Strange Dreams

I had two dreams last night I can remember quite a bit of.

The first, I feel, was a combination of a few TV shows I watched last night before bed. I was some sort of secret spy or agent of some sort. I was watching myself from outside my body as a third person (which would also relate to the TV show thing). I was with my wife and daughter (which I don’t actually have) in an apartment, housed in a large brick apartment building complex. It was on the 3^rd floor of the building. I remember this because I ran up the stairs of it several times. The very last time I ran up them to my apartment there was definitely some M.C. Escher stuff happening. I told my daughter I’d be back later and my wife and I just exchanged glances. I left and went to go get into one of two helicopters waiting. One was a slightly larger, orange helicopter. The other was black. They were both extremely narrow and had no landing gear. They also were both really wobbly and seemed to work like toys. “We”, (who ever I was with… I’m not sure due to third person viewing) were on our way to go blow something up. I think we were going to blow up a garbage truck or something weird like that. Unfortunately we’d been discovered and a group of suited men were on our tail. The next thing I know I am racing through my apartment complex to warn my wife to hide.

That’s it. That’s the dream. It wasn’t particularly strange, but I found it very calm, despite how intense it could have been. I think its because I was watching in third person. It was also weird that I was probably the bad guy.  Don’t know that that means.

The second dream I had seems to be part of an ongoing series of dreams where I go back to college. In this case, I wasn’t thrust back to freshman year as in the other ones I’ve had. In this one I was just going back to school as me right now.

The school I was at was supposedly Wisconsin, but the field house where most of the dream took place was pretty old, crowded, and beat up. It was like Colorado University’s old field house, but with tons of equipment and people. This field house is incredibly vivid and I could take you on a tour of it right now or build a movie set based on it. It apparently doubled as the rec center where everyone worked out. I remember trying to find the locker room to get changed and enter the field house. Once I was in there I was crossing the indoor track and I almost got ran over by a line of girls moving pretty damn fast. I realized that the Wisconsin team was having practice/time trials. I recognized two of the athletes hanging out as a couple of the seniors from the high school cross country team I coach.  I recognized another as one of the 7^th grade girls I coach in basketball. Apparently she was in college. I thought nothing of it. One of the first things I noticed was that most of the runners had a small blanket over their shoulders. When I said hi to one of my athletes they told me it was a team tradition to have a blankie. We laughed and I told him it was cool that he was already feeling like a part of the team and that it seemed like they would be a lot of fun. Then I saw a bunch of runners surround my 7th grade girl athlete, we'll cal her B. She used her feet to roll up a towel really fast into a kind of pillow. A bunch of the girls acted semi-impressed and cheered. One of the other girls on the team seemed to be the judge of whether B id it right or not. It seemed to be another tradition of theirs. She picked it up and tested it out, approving of B’s job. My athletes and a couple others came with me as I walked around the field house to take a tour. There were weight benches and people running around, working out. I remember in my dream at this time hoping someone would ask me to join the team. I wanted to be asked and then be asked to train with them and get back on a team and run track at Wisconsin. Silly idea, but its what I wanted in my dream. Peaking over a small ledge separating the weight room area and the basketball courts, I saw the guys and girls team practicing together. I guess practicing would be a strong word for what they were doing. They were crawling on their knees and elbows. It seemed that they were in trouble and this was the punishment… not sprints, but crawls. It looked painful. Near the end of my dream, I was heading back over by the track team. I saw their coach and then I saw my dad come up and shake his hand and start talking with him. I called out to him. He seemed surprised to see me. My dad looked great. He was 20 years younger, taller, and in great shape. He seemed very happy. He asked what I was doing there. I told him I decided to go back to school. He asked what I was going to study…. I had no answer for this and then my dream ended.

I’m not sure what it means to keep having dreams about going back to college. My wife and I just got done with all that again as she now has a Master’s and her Administration license to become a principal. I, too, also now have my Master’s degree in Art and Design with an emphasis in Art Education. I thought I might be done with school, but I keep having dreams of going back. It’s the good kind of going back though. It’s not the school you sign up for later in life and do all the work at home while still maintaining a job. It’s the kind of going back to school where you actually get to go back to college itself and it seems like a blast. I’ll have to think more about why I am having these dreams. Do I was to go back to school? Do I want teach in college? I’m not sure, but I don’t mind these dreams. They’re pretty fun.

Team Mom and Dad: Equal time?

This past weekend was a nice three day weekend due to Presidents Day. My wife and I had really nothing crazy planned. She had a brunch thing with her friends Saturday, allowing her to get out of the house and allowing me some alone time with our little baby boy of almost 3 months. This weekend of free time, though, ultimately lead to a conversation we needed to have surrounding how we both help in taking care of our little man. Here's the lead in....

The period of time while my wife was gone this weekend, about 5 hours (which I thought was going to be closer to 3), went pretty well. Our little man, though, doesn’t love eating from the bottle. He got hungry almost the immediately after my wife left. I warmed up a bottle while he screamed bloody murder. His screaming and crying doesn't really get to me... I just feel bad he's crying. Warming up a bottle only takes a few minutes, but for those few minutes, despite efforts to soothe, he's pretty upset.

I do not want your ridiculous bottled milk! I want the good stuff!

He didn’t take the bottle for a while when I first tried to give it to him, screaming to try to get his mom’s attention that he was hungry. Once he realized his best option was me, with the bottle, and that the bottle had milk in it, he ate. But he wasn’t happy about it. He still tried to cry and moan while eating, which was kind of funny, but also made me nervous he would spit up. He got hungry two more times during this period and each time screamed his head off until he finally ate a little, then would fall asleep halfway through because he was tired from screaming.

When my wife got home, I told her how it went, putting a mostly positive span on things. It really wasn’t that bad. I was just a little frustrated as I thought she was going to be home sooner and that would have meant one less screaming party… but really it wasn’t a big deal at all. We did get to play some, make faces, dance a little, etc. My wife, though, seemed almost pleased that he got upset. Not that the baby was upset, but that I could see what it was like. I could be reading into her  demeanor way too much, here. But I get it. Mom’s that are at home (and I mean at the beginning really… my wife will be returning to work soon), want the spouse to see how hard it actually is during the day. To know they are working hard and that it’s not easy.

Here’s the thing, though. I know it’s not easy. I never said it was or have said anything about how I have to work and she GETS to stay home, or how hard my day was compared to hers, or anything like that. Sometimes, though, I get a sense that she thinks I do have these thoughts. I really don’t.

On the last day of the nice long weekend, I was putting in some work time for school, planning out a couple brand new lessons I would like to try out. During this time, my wife was also trying to do some resume building, etc. as she is going to look for a new job now that she has her administration license. We took turns with the baby boy, but, if I am honest, she took him more. I am very willing to take him, but if he is hungry, often it’s easier for her to take him. Most of the time he cries its because he's hungry. Also, my wife and son have developed a daily routine. I don't know whats in their routine, so I tend not to follow it. At the end of the day, though, all this started a conversation that never got heated or loud, but there was some obvious frustration.

My wife thought it might be a good idea to set up a time when I got home from work and coaching that  would be my turn with the baby. I'd be in charge from 5-7 or something like that and I would take full responsibility for the little man and that maybe we would set up times on weekends, too. I think she had a conversation with her extremely organized friend (who is awesome, but definitely a very organized person and is the type of person others follow on Pinterest to see how she organizes her kitchen and stuff). While I see the merit in this idea, I immediately questioned it.

Do we really want to set hard boundaries or time lines for when we are going to parent? Do we want to set our lives up so that I am separate from you for 2 hours each day, or that you are separate from the baby during that time? Are we not going to work together? I don’t mind helping at all and want to spend time with my baby boy, and want to be engaged, but I think putting a time limit or quota on it is tough. Part of the reasoning behind this idea, is to make sure he is getting a bottle everyday. We've talked about this part before and agree. He needs to be used to the bottle for when my wife goes back to work. He won't take a bottle from her because he knows she has the fresh goods. But, in my opinion as a first time parent and knowing very little, I think creating clear cut times is not the way to go.

The end of this conversation was cut off as a neighbor stopped by, for which I was grateful. I really didn't want to come to conclusion because I feel like we weren't in the right head space for it. To be honest, it felt like one of those conversations that happen when you are feeling frustrated but would seem unnecessary later on. You'd look back and realize it didn't need to happen or it didn't need to happen the way it did.

Last night, though, was a good example of what I would like to see us do. I got home around 5:30 after work and practice. My wife had dinner almost ready, which is awesome of her (I don’t mean to make it seem that she needs to make dinner. I do sometimes, too, but it was awesome it ready to go...). The little man was napping. Half way through eating, he woke up. I decided to go pick him up and ate while bouncing him a little. After eating he was hungry and my wife prepped a bottle. I kept him happy and occupied until it was ready and then fed him. He wasn’t super happy about the bottle, but he did alright. Throughout the evening we took turns. I played with him and hung out with him while my wife worked on her resume stuff. She took him when he got hungry again and I sat with them and chatted. I took him back when he was getting really fussy while eating to help burp him and give my wife a quick break.

The point is, we didn’t set exact times or boundaries. We worked together. I helped out when I could. My wife stepped in when it was needed. We worked together and the little guy had a great evening and slept through the night. 

In marriage, I think we often fall into the traps of keeping track of who does what and how much. “I made dinner last night, so it’s your turn.” “I made dinner, so you do the dishes.”  “I did laundry, now you do this.” We keep a tally. I’m not the first to point this out and won’t be the last. I am totally guilty of this and have to catch myself when I do it. It’s not about how much I do vs. how much someone else does. The question is, are we both working together to achieve the goal or get “X” done? We both know the dishes need to be put away. If you have the time, take a minute and do it, whether you did it last time or not. If the baby is upset, let’s figure out why and try to help. If my wife seems frustrated and tired, I will step in if possible. In our house, I have kind of taken over a lot of the dog duties, but my wife will go play with her or walk her if I ask her to, or without asking at all, to help me out. Most of the time, it doesn’t take more than a quick word or polite plead and things get taken care of. I like this system and maybe it seems like I should do more, but I think trying to set up an actual time quota will only lead to argument, frustration, and more problems. 

My wife and I are a good team and have demonstrated it time and time again. We’ve accomplished a lot together. Can I do more to help sometimes?…Most likely, yes. Do we get frustrated with each other? Sure. But, we always seem to figure it out. Will the topic of equal time in childcare come up again… I am positive it will. But that’s okay. If we can hear each other out I think we will be just fine.

Art Lesson: Clay Spirit Animal Vessels

This is a lesson I have taught a few different ways, but the way I've done it the past few times seems to be the way to go... for me at least. I usually teach this to 7th graders, but it would work well for other levels as well. I wont go into complete detail, because that's boring. Plus, if you want to use this lesson or send it to someone who does, they will teach it their own way and style anyways. You can translate any of this into almost any material you wanted, especially the first part of the unit, which is 2D instead of 3D.

To start the lesson I introduce the students to the idea of Spirit Animals. We don't go too far down the rabbit hole with this, but keep it light and fun. We actually watch an episode of Rob Dydrek's Fantasy Factory, (Season 1, Episode 2), where he brings in a Shaman to find his Spirit/Power Animal before taking a big rally car jump. Its fun and gets good buy in. I tell the students their homework is to find their spirit animal. They can do this through thought or taking an online test, etc.

Wouldn't this be a great T-shirt?

The next couple days we spend in the computer lab finding images that will help us draw and sculpt the animal. Not only do I encourage them to find images to print on a PowerPoint slide that are realistic and from different angles, but I encourage them to add words to their search to find other versions of their animal that might help them. For example, my animal was a fox. I searched "fox mascot", "fox sculpture", "fox cartoon", and "how to draw a fox". This last search will not only help with drawing, but also with sculpting as the steps can be the same if you translate shapes into forms.

In my latest version of this unit I introduce the kids to Haida Native American art work, especially their work with animals. We discuss symmetry, use of simplified organic and geometric design, hidden faces in the designs, use of common motifs, etc. I then have the students use their research to help them draw out half their animal, fill it in with similar design styles to the Haida (but not direct copies, more focusing on creating geometric and simplified organic designs), and then trace or transfer the half drawing onto the other side of the paper. I allow them to color these in with Sharpies, colored pencils, etc.

Its a good lesson, especially to start a semester. My examples, step by step, are below, but the kids did a lot of great examples... I included a few of those as well.

Once this project was over, we revisited the idea of a spirit animal. I then went over the requirements and examples for the next project.... the clay vessel project. This is a long term project that teaches a lot of skills. I come in to this lesson, though, knowing I have taught many of them how to make pinch pots, coils, and use slabs in 6th grade. As I stated earlier, I don't want to get too into details, so I will try to keep these descriptions of what we did simple.

The requirements of this lesson are the following; The vessels must:

• Be built using pinch pots and coils
• Have a lid (cut out from vessel)
• Include additive, subtractive, and incising techniques
• Include a sculpted animal

Within this structure I do allow quite a bit of freedom, but those are the basic skills I look for. Once we go over these requirements, we spend some time brainstorming as a class. I find it very helpful to show them how to do this. We pick an animal and then make lists or word webs to find ideas and objects we can use in our designs for the vessel.  Then I sketch it out in front of them, tossing around tons of ideas. Once we've done this together, I release them to sketch on their own.

Before we make the project, I spend some time having the students practice. I demonstrate techniques and ideas, then they practice with the clay for the day. One day we use a "how to draw animals" book. I allow a student to choose one and we then all go through the steps all together, sculpting the animal, discussing issues and techniques, etc. I demonstrate this on the projector screen using the document camera while they work on their own versions individually along with me. Another day I demonstrate pinch pots and have them practice these for a day. These are good warm ups, skill builders, and allow them to work free of pressure for a day.

After practicing, we get right into the project. The way I have them build their vessels is a little different, but works really well. BUT, if you want to use this, build them however you want. I have the students start with a pinch pot and build up with coils to desired height and form. Once this is achieved, we create a slab, flip the vessel over, trace the opening onto the slab, and attach it. This is now the bottom. The pinch pot is the top. The reason I do this is it helps later with cutting out the lid. You could just keep the slab on top and cut the lid out. Whatever works better for the students design, really.

The rest of the project is mostly technical details, but below are the individual pages from the packet I hand-made for the students. The first images are the examples I made for this project.If this is helpful to anyone, good. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the images.