In the studio

Works in Progress

It is Art Every Day Month and I haven't been doing a great job of physically creating anything. But that's okay. AEDM isn't about strict perfection. It is about infusing creativity into your day in whatever way you can. So on that front, I feel pretty good. And today, after a week of being pulled in a different direction, I am back in the studio with a few works in progress.

Most of my art creation procrastination this past week is because I attended the American Marketing Association's Higher Ed Marketing conference in Chicago for my day job at Saint Francis University. It was a much needed break from day-to-day tasks. Nothing like a conference to recharge the batteries.

The other thing that has kept me from actively creating is not positive. This week my alma mater became engulfed in scandal. Yes, I am a Penn Stater. My husband, my sister, my brother-in-law, and I all graduated from Penn State. I also worked there for 10 years. I still have many dear friends there.

Like so many Penn Staters, I spent the greater part of this week glued to the TV, hoping someone would say something that  made sense.It is hard to find the words that express what I'm feeling. I am ashamed. I am crushed. Yet my bond to my Penn State family has somehow become stronger through tragedy.

It is probably difficult for anyone on the outside to understand. I imagine it is what family members must feel when they find out that someone they love and trust did something horrific. In the pubic eye, your loved one's shame becomes your shame. The family name that brought you pride is now tarnished, yet your family is still filled with great people that played no role in all of this.

I came across this Facebook post that has gone viral. I'm not sure who wrote it, but it says it better than I can.

"We are… sad. We are… grieving with the families and the victims. We are… brokenhearted. We are… trying to make sense of things. We are… confused. We are… over 94,000 students strong. We are… ranked among the top 15 public universities. We are… the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. We are... over 8,500 top-ranked faculty. We are… hard working student athletes in many sporting events with NO connection to former events. We are… more than 2 university officials and 2 athletic department members. We are… more than this scandal. WE ARE PENN STATE. We have always been more than just a football team"