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Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.
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~ Lady Bird Johnson
“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” ~ Lady Bird Johnson
I teach art to elementary school students, strictly volunteer. I met my new fourth grade class last month and they were, typically, honest. First, they asked, “What should we call you?” I wavered between Midtgaard and Derry and quickly decided “Miss Jenny” would be easier and make me feel younger.
Sold.
The second question was harder: “Are you going to show us some of your paintings?” Um. Well. First of all, I don’t have any paintings. I’m not an artist. I just love art. And I love teaching art appreciation to children, who soak up the terms and names and beauty like little sponges.
I tried to explain this to the honest 9-year-olds and their looks were like many pages in my sketch book: blank. They tried another question: “Well, will you bring some of your paintings next time?”
What could I say? “OK.”
I am a closet sketcher. I get out my colored pencils. Doodle a bit. Scratch out a memory onto the rough paper, show it to my 10-year-old if she happens to be in the room, and put it away. There’s no technical mastery and no real knowledge of how to do it so that it actually looks good. I just do it because it’s fun.
For years, I was sure I had no artistic ability. Art stopped at some point in grammar school, when my teachers had to teach “the basics” and science and sex ed and P.E. and anti-drugs, and art just dropped off the time schedule. I never even considered taking an art class in high school and only took art appreciation in college because it was required as part of the broad curriculum of journalism.
At the young age I’m teaching now, children are all artists. They all have a unique style and ability. Some draw tiny gems. Others splash color across a page to its very edge. Some draw photographically and others smear their crayons into an impressionistic portrait. When children are creating art, their family economics, race, and English fluency do not matter. Even if their confidence lags, their innate talent shines.
At what age do they start to believe they aren’t “artistic”? Does someone laugh at a drawing, or crumple it up in the trash? When do they lose faith in their abilities? Is it when they reach an age where it’s not fun if it’s not perfect? So they just quit trying?
I don’t know. But I do know that more children should be drawing or painting – creating something – instead of playing handheld pieces of plastic like Game Boys, which require the use of ears, eyes and fingers and create nothing but a blank stare.
Throw away the $69.99 Game Boy Advance – really, just do it – and let your child pick out $20 or $30 worth of art supplies. It’s a much better long-term investment with a short-term bonus.
Young Gilroy artists can showcase their work at the “Young Artists Show” in March. Encourage your child to enter, even if you, or they, think they’re not “artistic.” They can use their imaginations and their new art supplies to create their own work of art.
Entry forms for the show will be available at Gilroy Community Services on Friday, Jan. 24; call for details 846-0460. Every young artist’s work, in a simple frame, will be accepted, displayed and enjoyed by the public – what a confidence booster for young, creative minds.
• Food for a cold night: This soup can be made in less than an hour. It can simmer on the stove while you help with homework or catch up on some laundry. Soon, it will be fragrant and piping hot. My girls – even the picky one – liked this soup, because they love corn. The corn and the half-and-half make it creamy. (You can make it with low-fat milk, instead, but you’ll need to thicken the soup slightly with a little cornstarch mixed with water. Add during last five minutes of cooking.) Serve with a salad or sliced veggies and Ranch dressing.
Corn Chowder
3 slices bacon, diced
2 T. butter
2 cups finely chopped onions
2 T. flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 large potatoes, diced into 1/4-inch chunks
1 cup half-and-half
4 cups corn kernels, drained
3/4 tsp. black pepper
Salt, to taste
1 large red bell pepper, 1/4-inch diced
3 green onions, white part and 3 inches of green, diced
1 T. cilantro for garnish
Wilt bacon in large soup pot over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add butter and let it melt.
Add onions and wilt over low heat for 10 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, another 5 minutes.
Add stock and potatoes. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until potatoes are just tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Add half and half, corn, pepper and salt. Cook 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add bell pepper and scallions, adjust the seasonings, and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.
• Prized pintos: Reader Anne Forsan’s Grandma Gertie makes these beans in her microwave. She recommends pinto beans because the texture and size are just right. You can add ground dried chiles, if you like, but all the other chili powder ingredients are already in here.
Grandma Gertie’s Microwave Pinto Bean Chili
1 cup dried pinto beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup corn kernels
3/4 cup diced zucchini
1/2 cup diced ripe tomato
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Fresh ground pepper
In a large, microwave-safe casserole, cook beans and stock, covered, on high for 45 minutes. Remove from microwave and let sit 10 minutes.
Stir in remaining ingredients, cover, and cook 5 minutes on high. Serve.
Note: You can also make this recipe ahead, cool, and store in the refrigerator. Reheat in microwave. Serve with cornbread.
• Cornbread conundrum: Two readers have asked me to share some cornbread recipes, because they’re not happy with Marie Callendar’s version. The texture of the corn really does make a difference. Coarse-ground corn produces a rustic texture, while finely-ground corn produces a softer, cake-like bread. One reader particularly remembered that her favorite recipe required shortening. Here’s a similar one, from “The Cowboy Country Cookbook.” Of course, you can replace the shortening with melted butter and use oil instead of bacon drippings, if you prefer.
Frypan Cornbread
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shortening
Bacon drippings (1-2 strips bacon)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine egg, milk and shortening. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
Cook bacon over medium-high heat in a heavy, cast-iron skillet until fat is rendered; remove bacon. Pour in cornbread batter. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, until top is lightly browned and sides have pulled away from the pan.
Tip of the Week:
To give added support to stuffed peppers while baking: cut them crosswise, rather then lengthwise, stuff, then place in lightly greased muffin tins and bake as usual.
Notes from Jenny’s Kitchen
• Make your own beets. They’re delicious and not messy if you make them this way: Do not cut off top or bottom, but you can cut off the greens. Wrap in foil, as you would a baked potato. Put into the oven at 350 degrees and bake for an hour. You can store them for up to a week in the refrigerator, in the foil. When you want to eat them, remove from foil. Remove the skins by cutting off top and bottom of beet. Slip skins off under running water. Slice and serve. I like olive oil and rice vinegar on top, with a little salt and pepper.
• End notes: My earlier estimation of Christmas cookies donated to the Armory was too low. My friend Maria Skoczylas reports that the end count was close to 3,000 cookies. Thank you, again!
