version of the man, however, appears to have a heavy heart: he wears a wistful expression as if he is holding the precious memories of his past close to his body in a protective suitcase. Some of us favor the memories found in life’s unfiltered rearview mirror over the condition of mental sterility described so astutely by Alexander Pope as the “eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.”

As an adult, emotional baggage may bubble to the surface as one begins to reach a deeper level of involvement with a friend or become intimate with a lover. Expectations created by previous, unhealthy relationships can contaminate new and potentially more positive interactions. Social worker Virginia Satir, widely regarded as the Mother of Family Therapy, posited in the 1970’s that the "presenting issue" or "surface problem" that brings clients into therapy is seldom the real problem. She believed instead that the unhealthy coping mechanisms created the problem. Satir understood baggage; she knew that the heart of the problem could be found inside that internal suitcase, and her universal mantra was simple and profound: “peace within, peace between, peace among.”

The motivation for discovering and slowly uncovering a partner’s baggage is intriguing: at first you may be drawn to someone because they seem different from you in interesting ways and therefore you perceive them as mysterious, fascinating, and sexy. Playing the coy detective, you become acquainted by asking probing (and increasingly personal) questions, chipping away at the unseen layers and, in doing so, uncovering the edges of the baggage, eventually bearing witness to the entire suitcase (or suitcases) buried within.

Upon discovering a partner’s big secrets, empathy plays a major role in the dynamics of the relationship because the air has been cleared - hopefully in an exchange that was handled maturely by both parties - and, if there are noteworthy similarities between the two individuals, normalization occurs, whereby forming a qualitatively deeper bond which rests solidly on the basis of mutual understanding.

In reality however, the art of revealing one’s baggage is complicated and unpredictable. Digging up the past can release deep seeded emotions which had until this point laid dormant in the soils of the unconscious, and patterns of behavior drawn from the family of origin and still unconsciously carried around can cause defensiveness and highly reactive behaviors which can surprise both parties and proceed to create a parched environment for the tender flower that is their fragile intimacy.

In summary, the complex dichotomy of emotional baggage is this: the memories of the interactions and experiences we carry are heavy and they hinder our movement and growth. Yet we keep them close as they fulfill one of our most basic human needs: that of safety and comfort. Amorde’s “Baggage” series explores the many faces of human resiliency and succeeds at representing the nuances within this psychologically complex topic.

My children are taking a poetry class and in studying the lovely forms within, I've reawakened my fondness of stanza, meter, rhyme and sound.

The latest chapter was on the sonnet, and it is indeed Mother's Day, so off and on today I wrote a sonnet for my dear momma. Here is the completed version, which I've printed and will decoupage into a weathered cigar box:

A Sonnet for Mother

      

Mom I am taken with your love and grace,

And Godly wisdom gleaned from living life;

You always see the flowers through the strife

And comfort all with kindness from your face.

Gather your love like roses in a vase

And give away the sweetness ever true;

And those who walk in sorrow are renewed

Reborn joyfully shining and steady in their pace.

Little gifts of sugar that you make

And give away as Thank Yous made with care;

You’ve taught me how to show love when I bake,

And appreciation just by being there.

Pray for me ev’ry morning when you wake

And in return I’ll lighten which you bear.