13/3 Take A Selfie

I Showed my process in my blog posts over the course of the semester by providing pictures of each important stage of each project accompanied by explanations of how I completed each step of my process. I was more consistent is doing so towards the end of the semester. At the beginning, I think I didn't feel the need to explain my process in words because of the nature of the mediums being explored- photography, digital painting, and scanography- mediums that seemed self explanatory. After further investigation and thought on these mediums, I now realize that adding explanations to accompany my photos, as well as step by step photos rather than pure outcomes, help the viewer understand how I arrived at my conclusions and help them better understand my meanings and techniques. Verbal descriptions and process photos also give the viewer a more direct entrance point into the projects.

I Explained my outcomes by writing out my process and how I arrived at my outcomes. I spoke about technical difficulties and how I arrived at my ideas. I believe that my ideas expanded in their creativity and meaningfulness as I progressed throughout the semester. Sharing outcomes with peers in the class and seeing everyone else's ideas really inspired me to be more thoughtful when choosing my subject matter and methods for each project. I noticed how Grace and Ren brought their illustration backgrounds into their work, Darien brought his filmmaking and technology background into his process, and Jackie put herself into her work- bright colors, endless energy, and spunk. I realized I needed to start putting myself into my work as well- my identity as a painter, my interests in particular films and television shows like Harry Potter and Doctor Who, my fascination with fantasy stories, and my background in music.   When I began incorporating my interests into my ideas for projects, the outcomes became more meaningful and fun. I invested myself in my work by putting in content that matters to me. I think some of the readings I did for my child development class with Dr. Burton helped in this aspect- I read about helping children make meaning in art and remembered that I needed to do it for myself as well!

I Linked to vocabulary. I learned a lot of new vocabulary words as we moved to different technological mediums that I had heard of but never dabbled in before this class. I found out how scanography works, what raster and vector means in relation to illustrator and the laser cutter, how 3D printing requires both a model in a program like Tinkercad and a processor to allow the printer to read it, and what material 3D printers use. Each new technology word we learned broadened my grasp of how newer technology works and its uses in the classroom.

I Found multiple possibilities for implementing technological tools into the classroom. I found that there are multiple tools to help kids express themselves and reflect their experiences in the world. Scanography is a medium I never thought could be fun and inventive. A child has easy access to scanners due to their prevalence in schools, libraries, and homes. Scanners don't have much of a learning curve, and kids can use any kind of found object to create color, movement, or light effects. Video is a medium I have used in the past. However, I found out by watching Madison's presentation that it can be used in fine art oriented ways rather than just cinematic ways. Students can use objects like nails and beads to show vibrating movements, or use glitch effects to make a mesmerizing yet terrifying experience. Stop motion has more uses than I thought possible- I initially thought that it could only be used with one traditional medium- clay. I learned by watching my peers projects that collage, drawings, fruits, vegetables, and people could also be used. The possibilities for storytelling with stop motion became endless. I also found out that the apps we have access to now to make stop motion videos make it very easy to create without too much expertise. I learned about circuits and how delightful it is to incorporate into drawings and paintings. I can't wait to help students make simple light circuits to incorporate into their projects and watch their faces light up when they see that their circuits actually work.

I persevered through the work when I didn't enjoy it or had a lot of trouble. I found the Scratch program boring, anger inducing, and pointless. I managed to make an interesting project regardless. After a few hours of playing around and getting upset with how I couldn't make anything work how I wanted it to, I had the idea to use the music component. I looked up videos on what people had done with scratch and music, and found one where the sprites interacted with colors to make notes. This interested me and I copied the code to make my own composition. It seems that when an online program doesn't work for me, I can simply look up a youtube video to help me get through it. It was an important lesson- I don't need to struggle for hours on end. There are people who have struggled and found the need to put up tutorials to help others. When I had trouble working with Audacity, the tutorial posted on canvas made everything better. I suddenly had to the knowledge I needed to manipulate the tools at hand.

I Eliminated carelessness by making preparation sketches for my projects and thinking about my processes beforehand, and a bit of trial and error. These were especially useful for my stop motion and my music video. I was able to plan out my camera shots, pick the right props, and experiment with my cameras to figure out how to do things properly. Planning and asking more questions would have very helpful for the laser cut project. Ren, Madison, and I did our best, but we would have been able to waste less time fiddling around with Illustrator if we had went to the studio techs at the outset and asked for their help before going down the rabbit hole that is preparing files for the laser cutter. I learned that asking for help is key in eliminating careless in projects. If I don't know how to do something, I either need to look it up or ask a more experienced person, rather than tinkering around without a clue.

Most importantly, I learned in the class that collaboration can be extremely useful and fun. I had the best time making art with my peers and learning new things from them. It's much more exciting to learn new mediums when you have a partner or group to bring their ideas into the mix.