I am not one to talk about myself. I find it incredibly difficult. I am much more content to listen to others, to make connections silently. However, when asked to remain silent while others talked about my collage, I had a difficult time. I wanted to jump in and explain, to show the connections, to share the stories of my connections to nature. But remaining silent gave me an opportunity to listen. Are the images that I put out to the world understood in the way that I intended?

For the most part, they were, in part because I used actual photos from my life. But I was surprised by some of the ideas that weren't picked up on that I thought were clear. I thought the quotes on my collage - "the stuff moments are made of" and "Lands of Make-Believe" - made clear my idea that nature was strongly tied to memories of childhood play. But instead, my group focused on camping. Interesting. A new perspective on my own work.

We need this - an audience to push our thinking, to challenge our point of view, to give us a fresh perspective. How often do I provide such opportunities to my students?