Tag: In Depth

I know I’ve been saying this for the past few posts, probably with different wording each time, but… Wow, time flies. It’s been about three and a half months since I first found a mentor, but surprisingly, it didn’t feel like a long time at all. As the title so “subtly” indicates, this will be my final post on my in depth project for the 2013-2014 school year. There are still things that I have to finish (like the rest of the flowers and  my final cross-stitch project). This post, however, will mainly be focusing on the plan for my learning centre.

My learning centre will obviously include displays of various cross-stitch projects as well as the silk flowers I’ve been working on. The cross-stitch projects include a mini heart phone chain, an upright upside down “福” (Fú) character (yes, this seems confusing: “upright upside down”… this will be explained), and an iPhone case that hopefully gets finished on time (I’m working on it, it’s cool). As for the flowers, I’ve decided to just use one single vase. This will make things a lot neater and simpler, because I don’t want a bunch of flowers laying around my learning centre. To answer questions from my last in depth post, I think it will be a good idea to tie the stems together before releasing them into the vase when we set up. This will cause the least damage to the silk flowers, and should save storage space as well. I imagine the readjusting time will decrease greatly as well, I simply need to add some finishing touches so it looks natural as a whole.

I will need one table for my project, preferably a chair as well. It would be great if my assigned area wasn’t near a windy place, as my materials may get blown away. I won’t be using electronics, so I won’t need a power outlet. I am still debating whether or not I should use a poster board to present my information (it does seem a tiny bit boring). If I do happen to use a poster board, then it will be a small one and only used for my cross-stitching projects. I plan to place my cross-stitching projects on one side of the table with the flowers on the other end. The middle of the table will be clear of projects so I can demonstrate the procedures of making the legendary silk flowers. A lot of the tools I use will also be on display, so the audience can realize this is a long process that uses many, many tools and materials. I’m not sure about actually teaching people to make the silk flowers, because there may safety issues with using pincer pliers and thin wires. They should, however, be equally interested in watching me demonstrate. I am also considering making sample flowers to hand out as “souvenirs” if I have the time to make them. 

As of now, it’s a no go, because a lot is happening on my schedule… but… you never know…

Overall, I envision this event to be extremely successful. I am getting very excited to finally show everyone what I’ve been working on for the past few months. Last year’s In-Depth Night was incredibly memorable, and I wasn’t even directly involved in the vent. With all the planning that’s already happening, I just know it will be perfect and fun!

Oh dear, my final blog post already. And I was here thinking I had plenty of time left for In-depth night. As the marked day slowly approaches, I realize one thing: never do anything last minute anymore. I have lost sleep and good working time because I chose to leave things to the last minute, which I strongly regret. But there is nothing I can do about it now, but plan my time wisely so I can get everything done while putting my best efforts. This is going to be a long week of filled stress and agony, but I am prepared.

So for my in-depth night, my ideas are not set and stone but I do have a rough idea of what I want to do. Earlier, I already said that it would be really cool if I managed to bring a real car to the school and show hand-on-hand maintenance on the car, but that seems really difficult. I would need to find a car that someone is okay with lending to me for the night and I would need  to find space that is easy to see by people and that is close enough to know that I’m part of the actual night.

So for my final idea, I’ve decided to a tutorial-like learning center where people can come and learn the same skills I learned in a more concise and faster way. At my learning center, there will be a screen that will constantly show videos of me doing car maintenance tutorials that can easily be watched in a few minutes. This will show that I know the skills well enough that I can teach others what I have been learning over the few months. Besides the video, I also was planning to set my learning center in a garage sort of layout. I would prefer a corner spot in the MPR to be able to bring tools and equipment that I need to actually do these maintenance. This will show that I am really in character and create an atmosphere of a low maintained guy who’s life consists of working on cars.

I am really excited for In-depth night, but I am also really nervous. I really hope that I’ll do well and make my first In-depth night an amazing experience.

Azaly Addam: Out.

In Depth Night is around the corner, and I am strangely calm about it. Personally I think the reason is how much progress I’ve made in the past few months. With over 12 cups and bowls able to present, I surpassed my personal goal by over double. Now I have so much more to talk about with the visitors of my station. As for what my station will look like, well I have some other ideas.

Simplicity is bliss. Is that a saying or did I just make that up? Anyways I could have tons of information posted all over my station cluttering up the walls with what I have learned, so that people could just walk by and be impressed by how much I’ve learned. But then the people would walk away because they just saw all I know without even having to talk to me. By using this option I would be taking the easy way out, and honestly wouldn’t even be needed at my station. So I created another option.

With all my knowledge of the process I could be my own learning center. All i would need is a throwing wheel, which the school has a variety in the ceramics room. This would mean I would need to be close to a power outlet to plug in my wheel. People would come up to me as I work and could ask about my learning. Around my center I would have a couple questions, like, “What is the process of making a cup” and conversation starters like that. Scattered around my Learning Center would be all the cups and bowls I’ve made in the past couple months, this would help start conversations with people because they would see them and want to pick them up. All in all, I am very excited for my learning center and can’t wait to see how it unfolds.

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Everyone who knows me knows that I play a lot of basketball. In basketball, athletes have games where they play amazing, practices where they feel like the star of the team, or drop-in sessions where they are just so on top of their game. Of course to have these “good” days, we have to have the bad. Bad days where you can’t make a shot to save your life, keep making the same bad pass, letting teammates down. I know what I’m talking about, the bad days happen as much as the good. But its the getting up, dusting ourselves of, and creating a good out of a bad day that improves our game.

What in the world does this have to do with pottery? Wheel-throwing isn’t a sport. No, I know that, but what I learned today has opened my eyes to how similar they can be. Like basketball, practicing wheel-throwing has its ups and downs. One day, I can go into the studio and make 5 cups in 5 tries, easily. But other days (such as today, yeesh) I can try so hard to make a decent cup and come out with only one “cup” that accidentally resembles the bottom half of an elephant. I’m not going to be steadily great every time, but the important thing to take away from a bad day is to come back next time for a great day. Of course if you already know this then you are one step ahead of me. To wrap up this week of in-depth work, I’d say I learned tons but made significantly less.

Picture time!:

Ding dong! Only one more month until show time! The sand in the hourglass is rapidly running out, leavening me little time to finish everything!

With AprilMayJune already rocketing in full motion, I find myself scrambling for time to do my projects. I’m glad that I completed a tremendously huge amount over Spring Break (even if it resulted in blurred eyesight, cramped back and neck, and a pretty foul stay in China), though that doesn’t give me an excuse to sit around and stop doing things. There are still lots of work for me to do in order to finish everything in time.

Before I go on, here are the pictures I promised from my last post:

And there you go! A complete peony! Peony is the national flower of China. When it was finished, I seriously thought this was beautiful! The silk material had different hues, giving the peony lights and darks. Plus, it just looked so realistic!

I am having trouble putting the leaves on: my mentor’s looked so natural, and mine just looks… fake. Luckily, I have my mentor’s email, so I am still able to have some kind of contact with her.

So far, I have completed the tulips, and hopefully I will finish lilies this coming Easter long weekend. This is what I had in mind for the display:

– 7 liles (singles)

– 2 tulips (attached groups each with three tulip flowers)

– 5 peonies (singles)

Of course, if I have extra material available and enough time to spare, then I will continue making more until material runs out. Also, if I happen to run out of time and not finish the flowers before In-Depth Night, then I figured I can do extra demonstrations during the night, which should attract more people as well. I personally think silk flowers are very pleasant for the eyes. It can look so real that you need to feel it in order to know it’s synthetic. I think a demonstration will rile up people’s interest, therefore making my project “successful”!

Here are some problems that are beginning to arise in my head:

The flowers are terribly fragile. One little nudge will twist the flowers into an undesired shape, and I’m positive there is not enough time on In-Depth Night for me to fix each and every one of them. Then, how do I ensure the flower’s “safety”? How will I transport it? Where do I store it (assuming the procedure is like Night of the Notables)? Should I use vases? Since all the vases I own are glass, how do I ensure the vase’s “safety”? And of course, how should I place the flowers in my learning center?

These questions that plague my mind will have to be solved in the next month. Some of those questions will be solved once the planning for the event is done, but others will still require thinking. With some careful planning, I’m sure everything will go smoothly.

Because I think silk-flower crafting is much more interesting than cross-stitching, and the demonstration I have in mind, I decided to flip my original plan and make silk-flower crafting as my main project, with cross-stitching as a side project. Nonetheless, my cross stitch definitely needs work. So far I have my phone chain finished, and my traditional Chinese “fortune” sign should be done in the next two weeks. I have the material to two other projects, but I’m not sure if I will be able to finish them. I never imagined how time consuming cross-stitching would be when I was planning on my contract. I will certainly try my best to do at least one of them, though I will have to figure out what I can do to the “unfinished projects”.

Well, that’s all for this week. I will continue to work hard towards my final goal. Until next time!

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged last; before spring break I believe.

Wow, the year is passing by so fast, and there are so many events and tasks I need to go to and do before my nest break. Oh man. April, May, and June will be something I’ll remember for quite a while (if it doesn’t kill me first).

So over the break, I was fortunate enough to meet with my mentor for an extra hour as he was busy during the second week of the break. The break gets really busy at his work, so having the opportunity to go while the workshop is closed is something I greatly appreciated from my mentor.

During this lesson, we took a step up as the next vehicle maintenance skill I learned was much more difficult than the previous mechanic skills I learned. And can not be done simply at home, as shop equipment is needed to lift the vehicle up and make sure it is safe to work on. My last session, we focused on the back of the truck (which is what we were working on) and had to fix the break pads. I can honestly say that this kind of maintenance needs higher level of experience and I could not work on the break pads without more knowledge. However, knowing how the break pads work will prove to be helpful in the future when I can hopefully diagnose the problem earlier and have more knowledge on car maintenance.  The break pads of a vehicle is quite fascinating, as I have come to a realization that the car holds itself up; every part is needed, as they overlap each other. Without a part, the vehicle would most likely have a problem. The break pads have two components: the primary pad and the secondary pad. The primary pad squeezes the disc of the break, with moves the wheel, while the secondary break acts as a wedge. The two pads work together constantly, and although made out of a solid material, ware down as they undergo constant stress of breaking. In the other hour, he taught me the different filters, parts I did not know about the car, and liquids the car uses. Every vehicle needs its own type of liquid, being different than the other. I thought that each car would tell the owner which item belonged to the car. However, mechanics have a computer which has records of a variety of vehicles, so they know which item goes with which car. To properly maintain a vehicle, owners need to study the cars they’re using to be able to maintain their vehicles properly.

Now to answer questions!

1. My mentor, like any other person, forgets. So my mentor likes to leave 10 minutes of every session to ask questions that Ii have or ask things I want to learn for next time. He gives me an opportunity to ask what I want to be taught,  and gives me suggestions of things I should look for on my free time to ask next time we meet.

2. I like to spend time to review things I recently learned. My mentor does not specifically gives me any sort of tests or anything, but before we start our sessions, he usually asks questions about what I learned at my last session. Mechanic skills can easily be forgotten, so reviewing daily is needed.

3. We can only meet so often, and my mentor knows that. So my mentor might have moments where he knows people who are giving workshops or lessons on these kind of things. Unfortunately, I have been too busy and crammed to attend any of these workshops and enhance my learning, but there are opportunities for me too meet other mechanics and learn different mechanic skills and learn in different ways.

4. When we’re together, my mentor and I have a lot of things to talk about. We usually find time to talk about the news, our days, what’s going on in our lives, but most commonly: movies. I cannot stress this enough. We both love movies. And it is quite ridiculous how many movies we both enjoy.

5. The fact that my mentor has time to show me things that he hasn’t planned to show me is probably one of the best things going on between us. He knows that there’s a lot of things I would like to know, and the fact that he’s that dedicated to me to spend extra time to show me these things makes me feel really good about my in-depth project.

6. We’re learning what kind of people we are. It is easier to have a conversation with my mentor at my sessions, and I feel comfortable talking to him now, as I am slowly finding out the person he is. He is so modest, never showing off the things he can do or the things he has accomplished. He’s very funny, which breaks the ice most of the time. I can see myself looking up to someone like this; with a great mind and a kind soul.

Until next time blog!

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