Is Teaching Low?

Brief little rant: I'm currently a Toddler teacher and it's NOT okay what teachers get paid. I realize to most that Toddler and teacher do not go together in the same sentence and that to most I'm not teaching them addition, or how to analyze a story, or grammar, but those people would be wrong. Toddlers learn differently than school age children do; and so I teach them differently than school age children need to be taught.

When I leave that building at the end of the day, I'm not going home as just another citizen. I'm going home as a teacher. When I go out in public, I'm going out as a teacher. Those children and their families recognize me as a teacher. When I get on my computer, I'm getting on the computer as a teacher because I am dedicated to what I do and I enjoy researching how to teach better or to share information with others (teaching).

What strikes me is that this level of dedication: the fingerprinting, the censoring of yourself, the background checks, the moral compass that becomes habit to wear, is not rewarded in our culture. It's not valued as it should be. Teachers are expected to do this because they love doing it regardless of the money. Doctors and lawyers who are also dedicated to serving the public to varying degrees are paid a mint. It just makes me wonder what makes something important or not, what makes something low brow or not?

Updates, updates, updates: What I Finished, What I'm Doing Now

 Months ago I posted about having my first freelance assignment: my aunt asked me to design a business card to send along with all of the blankets she crochets. The final result is above. She really wanted blue and yellow as her color scheme and I think the simplicity of it really works. The font at the top is fun and the important information is legible. I enjoyed this project because it was a small scale. In the past, I worked pretty large. Two of my final pieces in my BFA show were 8 feet tall and the rest were usually between 3 and 4 feet in at least one direction. This was small and had a purpose so I had to consider the hierarchy of the elements I used, placement, etc. This version is more standard, but works with the intention and purpose of the card. My favorite:
 

 

I think this one is more dynamic, but didn't have the color scheme. I loved playing with the yarn and the lyrical quality it had, but I think my aunt was worried about the legibility of her name and I agree with her. It seems legible to me because I made it and know what it should say, but I can totally see how someone else might have a hard time with it. The design on the top won her over and she was very happy with how they came out.

As of now, it's crunch time for my Otakon cosplay. This year I'll be doing two outfits: my costume from Halloween (I was Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time) and Nia Teppelin from Tengen Toppa Gurren Legann.

 

Nia Teppelin

Nia has been a tough little cosplay, mostly because with working and planning and finishing certification, I haven't had time to devote to it and creating the pieces simply takes time. I bought the gems for the jewelry from a pretty awesome site if you plan on buying a decent amount of gems (I think the minimum order is $25-$30) http://www.allstarco.com/ and will be using those with craft foam to make Nia's pieces in all her princess-ly glory. The craft foam made me a little worried, but I used this tutorial: http://entropyhouse.com/penwiper/costumes/helmsdeep.html and they know what they're talking about. I'm only at the sealing part and I'm already sold. I never thought a sheet of craft foam that cost about a dollar and some plastic gems could look like real jewelry but it does. Gaudy, but that's on the character designers of the show.

I have her wig (that I feel gorgeous in!) which just needs the bangs styled, the shoes which need white straps and gems, the hairpiece needs to be made, and the real kicker: the dress. The seamstress I wrote about earlier is willing to meet up with me, but I feel the only hard part about this dress won't be making it (like Princess Bubblegum with her puff sleeves and peter pan collar) but will be making the pattern. I don't know where to start. Luckily she's willing to help me again! Otakon is in just over a month, so hopefully everything turns out in time.

843

    I wanted to talk about this piece because I've been thinking about a lot of things lately, but to sum it all up, I've been thinking about what I find important and how I spend my time. Last night a friend of mine came over for dinner and the discussion lead to academia and how he was always successful in that way because it was important to him and was the only way that he received praise. Any topic somehow revolving around academia, successes in school, etc. always makes me uncomfortable because people are usually surprised that I did poorly in school, including college. I only feel compelled to share this information if I'm participating in a conversation that requires me to share (and I've never been good at lying unless it felt absolutely necessary) or someone makes a comment that is supremely stupid and assumptive about intelligence or smarts in relation to grades. People ask why; they ask how. I wonder this myself sometimes, because there certainly are many reasons why school did not rank more highly for me, but in the interest of keeping it brief and not telling my complete life story, I'd say real life just got in the way. I had other things to take care of, spoken or unspoken, they were things I felt responsible for and had to take care of so school typically fell by the wayside especially after middle school.

    This piece is personal and insightful to me because there is way more to it than meets the eye and that was absolutely my intention. It is unassuming, the colors mostly pastel and safely barricaded within sterile melamine shelving. It's called 843 after the store number of the Wawa I worked at. This is the organization of their sandwich station which I still remember: Top Row (L to R): turkey, chicken salad, provolone cheese, sweet peppers, bacon, tuna salad, turkey. Middle Row (L to R): italian meat prep, roast beef, american cheese, pickles, american cheese, ham, italian meat prep. Bottom Row (L to R): lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, mayonnaise, onions, tomato, lettuce. The piece was roughly 4 ft x 8 ft. Not an evil place, but a place I felt trapped at. I was working two jobs equaling 40+ hours while going to school full time and trying to keep an eye on my dad as best I could because we couldn't afford a visiting nurse and he had been recently released from the hospital. I would drive home on my breaks and before/after classes to give him his pills, feed him, clean up a mess if there was one.  I don't honestly remember how I slept, though I must have managed some because I remember waking myself up folding my bedclothes the way we would wrap up the sandwiches.
    
       While in school I kept the story to myself because I had conflicting emotions about sharing it. I wanted to be cryptic and being so made me feel elusive while maintaining my privacy and hiding my shame that I was overweight, worked in fast food, and had things outside of school that I felt responsible to take care of. I'm sharing it now because it's in the past, I'm making my peace with it, my father has passed, and I'm free from several of the burdens I had then. I also feel the piece means nothing really without the story. People like a locked door, but they like it more if they know where the key is. They want the whole thing and can only stand being teased for so long and really, what is it but a bunch of colored squares without knowing what they represent? What is it without knowing why they represent food and what food means as a lifeline in that I worked with food all day to afford food and care for my family?

      The piece was thrown away. I left it hanging on the wall of sculpture building in my school because I had no way of removing a piece that large. They kept it up for at least a year after I graduated. They'd removed it sometime around 2010.

I Missed This

As usual, a conversation with my best friend was enough to revamp my spirits. I feel on the edge of something today, like something great will happen, I'll make a breakthrough, I'll learn something new. This will be short today, but I hope in the near future I have something exciting and wonderful to share.

First Somewhat Legit Freelance!

So it's for my Aunt, but still! She crocheted blankets for our younger cousins when they were born as gifts and then started doing them for baby showers, etc. Anyway, she felt it was time to start making it more of a thing since she enjoys it so much and no one in our family will be having babies anytime soon. So she wanted business cards. It's been really fun though I'm a bit sad my favorite design didn't win. Now that we have the design she wants, I just need to get ahold of a different computer (mine won't do CMYK for some reason) to set it up for printing and then it's a go! I'll post the design if she's okay with it as soon as it's all squared away.

Christmas, a Pen Pal, and Where I'm At Today

Christmas always gets me going on a crafty kick. I'm lucky: a lot of my friends and family appreciate the things I make and so I always have the opportunity to not only save myself some money, but enjoy the season by doing something I love and a lot of it! I'm still kind of rolling on that kick. I've been making journals out of some of the paper I've come across (and there's plenty of it that I've collected over the years) designing business cards for a family member, and even drawing a bit. A friend of mine from college has also needed an excuse to keep up on her skills and so we've taken to writing each other. I've really enjoyed having the excuse to do these things. I designed stickers that looked like cakes and chocolates to put on a card. I've drawn us at Halloween. I've made time for it again.

It's hard to pinpoint where this change of heart is stemming from. Having a pen pal definitely helps because I'm getting feedback and art for myself in return. But there's something deeper changing. I was looking for running quotes and I found one that I can't remember exactly but goes something along the lines of "we would be surprised what we're capable of" and I just had to pause. That quote is completely me. If I don't HAVE to do something, I'm notorious for not doing it. But every Christmas, who cranks out 10-20 handmade gifts the week prior? Me. If I've made a personal promise who makes sure it's done and done right? Me. I surprise myself all the time because when I'm in the zone and I've already started, I'm unstoppable. I ran 2 miles for the first time last week. Today I did it again. I'm surprising myself all over the place because so many things I've denied myself because I thought I wasn't good enough, are working out. I'm the happiest I've been in ages. Things aren't perfect, but I'm doing something every day to make it better. To enjoy it. I hope you are, too. I know you can do it.

Getting Lost Stitch by Stitch

I've always enjoyed sewing and up until October 2011 I had always done it by hand. I don't know why I avoided sewing machines, but I think I was just scared that it would make things worse or ruin the very limited amount of fabric I had. Anyway, I've broken the seal, I've learned how to use a machine thanks to a very kind friend of my boyfriend(Maxx)'s mom's.

She was mostly self-taught and considered herself lucky that she got a job with a tailor. Since then she's made clothing and costumes for her children and others. She taught me for free. I don't know how I get so lucky to have these people come into my life. Anyway, I wanted to cosplay (costume play for those that aren't familiar with the abbreviation for dressing up as a character from a show or movie) as Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time for ages and to get the most use out of it, planned on having it finished in time for Halloween. I don't know how I thought I was going to do the dress without a pattern and by hand, but I'm really glad I let my Maxx's mom talk me into meeting her friend.

She not only taught me how to use a machine, but how to use patterns, change the pattern to fit properly, and all kinds of things. She was really the perfect teacher, allowing me to do it myself and make mistakes. More importantly though, she welcomed me into her home and provided me with a quiet place to come and learn to sew. I don't know how many of you have found that peace that comes with doing something you love, but I didn't realize how long it had been since I felt it last until I had to stop sewing. I had lost myself. I had been sewing for four hours and it was spectacular. I was the fabric and the thread and they were me and we were coming together to become something different. Maxx's grandma is giving me her sewing machine to use to make Christmas gifts and I can't tell you how excited I am. It feels good to have this feeling again.