This week I have been thinking a lot about process, and how process should be taught to students. I have also been thinking about the ways in which art teachers can allow for students to learn techniques and skills for making art, without hindering their exploration process. For this I was reflecting on my ideas of the past, I thought I would teach students to do something, and they would follow a step by step process in order to complete that particular task, I would then show them a new process, and so on and so forth. This is something that my perspective throughout recent semesters has changed. I understand and realize the importance of teaching students processes, it allows for them to develop their skills, and make the art that they are interested in making. However, I have realized now the importance too, of giving students the basic skills, and letting them explore and try whatever it is they may want to. They can take these ideas and run with them, trying anything that comes to mind. This is something that I have learned throughout my time here at CSU. I have learned the importance of the process over the product, and that what I want is to help students realize is the creativity that they have in them. When a student copies a demonstration, they aren't able to creatively think about what is possible. Alongside this I have been thinking about how I can teach the creative process to students. I think that a big part of this is allowing for and encouraging the use of a sketchbook. A sketchbook can allow for students to write down anything that comes to mind, they can write down ideas, they can write down inspirations, they can sketch, they can do whatever it is they find allows for them to explore. I have found myself recently using a sketchbook more than I had in the past, I have been drawing out all my ideas, whether it be a simple sketch or something more complex, I have a place to think through whatever is going on in my head. I also know that in the future I will keep much of these ideas, and I my understandings now will come with me throughout the rest of my life as a teacher. However, I also know and am excited for the fact that I have so much more to learn. There are ideas for how to teach art that I haven't ever come across. This is something that I'm excited for, because there are always new things to learn, and that keeps me inspired to keep going, and learn as much as I can. My piece this week represents these ideas, because it demonstrates my shift in ideas, and therefore is my way of using art to express my thoughts and ideas. In the past, I thought I would teach specific demonstrations and then have students follow step by step. For this part of the piece, I folded the fabric perfectly into sections and placed clothes pins along the edge. Now I am starting to understand how I can teach in a way that allows for students to explore, but also learn the skills that they are interested in. For this section I folded the fabric randomly, as a way of exploring that technique further. This was a piece that allowed for me to test something I was interested in, and something that I was thinking about in my sketchbook, which furthers this connection with using sketchbooks as a way of developing ideas. For the future part of this piece, I kept some of the same colors and ideas as what I have now, but also left a lot of room for the new ideas I know I will gain in the future. 

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One specific moment when I realized the importance of sketchbooks was working with some students in my EDUC 340 class a couple of semesters ago. There was a student who was thinking about ideas left and right, but she was writing them on random pieces of paper that ended up getting lost by the next week when I saw her again. This is exactly the reason that sketchbooks are so important, they allow for us to explore ideas, but also keep them organized so we can remember our thoughts, and explore them further later. I also have realized this a lot in my own experience. As I was discussing earlier, lately I have been sketching much more than I ever did before, and this has allowed for me to think through my ideas more. I am able to go more in depth in my artistic practice because of sketching. It allows for me to realize and explore ideas that I'm truly interested in and put aside ideas I'm less interested in. 

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For my work of art this week I used a natural dye process, which is something that for me really represents my change in ideas. Art is something that happens naturally, we progress through ideas, we think of ideas, and explore them in an organic way. This is something that I didn't realize when I thought I would be giving intense step by step demos. This also connects back to the idea of making meaningful art. Meaningful art isn't something we can create in two seconds, it is something that happens naturally. So for this piece, I dyed the fabric with carrot greens and onion skins as the bottom layer, and then indigo as the top layer. This is representational of the natural process of art making for students. 

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This experience has allowed for me to understand what changes I have made in my understandings throughout my experiences so far in becoming an educator.  This is something that allows for me to grow as an educator, it allows for me to really think about why I may have thought different things in the past, and why its important that I made this shift. I think as an educator not being hard on yourself for a past mistake is really important. Throughout time, we all change perspectives, and we can take the past as a learning experience instead of thinking what we did or thought in the past was bad. This is something that I find really important, looking at my previous thoughts as learning experiences instead of mistakes. I will continue to change my ideas, and its always important for me to understand these shifts, and take everything as a way of growing.