Rita's Doodle: Doodling Among the Dots

Humor! Creativity! Incongruity! I’ve sat through many of Randy’s “Laughter in the Classroom” workshops and my ordered science teaching background still struggles when he tells me they all can be defined to mean the same. Doodles?  Yes, they fit also. I will admit, at first I struggled for an idea.

Then those four words and M. C. Escher and an old habit of mine turned on the light. I’ll let my sister Mavens fill in the Escher piece [after all, we are quiltersJ]. Here’s the “old habit” connection. Throughout my college career [Bachelors in the Life Sciences – teaching career that spanned 36 years] I learned by first taking notes in all my classes. Later, and as soon as possible, I would study by rewriting those notes into course specific notebooks. I began to notice, that when the subject got boring or I lost interest, the expanse of doodles in the margins increased significantly. 

By the way – it’s a habit that continues to this day. Kathy – Thanks for trip down memory lane.  This quilt is made “doodling” [walking that path of memories] with Tulip permanent fabric markers on white polka dotted fabric for the background. The hand is mine – photographed, printed on Timeless Treasures fabric, cut out, and then fused on top of the doodles. 

P.S. From Rita – the new challenge word - due in July

Aristotle said, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts. “ So, here we go again: Humor – Incongruity - Creativity – this time all wrapped up in one word. Or, take the word apart and “go-a-quilting” with its parts and see if you can agree – or disagree with Aristotle [that’s ok, he’s been dead since 322 BC J]. When Mary Poppins sang the word in 1964, it was supposedly the longest word in the English language and officially added to the dictionary in 1986.  The real treat is to have as much fun as did Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

Here’s my word:

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS

Don’t panic: Sing it a few times and the humor and the creativity and the incongruity juices will begin to flow. That’s just what the word can mean: Super – above and beyond; Cali – “often defined as ‘beauty’”; Fragilistic – “delicate”; Expiali – “to make amends”; Docious – “able to learn.” Think about it – what better defines the Material Mavens.