Blog #2 (ch.4-5)

"Velvet Art"
I suppose partly because I wasn't born until 1982, I am not familiar with "velvet Elvis" or "velvet Jesus." After reading these sections of the book by Quinones I decided to Google velvet art. The first thing that came as a result was children's art. This is something that I am familiar with and wondered if they were related or even the same thing. You know, the picture in black and white on velvet where you use special markers to color it in yourself, often a clown or scene of unicorns? I believe I may have completed one as a child, but I know my younger cousins have.

I did find it interesting that they actually hand painted all of the velvet art that was being loaded onto trucks around the clock. I'm sure it was such a relief to find a way to make money, but the labor was non-stop. I also wondered how many of the people painting suffered from brain injury due to the excessive amount of time around the fumes from the paint. And of course there was the fear that someone else would steal your secret idea and the competition would increase.

Wow...something just struck me. After consulting Google images and viewing several different ones, I realized that my grandmother has a "velvet Jesus" framed and hanging in her living room. I have always thought it was an interesting picture...unique and brilliant in its own way. After reading I know that this was cheap art for the not-so-wealthy person in the 1970s. That makes sense to me though because no one in my family is above the middle class socially, but my grandmother definitely has class in my book. Maybe they aren't so bad afterall. Perhaps I'll put dibs on that piece of art and put on display in my own home one day.

Ridicule for sharing?

I believe it depends on the location of the school. I currently work in a Title I (90% F/RL) with a very diverse population. At my school, I am not sure that students would have much to say to someone who shared this tradition of his family.

At a school with a much lower F/RL percentage, which is not very diverse, I could see this being more likely to occur. I put a lot of time and effort in creating a classroom environment from day one that is accepting, respectful, and kind. I believe that we all have our own little secrets about our families that we could keep under the table if we chose. However, there is so much value in learning about one another's backgrounds and experiences. I think that the best way to handle this ridicule is to be proactive in taking steps to prevent it all together.