4:06 PM: today we spent the morning with a class of high school kids in a nearby school, supporting them in preparing to launch into their projects; a process culminating in the spring with a project showcase, to which members of the community will be invited. it was an exciting morning, which mikela led brilliantly, despite ongoing pain from her pinched nerve. i was outside the classroom, where i video taped and conducted interviews with the kids. in a few weeks we'll be going back to two edwards middle schools in the vail valley, where we'll continue working with the kids there. at that point we'll be ready to send all the kids invites to the beta version of our actionlab site and begin getting valuable feedback on what they like, what they feel could be improved and what they think could be dropped out. it's been a long road, but we can see the light and should be able to start selling the product sometime next year, after our all important next round of funding is in place, allowing us to take the next steps in development.
and what about the gaze series? starting gaze 33 tomorrow. pics of my process will be posted as available, as always. i was inspired talking to the kids this morning, using my process of creating paintings as an example to the ups and downs one encounters creating any project, and comparing that to the hero's journey. at the same time i was giving them a roadmap, i was reminding myself of what i'll be dealing with once i wind down the gaze series and begin a new one.