When I was a child, my grandmother owned Thanksgiving and it was delightfully predictable every year. Turkey with all the trimmings. Football on TV. Kids ate in the kitchen until we eventually graduated to the dining room. And there was the traditional penny ante poker game after dinner. All I had to do was show up.
My grandmother passed and my mother took over for a couple years before my parents moved to Florida. By now, she was a grandmother and dished up the comfort of tradition just like her mother-in-law. All I had to do was show up, with the kids of course.
Then Thanksgiving changed. My parents moved. My ex left. It was too expensive to travel to Florida for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we reserved the traveling for Christmas. The kids and I were alone for a number of years and it was a time for new traditions. Of course, the turkey with all the trimmings was a must, even though it was just the three of us. We would watch the parade on TV, take a walk and play Monopoly. And at dinner, each of us would take a turn to say what we were most thankful for.
When Henry entered my life in 2002, Thanksgiving began to evolve a bit. The turkey dinner has stayed the same, but the guests over the years have included Kimberly and Angela, Henry’s mom Agnes and my family. Last year, for the first time, we traveled to North Carolina for Thanksgiving.
This year, Agnes came for a visit and Henry’s girls were on the scene Wednesday for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. Corey was home from college as well so we had four at the Thanksgiving table this year. Calvin and Vicki were on their own in Seattle, both having their first Thanksgiving away from home.
While home from school on Thanksgiving break, Corey had a final video project to work on. The assignment was to create a video self-portrait. His idea was to film me giving him a haircut while the camera rotated in a circle around us offering a 360-degree perspective. Special effects and audio would complete the story he wished to tell. This project had two particularly challenging elements: it had to be a one-take shot and we had to build some kind of track or device that would allow the camera to circle slowly and steadily around us.
This is where the super hero engineering geniuses in the family dashed onto the scene to create one of the most jerry-rigged Rube Goldberg contraptions ever invented to hold a camera and rotate it in a circle. Translation: Corey, Henry and I converted a rotating Christmas tree stand, 1x2 wood board, bread basket, three Progresso soup cans, two 3-lb. dumbbells, a tripod bracket, wire, plastic cable ties and one video camera into a device that attached to the basement ceiling. With the camera mounted on one end of the board that was attached to the tree stand, a simple flip of the switch turned on the motor allowing the camera to slowly revolve in a circle around center stage, barber mom giving son a haircut. The result had the sophistication of Hollywood. A smooth, clear, perfect shot. One take. Done.
On to audio. Corey recorded me reflecting on past incidents in his life. His plan was to take snippets of these reflections, with some of his own, plus sound effects and music to create the finished portrait.
A work in progress review was scheduled for Tuesday. Enter Professor Jackass. After reviewing only four videos, he determined that no one had “grasped” the assignment and even though he did have positive comments about the work presented, he totally scrapped the project and assigned a new final project with less than a week to complete.
A self-portrait is one of the most personal undertakings of an artist. No matter what medium is used, a subjective portrayal of one’s self should be expressed without judgment. Skill, craftsmanship and creativity can all be evaluated. If a student did not complete the assignment or obviously did not take it seriously, then the professor can rightfully reason that the student has failed. This time, I think the professor failed.
I’ve often taught my kids that process is often more important than product. That’s where all the learning takes place. I guess we can chalk this project up to a great learning experience, especially if we are ever in a room with nothing to do and find a rotating Christmas tree stand, a video camera, a board, some wire, a bread basket, a tripod bracket, soup cans and dumbbells…just no jackasses please.
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