I recently attended a Saturday workshop that turned out to be entertaining enough to take the sting out of being inside on such a nice day. The topic was Folk Arts in Education, sponsored by Arkansas Arts Council, and it was held at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock.
It wasn't until the day before the workshop that I learned I would be attending. It turned out to be one of those spur of the moment things that sort of reinforces the notion that the best laid plans are sometimes last minute ones.
A few weeks back, Patty, a friend of mine since elementary school, invited me to come down to her place near Hot Springs and go with her to the workshop, but I had things going on that would prevent me from doing that. Then about the time my earlier plans fell through, she texted me again. "Coming down this weekend?" she asked.
"Looking like a possibility," I texted back.
She told me that she had already enrolled in the workshop and made a call to find that there was still time for me to sign up, even at that late date. I emailed my registration, got a quick confirmation reply and I was set to go. All set, except for driving myself to Patty's house Friday evening, after work, on big roads, in heavy traffic. By the time I reached her place out in the country south of Hot Springs, I had been on the road close to five hours.
Because of the time crunch, I hadn't done any research about the workshop ahead of time, so it was only after arriving on Saturday that I learned that in addition to the presenter, Dr. Gregory Hansen, an interesting and enthusiastic folklorist, historian, writer and professor at Arkansas State University, we would also have a special guest. After Dr. Hansen discussed the topics of folklore, folklife and folk arts (answering the question we all wanted to know, "Just who are the "folk?"), he introduced Essie the Blues Lady. With guitar in hand, Essie performed a mesmerizing mini concert, then answered questions related to methods of song writing and other topics.
This led to group discussions about using blues and other music genres to help students learn history and write stories and poetry in the classroom, while also instilling an appreciation for various cultural traditions. Together, with Essie's help on the guitar, the group of us wrote a blues song on the spot. Now, how often does one get to collaborate on a song with a member of the National Blues Hall of Fame?
The discussion then moved to quilts, another form of folk art that I find very interesting. Teachers of various subject areas from around the state discussed how they had used quilt making as teaching tools in their classrooms, and the room was popping with great ideas. Then, of course, Essie performed again. Her song that got the best response of the day was one that she admitted, up front, wasn't a great example of correct use of grammar. Still, "I ain't cookin' nothin'," was a hit with the ladies in the room.
Although I was glad to get outside and take a nice river walk in downtown Little Rock following the workshop, the time spent indoors on this gorgeous spring day was surprisingly delightful, as well.
Annette Rowe is a freelance writer from rural Gentry and a speech-language pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 04/30/2014