Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

Sue Silverstein
18 April

Sue Silverstein’s Weekly Art And Donation Column From Bishop Gibbons. Welcome To The Blog, Good Friend

by Jon Katz

My life always seems to be changing, but one of the things I never want to change is the presence of Sue Silverstein in my life and work.  She is my sister from another mother and my closest friend. Maria and I love her dearly, and I admire her as well; she has done more good in the world than anyone I have ever met. I’m happy and proud that she has agreed to write a weekly column on this blog about her artwork, her deep relationship with the Army Of Good, and her love of teaching and helping those in need. Sue has been a wonderful support for so many students for many years, and the column will give her a chance to talk to her directly and follow her excellent work. I will continue to visit her and see her work regularly. But she knows it better than I do. Love is the real thing for her. Her work with these students is impressive.  Her e-mail is: [email protected]. Her column will appear once a week, on any day she chooses. – We love you, Sue, welcome to my world.

___

By Sue Silverstein

Jon has graciously offered to post some weekly highlights from the ND-BG Art Room every week or so. I wanted a chance to highlight what some of the students have done with materials from Army of Good members,

Andrea from Mass. sent some lovely China teacups a few weeks ago. As you can see in the photos, 11th-grade sculptor Paige is creating again with a chocolate-pouring fantasy landscape!

The 10th-grade gentlemen are in the middle of a go-big or go-home pop art cake project using donated foam, paints, and decorations!

Thanks to all of you, our dedicated donors and supporters, who help the students in every class have fun and create unique art.  Your contributions are invaluable, and we are deeply grateful for your continued support.

Time is passing at warp speed this year here at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons. When Jon invited me to share some of the amazing things the students are creating with the fabulous things that you have been kind enough to send,
I began to think about how many of you have helped over the past years.
The time, generosity, kindness, and love humble me. The kindness of strangers… I enjoy the notes and letters and share them with the students.
Earlier this week, Regina from North Carolina sent a box of great supplies and took the time to send a special note to Isaiah, the 12th-grade student who created the Magical Octopus with mixed media. He was tickled that someone had noticed his art.
Now everyone wants to try that project so they can be famous too! That is how it often goes; it is an organic room, and creativity explodes sometimes. None of this would be possible without your help! When the boxes arrive, the kids want to open them, excited to see the next cool thing.
They tuck things away for their next idea. I cannot forget how many of you have helped us with snacks, warm clothing, and other things.
Hunger in the community is real, and you have helped so many. Andrea from Stoughton is famous as the “cooler lady”! Andrea sends some of the most sought-after materials. Recently, lovely China teacups, which my sculpture queen, 11th grade Paige, has turned into a magical creation.
AOG (Army Of Good) Members have driven great distances to drop off donations; people are good in a world with many bad. My goal will be to share as much of what we do with the donations as possible.
We are truly blessed to have such support. We always seek donations of paint, canvas, art supplies, wood scraps, wire, stones, beach glass, jewelry, drawing paper, clothing, or anything else we or you think the students can turn into art.
The call for yarn received a tremendous response, resulting in a whole bunch of new fiber artists in the building.
I tried to send a personal note, but some boxes arrived without a return address; special thanks to the anonymous donors!
With the help of Jon Maria and the blog,  many of you, the ND-BG art students, will keep directing their energy to make the world just that much better through creativity.
I’ll see you here once a week when school is in session or if I have something to say and share. Jon has been bugging me to write a column all summer. — Sue.
Thank you, and here is the address of the School: Bishop Gibbons, 2600 Albany Street, Schenectady, New York, 12304.
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Flower Art
17 April

Flower Art, As Promised. The Gerber Daily And The White Rose Fall In Love. Children’s Food Day 4.

by Jon Katz

I had another great Zoom meeting with my community of blog readers, a way of making human contact in a world where we rarely get to see who we are talking to.

I go to the Cambridge Fantry with Maria tomorrow to help stuff the food backpacks we prepared on  Thursday mornings. This is day four of Children’s Food Week at the Cambridge Pantry.

The food we are sending goes to 66 families and 188 children.

Today is Day Four of Children’s Food Week. The food for the day is Life Breakfast Cereal, Cinnamon, 13 0z boxes(3 Pack), $8.19. It is on the Pangtry Wish List Right Here.

Tomorrow is the last day of this week’s program; the food is Maruchen Chicken Ramen, a 3-ounce pack of 24, $7.20.

The program has been a great success so far. Thank you; you’ve done a great deal of good. This is a very good week for these families and their children. More to come.

You can see the entire Amazon Pantry Wish List here. It is updated daily. The Pantry is grateful for your continued help, and so am I.

Below is my Flower Art, a study of the intimacy I believe exists when flowers are combined and next to one another.  See you in the morning.

 

I did some with auto-focus and some manually. I’m getting better at manual and can often achieve the softness and atmosphere that I like.

The pure White Roses are unique; they have great dignity and history.

I liked the contrast between the Gerber Daily and the White Roses. They are at opposite ends of the color spectrum, and that creates feeling and beauty together.

 

Thanks for looking and listening and for the kind messages many of you have posted.

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My Spiritual Life
17 April

Training For Happiness. It Comes From Inside, Not Outside.

by Jon Katz

Little by little, and about ten years ago,  I started training myself for life, for happiness. It’s not easy in America today.

Every day, it seems, Mr. Trump is bitterly complaining about how people are picking on him and how he is suffering while billions of people all over the world suffer every day.

I’ve never heard him say a word about them.

I know people are frightened of him and see him as about to wreck our democracy.

Whenever I see him complaining about being picked on, I see a broken person, and I think of Veruca from Willy Wonka, the Chocolate Factory (she was turned into a blueberry), and of every middle school playground I was ever in.

(In the photo, Maria and her admirers gather while she feeds the animals. It makes her happy.) It was a happy day.

In America, we are taught that happiness means a lot of money, having things we don’t need, and stuffing millions of dollars away for old age (so it can go to hospitals and drug companies in seconds).

We are taught that happiness is a college degree, a well-paying job, a TV job, physical beauty,  a burgeoning IRA, living in Hollywood, or a turn as a CEO.

But in my experience, these people suffer the most and are unhappy and stressed. It was a shock to me when I worked in television to see those beautiful and revered anchors; they were among the most unhappy people I have ever known.

I admit was one of them. I learned my lesson.

Those people are not happy, and I think neither is Donald Trump, a billionaire. He seems miserable to me. Is this really who those evangelicals want their children to grow up to be?

I have learned that happiness is not something I could find at the end of the road; it is on the road itself. It just doesn’t come from power, money, or publicity. Just look at those poor souls in Congress.

Happiness is here, where I am now. Happiness came from knowing who and what I wanted to be and working to do it. Happens requires training, experimentation, and practice, at least for me.

Once I was happy but made much less money and was deemed much less successful and powerless, I soon found love and happiness. I think I learned that I get what I am looking for in life, not what the greedy and angry culture around me told me to want.

They were wrong. Just look around, at the news, or on social media. It often feels like our country and the world is having a breakdown. But I know a lot of happy people. I trained for it, just like a runner trains for the marathon.

Being happy does not mean a life without pain or suffering. It means a life with joy, love, and compassion in it.

No one escapes pain, but few train for happiness.

How many happy people do you see in Congress, medicine, police departments, banks, or the top of the corporate heap?

How many wealthy people do you know who seem pleased with those fat paychecks or giant yachts messing up the ocean worldwide?

I’ll be happy to die on my farm without ever having set foot in a giant yacht.

In my life, I’ve learned that happiness comes from the inside, not the outside.

The less I have, the more I am. My life is not perfect, and I know fear and anger. But on most mornings, I wake up giving thanks for happiness, the fundamental goal of a spiritual life.

I trained for that. I trained inside.

 

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17 April

Zip (Or Should I Call Him Zud?, His New Name) Receiving His Daily Adoration

by Jon Katz

Two or three times a day, Zip receives his Kingly Adoration, sometimes from me, sometimes from Maria,  sometimes from both of us.

He takes it in stride; he is the Royal Prince of Bedlam Farm and knows it. At the end of the day, Maria and I sat together on the porch, and Zip hopped on the table. I scratched his ears, and then she did. He fell into bliss and then went to sleep.  Do you think he might be spoiled?

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The Cambridge Food Pantry
17 April

Day Four, Food For Children, The Cambridge Food Pantry Is Asking For Life Breakfast Cereal, Cinnamon, 3 Pack, $8.19

by Jon Katz

Day Four of the week-long campaign is to get healthy breakfast food to the 188 children and 66 families who depend on the pantry for nourishing food: Life Breakfast Cereal, Cinnamon, 13 oz boxes, 3 Pack: $8.19.

This campaign has one more day to go, and thanks for your generous support. I took some photographs yesterday so donors can see what happens when the food arrives. Lots of work for the volunteers.

So far, we’ve purchased Welch’s fruit snacks, instant Oatmeal, Cinnamon Life, and Chicken Noodle soup. After today, the remaining item on the Wish List for this week is Maruchen Chicken Ramen. You can see the Amazon Food Pantry Wish List, updated daily, here.

This will profoundly impact these families’ lives this week, giving the children and their families healthy breakfasts through the weekend.

Yesterday, I went to the pantry to see the volunteers unloading the truck from the allotment from the Regional Food Bank Of Northeast New York.

 

The volunteers work quietly and steadily almost every day of the week to get, unload, sort, stack, and place the food from the pantry, supermarkets, and local farmers. Tomorrow, Thursday, Maria, I, and a dozen other volunteers will go to the pantry to stuff food backpacks (plastic bags) for the 66 families and their 188 children.

Maria and I volunteered to work that morning. She also wanted to help unload the food boxes when they came in. Thanks for your donations to fill them with healthy foods and supplies for lunch, breakfast, the weekend, and beyond.

It’s difficult and continuous work. Your food donations are making a huge difference.

 

I’m touched by the hard work and dedication of the volunteers; this world is a lot more complicated than I knew or realized. Because of these people, hundreds of others with financial troubles and their children can eat good food. It’s a wonderful cause, and I’m glad I was asked to help. The Army of Good, as always, is coming through.

 

Above, the cold storage room and milk and other perishable goods go.

Thanks again for your help. The families and children thank you also. Again, today’s children’s food request is Maruchen Chicken Ramen; you can see it and purchase it here.

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