I have chosen to complete the learning project for my major project assignment! Upon hearing about this option, I immediately had ideas racing through my mind of skills that I would want to learn. However, once the realization sank in that I am pregnant and am limited in my physical capability, my options felt more limited. Therefore, learning how to do a freestanding handstand, skateboard or a backflip immediately flew out the window. 

After some additional searching and research, I decided to learn how to make slab building ceramics or pottery. Over the past year I have been practicing and learning wheel throwing pottery, however have always been interested in pursuing handbuild techniques, such as using slabs to create functional art. It is my understanding that wheel throwing and slab building are incredibly different ways of creating ceramics, and very few skills will transfer from one to the other. 

I chose slab building as my major project for many reasons. Firstly,  I love creating pottery on the wheel, however, with my pregnancy progressing, leaning over a wheel for hours is not an activity that my back will allow for much longer. Therefore, slab building is a more sustainable and ergonomic alternative. Slab building is also a more accessible version of pottery, as you can do handbuilding techniques virtually anywhere and without needing heavy and expensive equipment such as a wheel. Additionally, creating pottery has been a great form of self-care for me. It allows me to have an outlet of creative expression that I have been missing as I have had less time on the wheel lately.

Here are some examples of what I have created using wheel throwing techniques: 

Created by Amy Missal

Created by Amy Missal

Created by Amy Missal

Here are some inspirational videos of what I would like to create with slab building techniques: 

I am truly excited for this new venture and learning this new skill through social media outlets! 

For the last couple of years, I have been working towards limiting and reducing my social media access. The catalyst for this change was watching The Social Dilemma. After watching the documentary, I began to notice the impacts of social media on my personal connections and relationships. I then committed myself to focusing more on social connections with real people, in real time. During this time, I deleted many of my social media apps from my phone including snapchat, twitter, facebook and tiktok, leaving myself with Instagram and pintrest on my phone.

Not having these apps on my phone was an adjustment for several weeks. I no longer had multiple apps to mindlessly scroll through, however I often found myself inadvertently attempting to open the no longer existing apps. As I became aware of these impacts of social media use on myself and began to adjust, I was also more aware of my family’s social media use. For example, during family gatherings, how often everyone would grab their phones just to scroll through posts on different social media apps. The more I noticed patterns such as this, the more I became saddened of where our community was headed.

Photo by LoboStudioHamburg on Pixabay

With all that being said, I can recognize the many benefits of social media. For me personally, it has helped me to stay connected to friends, family, and peers that are geographically distant or who have limited time to connect in person. In many ways, social media helps break down barriers of accessibility. It allows me and others to share news, information, and ideas to multiple people at once which provides convenience. With sharing of information being spread readily and available 24-7, it is not wonder social media has sky rocketed. Additionally, from a community standpoint, social media has helped me stay connected and become more aware of events and local organizations that are running in my community.

From a professional lens, I use Instagram to promote my classes that I teach at Local Barre Fitness. This is something that is encouraged by my employers and helps me to connect with people in the local barre community in a different way outside of the studio. As an educator, I started a twitter account back in 2017. However, my activity on the app only lasted for a few months before it tapered off. This was my first year in a full-time teaching role and I found that being a first-year teacher and running a professional social media page to be too time consuming at the time. That being said, although I do not share on social media, I have used many platforms to search for ideas to use in my classroom. For example, I used tiktok to find different watercolor painting projects for my students, and I use art hub with my students once a week to practice fine motor and listening skills. Therefore, I see the huge value of using social media to share ideas professionally.

From a teaching perspective, I have used social media in the classroom very minimally. I have taught a Functionally Integrated Academic Program (FIAP) computer course for three years. Each time I teach this class, I teach a social media safety and digital citizenship unit. This was developed because of a need for my students, as many of them use social media and are vulnerable in their use. Therefore, learning and teaching about the dangers of social media provide me with more hesitancy in the value of it and perpetuates my love/hate relationship with it.