This week I wanted to focus on my personal experiences with learning, and how that shapes my perspective as a future teacher. I have taken a number of studio classes here at CSU, but there are a few that stood out to me, because of the way I was taught in the class. One that really comes to mind for me is my first fibers class. This class was focused around experimentation when we were first learning a new technique, then throughout the time using that technique the projects developed into more conceptual works. This is something that I felt really allowed for me to learn, because I got to play with the material before I was too focused on perfecting a work of art. During those first projects, I learned a great deal, because I wasn't necessarily focused on making something that looked good. I was focused on the process of making, and through that I had a great deal of learning happen. Before I had taken this class, my perspective was what I had learned from other classes. Many of my foundation classes were focused around making things perfect. Throughout the semester, we got more skills to develop our understanding of the material and the technique, however I never got the chance to just try something and explore that way of working. My past perspective therefore was that teaching and learning happens through this method of working. However, my perspective has changed after taking fibers and other similar classes. I think play allows for students to try things they may have never tried before. It allows for students to explore without a fear of messing up. For my piece this week, I embodied the idea that from each of my studio classes, I have learned something valuable. There is something from each of my classes that I will take into my future teaching, whether that be something very small, or whether that be something that is foundational to my way of teaching. I think it is important to take our own learning experiences as a way of developing a teaching style. I have been in school for the past 15 years, and so I have a great deal of learning experiences, this allows for me to see many ways of teaching, and how that affected me as a learner. It is very important in my opinion to understand what it is like in the student position when you are teaching things a certain way. This allows for you to have a better understanding of what is going on for students, and therefore ways that we can address issues, and ways we can further successes.  In my piece each of the lines represents one of the classes I have taken, and how that class shapes my perspective on learning and teaching now. Some of the classes, such as fibers are darker and have more lines connected to them. Other classes have have am impact in a smaller way, so those lines become more subtle. I look at these as a timeline of sorts. In the past my perspective was shaped by the classes that I took, that were focused on making "perfect" art, that is what many of my classes were at the beginning of college. However, now that I have taken more classes, my present perspective is shaped by the classes that I learned the best in. The final section of the piece has very subtle lines, because that is the future. I will continue to take more classes, and continue to learn, as well as teach classes which will continue to shape my perspective. This is something that I can't make specific marks for yet, because I am unsure about what the future holds. 

​

I think that fabric works well for me to represent my ideas in this piece, because it is a material that changes and moves constantly, which is how I feel about my perspectives. There will never be a time, when I stop having a change in perspective. I am consistently revising my previous ideas, I am shaping my views through new discoveries, and new experiences. I also think that working with dyes helps to represent my ideas because it is something that can have some inconsistency, you never know what to expect with dye work. This is something that goes back to the idea of experimentation. With dyeing fabric, you can often plan everything out exactly, and it won't necessarily go to plan. This is something that connects for me with the idea of play and experimentation. I am interested in trying new things out, and getting different results when I explore. This is something that I connect with the process of dyeing fabric. 

​

This reflection on my past perspectives, and my relation to other classes that I have taken has a strong impact on my path to becoming an educator as well as an artist. I think that looking back on our own experiences can be a huge help when learning to teach. A huge part of how we learn is through our own experiences. If I had a teacher that didn't help me to learn, it is important to look at why, and how I can do something differently than that teacher did. On the opposition, if a teacher did something that really helped me to learn, than I can make sure to incorporate that into my own classroom. I also know that I will continue to learn from my future experiences in the classroom. This is something that allows for me to develop my own practice as an educator through my own understandings and experiences.