365 Days, Day 235

In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years (Jacques Barzun)

He's not pining, he's passed on. This parrot is no more. He has ceased to be. He's expired and gone to meet his maker. He's a stiff, bereft of life, he rests in peace. If you hadn't have nailed him to the perch he'd be pushing up the daisies. He's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot! (Monty Python)

That's the thing with magic. You've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you (Charles de Lint)

In Brighton today, we noticed a ticket warden observing a car and then he took a photograph of the car with a little camera. Up until that moment we hadn’t really looked at the man: he was an invisible person in a uniform. By doing something that we considered out of the ordinary, he lost his cloak of invisibility.

I have found that in general cleaning staff are ‘invisible’ to the public. At the Mall the cleaning staff expects to be invisible and looked a bit taken aback when I smile and say good morning.

One year when I taught HSS at school, in the exam, I put in a question for bonus marks: Name any two of the cleaning or maintenance staff at the school and their roles. Out of almost 200 students, only one student could name one of the cleaning staff. I received criticism for putting that question into an exam paper: as I had not told them to prepare for this question. It brought home my point – that to many of us, we regard certain roles or people in those roles as invisible.

Sometimes, it is glorious and desirable to be invisible and blend in with the crowd (especially on the days when you are having a bad-hair day and have not put on your lippy and hope that you won’t meet anyone you know – and then proceed to meet loads of people who know you).

At other times one resents being ‘invisible’…

So tip for the day: to loose the cloak of invisibility - do one little random out of place thing. Smile at someone… take a photograph of the roof…take your ex-parrot for a walk…dance in the rain…laugh out loud…talk to a stranger…

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Today’s Art Journal Prompt:

Art Journal Prompt for DAY 15

Use black ink and bleach on your art journal page