(Pause for reaction)

Yes, a real table. Like made out of wood and nails and stuff.

Many people have asked me how I did it, and quite honestly, I have no idea. When I first moved into my new house in December, I had everything I needed minus a kitchen table. I spent months trying to look for just the right set. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t’ find anything that I liked that would seat as many people as I wanted it to, and was somewhat affordable. I’m a big fan of a “What I Know” list’s. So here it goes.

What I know: I need a table. I want it to be wood. I want it to have wrought iron legs. I want it to seat 6-8. I want it to look cool. I want it to be affordable. I want to be able to take it when I move next.

Considering all my knowns, I remember saying to a friend, “Can’t I just make one?” She laughed and said, someone can make one, but you can’t. Those of you who know me, know I like to get mani/pedi’s and my outfits always have matching accessories. So I understand why the thought of me getting my nails dirty caused laughter.

Martin Luther King weekend I was in DC visiting with a friend and was so inspired when I walked into his dinning room to see a table HE MADE! It was exactly what I wanted. Thanks to Jake and Juan, my inspiration was set, my example was in front of me, and it was Go time.

Jake and Juan’s table = My Inspiration.

I should also mention that I don’t like when people tell me I can’t do something. I work hard every day to prove myself in my talent and my passion, telling me I can’t is just a challenge.

So I came home and the next night, at about 8:30 pm, I headed off to Home Depot to start the adventure. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I walked to the bare wood section and was instantly overwhelmed. I had an idea in my head, but no plans on paper. I didn’t even have measurements figured out. I meant a nice guy, his name is Brendan. He talked me through the steps of assembling the wood into a table top, and building the square base to attach it all. Without Brendan , I am convinced my table would be lop sided with jagged ends. Thank you Brendan, you will always be remembered.

That being said. This is how it all started.

I stayed up a majority of the first night beating the smooth out of plain planks of wood. Luckily, work had been a little stressful, so I had a lot of frustration to take out in my first attempt at distressing anything. After I got the grooves how I wanted them using only a screw driver and a pink hammer, I took to the stain. Somewhere around plank number three, I had to take a break and get to bed.  Not gunna lie, I was sore the next day. But right after work, I got right back at it. After two days of intense distressing and a few curse words when I would get a splinter, the planks were distressed and stained.

This entire time I had been looking for what would be the perfect chairs. I checked local antique shops and stopped by garage sales. In my head a mix max of chairs would look cute, but I didn’t know if I could actually have the patience to get them one by one and piece it together. One Saturday afternoon I was randomly driving by a thrift store I had never been to before, when I noticed from the road some chairs on the side of the building. I didn’t get a good look at them as it was a green light, but they caught my interest enough for me to make a sharp u-turn and wonder to the drop off section. When I pulled up I was shocked to find 6 perfectly good conditioned, ugly colored, wooden chairs with wrought iron dots on them.  The guy who had just dropped them off, wasn’t even out of the parking lot yet. I looked for a sales associate, and finally found a guy working in receiving. I asked him how much it would take to bypass the process and buy the chairs right then and there. He said five Dollars. I looked at him and said, “each?”. I was so ready to throw 30 dollars down for six cool chairs. He looked up and said, “No. five dollars for all of them.” I must have looked stunned and stoked all at the same time, because he offered to help me play Tetris and put them in my car. As we were loading them in, he saw my box of old PDN photo magazines, and asked what they were. I explained that I was a teacher and was going to take them in for my photo students to look through. He asked me if he could check em out. He said he was an aspiring photographer himself. So five dollars and a few PDN’s later, I had found myself six great chairs.

Now don’t get me wrong, they needed some work, but I could totally see the potential. So I took the yard with my paint thinner and scrapper and began what would be the longest process of the adventure. I stripped, stained, re-stained and shellacked all 6 chairs. I’m thankful for the smooth eyes of the wonderful Melissa Lyttle who wouldn’t let my chairs be streaky. She helped pick up some of my staining slack!

While each char was drying, I continued to work on the base of the table. you can see it in the background of the picture above. The idea was that I would build a square just short of the actual table dimensions, so I would have added support and something to connect the planks too. This is the first step where I needed a power toll. Yes, I successfully used a drill and didn’t hurt anyone.

The next step was by far the hardest, and the most critical. It was also the part in the project where I thought my table was over and I would just have to suck it up and buy and expensive one that was put together by professionals. It was time to attach all the planks. My original thought was to screw them into the base from underneath and just go from there. But my roommate and Melissa convinced me that wood glue was probably the better route to take. So, given the no experience I have attaching planks, I drove myself back over to home depot and bought some Elmer’s wood glue. If you ever work with wood glue, take my advice and wait longer than the bottle says you need to before you attempt to move your project. I had no reason not to believe the bottle. Melissa and I had successfully glued three planks together and clamped them. We then glued the other 4 and clamped them. We waiting a half hour like the bottle said.

We then proceed to remove the clamps and attach all 7 together. Out of no where it was as if Mr. Elmer himself came down and knocked over all the planks. It seriously was the loudest crash I’ve heard in a long time. I looked up at Melissa and we were both frozen. Wood glue was dripping everywhere. The planks were out of order. I thought it was all over. We went into damage control mode. Quickly gathered each piece of wood plank by plank and attached them with clamps. Finally we cleaned off the excess glue and we were good to go. Even though it said 30 minutes, I let it sit for 3 days this time.

So as the table top sat and dried, it was time to figure out the legs. I really wanted wrought iron, but man oh man it is so expensive not to mention hard to find. Jake and Juan had tipped me off to the metal pipping section at the Home Depot and Lowes. So I went on an adventure one night to see what I could find.

I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of metal pipes that existed at a hardware store.

So after picking out four,  four feet high petal pipes and eight flanges , I was ready to assemble some legs.

From here the process moved rather quickly. I scraped off all the junk from the outside of the metal poles and spray painted them all to match.

From there I attached the table top to the base from underneath. I also used some flat brackets to reinforce the planks. One the legs were dried I attached them to the base and we were good to go!

Then came the real test. It was time to check out the strength of the legs and flatness of the top surface. I thought ahead to build the top and base on the concrete, instead of the grass to help with the flat top. After all, my goal was to be able to put a glass on it, and not have it tip over. 

Tada! It worked!

After I stood it up, I just sat on the steps on my back porch and looked at it for a minute. I still can’t believe I made it happen.

I never thought a table could teach me so much. Never before in my life have I set out to build something of this magnitude. I mean I put together a book shelf or two from ikea, but never from scratch. It was real rewarding to watch something come together that I was building on my own, with my two hands. It was the first project I’ve done in a long time where I’ve seen the instant reward of my labor. With photography and teaching, the sense of accomplishment seems to follow much later. With building a table, it was instant. I watched it come together, fall apart, and become what all the little pieces were leading up to it being. There’s definitely something to be said for knowing what you want, and not stopping until you get it. Now the tables not perfect, but it’s mine. I can now say that I successfully built a really cool table!

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” – Muhammad Ali

It truly was the missing link to my wonderful house.

My first ever exposure to “The Mall” without clothing stores, was during President Obama’s Inauguration. It was cold, the streets were packed, and my eyes were on visual overload. CLICK HERE to see photos.

Take 2 was when my students won the award for Best Student Newspaper grades 7-12.  I had the opportunity to take a student on her first ever plane ride and watch her world open up in front of her. CLICK HERE to see photos.

This last time was a trip where my worlds of teacher, freelance photographer, artist and friend all collided. My students have been working hard this year to participate in the PBS Newshour EXTRA student reporting labs. The goal of the project is to get right to the source by teaching students video and multimedia, and empowering them through their craft to tell stories of injustice and dropout in their schools.

This past January, PBS gathered together the teachers involved with the program from schools all over the nation, for a weekend of sharing tactics and inspiration. The experience was so memorable. Sitting in a conference room at the PBS headquarters, I was surrounded by game changers of the visual education world. Teachers who were pushing their students to think outside the box and cover hard hitting stories that would make a difference, all in between learning the basics of math and science in their daily routine. It is so encouraging to meet other teachers who are dedicated to the power of visual storytelling, and the strength that students have in their voices.

To hear some from the teachers at the workshop, CLICK HERE.

And since teachers are real people too… Shhh don’t tell our students, I was able to convince a small crew to go exploring after our final meeting. My favorite part of DC by far is the Lincoln Memorial at night. So three of us teachers, plus the lovely Tom McCarthy, hit the streets of the capitol to see what we could see. Such an incredible night. I even got Gil Garcia, the film production teacher form Austin High School, to Tebow at the MLK memorial. Just sayin.. Go Gators!

Monuments from Luanne Dietz on Vimeo.

At the end of last year the PBS Newshour, along with NPR, contacted our journalism program and asked if our students would want to be a part of their Student Reporting Labs. At the time, we didn’t know much of what we were getting ourselves into, but we were ready for the challenge. Student Reporting Labs is an amazing program connecting urban schools with mentors in the broadcast field, and challenging students to step up and beyond in creating video packages focused around educational, social and economic issues.

Right away as my students began to brainstorm ideas, I knew they were onto something.

One of my eighth-grade photographers, De’Qonton Davis, came up with the idea of “Why do students fight.” He said that the reason behind why there are fights at school, was not even related to anything that happened at school. He traced it back from the home, to the streets, to the gangs and then onto campus.  He was convinced that by the time students fight, they don’t even know what they are fighting for. De’Qonton along with his team of reporters, photographers and editors, took to the halls to tell the balanced story behind middle school fights.

Now John Hopkins has seen its fair share of fights over the last three years, no one is denying that. But one thing that struck me about the students desire to cover the topic was that they said they felt that none of the stories they had seen about the fights at J.Hop went as deep to figure out why. In my classroom daily we stress the 5 w’s of journalism. Who, What, When, Where and Why. A story is not complete without the why.

So stretched out over 4 months and mixed in with producing our first print paper of the year, keeping our website up to date, and producing a morning TV show, the students worked hard to tell the full story. (Check out on the front right of our website to see our first print edition!  Click Here)

To say they did a great job would be an understatement.

As a teacher in the program, I was blown away at the ability of our students. I mean I always knew they were good, but they totally out did themselves this time. The end product was a 6 minute and 58 second video showing all sides of the story. They came up with questions and video interviewed our principal, our magnet coordinator, our school resource officer, a teacher who had been assaulted, and a seventh grade girl who has gotten in trouble this year for fighting. They transcribed the interviews, wrote the script, captured the b-roll, pieced the video together, edited audio levels, and most importantly they checked their facts.  They did their do diligence, and it showed.

Although the video is powerful, the story that gets me is the one of the students who made it. Most of the students working on the project live in the neighborhoods surrounding the school. They are a product of their environment, yet they are learning the power they have to change it, and rise above it. Three weeks ago when the video went live on PBS’s site, I pulled it up in class to show the students. They couldn’t stop smiling. De’Qonton burst out with “I’m a superstar!” Our web editor was on line checking the numbers behind how many people had watched the video, and she was shocked. People are actually looking she said. This project has been such an eye opener for my students. It’s broadened their horizons to see past the neighborhoods they live in, and past the city they go to school in, and past the state they call home. It’s given them a bigger picture of the influence they can have on a national level.

This is the kind of change I hoped to bring when I decided to work in a classroom.  I am so thankful Student Reporting Labs has given us the push we needed to take our storytelling to the next level.

One of the most rewarding things through all of this for me as a photography teacher is being able to show them the power they have through their craft to bring change. I am so proud of my students and how they’ve stepped up to make sure their voice is heard. If I can teach my students that they have a voice in their community, and that they don’t have to settle for what the community says as normal, but that they can speak up and challenge that very definition, then it will be a job well done.

That being said, we still have one more PBS project to produce this year. So stay tuned. Keep John Hopkins Middle School and our journalism program on your radar.

One thing I’ve learned through teaching at a middle school is that these students have powerful voices. It’s my job now to help direct those voices to fall onto ears who will truly listen, and supply them with the help they are crying out for.

To see my students video, Click Here.

And make sure to read what De’Qonton has to say on the PBS site. I’m so proud of him and all my other students who are stepping up to realize their potential, and using art to get there. “I’m proud of my work. Seeing my photos in print, and finishing this PBS project, makes me feel like I can do anything. I have come a long way and I can’t stop now. Seeing my finished projects makes me feel like a millionaire.” – De’Qonton Davis

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If you’re not sick of my proud teacher rantings by now, check out the story the Tampa Bay Times (St. Pete Times), reported on De’Qonton and our program. Click Here!
I’m so thankful to be making a difference.

These pictures were taken for no one but myself. They are merely a representation of experiences I’ve had, places I’ve gone and people I love.

Help Portrait: Mosley Motel, St. Pete

Tourist: Liberty Bell, P.A.

Neighbors: Jersey Shore, N.J.

Grandma: Her Beach, N.J.

Leap of Faith: Burnsville, N.C.

Complete comfort: Atlanta, GA.

Lunch Break: South Street Sea Port, NYC

Summer Wave: Manhattan Beach, C.A.

Never really alone: Kittle, N.C.

Reflections in a place like home: Shore, N.J.

Road to heaven: Mt. St. Helens, W.A

Growing up is a funny thing. Over the last 18 years that I’ve known Brandon we’ve been through a lot together. When we first met in 3rd grade, I was the smart one. The big to-do of the year was when I won our “Math Superstars” competition, and beat him out of a trophy and a Butterfinger candy bar!  In High school, we both started off in the honors magnet program together. Shortly there after, I found photography and started hiding out in the darkroom instead of the biology lab. Roles began to turn. Our senior year, Brandon graduating with the step of honor for “Math”, not to mention he would go on to become an aerospace engineer.  There was a day our senior year, when I met him by his car with a KING SIZE Butterfinger, I had to figure in interest, to prove my surrender. We joked that if he ever ate it our friendship would be over. To this day that candy bar still sits on his dresser at his parents house.

After high school there was college. We both went off to the University of Central Florida together to become Golden Knights! We were growing up. But most importantly, we were growing up together. Sophomore year in Florida proved to be one of the worst hurricane seasons I can remember being alive for. As a result of the need to “Honker Down,” I brought some friends out of the direct path of the storm and home to Sarasota. As did Brandon.

That’s where it all started.

Meet Esther….

Esther and I met through a mutual friends in college, and saw hurricane season as a way to escape the middle of the state and head to the beach. Shortly after arriving in Sarasota my worlds collided. Brandon met Esther for the first time that week.  Thanks to the lovely need to evacuate and stay dry, we all got to spend a lot of time together.

Now, four years later, they are inseparable. On April 1st 2011, Brandon proposed to Esther on that very beach where they met.

It makes my heart so happy to see them happy together.

When Brandon and I were younger we always talked about being friends forever. But as a teenager, who really knows what forever means. Our senior year of high school, he signed my year book and said it’s been a nice decade knowing you. In March, I’ll sign his wedding card saying I wouldn’t have made it for the past two decades without you.

So here’s to my best friend and his fiance! I am so grateful to be sharing their journey with them.

Happy 2012! Nothing like starting the year with some inspiration.

As artist we often get so caught up in the creation of the product, that we forget the reason the product exist.

A few weeks back I walked my students through a lesson that was inspired by JR’s TED Talk “One wish to change the world.”  After watching their faces light up as they saw JR’s images grace the tops of trains and come to life on stonewalls in India, I challenged by students to answer that one question for themselves. “Can art change the world?”

Their answers were both educated, and honest.

If I teach them nothing more than the power of their voice, and open their eyes to ways they can walk in that power to help bring change, then it will be a successful year.

Here’s to a year that proves the impossible, possible!

Yes

Charles, 7th grade: Art can change the world. It brings people together as one. One picture can unite the country and stop all this hatred. Art shows love and peace.

Dahlia, 8th grade: Art can change the world because you can express your feelings in art using realistic items in your drawings. If someone does graffiti then they can change the world. If the town is destroyed then art could bring out the world. Art can make people forget what their town looks like. But it can never change someone’s feelings about where they come from. So yes, I think art can change the world.

Krysta, 8th grade: I think that it can change the world because it expresses people’s opinions, thoughts and theory. It makes people wonder and stimulates people’s imagination in ways that could never be done if it weren’t for art. It also affects the artist point of view. It lets them relax and just let emotions flow onto paper. It spreads their feelings around for all to see from their point of view.

Daesha, 8th grade: I believe that art can change the world. We have so many different types of cultures and people who create art that is so unusual and catchy to the eyes of mankind. Art can change the world. Art describes so many things. It expresses people’s lives through things that go on. People use art in the way they live, everyday. Art is telling life stories.

De’Janique, 7th grade: Art can change the world because it can send a positive message to others, and effect them. People could take to the message and actually change their lives.

Hailey, 8th grade: Yes, because many artist and musicians can change the personalities of people. Bob Marley motivates me everyday. He inspired me to just lay back and let life do its roll. Just like music would change me, art expresses people. Leonardo Da Vinci inspires people. Without his art, those people wouldn’t be the same. There for the world has been changed, person by person. Also, think about patterns on t-shirts., and company logos. those are art. Imagine life without cool designs. How would everything be.

Brandon, 7th grade: Art can change the world by letting you express your feelings to people. Art lets you tell your life, but it also is a skill. When you do art, it is mostly what you feel or have been through in your lifetime. Art is what is inside everybody, even if you say it’s not. It’s life.

Jalen, 8th grade: I think that depending on how much effort, passion and preparation, anyone can change the world. Just think about Michael Jackson. He was a great singer and entertainer and his music was international and he will always be remembered. For example, the artist Dali. His paintings were extraordinary, and magnificent, and his art gave a new perspective to the world. He has changed art forever. Depending on the decisions, determination and effort, you, or anyone can change the world.  All you have to do is stand up and be bold and strong and push forward in what you believe.

NO

William, 8th grade: No, because art cannot stop wars or the production of nuclear weapons. Even if someone takes the nicest picture or the coolest painting, dictators will still stay the same. Some people never change, not even for art.

Chelsey, 8th grade: Can art change the world?, no, art cannot change the whole world. Not everyone has the same point of view. Not everyone will take the time to look at art. Some people in the world don’t care for other people or even themselves. I think art can change some parts of the world, but not the whole world.

Deondrick, 8th grade: No because what would make you think that art can stop war or rebellions or even marches. It’s like saying you want to fight someone then you look at a painting and decide I don’t want to fight you no more, because I looked at art. Now I can see if you can relate to what’s happening in the picture, maybe that can change peoples mood and brighten their day.

Peyton, 8th grade: I do not believe art can change the world. It is simply the expression of someone’s feelings and the attitude that the person who painted, drew, photographed or sculpted it feel. Art is simply something for people to think about that can give you a different angle on simple things.  Art shows a persons opinion or inner feelings about conflict.