Lately...

I have been a bad, boring blogger lately! I'll tell you what I have been up to lately...

TODAY I did an all day observation of the art classes at a district near me that I would love to work for! I was a little nervous beforehand because I wanted to make a good impression but once I got there I really just enjoyed being around the students, with the art teachers, and in a creative learning environment! I sort of feel at home in the art classroom, which is a good thing! Although I know my first year of teaching will be hard, I feel much less nervous and intimidated about everything (both the hiring process as well as my ability to be a good teacher). I'm just ready to get hired somewhere so I can celebrate and stop worrying about the "what-if" I don't get a job scenario. After I got home from 7 hours of observing, Glenn and I ate at Olive Garden and even got dessert! I enjoyed it immensely! Now I'm half way through my observation hours for certification.

I've also been substituting now that the computer system that communicates with subs is working. That was a small battle that I don't feel like getting into. $90/ day is not bad for babysitting! ;-)

I'm working hard in my Grad school classes. This takes most of my time these days. I've started my series of portraits but sorry I don't have pictures yet. The only totally finished piece is in the People's Choice show at the Brazosport Art League for this month. It is a show where visitors to the gallery vote and the artists with the top 3 most popular work win monetary prizes. I don't expect to win, but if it happened I could use the money...to buy more art supplies! (they are SO expensive)



My online teaching certification class is getting on my nerves. Whose idea was it to do a group project in an online class? No matter how competent the group partners are it is a difficult situation. I'll be glad when this class is behind me!

Also I have to write my mid-term paper for one of my grad classes this week...not looking forward to that.

Last but not least- it is Glenn and my 2nd Wedding Anniversary tomorrow! I decided not to take any sub jobs and don't have class. Glenn is taking the day off so we can spend the day together! I'm not sure what we are going to do, but whatever it is it will be fun!

Synesthesia...I thought I was just a visual learner

I found this really interesting article on CNN.com today. I thought I was just a visual learner, but apparently I have a neurological condition called Synesthesia. I have always enjoyed listening to music because it produces visual images in my mind. (in fact I JUST wrote this in my 25 random things about me on facebook last week !) When I read, although I think I read at a high level, it takes me a long time because I have to visualize everything that is happening in my mind, so I often stop and think about it and read it again to get an even better mental picture. They say it is a "rare" condition but I would be willing to argue that it is probably pretty common, just isn't something that people are aware of or tell anyone about.

By Elizabeth Landau

CNN

(CNN) -- When Julian Asher listens to an orchestra, he doesn't just hear music; he also sees it. The sounds of a violin make him see a rich burgundy color, shiny and fluid like a red wine, while a cello's music flows like honey in a golden yellow hue.

Julian Asher, genetics researcher and amateur photographer, can see colors in response to sounds.

Asher, a researcher in the department of genomic medicine at Imperial College London, has a rare condition called synesthesia, a neurological condition in which people experience a mixing of their senses. People with the condition may see colors and movement in numbers, words or sounds.

As many as 1 percent of people have the most recognizable form of synesthesia, studies say. Acclaimed Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote "Lolita," famously had the disorder, as did physicist Richard Feynman and composer Franz Liszt.

"Since a subtle interaction exists between sound and shape, I see q as browner than k, while s is not the light blue of c, but a curious mixture of azure and mother-of-pearl," Nabokov wrote in his memoir "Speak, Memory."

Psychologists have known for more than a century that synesthesia runs in families -- Nabokov's mother and son Dimitri also displayed forms of it -- but the specific genes have not been found.

Now, Asher and colleagues in the United Kingdom have done what they say is the first genetic analysis of synesthesia. Their findings are published this week in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Researchers collected DNA from 196 people from 43 families in which there were multiple members with synesthesia. They looked exclusively at auditory-visual synesthesia, the kind where sound triggers color, which is easier to diagnose than other possible forms. Visit CNNhealth.com, your connection for better living

They expected to find a single gene responsible for synesthesia, but they found that the condition was linked to regions on chromosomes 2, 5, 6, and 12 -- four distinct areas instead of one.

"It means that the genetics of synesthesia are much more complex than we thought," Asher said.

Brain scans have shown that people with synesthesia seem to have "cross-wiring" between brain regions, said Dr. V.S. Ramachandran, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego.

"Nobody really had the evidence pinning it down to specific genes in specific chromosomes, and I'm delighted to hear somebody's done that," Ramachandran said.

"Cross-wiring" was shown in a study led by J.A. Nunn at Goldsmiths College, London, which found that the visual areas of the brain were activated in response to sound in people for whom sound triggers color.

Given that a normal infant's brain has excess connections between brain regions, one hypothesis is that synesthesia results when the genes that "prune" these connections away are mutated, Ramachandran said. In other words, people with synesthesia may have brain connections that would normally disappear at an early age.

Genes found in the areas of Asher's study have been connected to other mental disorders. For example, genes on chromosome 2 have also been linked to autism, Asher said.

The link between synesthesia and autism is controversial and speculative, but one of Asher's previous case studies suggests a connection. The man he examined had Asperger's syndrome -- a mild, high-functioning form of autism -- and also had an extraordinary memory capacity for numbers. In fact, he memorized 22,000 digits of the number pi.

The man's process of remembering these numbers is not simple rote recall. Instead, it is as though he were navigating a landscape, Asher said. "He says it's like walking along a path," Asher said.

The man's ability to focus intently on a dry subject is associated with Asperger's, but it's also synesthesia that helps him memorize numbers, Asher said. In fact, in this sense, synesthesia is a form of photographic memory.

One suggestion is that synesthesia and autism in a single person may make him or her a savant, someone with a singular and extreme intellectual ability.

Children with synesthesia will often show signs of it in school, because it slows down reading for some kids and makes lectures difficult to absorb for others. As awareness of learning differences grows in schools, more children are coming forward and explaining that they have trouble, leading to more diagnoses, Asher said. Interventions may include written notes or books on tape for those whose synesthesia interferes with, respectively, listening or reading.

To what extent do children with synesthesia grow up to become artists and poets? The connection is controversial, in spite of prominent examples such as Nabokov, Asher said it's a misconception that most synesthetes go into creative disciplines. His database of 900 people with the condition does not have a disproportionate number in artistic professions.

In Asher's own case, nonverbal noises such as a fire alarm or a piece of music will trigger visual sensations.

When he was a child, Asher would go to the symphony with his parents and assumed that the lights went down so that everyone could see the colors better. "I mean, why else would they do it?" he said.

"My parents asked something, and I said, 'Oh, they turned the lights off so you could see the colors,' and they had no idea what I was talking about, and that's when I realized that they didn't see what I saw," he said.

He never knew that his condition had a name until he happened to be researching the genetics of perfect pitch, which has been anecdotally linked with synesthesia.

"Even to this day, I'll run into people who study neuroscience for a living, and they've never heard of it," he said. There are organizations that promote awareness, but still a lot of people don't know about it, he said.

Spring Semester

I have been to my first classes for the semester for the spring, so I thought I would share what I'll be working on this semester.

My Texts and Images II is a class that combines Art History and literature to form an understanding of the time period from different viewpoints. It is taught by 2 professors: one for texts and one for images. Last semester we mostly studied ancient art and texts, which isn't the most exciting to me, but this semester promises to be MUCH more inspiring. We are focusing on movements that began as "counter-culture."

The books we are reading are:

A Theologico- Political Treatise by Benedict Benedict de Spinoza (1670)(Ewles translation):
This is a philosophical examination of religion and society. Apparently even though he was religious himself, he wrote the book from an objective point of view and received great criticism for it.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1831) (yay)

Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky (1864):
an existentialist narrative.

Civilization and Its Discontent by Sigmund Freud (1930)

Mother Courage and her Children (1938):
A play set in the time of the 30 years war, but performed during WWII

The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra:
An introduction to Systems theory, which incorporates a number of disciplines which are grasped around common models of organization.


For the Images half of the class we will be studying movements starting with Renaissance art and ending with neo-expressionism. I am so excited to study these periods of art- some of my favorite!

In my Drawing-Painting-Printmaking class I will have to complete (at least) 4 22 X 30 inch or larger paintings and decide a direction to take for my final project/thesis! I have a ways to go with that because I will need at least 24 paintings to be a part of the final project, but everything I do from this point really should be done with that in mind.

All the while I am working on my teaching certification via my Region IV online class. I have never taken an online class so it is kind of odd. I will also be substitute teaching.

Hopefully I can keep up with everything!

Merry Christmas!

It looks like we may not get Christmas cards out this year so...

Merry Christmas from Glenn, Emily, Molly, & Minnie Callaghan!

New Art

Enjoy!

oh and one more week until I get a break! yay for Christmas!

Thanksgiving and goals

Thanks

I have been feeling like my life is one big example of Murphy's law at the moment; anything that can go wrong will. (still no brain tumor though Susan ;-) ) Sometimes things just seem to keep getting harder instead of easier for me and there is nothing I can do about it.

One thing I can do is think about the good things in my life though.

Family and Glenn-- I am thankful to have a great hubby and family. Even though all of us are busy busy busy it is always good to know that you have people who understand you completely and will support you no matter what.

Friends
I feel quite antisocial at the moment because all I do is drive to and from school every day (90 miles) but I know that my good friends are always there if I want to pick up the phone, shoot an email or facebook message, or even come visit.

My puppies
I love my adorable pups! They are so smart and have such cute personalities. I can't imagine not having them to cuddle (well Minnie anyway- Molly isn't a cuddler)

Art
I still love art even after being in school for it. The more art I create the less I want to do anything else like write papers. I wish I didn't have to!

Computers
let's be honest, I would be lost without the Internet and a computer! Writing papers is stressful, but it's sure a lot easier typing them on the computer rather than a type-writer! Or handwriting! *gasp*

Texas
I think my favorite things about living in Houston, Texas are the fact that it rarely gets cold enough to wear a heavy jacket. If it does it won't last long. Also, where else could you commute 45 miles every morning in a little over an hour? I mean it still sucks, but it is doable. The food is really good too :-)




Goals
I realize that it isn't New Years resolution time, (I never make one of those anyway) but I have some goals I would like to accomplish

• To pass my Texes Art EC-12 test

Actually I already took it, but I haven't found out my scores yet. I really think I did fine, but until I know that I passed it I cannot be officially enrolled in a teaching certification program.

• To get a teaching job in a good school district close to where I live

I desperately need to start working. With paying back scholarship from UCLA, paying for my student loans/school expenses, buy a new car (we are down to 1 car at the moment) , pay for ridiculous traffic citations, food, art supplies, etc, etc, etc. Not to mention living in a 1 bedroom apt is getting REALLY old! I just hope I can find an opening for an art teacher at a district that is close enough to where we live. I don't know how much longer I can handle driving so far every day. Glenn has a really good job and it is sad that in this day and age it isn't enough to keep our heads above water. He really couldn't be doing any better, so I need to step it up and start earning money.

• Keep doing my own artwork even when I am teaching and be able to sell it

This is probably a goal that will be on my list for the rest of my life. Most art teachers I talk to have a hard time doing their own art b/c they spend so much time concentrating on their students.

• Not to stress out so much

haha yeah right! It is in my nature to stress about things, but I wish I didn't. I have had a lot of things on my mind lately so that doesn't help. Before every big paper I am stressed , before every big test, etc. They are important, but I know I should just relax. I worry that if something happens to my car I won't be able to get to class or Glenn to work. I worry that on one of the days when he has to walk home some crazy driver will hit him or he will get mugged. I worry that if I have to see the officer at my court date who pulled me over I will start crying again. I worry that my dogs will eat something they shouldn't while I'm not home and get sick or die. I worry about if I don't find a job. blah blah blah you get the idea.

Tag you're it!

Glenn and I are alive and well- just really busy. catching up with school after Ike has not been easy, but I'm getting there. All my teachers seem to think their class is the only one that is important haha. My Thursday night class got extended to last until 10:20pm...not cool since I have to drive an hour back home afterwards. blah! I am taking the test to get into the teaching certification program the first weekend of November (the same weekend as TAEA conference in San Antonio) so that's another thing to add to my load. I'm taking the test in San Antonio actually. A lot is riding on me passing it so wish me luck! Oh and the image above is one of many projects that have been taking up my time. (very tedious)

Susan tagged me and I haven't posted in a really long time so here it goes:

I think I have to answer in 1 word

Where is your cell phone? table

Your significant other? great

Your hair? blonde

Your mother? inspiring

Your father? smart

Your favorite thing? Glenn

Your dream last night? weird

Your favorite drink? diet coke

Your dream/goal?art in galleries( I don't know how to anwer that in 1 word)

The room you’re in? living room

Your hobby? art

Your fear?failure

Where do you want to be in 6 years? successful

What you’re not? finished with homework

Muffins? blueberry

One of your wish list items? MONEY

Where you grew up? Texas

The last thing you did? tv

What are you wearing? shirt

Favorite gadget? Computer

Your pets? Molly, Minnie

Your computer? old

Your mood? procrastinating

Missing someone? lots

Your car? cluttered

Something you’re not wearing? makeup

Favorite store? JCrew

Like someone? hubby

Your favorite color? pink

When is the last time you laughed? recently ( I laugh a lot at everything)

Last time you cried? not sure

I tag anyone who reads this.