It all started about twenty years ago when I took a stained glass course at Dakota Stained Glass in Sioux Falls, SD. To make a long story shorter, I later become employed as a store manager and as an instructor for lamp and kaleidoscope construction. As I became more proficient in decorative soldering, I realized that not only my kaleidoscopes were functional for viewing beautiful refractive images, but their forms were also sculptural art pieces.

In 2016, after attempting to sell them at a local Sioux Falls gallery, I realized that I needed to expand my market to online sales. An artist friend recommended that I try setting up a shop on ETSY.com. The process of setting up a shop was relatively easy but I still needed a name for my shop. I researched “How to name your business” articles and knew that I wanted a name that I could use for stained glass and for my other artistic ventures.

So why Little Raven Design Company? To make another long story shorter, …I named it after my son. As a school project, my youngest son Duncan needed to find why his parents had given him the name “Duncan” and what the name meant. As I read the multiple references to the name, “Duncan,” I came across one that read, “dark warrior.” For those of you with young sons, you probably already know that this is exactly what seven-year-old boys want to be. The “dark warrior” image is mysterious, ominous…. dangerous. As Duncan sheepishly grinned with approval, my older son, Brennan, asked what his name referred to. Brennan was not as happy when I read out loud “little raven.” And I don’t suppose it helped his fragile ego that I added a “Oh, that’s so cute!” to the end of my sentence. Maybe I was trying to make it up to him for giving him the name Brennan or maybe I think of the humor associated with the little raven reference.

As a student of STI and in order to graduate from my chosen program, I am required to take a two-credit course on Microsoft Office products which includes Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and Access. Prior to enrolling at STI and purchasing my Mac, I was a common PC user; I worked on various Windows versions throughout my career and also used Microsoft Office for many home-based projects. Although it had been many years since I had worked with MS Office, I was confident that I could “test out” of this class by using the summer break time to study for the exam.

First, I wrote out a calendar schedule, allowing a couple weeks for each MS product. Using my library access, I found many tutorials on Lynda libraries which also included exercise files I could download. I also found many free tutorials just by doing a Google search. During the last few weeks, I went through each of the “objectives” listing which was given to me by STI testing department and made notes for each objective. At lastly, I used STI’s VMware to access Excel, Powerpoint, Access, and Word to practice each objective. The night before the test, I reviewed and memorized my notes. On June 25th, I took the exam and passed with 98% proficiency.

Believe it or not, my reasoning for writing this blog entry is not to blow my own horn, but to discuss a mindset that, frankly, has frustrated me for years. A week before the exam, I confided to a family member that I had been very busy studying for the test and was a little apprehensive about not passing. Her response to me was, “You’re smart; you’ll pass it.” I absolutely understand that she truly meant this as a complement and that it was said to calm my doubts. However, it also made me wonder why the labels – “smart”, “dumb”, “beautiful” and “ugly” – that people impose on themselves or others seem more important or tangible than the “actions” or behavior of people. I didn’t pass the exam because I magically became “smart”; I passed the exam because I worked my butt off.

This situation also made me think about what people consider as “smart.” Howard Gardener was a psychologist and educator who defined nine types of intelligence: from “logical” which is what most people think of as intelligence … to “bodily-kinesthetic” which describes the brain-body connections of an athlete. A scholar needs to research his thesis, and an athlete must spend countless hours perfecting their sport. Why is it that most think of the definition of “smart” , as a some special ability that one possesses without any effort? With the exception of the rare prodigy, maybe “being smart” means doing one’s homework and being driven to achieve one’s goals.

This past week my husband, son, granddaughter, and I took a road trip to the Twin Cities. We had planned the vacation around activities which a six-year-old would enjoy. The first day, we first traveled to Mall of America.

My son and husband took turns riding with my granddaughter on a variety of activities.

Both my husband and son were wonderful “riding buddies” even though many of the rides were not designed for adults who are over six feet tall. I think the granddaughter liked most of the rides. Although, at the end of the day, whenever we asked her “what was your favorite ride?” , she would reply “Not the log ride!”

On the second day, we traveled to St. Paul’s Minnesota Science Museum. One of the exhibits, was a news anchor desk with the teleprompter; future newscaster? The featured exhibit was a large area which displayed replications of Leonardo Da Vinci’s. The designers of this exhibit created a beautiful tranquil space which displayed Da Vinci’s two dimensional drawings to 3D sculptures.

Later that day, we stayed at a hotel which had a water park where we spend the rest of the day. After a good night’s rest, we headed back to Sioux Falls.

Some of my happiest childhood memories are those of my maternal grandmother’s farm. Maybe it was that she grew up during the Depression, but my grandmother knew how to be self sufficient. She kept chickens, sheep, and cattle, but also grew her own fruits and vegetables in her massive gardens and orchards. As a child, she would teach me how to plant and harvest everything from apples to zucchini. A sea of flora containing bachelor buttons, snapdragons, and geraniums flooded through the front pasture until it was stopped by the gravel road leading to the farmhouse. I believe that these childhood memories are the reason why I enjoy gardening today.

Oh, did I mention I had a pony! Every little girl’s dream, right?

This year, I wanted to create similar memories with my granddaughter who is six years old. So I purchased an few packets of flower seeds, a tomato plant, a few onion sets, and seeds for peas and carrots. It wasn’t a pony, but I got her a pink matching set of garden gloves and a hat. So one afternoon, donned in her hat, gloves and sundress, we planted “her” garden in one of the established raised beds. And although we didn’t perhaps accurately plant the seeds according to the directions , I hope that she will have obtained some great memories of the time we spent together.