Personal Stuff

Personal thoughts and ramblings that have nothing to do with other content.

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#1 Teacher Award

I am handing out a #1 Teacher award this quarter.  Being a teacher myself, I am not easily impressed; however, I have met a few good ones at AI and I always let them know. 

This quarter one instructor went over the top into the “Excellence” category, and that was Beth Remsburg.  All the students who have talked with me about Beth speak with great affection, even as they complain that her classwork is a killer.  The thing is… you LEARN in her class!  And the students know she cares about their success even if it is painful.  This adds up to one of those teachers who impacts lives!  Several times this quarter it brought to my mind my 3rd grade teacher whom I loved dearly and have never forgotten.

The biggy for me is that I am no longer afraid of logos and using them to communicate visually in a corporate setting.  I have even learned that it can almost be fun!  The moment that corner was turned for me was the moment I knew Beth was one of the best teachers I have had!  

Beth kept encouraging me until I did it… always challenging not just me, but each of us, to be better (with a charming mix of humor and wisdom that keeps you from wanting to strangle her!) 

Beth made me feel like I really could do this.  That is a mark of a true teacher. I will forever remember that matter of fact “Sure you can!” comment she makes (leaving you standing there with nothing to say in rebuttal.)  Not to mention her “get over it!”  [When I am struggling with a project I have a tendency to outprocess about it, which some unnamed friends call whining, and Beth did not cater to the “I am no good at this” comments.]

Unfortunately this is probably the last class I will have with Beth, but I know for certain that she will stand out as one of those teachers who changed my course in life!  One of those you tell people about years later. 

I am not sure of all the impacts, but I know they are big and I really want to say “Thank you, Beth!  If more teachers were like you, there would be no limits to what we students could do!”

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What I learned this quarter

Ok, so I wasn’t planning on any great learning happening this quarter… 5 classes, several of which I have either had or even taught before.  However, it ended up providing more learning opportunities than expected!

  • Typography is a pretty cool subject! (Thanks Kevin! Great teacher!)
  • 30 hours working a job while carrying a full class load is too much (how do people do it?)
  • Syncretism in Christianity is still going on today (look at the attempt by Christian leaders to balance just how much the faithful should embrace current culture and bring it into our lives including the splits over lifestyles to the music such as Christian rock.)
  • I love history! 
  • Sculpture and architecture is much more interesting than I thought.
  • Sometimes you have to jump through hoops and spend a lot of unnecessary money to get a degree and I am working at not resenting that.
  • Web Design was the right choice after all.
  • I love writing (oh…I knew that)
  • I still do not like marketing even though I had fun with my topic.
  • Whatever made me get an Associates in Business anyway?  What was I thinking?
  • I don’t like writing scripts or much of anything to do with advertising.
  • I do love the learning experience!
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Time out for a birthday party!

I have to make a note about Lainey’s birthday this year.  We were all very busy, but we made sure that we took her out for dinner at a place she had never been.

If you like meat, you must visit a Fogo de Chao Brazilian steak house!  It is a fantastic experience as they bring huge skewers of beautifully cooked meat (various cuts of steak, chicken, pork, and lamb) to your table and cut a slice off, which you take with the provided tongs.  The all-you-can-eat salad bar was well worth it and bears a mention. 

A wonderful time was had by all!

Charlotte - Lainey - Sheri

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Harrison College – a 2 month consulting project

Woo hoo! Don’t underestimate the power of social networking! A previous boss learned of a need at Harrison College for a “Curriculum Development Technician” and looked me up on Facebook. She sent me the contact info and personally recommended me to the project manager.

I winged off my resume on a Thursday between classes, got a call 2 hours later during Typography, and stepped out to take it. I was sitting on a table in an empty classroom hammering out the contract details when Kevin (my instructor) walked in. That was a bit amusing for me, but not necessarily for him since he had no idea what I was doing and gave a frown. (I later explained it to him.)

Hired…and started work Feb. 9. Pretty cool, eh? I am thrilled because I am so ready to be back at work and doing something that is within my competencies! School is fine, but doing “real” work is validating. My friends keep telling me that school IS my job, but somehow, it feels different.  And by the way, the work is right up my alley – organizing information and specifically instructional content, plus it is keeping me tied into the whole e-learning world from the supplier side (as opposed to the consumer side.)  Needless to say, I am loving the project.

Moral of the story:  use social networking wisely.  You never know who is watching or who might look you up and when!  I guess that goes for blogs too!

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New Art Page Added

I have added a new page (My Art – a tab across the top) that you may want to check out.  Many people ask me about my art work and not having my web site up has hindered my response.  It is always easier to show than to tell, when it comes to art.  So I took time away from homework this morning to add this overview organized by the decade (I have been selling my work for 30 years.) 

You will notice a list at the bottom of that page.  These are each pages of photos.  Remember, needing desperately to get to my homework today, these are just a quick overview and still under constuction! 

Enjoy!

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Jacob Dobson – Sculptor

I admit, I chose to take my Art History class online in the second half of this quarter (starting 2/19) because I was sure it would be a boring course (totally forgetting that being in an art college would make a huge difference…duh!)  Unfortunately, the school would not allow my previous art credits to roll over, so this will be my second or third time through.  Let me correct that… it will now be my third or fourth time through.  No complaints though… repetition is needed with my brain!

However, I am a note taker for a student at the Art Institute (through the Work Study program).  This quarter I am taking notes in Jacob Dobson’s Art History class and am finding the note taking a mesmerizing task.  I get so caught up in his lectures, which are fascinating, that I have apologized to the student for the massive amounts of notes I am taking.   [Let me also mention that the online course and the ground courses are very different.  They are even studying different periods in time, so I am going to get a broad art history education this quarter!]

NOTE: Below is a photo of Jacob Dobson.  I snagged this off of a photo I found online at http://www.jacobdobson.com/

His outlook on life is also amusing and, I admit, I am in agreement with it so far.  (He has a very dim view of our current pop culture and it’s effects upon youthful minds.  I really get into his diatribes on the subject, but often wonder what the youthful minds around me are thinking.)  Up to now they (and me too… I just don’t have to take the tests) are studying the 1300s-1500s.  We sort of side tripped on the whole Rome-during-Michelangelo’s-time, which was quite delightful, in part because he went to Italy last year and gave us first hand experiences with the art pieces.  He gets excited about what we are studying and brings a new perspective to things I have seen in books for years.

In addition to being trained in painting, he is also a scuptor. Being more of a 2D artist, I find that intriguing.   Last week he showed us the steps taken in creating this life sized statue of a child that was commissioned from him, and it gave me a new appreciation of bronze sculptures.

Check out his blog and the huge doorway called “Articles of Faith” that he is in the beginning stages of creating!  It is already creating a stir and 2 of the panels are in a traveling art exhibit.

Needless to say, in the 3 quarters I have been here at this school, I have been quite pleased with the overall level of instructors!  A totally different experience than IUPUI in that the training is relevant, current, and personal, in addition to having teachers who are “doing” as well as teaching.

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A Mad Mix of Things

The three weeks break has gone by so quickly and now I am preparing to jump into the whirlwind of classes and studying again.  I keep telling myself to be patient because I am so very ready to be back to a full time job!  So while off I began job hunting again.

However, I spent the majority of my vacation finishing my annual family calendar!  This year’s theme was “A Mad Mix of Things” and is concentrated upon the things in our lives that bring back good memories.  I also threw in family history, as always.  My basis is this scripture:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  –  Philippians 4:8

Examples: a couple of traditional style digital scrapbooking pages, and then a couple of pure family memory grabbers:

Below are the small records my siblings grew up on… next year, the large records.  I have started recording (I have a record player that digitizes the sound) the old gospel music from my childhood and hope to get copies to all of us eventually.

Technical notes:

  • 8 calendars printed on an Epson extra wide photo printer
  • Page size: 13×19
  • 7 pages of thick double sided matte photo paper per calendar (there is a cover /bonus page)
  • My own camera and hours on the farm photographing places we played and things from the past
  • Hours on the internet researching the 40s/50s/60s/70s
  • Some topics: Candy of the era, dolls of the 50s, toys of the 60s/70s, family recipes, family books, glassware and items that sat around the house, household furniture, old games, etc
  • Software platform: Powerpoint (very easy to use and my templates from past years are already set up)
  • Spiral binding and the hole for hanging provided by Kinkos
  • Total cost is approximately $40 each and a lot of time

I can’t say which ones are my favorites.  I love the one of my Great Grandpa, my Mom’s dolls, and the Christmas recipes (one in Grandma’s writing) and pictures from my Mom’s cookbook… but then I also like the modern photo page of our childhood haunts on the farm.  They are all so very different and they all pull on something warm within me, bringing prescious loved ones closer and making family bonds stronger.

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Merry Christmas!

Did you notice that my Christmas cards looked a bit familiar?  I bounced off of my classwork in Illustrator and Charlotte added the poem.  I like the work we do together!  Lainey decided to join the fun and provided the stamps with my own art work from Stamps.com.

 

Snowmen

Born in laughter

From banks of snow

Where mittened fingers

And cheeks that glow

Craft these very merry creatures

With eyes of coal

And frozen features.

Snowmen, snowmen

Everywhere,

Come to life

in winter air.

C. Franck – November 26, 2009

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Cookie Day should be a national holiday!

Finals week:  Monday morning I had a team presentation in Color Theory and the final test.  We were out by 9:30 and then it was all about Cookie Day with the family in Hagerstown.  This year we had 13 kids involved and it was a wonderful time.  What I found hilarious is that my sister had to explain to my niece and nephew that “No, Cookie Day is not a national holiday.”  The next morning I was up early with 2 more finals to complete.