Fear Part 1

I think the number one thing that makes me fearful is not being able to make someone happy. In my head I tell myself over and over again that, "I don't care what others think of me. I don't care if that person doesn't like me." but in reality I know it's just a cover-up to try and make myself appear more powerful. I will admit that it does work sometimes when I'm in public, but at the end of the day I am sitting at home wondering whether or not "that person" likes me or thinks I'm cool. If I can't make everyone happy/like me, I feel like a failure...even though I know this is hardly possible.
This fear keeps me from being confident and in control of myself because I am always trying to please other people. It also keeps me from expressing myself and showing others who I really am. I have always been told that I am a very hard person "to get to know". This affects my life when it comes to making friends and also affects my creativity as an artist. I really hope that one day I will be able to completely break out of my shell...even to strangers.
So for me, fear is something in my life that keeps me from being able to fully express myself as an individual being.

I think my classmates might think I'm a little weird after I show them what I have made for this fear assignment. I don't think I will get much of a reaction...maybe some blank stares or a couple of head nods. I doubt anyone will even have a comment.

What Has Stuck Sideways?

1.  Three things that I remember from this class thus far include the following:

• Beth showing us the beautiful rocks underneath the fluorescent light. I remember it making me think deeper about seeing "ugly" things in a beautiful way.
• I remember the day Beth brought in all the different, interesting instruments. I couldn't believe how such a simple thing (like the bowl and masher) could make such a loud, appealing sound.
• I remember the girl who showed her project about the light bulb with water in it to the class. I loved the way she connected that project with the recent tornado that happened in southern Indiana. I recall my senses to feel sorry for her and all of the people in her hometown. 

2.   Experiences that I have had in this class are way different than others because it is more personable. I feel like I learn life lessons weekly rather than just learning a "daily lesson" from a textbook. I also like the fact that everyone in the class shares what they have created. I find it to be very inspirational.

3.  What I would like to get out of the rest of this class is to continue learning about myself and what is best for me. It's amazing what you can learn about yourself if you just take the time to do it. I've never been given a chance like in this class to do something like that.

CLASS 3-5-12

What I remember most about class today was watching the pottery video. I found it to be very refreshing on seeing a different approach and view towards artistic creations. I also never knew you could make wine out of dandelions. Pretty cool! Oh...and I absolutely loved seeing Beth's pottery of her own that she made. The tea-pot was just beautiful. I wonder if Beth would consider selling it?!

Unexpected Improv

The reason I brought in my blanket as my totem last class was because it is a source of comfort for me. So for this assignment I started thinking about what is comforting to the human race. I made a short list:
-being loved
-having shelter
-good food
-great friends
-having a means of transportation

It was a short list, but after looking through them once they were written down I automatically thought about the fact that some of these things weren't possible in having without having money. So in a way (even though I hate to admit it) money is a very comforting thing to have.

This is how I thought about making a wallet out of duck tape for this assignment. I had seen them before, but I wanted to learn how to make one for myself.

I'm excited to use it!

CLASS 2-27-12

Today's class made me realize how much I am able to take for granted. We, as human beings, take things for granted such as our senses; including hearing and seeing. After watching the YouTube video of the orchestra, it felt like I needed to sit there for a moment to think about what had just happened. At first I was confused as to why I couldn't hear any music. Once I realized this silence was intentional, I started to think about the smaller sounds that were being made in the background. It was a really inspiring to see this video and think about sound/music in a different way. I also loved the part of class when all the different, crazy instruments were shown/played.

CLASS 2-20-12

Soooo....I definitely forgot about writing this blog after class, but I will still write it anyway. What stood out to me in class was when Beth showed us the cool rocks she had found. At first they didn't seem like much, just another everyday rock. But the second that she turned on the lights that made the minerals on the rocks glow, I was surprised by how beautiful they were. They were all so different too. It got me thinking about underlying beauty of all the nature we pass by every day without acknowledging it. Everyone is always so worried about the hustle and bustle of their tightly knit schedules that must be followed and we sometimes forget to "stop and smell the roses."
As far as this helping me better understand my take on the creative process, it made me realize that even though something might seem uninteresting at first, it is most definitely interesting once you analyze it more and give it a second chance. I believe that everything in the world can have a creative interest to it if you just dig deeper. Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that and I get very discouraged at times when doing projects. Maybe now, when I feel that way, I can think back to the underlying beauty of the rocks I once saw in my Seeing Sidways class. :))

Tyger Tyger Burning Bright

For this assignment, the first thing I did was research about tigers. I then started to think about wanting to make something dealing with a tiger's eye. I started looking around the house for materials I could use for this and remembered that I had recently bought some sculpey clay for my capstone project. I have never worked with this kind of clay, so I thought it would be good to practice before it came time to work with for my capstone. I mixed some colors together to make similar colors to the tiger's eye gemstone and made a bead out of it. Below are some pictures of the final product.

QUESTIONS:
1. What if I used different colors for this bead?
2. What if I flattened the bead?
3. What if I threw the bead on the floor?
4. What if I broke the bead in half, then glued it back together?
5. What if a tiger's eye really looked like this bead?
6. What if I let my dog chew up the bead?
7. What if I put the bead on a necklace?
8. What if I used this as something else than a bead?
9. What if a famous artist had created something like this?
10. What if I didn't cook the clay long enough in the oven?
11. What if I wrapped the tin foil around the bead?
12. What if I didn't have the rolling pin to help me?
13. What if I put the bead in water?
14. What if I threw it in the sky?
15. What if I ran over it with my car?
16. What if the bead was smaller?
17. What if I scanned the bead?
18. What if I mixed the bead in hydrochloric acid?
19. What if I ate the bead?
20. What if the bead tasted good?
21. What if this bead was used as a fake eye?
22. What if the bead was part of a treasure?
23. What if I wore the bead in my hair?
24. What if I made an earring out of the bead?
25. What if I set the bead on fire?
26. What if I threw the bead away?
27. What if I read about it in a book?
28. What if there was a movie based on it?
29. What if my human eye looked like this?
30. What if I saw the bead on T.V.?
31. What if it became a robot?
32. What if the bead could talk?
33. What if it could walk?
34. What if someone pierced it to their nose?
35. What if when you wore it as a necklace, it would give you magical powers?
36. What if I glued the bead to my shoe?
37. What if the bead was alive?
38. What if the bead was my friend?
39. What if it was my boyfriend?
40. What if my boyfriend played the guitar with it?
41. What if I gave it to my boyfriend as a present?
42. What if I shoved it up my nose?
43. What if I put it on a spaceship?
44. What if I buried it at the bottom of the ocean?
45. What if it learned karate?
46. What if the bead grew from a tree?
47. What if it was a forbidden fruit on a tree?
48. What if it could tell me jokes?
49. What if it was a candle?
50. What if it smelled good?