Riverfest!

The Arnot Art Museum sponsored a Riverfest featuring the arts and crafts of regional artists. Students who had participated in the Chemung River School Project had work they created throughout the year on display at the Arnot Art Museum and the Chemung Valley History Museum for a wonderful culmination to an educational and exciting year both inside and outside the classroom. As always, the Chemung River was, and will continue to be, the pivot around which the program revolves and the inspiration for our teaching artists and naturalists. Preservation of the river and the waters of the world is part of the mission of CRSP.



We at the Arnot Art Museum remain as dedicated as ever to educating young people in all areas of the curriculum through the arts. Indeed, NY State standards in social studies, language arts, science, and the arts are satisfied through programs which have been carefully crafted through the input of museum educators, CRSP teaching artists and classroom teachers. CRSP has been nationally recognized by the NY State Council on the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Arts. Our educators and presenters are HIGHLY educated and qualified to teach and are willing to work with your teachers to tailor the CRSP curriculum to meet the needs of regional schools. Many of our presenters, past and present, have received awards for their art and/or their teaching and we are fortunate and honored to have them working with us. Just this past year, one of our teaching artists - Damali Abrams - was granted a very prestigious fellowship with the A.I.R. Gallery in New York City. Annemarie Zwack and Diedra Krieger each continue to exhibit their work in national venues and receive awards for their work. Damali and Diedra will not be working with us this coming year, but we are happy to have Annemarie Zwack continue with us. Our writer, Sue Smith Heavenrich has been published in numerous venues and has had years of experience teaching children. Our museum educators at the Arnot Art Museum and the staff at Tanglewood Nature Center, Chemung Valley History Museum and the Cornell Cooperative Extension are, without exception, highly educated, experienced and passionate about their work. The cost of bringing these talented artists and educators into your classroom on an individual basis would be prohibitive, but is an excellent value through CRSP.

Below are examples of projects which were completed during Annemarie Zwack's January residency at Center Street School in Horseheads and Chemung Elementary School in Waverly, NY. Many teachers also included the haiku poetry created with Sue Smith Heavenrich during the winter session when she returned to the classroom to follow up their fall session during the riverwalks and to discuss, among other things, seasonal changes to the environment. Students also reflected on the journal writing they had done in the fall and practiced the art of paying attention with all their senses. Students' introduction to writing haiku poetry developed language arts skills as well as nurtured a love for literature and enhanced their appreciation for the natural environment. To read more about Sue's program, see the archive below dated and titled Monday, October 6, 2008 RIVERWALKS - SCIENCE AND LANGUAGE ARTS BY THE RIVER!

This mixed media drawing and fabric collage is called Jewels, like the accompanying haiku.

Jewels

Fishing swimming nicely

Big mountains with purple peaks

A bird flies around

Two more exemplary examples of fabric collages. Select student work was placed in frames and displayed in the front gallery at the Arnot Art Museum.

Chemung River School Spring Riverwalk!

The beautiful Chemung River as it appeared last spring.

In May, students returned to the Chemung River with the staff at Tanglewood as well as the writer, Sue Smith Heavenrich, to observe seasonal changes and their impact on the environment. Students had honed writing skills and learned what it means to be ‘adapted” to an area and/or certain environmental conditions. They gained an idea of what an introduced species is and the effect that such species can have on natives. Concepts of adaptability were addressed and students were asked to reflect on the implications of environmental change as it related to the life and health of organisms adapted to a given ecosystem.



Emily Hofelich-Jack, educator from Tanglewood, holds up a specimen captured from the waters of the Chemung River for all the students to examine before returning to its home.

To read more about the students' adventures during the Riverwalks, please look through the archives for the Thursday, October 9, 2008 TANGLEWOOD VISITS blog and the Monday, October 6, 2008 RIVERWALKS - SCIENCE AND LANGUAGE ARTS BY THE RIVER! entry.

Annemarie Zwack, Scholastics and Cornell Cooperative Extension

Annmarie Zwack presented a program to students at Center Street Elementary School in Horseheads as well as Chemung Elementary School in Waverly - one that was so successful, she will be back for the 2009/10 school year. In her teaching, as well as her personal artwork, her talent, as well as her passion for stewardship of the earth, its waters, and environment, are evident.

In the photograph below, students are holding and waving a piece of fabric which represents a river. Students were asked to recall their experiences during the riverwalks and trips to the Arnot Art Museum. Students draw on their knowledge of the Hudson River School of Art, as well as the newly introduced contemporary arts to which Ms. Zwack introduces them. Students used fabric and colored pencils to create mixed media collages with the subject of the river and ecology. To see some of these works, go to the archive entitled "Riverfest," at http://chemungriverschool.blogspot.com/2009/07/riverfest.html

Annmarie showed the students many slides including work by contemporary artists, as well as her own. She is a gifted artist who has exhibited her work nationally, and is also a published children's book illustrator. The slide below includes a page from her own children's book, "Color Me Earth."



Below is the cover to her children's book.

To read more about Annemarie, visit her web-site at http://www.zwackart.com/

We are so happy to Annemarie on board!

In February, students returned to the Arnot Art Museum for a tour of the Scholastics Art Show and the Chemung Valley History Museum for tours of two of their main exhibitions. The Scholastics Art Show has a long history at the Arnot Art Museum and students learned how many well-known artists got their start through this competition – some right here in Elmira. Because the artwork on display is created by people just a few years older than the students themselves, children are amazed and inspired. Comparisons are made between scholastics art and the art they remembered from the picture gallery or by the Hudson River School artists they saw in November. By this time, students are beginning to acquire some fluency in the language used in the analysis and interpretation of visual art. This tour includes hands-on activities created by museum educators. In the photograph below, museum educator, Wendy Taylor introduces students to the permanent collection in the Picture Gallery at the Arnot Art Museum. In the photograph above, Amy Karastury and her students engage in activities revolving around the Scholastics exhibition.

At the Chemung Valley History Museum, students immersed themselves in a stimulating environment to learn about life in the past. They complete “exhibit encounter” packets as they moved through museum exhibits focusing on two local celebrities, Mark Twain and Floyd Woodhull.


Cornell Cooperative Extension

In April representatives from the Cornell Cooperative Extension visited the classroom introducing students to the dirty job of keeping water clean. Students were introduced to the water cycle and asked to ponder why water is so important. Emphasis was on conservation and students become more conscientious about the water we all consume and pollute daily. Hands-on activities followed a school-yard hike.

Janna Keser, visiting artist for the Chemung River School Project

Janna Keser is a teacher, docent and volunteer at the Arnot Art Museum and has been so for many years. In the photograph above, she can be seen assisting a student at Beecher School last year where students who participated in CRSP collaborated on mixed media murals with a river theme. The children drew upon their journals and their memories of their experiences during the riverwalks and Tanglewood visits to populate the murals with aquatic and terrestrial creatures of the Chemung River region.

Janna is very well qualified to engage in the many services she provides for the Arnot Art Museum. In addition to being an artist herself, she has a Master of Science in Education from Elmira College with 50 additional graduate credits in Studio Art/Education. She also has her Permanent New York State Certification in Art Education for K-12. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Art from Dunbarton College inWashington, D.C. She has taught Art in grades Pre-K - 12 in private schools in Maryland and Elmira, NY, as well as private lessons. Currently she serves as Supervisor of Student Teachers for Elmira College from 2000 - 2007

Janna has spent many hours as a volunteer in the Elmira region for the Science and Discovery Center, The Rockwell Museum of Western Art and, of course, the Arnot Art Museum. For every hour she spends in the classroom, she spends twice the amount in preparation for each class.

Janna is shown above in the East Gallery introducing students to the Hudson River of Art.

We at the Arnot don't know what we would do without Janna's dedication as made evident by the many long hours of research and preparation she puts into tours and programs for children!

THANK YOU JANNA KESER!

Follow up activity for Gardner Road students

Students at Gardner Road Elementary School were given follow-up sheets for their experience with visiting artists, Diedra Krieger and Damali Abrams. Below are the answers (in red font), along with a review of the program. Keep in mind that in art, the "answers" can be questioned! Indeed, we hope our programs encourage and help develop critical thinking and divergent thinking skills. We always encourage questions that can be backed up with sound reasoning.

Thomas Cole, Autumn in the Catskills 1827, oil on panel

solitary artist, activist art, two-dimensional media, landscape, Hudson River School of Art

Students in the Chemung River School Project were treated to an intensive introduction to the work of the Hudson River School artists in November by artist/teacher, Janna Keser at the Arnot Art Museum (see blog post below entitled November tours at the Arnot Art Museum). The museum has considerable holdings of representational art from various countries and eras in history including a significant collection of Hudson River School art. During this session, students learned that the Hudson River School artists who painted nearly 200 years ago, were ACTIVISTS as well as painters. Their paintings depicted nature in such as way that people began to feel the land was worthy of protection; thus, the work they did was instrumental in establishing our first national parks! Artists frequently hope their art works to make the world a better place. The November tour at the Arnot introduced students to art that was just part of a long continuum of activist art that has existed from the moment human-beings have held implements for drawing in their hands. Diedra and Damali continue the tradition of art and activism, but, as Gardner students have seen, the forms their art takes considerably departs from their Hudson River School predecessors. Through the follow-up exercise, it is hoped that students consider both the similarities and differences.

Diedra Krieger, Plastic Fantastic, installation, 2008

collaboration, activist art, installation, performance art, digital media, contemporary art

While the Hudson River School artists were solitary painters and their art may still fit the popular conception of what an artist does – paint landscapes or portraits or still-lifes alone in their studios or in the field (and many contemporary artists do), the work of many other contemporary artists does not in any way resemble the work of their predecessors. Artists today not only paint on canvas, but utilize a wide variety of materials to create sculptures, installations, video and performance art among many other forms. Many also work collaboratively, as do our visiting artists, Diedra and Damali. As with the Hudson River School artists, however, many of today's artists still intend for their art to make the world a better place. Diedra Krieger's geodesic dome as inspired by the inventor of the dome, Buckminster Fuller,* was made using over 4,000 post-consumer water bottles. (It was, in her words, a "nomadic, immersive environment." Diedra wanted it to be "a site unlike any room or space one may frequent....It is the site of an integrated program of events, including the making of the environment, music events, a video shoot, interviews, education, activism, social gatherings, and performance. The overwhelming use of materials function not just as an aesthetic but as a strategy to raise awareness and criticality about the everyday and the basic right to water." As Diedra and Damali stressed to Gardner Road students, their artwork is both collaborative and activist at the same time.

Diedra Krieger with camera at Gardner Road Elementary School

collaboration, activism, digital media, performance art, contemporary art

Diedra's dome is the site of video-shoots as well as the site where the videos can be viewed. Of course, the Hudson River School artists did not have access to the sophisticated technology used to create digital art, but if you frequent galleries and museums today - especially in large cities, a good share of the art work you see is digital or in the form of installation. At Gardner Road, students were able to witness part of Diedra's process as well as that of Damali Abrams. They watched performances via video by the artists, and then collaboratively improvised their own performances and created their own videos. They also made posters which contained messages about conservation and served as "commercials" for their videos - just as the artists have done. For this experience, the process was much more important than the product.

For the Birds Too - an interactive installation of multiple "flying" bird sculptures at the Rathbone Gallery, The Sage Collegs, Albany, NY, October 8 - November 10, 1998.

collaboration, digital media, performance art, contemporary art

This is an example of work that can be found in the galleries of today. http://www.janeingramallen.com/Janeweb-birdstatement/Sage/sage.htm

solitary artist, activist art, collaboration, close-up, performance artist, contemporary art

Damali Abrams is a multi-disciplinary artist who sometimes works alone and sometimes works with others. She is a performance artist, but, like Diedra, she also creates installations and does two-dimensional artwork. Among other interests, Damali is concerned with health and nutrition, self-esteem of children, literacy and increasing awareness of issues pertaining to race, gender and class. Gardner Road students were inspired by her video-art and learned about healthy habits as they did so!

Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, Swimming in the River, needlework and fabric collage

solitary artist, activist art, textile, two-dimensional media, landscape, contemporary art

In November, students of CRSP were also privileged to view a few works from a temporary exhibition of art by Holocaust Survivor, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz called "Fabric of Survival."

Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, along with her sister Mania, were the only members of their family, and among the few Jews in their Polish village, to survive the Holocaust....In 1977, at the age of 50, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz began creating works of fabric art to depict her stories of survival. Over a 20-year period she created a collection of 36 needlework and fabric collage pictures which are now on public exhibition. http://www.artandremembrance.org/

Krinitz' work is two-dimensional, but stands out in stark contrast to other works in the permanent collection at the museum. Krinitz' work was not created using paint on canvas, but her needle and thread. "Swimming in the River" depicts a happy time in Krinitz' young life - before the Nazi invasion. Next week, Center Street students will be studying with another artist who makes textile art (among other things) - Annemarie Zwack.

Oyler Wu, Collaborative installation “Live Wire”

Collaboration, installation, contemporary art

This is another example of art that might be found in a contemporary art gallery or museum today. http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/4565/live-wire-by-oyler-wu-collaborative.html

activist art, collaboration, close-up, digital media, performance art, contemporary art

Gardner Road Students watch their performances on video during class for the first time.



War against War by Kathe Kollwitz

solitary artist, activist art, two-dimensional media,

As with "For the Birds, Too," and "Live Wire," Kollwitz' art is not work we looked at, but is a good example of activist art by a woman who is not a contemporary artist. She created her drawings and prints about 90 years ago. She was the only woman who painted at the same time as a group of artists we now call the German Expressionists. Her art was a way to express her grief, her anger, and her frustrations during World War I.

The Survivors was used for a peace congress in 1922 in The Hague, Holland. The text on the right says: Do not teach the children to glorify the war and war hero's. Teach them to despise war. http://www.greatwar.nl/kollwitz/kollwitzkaart.html

Alice Walker Speaks the Truth, Annemarie Zwack, quilt

solitary artist, activist art, textile, two-dimensional media, contemporary art

Annemarie Zwack is one of our teaching artists who is visiting the schools for the Chemung River School project. She will be working with students at Center Street Elementary School in Horseheads starting Monday, January 26th. Like Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, Annemarie works with textiles. However, Krinitz did embroidery and needlework to create tapestry-like works, while Annemarie makes quilts. In addition to textile art, Ms. Zwack also paints, draws and works with a variety of mixed-media. To learn more about her, see her post on this blog called Annemarie Zwack joins Diedra Krieger and Damali Abrams in January

wide-angle

Miss Shutter, teacher extraordinaire, surrounded by her students during Diedra and Damali's program last week.

Miss Shutter close-up!

Thank you, Miss Shutter - and to all the teachers and staff at Gardner Road - Principal, Mrs. Lisa Kelly, 4th grade teachers, Mrs. Setzer, Mrs. Shutter and Mrs. Bates - for helping Diedra and Damali to create a memorable and enriching experience for the 4th grade students at Gardner Road!

*About the dymaxion map invented by Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller was the inventor of the geodesic dome and the dymaxion map. Students at Gardner Road were introduced to both during Diedra and Damali's program. They were given copies of two dimensional dymaxion maps and learned how to assemble them into globes. Fuller found existing flat maps to grossly distort the size and proportions of land and water masses. He found a way to stay true to proportions in replicating a spherical map (the globe) on a flat, two-dimensional surface. To learn more about Fuller and his ingenious ideas and inventions, go to

http://inventors.about.com/od/dstartinventions/a/domes.htm

Annemarie Zwack joins Diedra Krieger and Damali Abrams in January

Annemarie Zwack is a regional artist who brings lots of talent, enthusiasm and experience to the Chemung River School project. She has exhibited her work nationally, published a children's book, taught children through adults in regional schools and community art centers and was named Ithaca Festival ‘artist of the year’ for 2008. Among other places, her work has been reviewed in the Washington Post and, most recently, been seen in NYC at the Puffin Room.

She will be working with Center Street students in the coming weeks. She is perfect for the program as her passion for stewardship of the earth, its waters and environment are evident throughout all her work. Below is the cover to her children's book. Welcome Annemarie!





To read more about Annemarie, visit her web-site at http://www.zwackart.com/

November tours at the Arnot Art Museum

Janna Keser in the East Gallery at the Arnot Art Museum

In November, 2008, Chemung River School Project students (or CRSP) visited the Arnot Art Museum for tours and a hands-on activity with museum educators and visiting artist, Janna Keser. Janna provided the students with an intensive introduction to the Hudson River School of painting which included works by Thomas Cole, and Alfred Bierstadt. By studying the past and the effects of artists on society, and by studying contemporary artists and their aims, students can begin to see themselves as agents of change in their environment. Through the analysis and interpretation of artwork, students develop skills in expressing ideas, feelings, and attitudes - all evidence of a successfully developed human being. These skills are part of an ongoing process for students (and adults). The study of historical and contemporary artists will assist the students in their struggles with different media and with their own personal expression in their art work. Familiarity with visiting museums will create comfort in their adult lives with viewing artwork and formulating their own opinions about it.

During Janna's program, students learned that the Hudson River School artists were a group of American painters who lived in the mid-19th century. They painted romantic landscapes depicting the scenery of the Catskill Mountains, the Adirondack Mountains of New York State and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In their own way, these painters were activists and presented the land in a way that moved people to want to preserve it. Thus, they were very instrumental in the formation of our first national parks.

Autumn in the Catskills, Thomas Cole, 1827, Oil on panel

Using maps and photographs, Janna also introduced students to famous rivers of the world including the Nile, Amazon, Yangtze, Ganges, Danube, Seine, Thames, Mississippi, Colorado, Hudson, Susquehanna and Chemung. In her discussion, she included the uses of rivers and environmental concerns. Students engaged in a group exercise with colored pencil drawings to show how the landscape of the river may have changed from the mid-19th Century to the present. Her objectives included:

•To explain how artists can effect societal and environmental change.
•To explore the importance of artists in society.
•To examine processes used by artists.
•To inspire spontaneity, creativity and confidence in students.
•To examine a wide variety of artistic expressions.
•To illustrate how artists can create awareness of the environment by studying artists of the past.
•To explain the importance of the Hudson River School artists in American history
•To explore reasons Hudson River School artists painted landscapes.
•To compare and contrast contemporary artists with Hudson River School artists.

While Janna did her presentation, a second class was busy in the Picture Gallery at the museum for a tour and introduction to the permanent collection. In the photograph below, Rick Pirozzolo greets the students and tells them true stories about the origins of the museum, giving students some valuable insights into their regional heritage. The picture gallery is special as it has been preserved from the days when the Arnot Art Museum was the residence of Matthias Arnot, founder of the museum. All the original furniture and sculptures remain and the landscapes, interiors, portraits and still lifes are still hung in salon style, just as Matthias Arnot preferred.

Students were given various activities, including a "scavenger hunt" which encouraged them to look closer at the paintings as they were introduced to works by European artists - some of whom lived several centuries ago. Below is just a sampling of the museum's permanent collection to which the students were introduced.

A Mountain Stream, Gustave Courbet, 1860, Oil on canvas.

Although this depicts a stream in France, it feels very close in spirit to the work of the Hudson River School artists who lived and worked across the Atlantic Ocean!

The Flemish Fair, Jan Brueghel, the Elder, 1613, Oil on copper

Painted 400 years ago, students can get an idea of the architecture, clothing, and customs of the period in Northern Europe. Jan Brueghel, the Elder, was the son of Pieter Breughel, a very famous painter. In this painting, he took a “bird’s-eye” view. A Flemish Fair is set on the banks of a canal. In it you can see the village church and another village off in deep space. How does Brueghel create this sense of space?

Apple Gatherers, Jean-Francois Millet, 1851-1853, Oil on canvas

Millet was a painter who was interested in the lives of common folk. In "Apple Gatherers," he depicts peasants picking fruit at night in this unusual scene. Do you remember what a peasant is?

The Marabou, Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1889, Oil on canvas

"The Marabou" was painted by a French artist, but the scene is thought to take place in the Middle East. The marabou is the bird to the right, a bird found in Africa and noted for its lack of ability to make sounds. Some students thought the marabou was a metaphor for the man in gold - a very sophisticated interpretation for fourth graders.

Head of a Man, Robert Henri, 1910
Oil on canvas, 24 x 20-1/4"Museum purchase, 1966

This painting was one of the few portraits students looked at during their tour. It was painted much more recently than many of the other paintings in the picture gallery. The painting technique is looser here and this is a portrait of another "common" man. Henri, along with eight other artists who painted in 1908, formed "The Ash Can School" of art because of their interest in everyday life and social issues.

Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, Janiszew Prison Camp, embroidery and fabric collage

Born in 1927, Esther survived World War II. Untrained as an artist, but trained as a dressmaker, Krinits embroidered these works for her two daughters at the age of 50. She had no idea they would ever be displayed for the public. At first, she wanted her daughter to draw the pictures for her, but her daughter said she would have no idea what the places and people looked like. They consist of Krinitz' memories as a young girl while she was growing up in a Polish village during World War II. When she was 12 years old, German soldiers invaded her town. JANISZEW PRISON CAMP illustrates her memory of that awful event. To learn more about Esther Krinitz and her work, go to http://www.artandremembrance.com/

Below are photographs of some of the many students, teachers, museum staff and parents and grandparents who participated in the activities at the museum.

Mothers pose with their sons in the photographs above.

Students scramble to find all the paintings during the scavenger hunt.

Students discover that looking requires time and close observation.


Bob Bartley, 4th grade teacher at Center Street School, discusses a painting with his students during the scavenger hunt in the Picture Gallery.

Chemung Elementary School 4th grade teacher, Jeanne Gridley, artist/educator, Janna Keser and Director of Tours, Wendy Taylor, look on.


Another mother and son.



Even grandmothers accompany their grandchildren on the tours.

http://www.artandremembrance.com/

In sum, many of the artists to whom the students were introduced had many similarities. Except for a few marble sculptures and the embroidered collages of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz, all the artists painted on canvas. They painted highlly representational landscapes, interiors and portraits. Additionally, many of the artists were also activists who had a variety of social concerns. In January, students will meet contemporary artists who, like their predecessors, care deeply about creating awareness of injustices and social concerns. The media they choose, however, is vastly different, impressing upon students the wide range of what it means to be an artist.

Vocabulary words and concepts:
•original
•reproduction
•artist
•collector
•landscape
•portrait
•sculpture
•bust
•embroidery
•textile
•Hudson River School
•John Arnot
•Matthias Arnot
•salon
•World War II

Native American culture at the Chemung Valley History Museum

This mastodon tusk is on display at the Chemung Valley History Museum. Students involved with the Chemung River School Project visited the museum this week for Native American presentations facilitated by Joan Neece and Lois Lovgren. The mastodon tusk is significant because the Chemung River got its name when such a horn was discovered there by the Woodland Indians. The Native American word for "Chemung" was pronounced "Shee-nung," meaning "River of Horns."

From the left, Chemung Valley History Museum Director of Education, Kerry Lippincott, poses with Lois Lovgren, "Star Power, " and Joan Neece, "Owl Woman," at the museum for presentations for 4th grade students at Center Street in Horseheads. Lois presented examples of rainmakers to the students during a workshop she led on Native American crafts. Students also made jewelry, dolls, dream pillows and many more things. Center Street teacher, Amy Karastury, is shown with her students who display the dream pillows they made under the tutelage of Lois Lovgren. Beth Sheahan accompanied her daughter, Marie, while a friend gets in on the picture!

Marie Collings poses with her grandson, Patrick Broman.

Elaine Benton, teacher, sits with her students in the big gallery at Chemung Valley History Museum for some Native American folklore, history, drumming and chanting. See the video below for a sample of the program.

Owl Woman gestures toward the sky as she relates a fable explaining how the the stars were formed with the help of some of the creatures of our planet. As Joan explained to her attentive audience, fables always involve animals with human characteristics and always contain a moral to the story. The concepts of good and evil are usually represented with no chance of confusing the two. In fables, good most always wins over evil. In this particular myth, the cast of characters includes a badger, an eagle, a buzzard, a sparrow and a woodpecker trying to solve a hunger crisis. There is not enough food for all the creatures of the forest to eat, so the animals form a committee to brainstorm solutions. It is decided that the reason for the food shortage is that it is too dark for the plants to grow. The badger decided they must enlist someone to poke holes in the sky to let more light in for the plants. The badger is a creature with lots of good ideas. The eagle, being a big strong and proud bird volunteers to try flying up to the top of the sky to perforate the membrane separating our world from the light. However, the eagle is just too big to endure the ascension. He returns, tired, defeated and humbled. Many more take up the challenge, but will any of them be able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task? Will they eat or starve?

This is just one of many tales Joan has to tell with lessons to be learned about working together, brainstorming, humility and appreciating the complexity and fragility of the planet.