Taken Away From Class

I missed class today.  I hate that.

I despise missing class. I'm paying to learn and by not showing up I'm cheating myself. But there was a good reason for missing. Family first, and all that. While I was sitting in the hospital waiting room I realized three things.

1. Every time I drive my dad's minivan I immediately start singing "I've got no strings" from Pinocchio. I don't know why. It's quite annoying.

2. I'm exhausted. After a weekend of last minute homework I really need a nap. I eventually got one while sitting in my dad's hospital room. He's the one who had surgery, but it was mom and me who took a nap. He was watching tv.

3. I have no idea what I'm doing. I just make shit up as I go along. And that's okay. I like me this way. I tend to question myself a lot. I have a lot of self doubt but I'm starting to realize that I'm no better and no worse than any other man, woman, or child. I don't think too many people are as confident as they let the world think. I'll just keep my head up and plow through life with as few cares as possible.

Hopefully today is the last day missed class.
See ya'll next week.

Tweet Tweet Little Robin

THE THEORY

The idea behind my project is to record my voice reciting my favorite poem. I will then take the audio file and create a digital image with the audio wave image. I will then play with it in Photoshop to create something. I want to print it out to create screen print on a canvas bag.

THE EXECUTION

Here is where I ran into issues. I hate to admit failure. But this time I'm going to have to throw in the towel, wave the white flag, beg mercy. I failed completely.

I made my audio recording...as best as I could with my crappy equipment will allow. I then tried to plug it into Encore. Tried being the operative word. I failed. So I tried to open the file with any program that would allow me to see the wave file. I failed with each and every one of them. I finally opened the file with AfterEffects and was able to see the sound file. It was totally not the file I wanted. I tried to screen shot it to put into Photoshop. It was such a bad image that I was not able to work with it.

I AM NOT DEFEATED!

I am not not going to let this set back get me down. By the end of this semester, I am going to figure out how to do what I want to do.

In theory, I would have had a final product that was completely different from the original. It would have gone from an audio to visual.

In theory, the lesson would have been that you can take inspiration from anywhere to create a visual work.

In reality, the lesson I learned is the pain of things not going as planned. I learned that I should have planned better. I WILL learn how to get the wave pattern from a sound file. I WILL learn how the merits of tenacity.

Are we taken away yet?

Take-Away....700.

I have taken out my contacts so as I’m typing this II can’t see a thing except blurs so I hope I don’t have too many typos. But here goes….

Art Therapy Session

I enjoyed the exercise from the art therapy book Beth brought to class. I enjoyed trying to come up with a story or sketch based on something we created with a word based on our projects. I found it quite humorous that so many people chose to try the hot and spicy route. Knowing how my stomach rebels against most foods I usually avoid hot and spicy. It was interesting how so many people felt comfortable enough to talk about the “end” results.

I also found it interesting that others tried some of the same fruit I tried. I know we were supposed to only try one new food, but I don’t seem to restrict myself too much when it comes to foods. I love trying new things. In fact, I plan on returning to Meijer soon to try some of the other fruits and veggies I saw there.

To tell the truth

I was kind of disappointed in some of the project reveals.  I probably did more than was needed, but it seemed others did less than they should. I have a hard time reminding myself that not everyone has the same work ethic as me. Not everyone values the same things I do. Not everyone is as excited to learn new ways to approach problems. I forget that so many of my classmates are so much younger than I am. I think that looking at problems from a different angle not only will aid us in getting un-stuck, but will also allow us to stand out in a sea of potential employers as one who can bring a new view to the table.

I’m going to quit typing now because my head is throbbing and I need to close my eyes. 

The Flavor of Kumquat sounds like...

Try Something New

That is the challenge of the day. Try something new.  To me this is not a difficult challenge other than I have an adventurous pallet and have already tried A LOT. Growing up, my grandfather would take us to ethnic restaurants, buy platters of everything on the menu, and require us to take three bites of everything. He said you can't really decide if you like something by only taking one bite. The first bite is filled with terror and the our preconceived ideas about how we are not going to like it. The second bite is a way of creating our own idea about what we've tried. And the third is a way of confirming our assessments. After our third bite, we could choose not to continue with that item or we could add it to our arsenal of flavors.

Because we were encouraged to try, I have tried a lot. I embraced Grandpa's philosophy on trying new things. I am usually the first in my group of friends to take a sample. I try not to influence them by telling them how something tastes because I don't want to ruin their first experience with a new flavor. 

This is a long way of saying that my challenge wasn't in trying something new but in finding something I haven't already tried. I wanted my choice to be something I could work with withing the parameters of the assignment. So I asked my friends to give me ideas of what I should try.  And then went with none of them. 

What I Tried

I decided to go with a fruit I've never tried before. I had originally decided on the ugli fruit. I took an exploratory trip to Mejiers because I had heard that they had a great selection of unusual fruits and vegetables. And did they ever! I ended up buying $30 worth of new fruits. I bought the ugli fruit, a blood orange, a star fruit, a prickly pear (which I really thought was a made up fruit from the jungle book, but low and behold it is real), and kumquats. And I tried them all. Some were good, others were disappointing. 

What I Chose

I decided to create my projects around the kumquat. And there is a reason for that. When I was little my mom always called me her little kumquat. I thought a kumquat was a nut or a melon. I had no idea it was a citrus fruit. I had no idea it was tiny. And I had no idea you ate the whole thing.  Funny thing is....neither did mom. She just like the name "kumquat."  

What I Did

I decided that because I was a visual communicator, I could not fall back on my normal visual methods. I don't know if you know this about me but I am a little competitive, and have a driving desire to go one step further. That being said, I decided to create a textural and audio experience. I will be handing out a small item to everyone in the classroom. I will have everyone close their eyes while I play a sound clip. While they are listening, they will be rolling their item in their hands. I wanted to create an experience that utilized more than a visual. I want to eliminate the visual all together. I want my classmates to rely only on their senses of hearing and touch. 

I should probably explain the flavor for anyone who has never tasted a kumquat. To begin it looks like a baby orange. But unlike an orange, you eat the entire thing (there is no peeling.) You wash it, you roll it in your fingers to release the oils, you pop it in your mouth, and chew. It starts off quite tart as you first get the juices exploding in your mouth. But as you chew, the peel is very sweet and that sweet begins to overtake the tart juice. It's quite delicious and is an unexpected experience. Please don't listen to the audio until you have the texture in your hands.

and just to let you know, the audio clips were found at freesound.com and were mixed in Adobe Audition. Below are the links to the individual sounds that I utilized.
https://www.freesound.org/people/MeloMuzika_com/sounds/173205/download/173205__melomuzika-com__violinloop-am-1.mp3
https://www.freesound.org/people/kake85/sounds/247881/download/247881__kake85__overall-quality-of-single-note-violin-e6.wav

What I Hope

I hope that everyone had a good experience with trying something new. You can't know if you'll like something if you don't try it. So many people miss out on amazing experiences because they are afraid to step out of their comfort zone. The trick to having an amazing life is to expand your comfort zone. That can only be done by these small steps...trying something for the first time.

YetAnotherClassTakeAway 8

Ryan

I was slightly disturbed by the Ryan video we watched. I’ll be honest, I was very disturbed by it for some reason. That being said there was a message that I got from the video. The message I got was that our creativity takes something from us and yet add to us at the same time. In essence, we leave a part of ourselves in each piece we create. We also gain an experience that we can draw from in the future. I might be wrong but I don’t mind being wrong.

Escape

I resemble the remark about escaping in games...and movies…and books to have experiences we lack in our own lives. I hate to admit it but I read romance novels. It’s an embarrassment that I have to live with. But the reason why I read romances is because I lack romance in my life. I watch action movies because I lack adventure in my life. I play puzzle games because I’m boring. (that one didn’t fit but it’s true)

Um… like… um… and stuff like that….um

The likes are as plentiful are as stars in the sand.

I have been paying attention to a lot of what is being said in class. I take notes. I’m a nerd. But one notation that I have made from pretty much every class thus far is that the word “like” and “stuff like that” are things that are said WAY TOO MUCH. I’m not trying to call anyone out because I know that I’m not a very efficient public speaker myself. I have come to the conclusion that pretty much all of us need to partake in intercommunication classes.

“Roar! It will be logical!”

I just liked that sentence. I don’t have any insight on that, just that I like it. I do sort of resemble that comment a little, also. But it doesn't mean I have insight.

It’s still you

“It starts off as you but ends up you, but a more intentional you.” I love this. We aren’t changing who we are in this class. We are changing how we see ourselves and how we portray ourselves in our work. We are learning how to give a part of ourselves that we didn’t know how to tap into. We are exploring ways to express our opinions and experiences. We are still who we were before, just like we are who we will be in the future.  So be bold and be yourself.

A Final Reflection

I was already excited about my book alteration but now I’m even more so. I have purchased all the materials I will need to execute the pendant. I’m just waiting for them to be delivered. I’m also excited about my “cover” or acrylic box. I was sitting in the hallway when the acrylic idea came to me. I like the idea that you can see my transformation but you can’t touch it unless I choose to open the box that keeps me safe. It’s my armor. I’ll let you see some of me but you can’t see all of me unless I let you.

I really don't like to be center of attention. I wasn't kidding when I said that when I was showing who I am and why I'm here. I just wanted to give an example of how true that is. I used to give planetarium shows and telescope viewings when I was at Butler. It was by far my favorite job EVER. I couldn't understand why I hated talking in from of people but loved my job so much. I eventually figured it out. When I was giving planetarium shows I was in the dark. No one could see me. They just heard my voice. I was never the center of the attention.. the show was. 

I've Got This Covered

Oh So Many Ideas... to narrow down to my top three.

My thought for my book was to create a Mobius strip pendant out of silver with a resin with the ashes mixed in to create a ball that “rolls” on the surface.  Because I am making a piece of jewelry, I’m thinking I should redesign the cover to create a type of jewelry box or pouch. So here are my two ideas for my “cover”.

1

 Make a jewelry box. Each side of the box would have images from the semester. One side would be the egg, one would be the reuse project, one would be a doodle, etc. I could either make a doodle of the projects or I could make an illustration of the projects. I don’t think I’d use photographs just because I’m not a great photographer. I’m a little particular and it would drive me nuts to have images on my box that are not what I would deem high quality.

2 

 I could doodle the projects on the back side of my book cover where it is plain stock. I would then cut this doodle into strip that would be weaved. I would then take the weaving, line it with a satin to make a jewelry pouch.

3  

 My final idea is to take an image of the doodle to create a screen print that I would put on the back then stitch it together to make the pouch. I could also take the words on the cover and from the semester and make a word map that would be screen printed. I’m not sure which would be easiest.

I’m really excited by all of these ideas and each presents its own challenges. I have made a lot of boxes for classes at Ivy Tech when we were learning about package design and I really enjoyed the challenge. I have an astounding appreciation for stitched paper and think that would be a fun option. And I have recently started using a screen print kit that I bought years ago and am constantly thinking of new ways I can use it. 

Taking It Away 7

“I Am A Tool”

Let the giggling commence.

I enjoyed the “Who am I?” project immensely. I really wish we had time to see everyone’s projects. I’m always intrigued with how others see what I missed. I loved the concept of my project but I’m never satisfied with final result. That being said, I could very easily re-do this project. I focused on what I was not. I’d like to do it again with what I am.

Why Why Why Why

I would never make a good mother because that single word annoys me. There are times when the why does not matter. But the who, the when, the how, the when are just as important. But seeing as this is the purpose of the class I will put on my big girl panties and deal with it.

I’m not so efficient at answering why? I want to say just because but I know that won’t get me far. I also know that I can’t grow as an artist/designer if I ignore the why too long.

Polly Anna

I am not Polly Anna either. I do try to see where others are coming from and I do try to avoid being too negative. I try to see other people’s perspective. Just because it is my way doesn’t mean my way is the only way or that my way is even correct. But I take ownership of it so that should account or something.

I’m not feeling all that insightful today. Usually I full of reflection after class but today was so short that I’m feeling a little lack luster. I was sad that class was cut short as this is the only class this semester that I’m enjoying. 

Holes

Who Am I?

This is a question that plagues me. I don't know who I am. While completing the blind drawings in class, I was just thinking about how much fun I was having. But when I took home the sketch Kyle did of me I was perplexed as to how to approach the assignment of identifying who we are and why we are here. I stared at the sketch. I turned the sketch and stared at it again. 

I was struggling. 

I then looked at what Kyle had written. "Tell me I'm Pretty!" How profound.

I am constantly craving the assurance of others to validate me. I'm insecure enough that I don't just want this constant assurance, I NEED it. 

Why Am I Here?

This is why I'm here.

I am riddled with the holes created by self doubt. I am here to start filling these holes.

 I can only become more skilled if I practice my craft. 

I can only be creative enough by establishing my personal creative strategies

(which I am working on in this class). 

I can only be smart enough by continuing my education, both in school and in life. 

I can only give more if I give to myself first. 

I can only get thinner if I have discipline. 

I can only feel beautiful if I find the beauty in others.

I can only feel lovable by loving.

I can only be confident if I trust myself.

I can only discover my path if I take the first step. 

(Just because I liked my concept sketch better than the actual image, I'm going to share it.)