End of Semester Take Away

My first and  maybe the biggest thing that impacted me during class was from my fear project.  I talked about how fear is not always is a negative thing.  You might wonder why I think that way. I've noticed that I use fear as a motivation to overcome.  It will  boost my confidence and I would feel like I could accomplish something.

The next thing I took away was the idea of escapism.  I do use it to try to escape from my problems in the world.  Most of the time, though, I am sometimes not happy when I do it because none of my problems.  I try now not to escape from my problems but try to solve them if possible.

The last thing that I took away from this class was just thinking out of the box.  Throughout my life I've been told exactly what to do by my teachers or professors.  When we had the egg project, I was nervous.  I did not have a lot of direction on it so it was challenging for me.  It is welcomed, though, because I know in life that no one is going to hold my hand as I do things.  This was a great lesson for me and one I would use in the future.

Day 16 Take Away

Last class we presented our altered books.  What I thought that was interesting is that most of our books had to do with out fear project in a way.   Not everyone did it but I've noticed it was a trend upon most.  I guess that the fear project had impacted most of us because it really shows each of us what we care about.  It also shows what we don't care about.

"Altared" Book of the Self

I am not honestly a big fan about technology and the human body combing together.  When I watched the video I was actually kind of disturbed.  I actually didn't finish the video because of what I saw.  The reason that I was disturbed is because it just doesn't look natural.  When something looks unnatural to me like tampering with a human body with technology, I do get disturbed.

In a way I think that is going to far.  I don't mind having technology combined with our clothing.  That does not bother me at all but having wires or whatever inside of you just doesn't seem right to me. If it were for medical reasons, then I won't have much of a problem with that.  This is also how I feel also about media arts as well.  I just don't think that it is necessary.

For my altered book project, I used my sophomore year book. You might be wondering why. That was not a great year for me during high school for many reasons that I don't want to talk about.  What I did is that I cut out half of the pages out of the book.  I will explain later why I did that. Then I spray painted the back cover all black.

After that I used normal white paint to draw cracks all over the back cover. This idea came from my egg project back at the beginning of the semester.  The black cover represents my fears and the unknown.  The white cracks represent that when I get beaten down by fear I always try to overcome it. In other words the cracks represent that I will run into obstacles in the future but I will not break.  The cracks also show that even sometimes in the unknown I get an idea on what will happen both good and/or bad.

In the front cover I glued a picture of the "stain-glass" I've created back in round the robin project.  This represents me on how I portray myself to others.  The blended shapes represent the different interests that I have and the bright colors represent on how I like to help others in a way.  I remember last week that my friends and I went to this event called "Speech Night" at a theater downtown.  After the event one of my friends lost his keys back in the theater and he did not realize it until we got back to the parking lot at campus..  My consensus got the better of me so I went with him.  Good thing that I did because I found them when he was about to give up searching.

The pages represent my history and personality.  It shows how I portray myself to others.  The reason that I cut out the other half is because it is suppose to represent my future and the unknown.  Questions go through my head.  Will I be like the same way I am now?  Am I going to succeed in the future?  Usually stuff like that is what I think about.

How the book might change me?  I don't think that the book will change what I am because I like the way that I am.  There of course there are some things that I like to change though.  For example, I am a procrastinator.  That is probably one of the biggest things I would like to change.  Overall, though, I don't think that I won't change or change that much.  Who knows, though, what will happen in the future.

Day 14 Take Away

The biggest thing that I took from the last class was one of my classmates presentations.  His fear was loneliness.  So what he did is that he did not, or I think he didn't, talk to any of his friends during his free time.  That includes messaging by phone and social media. He said that he had highs and lows while doing this project but he said it was a good experience.  I was impressed that he was able to do this for a whole week because it was hard on him because I'm not sure if I'm able to do something like that.

Day 13 Take Away

Last class was interesting.  Most of us shared our fear projects for the class.  What I noticed during our discussions is that mostly our class overall is afraid of failure and/or time. I did not find that surprising knowing the circumstances that we are all in. I believe, though, that we all understood our fears and others' around us.  How fear affects our life and what each of us do with it.

My Fears

I had a tough time deciding what fear I would like to do so I decided to do all of them because they all impact on my life. So I used all forms of worry, phobia, fear and anxiety.

I notice fear when mainly something unpleasant that happened in my life.  Usually nothing major but the fear does develop over time.  For example, one thing that I am afraid of is failure. In school I did struggle a few times and because of that I have gone to “special” classes or get “special” help within my normal classes. After a while I did not like it because it made me feel like an idiot. So whenever I accomplish something with no help it raises my confidence in myself.  Although, sometimes I can be cocky that hurts me sometimes but I am getting better figuring out when I do really need help.

Most of the time I use fear as a way to motivate myself.  It will make me feel like I accomplished a goal if I overcome that fear.  

I don’t know if fear plays that much into my creativity.  Most of the time I am somewhat care-free whenever I engage in creativity. Probably the some moments when fear plays a part in creativity is when other people judge my work and time.

I used varies fears in this project.  Most of them are deep but there are those that are surface.  Like for example, I am afraid of spiders is a surface fear while failure is a deep fear.

I think that this project shows that my fears have to do with my confidence in myself.  For my project I took index cards and wrote about all little more than a dozen things that I am afraid of or things that have to do with those fears.  Then I will give each classmate a card.  If there more people I will have them write down their own fears because your fears could affect other people.  After that I will have them crumple them up into balls and have them throw them at me.  I am supposed to represent my confidence while the index cards represent, as said before, my fears.  The fear pelts me and hurts my confidence and what I want to accomplish.

Bliss

Fear list:

Time

Supplies

Money

The unexpected

Creativity

What-if questions:

What if I use pencils to make a fort?

What if I use old supplies?

What if I be prepared what will happen?

Day 11 Take Away

Last class was interesting.  Mainly what we talked about is fear and how it effects us in  our lives and creativity.  One time someone mentioned when we are talking more of a serious or depressing topic, we not as energize.  When we talk about something fun then there is more energy in the room.  Also another thing that is interesting is that fear is more of a choice than an emotion.  In a way I kind of thought that made sense.  There are some things that we are afraid of personally than what maybe others don't find scary.  Fear could also show what you care about.  Someone afraid of failing in class show that he or she cares about school.

Class Take Away Day 10

What I thought was interesting last class was the difference between escapism and meditation.  I do escape from my problems by watching TV, playing video games, and etc.  It doesn't, though, get rid of my problems.  Once I stop escaping, my mind immediately think about the problems that I am having at the time.  That makes me even more stressed out.  Maybe doing some meditation might help out whenever I am in stress.

Media Round Robin

For this project, I started off by drawing four different shapes. One is a pentagon, a rectangle, a triangle and a rhombus.   In these shapes I drew triangles.  After doing that I colored each of the shapes with various of colors.  The pentagon and rhombus I used complimentary colors.  For the other two I just used random colors. After completing that I took a photo of each of them. The shapes are below.

Once that was finished I put opened Photoshop.  For this experiment I had to do something creative by hand, then do something digital to it, and then by hand again.  In Photoshop I blended all the shapes together and the finished product was this.

I was suppose to do print it out and do more to it but I didn't want to.  I felt that there is no need to mess with it any longer.  If I continued working, I think I'll lose this cool blending effect on the photo.  It also might make it look sloppy.  This final product is very different from the originals because all the shapes and colors created a unique photo. You could still see the different shapes in the photo though.  Thanks to media, I was able to blend all the shapes together in order to create this final product which could not be done before or as simple.  I think this what this will apply outside the classroom is that I am able to create product from various other finished products and create something new or different.

Class Take Away Day 9

What was interesting to me last class was the activity that we did that had to do with our tasting experiment.  We first had to think of a word that describes our experience.  Then we manipulate the paper by only by using our hands and nothing else.  It was meant to depict what the word was.  Then we take another piece of paper and create a character that represents the word.  This must of been one of weirdest activities that I ever done. It was interesting though to depict something that we don't see. For example, we could not see the word bitter.

The Sound of Taste

For this experiment I did a Chinese or eastern Asian dish that consisted of beef, broccoli, and rice. There was some type of sauce used also in this dish.  I had tasted these things before but not in this way.  If I remember correctly the assignment was taste something new and the taste was new to me.  The food was sweet but also bitter.

To elaborate this in sound I used a mason jar and a knife.  I rub the knife against the mason jar which made same sounds but in different frequencies.  The higher pitches signify the sweetness and lower pitches represents the bitterness.  I tried to record this but with technical difficulties, I am unable to do it.  To fix this I will do it live in class.  I will not bring a knife but I found out that a pen could make the same sound or similar to it.

Day 8 Take Away

I thought it was interesting when our instructor talk about that we should play.  This probably have to do with the fact that we are taking our mid-terms which is stressful time for some people.  She did not say to act like a child but but do things that we enjoy to help relieve the stress.  I do get stress out because of school sometimes.  To help get rid of the stress I try to do things that enjoy.  Although, sometimes I can get carried away and do the thing that I enjoy too long.  I need to work on that.

Book Cover Ideas

Here are my cover ideas that book cover.

Idea 1:

            This one was brought up by my instructor during our 50 ideas assignment.  She mentioned that I make the book like a double so two books in one.  I could make one cover that has to do with all the “nerdy” things in my life like video games, NMS, and RPG games.  While on the other cover I put things that have to do with sports.  I could put on the cover my favorite teams or symbols that have to do with my favorite sports.

Idea 2:

            Make the cover look like a TV and the other half of the cover to imply a game console. Then make a screen shot of some sports game like, Madden, NBA 2K, or NHL. After that, glue it onto where the screen is supposed to be.

Idea 3:

            My last idea converting the cover to look like a role-playing game cover.  Like D&D, pathfinder or etc.

           

            

Day 7 Take Away

Day seven was a very short class so this take away is going to be a little shorter than usual.  Mainly what we talked about in class was about the experiment that was do that day.  Which was the "Who are you and why you are here" experiment.  I thought it was interesting when our instructor mentioned how personality could change a little as time passes by.  I haven't really thought about it but thinking back I did act a little bit different personality wise than I do now.  So I thought that was interesting.

Who are you and Why are you here

These was a very thought provoking questions?  I started by thinking about my past, present and future.  I figure out what have been doing. What I am doing and what will I be doing.  At the end I end I decided do more both of spiritual and literal meanings.  I used a Lego Creator container and a picture of me during my senior year of high school.

 I first had to take the stickers off the case which took me almost six hours to do.  It was the type that won't come off easily.  After doing that I found a school picture of myself during my senior year and cut the background out.  I glue the picture onto case after that.  That only took me about thirty minutes.  Part of my head was on the lid, so I used a knife to cut the picture where the lid and case separate.  It looks like you are popping the top of my head off.

Inside the case, I put items in it that have to do something about me. For example, I put ear plugs in their.  You might wonder why I would do that.  I did it because it was meant to represent that if when a friend or family member needs help I would be their to listen to them.  Other items I put in there are the drawing, a ring, coins, and a smooth rock.  The drawing represents all the negative things in my mind.  The ring represents my creativity.  The coins is for helping others.  The last one is the smooth rock and that represents my calmness.

Day 6 Take Away

I've learned something new yesterday.  It is interesting that it turns out that when you are not trying on your project or having fun with it that it turns out to be your best work.  When I meant by not trying, I meant trying to appease someone else.  Like your teacher or your client.  

One of the things that I like to do is writing stories.  Right now I am taking a class called digital storytelling.  I realized I don't have much fun writing stories for the class just for fun. I mean, I enjoy it a lot but just knowing that you are getting graded kind of sucks some of the fun out of it.  That is my take away from day six.

Bible Dipping

For this project we have to do something creative with the word reuse. At first I had no idea what to do.  When I thought of the word reuse, I was thinking about recycle or using something for the same purpose again.  After some research, though, I found out the reuse could also mean using something again but with a different purpose.  I noticed in my garage that there are some shoe boxes.  So I started from there by using a shoe box.

 At first I was thinking of putting some shoes in because of I'm reusing it.  I quickly turn that idea down.  Then I realize in my room that I have my video game controllers on the floor.  I don't have a good place to store them.  Thinking that I could reuse something but for a different purpose, I use the shoe box has a storage box for the controllers.  So that they won't get step on them.  That is what I came up with reuse.

Day 5 Take Away

In today's society we are expected to follow rules.  So it was interesting to see that people could create interesting things just by breaking or bending the rules.  One of the students in the class made a video but he did it in a way that it should make the audience.  He made the video blurry, blocked,  and etc. While another made a figure for one of the role-playing games.  It was cool because it made it look like that it seen battle.  I think that this shows that even breaking could lead to creative projects.

Break the Rules!

For my experiment I decide to do something simple.  I chose to skip the project.  This might not seem thought provoking to you but it is to me.  I have never skipped a project before as long as I could remember. Of course I didn't do all of my assignments in the past but the reason was that I forgot about them.

So this is the first time that I didn't do a project or assignment on purpose.  This is actually scary for me because this is a new experience.  I get to experience the fact that I didn't do the assignment.  I  felt dirty and lazy about it.  Overall this made me very uncomfortable. It is definitely something that I don't want to do again in the future. I have to admit that I kind of enjoyed doing it because it was fun to see what is like to be a student that doesn't care about his or her work.

Day 4 Take Away

At the end of class we were discussing our next project which is about breaking rules.  In today's society we are expected to follow the rules in order to make progress.  That is not always the case.  We could break a rule and create something wonderful and new.  A very minor rule by the way.  It opens the door to new opportunities, which will allow you to do something creative with it.  I personally follow the rules, within reason.  It will be interesting to intentionally break a rule for the next experiment.

50 Ideas

This surprisingly was not that hard for me to do until I got to idea forty because maybe I've done similar projects like this before.  At the moment that is where I am stuck on.  Most of my ideas kind of branch of each other.  For example,  I wrote down write on the book.  Then later on I say write down each page something that you dislike about this book.  Some of the ideas are simply destroying it or leave it in an area.  One of the ideas I said was to bury it for example.  Then I thought of some ridiculous ones like strapping it on a rocket.  I understand, though, that the point of the experiment is think creatively and actually get an idea about what to do with our books.

Day 3 Take Away

On day three of Seeing sideways we started off  by talking about our doodle project.  One thing that I like to point was that I regret that I didn't talk much during that conversation.  I think the reason was that other people were mentioning things that that I thought of also but they talked about them already.  So at the time I didn't feel like it was necessary to talk.  I talked about my thoughts on my doodle blog so I am not going to repeat myself again.

The people that did talk brought up some interesting thoughts.  One of them in particular is that while we doodle, we subconsciously doodle things that has to do what we are hearing, smelling, and seeing. Another person mentioned that he did not like to doodle and even drawing.  I kind of connected that with him.  I don't hate drawing or doodling but it is something that I don't do often.  Mainly just from lack of interest.   At the end of the discussion I realized that through certain ways when we do something at random. Like when we doodled.  That it shows that person's personality and interests.  

Doodle Project

For our second experiment we had to doodle for 30 minutes.  At first this was difficult for me because I am one of those people that like to plan before they start a project.   I remember in some English classes that I took during my high school career that I had to write a journal or a short story on that day.   That was not fun for me.  I was able to come up with a story or something at some point but it is not my best work.

Anyway, this project reminded me of that a bit.  So I drew some things that had to do with what I was thinking about at the time.  I doodled the logos of the Sea Hawks and Patriots because the Super Bowl was coming up.  There was a doodle of a face sleeping because I was tired at the time.  There were other random things that I drew too.  Really the page was random.

Day 2 Take Away

On day two of Seeing Sideways we talked about our egg and coloring book experiments.  Like our last class we formed a circle and then each of us explained our projects.  I've seen some impressive egg experiments.  One guy video taped himself eating a raw egg.  It was suppose to represent trying new things in life.  I found it kind of disgusting and he said that it was disgusting.  Another person colored his egg with three different colors.  He colored it in a way in which you only could see one color at the time.  It was suppose to represent to see things in a new perspective.

I don't remember much from the coloring books because we did not talk about them as much.  Our instructor, though, asked us why she wants us to get and use the coloring books.  I think she told us to get coloring books so that we could use our inner child and practice our creativity.

Coloring Book Experiment

My other experiment is to color a page in a coloring book that would show what I like the world to be. Like the egg experiment I was also a little frustrated about this coloring book project as well.  It was not as bad to come up with something because having an idea for the egg project made it easier in a way for me.  I also thought to myself that I could do whatever I want with these projects.  Within reason of course.  So instead of being frustrated, I shifted into thinking that this is an opportunity.  I get to challenge myself and see how creative I could be.

Anyway, for my coloring book experiment I chose a page with dinosaurs in it with mountains in the background.  For the actually coloring I colored one of mountains brown and the other a variety of colors.  The thought behind this was that I like to imagine different worlds.  Worlds that are more interesting than our world.  That is one reason I picked the dinosaurs because somewhat out of this world type of thing. I think this is why I am drawn to games, books, and movies that have different worlds filled with interesting creatures and people.

Egg Experiment

My first experiment is to do something creative with an egg. I had a tough time trying to figure out what to do for my egg project.  I some ideas about breaking and using the pieces of the shell to make an image.  I quickly dismissed that idea because I am not the best with arts and crafts.  I was also afraid that I did not have pieces to do.

Fortunately, I got another idea.  I've decided to draw crack-like marks on the egg.  The thoughts behind the cracks are frustration and fear.   I was a bit overwhelmed when the instructor gave us this assignment, or experiments is what she likes to call them.  At school I usually know what to do right away because my teacher or instructor told me almost exactly what to do.  In this instance, though, I don’t have guidelines except for one.  Which is just to do something creative with the egg.  I don’t have a problem being creative, in fact I enjoy being creative.  But an egg!!!  Weirdest project I ever had so far.

So instead of throwing the egg or smashing it, I decide to draw the cracks.  It symbolizes that I am afraid.  I never done this type of project before and I’m afraid how people would think about it.  The other thing is frustration.  I was frustrated when I first got the egg and I had no idea what to do.  My idea did not come up until a week later.  Anyway, I thought this was an interesting project and look forward to whatever our instructor will throw in our direction.

Day 1 of Seeing Sideways

One of the things that stuck out the most to me about Seeing Sideways is that this is not your ordinary class.  From the start we were told to sit in a circle and basically have a discussion. It kind of reminded me of counseling a bit. I know that is not the point of the class it just looked like that.  It was interesting because it takes us out of the normal classroom setting.

Another thing that stuck out to me is the break that we had half-way through class.  We were told to leave the classroom but we had to stay in our chairs.  We were sitting on wheel chairs by the way.  It was an interesting experience.  We get some experience of what it is like if you are unable to walk.  We couldn't use the stairs. Actually, we could use the stairs but that won't be a good idea.  Luckily, the buttons of the elevators were low enough for us to push.

The last thing was our first assignment or experiment. Our instructor had us take an egg and told us to do something creative with it.  That is all she said to us. I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed with that.  Most of my school career I was told what to do with steps to help me.  There was one class that I took that is similar to this class.  In my photography class we were given a topic and then the teacher told us to do something based on the topic.  That was more narrow, though, when it comes to creativity but the same idea.  This class will help me because I know that I won't always will be told what to do.  I might get some help but not a whole lot.  So this will help me become less dependent on others and help me with my critical thinking.