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       So, I normally plan out my project in great detail, and letting go of that control was a little hard for me. Finding materials seemed like it was going to be really hard, but this project just formed on its own while doing something else. I made this while doing the sewing blog. It reminded me an atom and its chemical make up. Plus, its functional, and it looks really cool.
        It makes the ball look like its floating and creates a cool spacial appearance. It was really cool that I ended up with an art project without having to plan. I love this. 

 
I found this actually kind of fun. I have dislocated my thumbs several times and had to teach myself to write with my left hand while that was healing. I never tried to draw though and it was kinda cool to try. I don't think it came out too bad, but I will definitely stick to my right hand.
 
I wasn't exactly sure what to do for this map of my life. I decided to draw a kind of flow chart showing major events in my life. I envisioned a road map when I read the description of this assignment. I kind of had fun seeing the path to how I ended up in Art education unfold in front of me. Without further ado...
 
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When I was younger my mother told me to try sports. I tried cheer leading and found out that wasn't for me. Then one day I was waiting for my mother after school and the gym was being used for volleyball practice. I ended up just helping return balls over the net and the coach told me I should tryout. The next semester, I did and I found out that I loved it. I then played volleyball throughout high school, club seasons, and 3 seasons of college club. It truly has made an impact on my life and it is therefore why a lot of my art work will consist of volleyballs. I actually did an art project in high school where I painted several volleyballs and nets across the canvas in overlapping patterns. I love this image and it is posted in my office at home. 

 
This semester I did my application to the BA/MS Art Education Program here at FSU. I was totally nervous about being accepted. I have applied for other graduate programs and had to take the GRE, but when I applied for the Art Ed program I had to take the FTCE. I was worried that I wouldn't score well enough. Once I took the exam I realized that the test wasn't scary and I was worried for nothing. The interview was the scariest part. I had a really scary day starting with a huge spider in my car. I am arachnophobia and I was horrified that I had to drive to the interview with that in my car. I managed to kill it but it fell under my seat. It was so hard for me. After the interview I went to target and there was another spider on my passenger door. I was like "come on, really?" I began to think that this was a sign, a bad sign. 
About 3 weeks later, I received an email that said I was provisionally accepted into the BA/MS combined program!!! I was so thrilled. I just feel like that's what I was meant to do and to be accepted into the first big step is wonderful. I had so much fun doing this blog that I think I might do another one on this site, so stay tuned.
 
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Who says that crafting isn't art? Most people craft to create, make useful items, or to decorate. These are all things that are also done by fine artists. It's also fun to make things that you will use. I decide to brush up on my sewing by making a new set of body pillow and standard pillow covers. I was at target and saw a throw pillow with a fox on it. I love foxes! They are my favorite animal and I wanted to buy the pillow but it was 24.99. Way too expensive for a pillow just because it has foxes on it. Later in the week I went to Joann's to pick up yarn for the other posts when I found Fox fabric. I was so excited and decided that I wanted to use this fabric to decorate my bedroom, hence this blog about sewing and pillowcases. I'm pretty good at sewing but I really just wanted a pillow case for my new body pillow. What's better than foxes?

 
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So I did the last entry based on circular knitting and fiber arts, but this sparked an interest in trying loom knitting. I have seen these many times at Joann's and I kinda wanted to try it so this was the perfect opportunity. 

When I first started I expected to cast on my stitches as normal but event this step was different. I had to wrap the string around the pegs three times and then pull the bottom string over the top of the peg. I totally wasn't expecting to use the little stick that reminded me of a dental tool to do this. 

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My first relatively successful attempt ended up being on the wrong size loom. It ended up being like an infant sized hat. Totally frustrating!! So I set out to make another one which is so far turning out better. I can get this one on my head while it is still on the loom. 

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Overall, this is more like making the woven pot holders than actual knitting, but it is really fun. I do like the lack of holding two needles but I still wouldn't exactly call it knitting. 

 
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I was thinking about fiber art and what I would do to fit into this category. I realized that I already knit. I wanted to expand on my knowledge of knitting and I have always wanted to make a knitted hat. My boyfriend was worried that I might turn into a cat woman, to which I responded with " I don't even like cats, and I am allergic." I wanted to teach myself how to do this on circular needles. This was difficult as I had no idea how to knit beyond a simple straight stitch. I can't even purl. Perhaps that will be the next task. However, I watched a youtube video on the basics and went from there. The video is shown below. I liked learning from the videos because I could stop, pause , and rewind the video without feeling like I was bothering the instructor. Maybe there is a future for this tactic in university teaching:). 

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It actually took me a few tries to get it to link up right and then I also realized that the needle length came in different sizes as well as different needle sizes. I found out that the reason it was so difficult the first time was that the string was too long and so once I bought shorter needle length, the stitches worked much better. I was very happy with the results and it is actually quite relaxing. 

 
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I got to thinking, why can't food be art? I thought about quirky changes that people make to meals or desserts in order to make them look pretty or different. The image to the left is of Fazoli's Italian food. I used to go there all the time with my dad after school so I could do my homework. One day, I wanted a sandwich and I used my limited resources to make one. I cut a bread stick in half and stuffed it with spaghetti and marinara sauce. Its still the same food, but now it looks totally different and not as expected. I took this idea further and made some desserts. 

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I saw wontons at Panda Express and thought that they looked so pretty. They looked like little origami boxes stuffed with yummy cheesy presents. I thought that pear stuffed wontons would be awesome . I bought some flaky pastry wrappers and made a pear compote from scratch and ended up with these beautiful blossoms. I felt like they needed to be on pintrest. I was so happy with the visual results and even more pleased with how they tasted!!! They were actually really easy to do too. I

I also couldn't help think about cupcake wars when doing this topic. I love how the second challenge is all about presentation and some of the cupcakes are so artistic and beautiful!!
 
I have a Bachelors of Art in Psychology and therefore I like to look at art from this point of view. Psychology does a lot of study in perception. It is interesting to look at pieces and wonder if the artist is purposely playing with perception or if it was all accidental. My favorite examples of psychology in art are the ones where the artist has purposefully tried make us see something else. Many of these images make us see something impossible. Check out this slideshow of psychology in Art!!
Some of these images are used in Art Therapy which is an entirely art and psychology based profession. The perfect blend of both my degrees. I still want to be an art teacher, but this wouldn't be a bad fall back. I found a few examples of book on the subject while looking for pictures. I think I might have to read these!

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    I am an Art student who is looking to get into art education. I love ceramics and several other media. This is the first blog I have ever done. Feedback is appreciated.

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