When i took a look at the rectangle art we did in class a little while ago, I decided to go and take a look at some Triangle art online and found it really amazing to see that just like with rectangles and squares, you can use just simple triangles to make amazing art as well.  Here are some pieces of triangle art i found that caught my eye.

I really liked this one because i loved to see how there was a mix of sizes and different shades, and then how it fades into darkness as you move right.

This one i really liked too because i loved how it uses all different triangles to make a star.  Even though some parts don't look like triangles, you have to take a step back and look out farther and then you can see the triangle.

When it comes to triangle art, you can make some of the craziest pieces of work just by using triangles.  But i also like the way math can be tied into it.  One, you using triangles to make more profound shapes, so your using some geometry. Two the way you place triangles in your art usually tends to be in a patterned set up, once again using patterns which is math.  Its actually really cool. And I love to think about it and how that works!  


My reading plan for my book is to read a chapter each day of class and that should have me finished with the book by the Friday before thanksgiving. 

Mindset is a simple idea discovered by psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success, a simple idea that makes all the difference.  


In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.          cite:  http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/ 

In this picture I like what it illustrating with a growth mindset.  With a fixed mindset, you are focused on what u can do now, and that is where your mind stays thinking it impossible and that you are unable to get better than what you already are at something.  But with a growth Mindset you can make the the impossible possible, and the unable able.  You have a want to improve what you can already do.  And with this mindset, you can do just that.  When you have the desire to learn and get better, you will.   If you think you can't get better than you wont.  

I love thinking about that last sentence because it is so true.  Usually the people who have had great success have had a growth mindset because they desired to learn more and to improve.

The growth mindset, in my opinion should be demonstrated in the classroom at early ages, giving the students the opportunity to be creative with their minds and strive to learn more.  The growth mindset is what needs to be encouraged, not halted and cut off, which is exactly what some schools and teachers do, some even without knowing what they are doing.  They cut off the head of learning and kids, as they get older know what they were taught and believe that is all they need to know.  They lose the desire to go out and try to learn more and to improve themselves.  Growth mindset should be the only mindset.

problem solving - the area of cognitive psychology that studies the processes involved in solving problems


  For my second weekly blog, I went with Problem solving and what is, and what it is to everybody.  Problem solving is a really handy skill to have and there are many reasons of why it is useful.  There are more than one ways to problem solve and many handy tricks you can use.  Problem solving no matter how you look at it is problem solving, as long as you can solve the problem.  

This picture (diagram), is a good demonstration of a typical, but also great way of problem solving.  You first understand the problem and know what your dealing with, for example the surrounding details of the problem or "the bugs".  Then you make a plan, whether you write it down, think about it hard, or brainstorm the plan, you make a plan around your problem and then you execute your plan.  Your first plan may even solve the problem.  That is why you check your solution after you through your plan and if its not right you go back to your plan and either tweak it a little or go all the way back to understanding the problem.  That way you can can try to work out another plan. 

Problem solving can be used to help with a lot of different things including working through issues, overcoming challenges, maintaining challenges, gaining control, or even when your feeling down or frustrated about issues.

Lets face it, problems are a pain in the rear, when things are going wrong, it can really make you feel down, depressed, and like your never going to be able to work things out.  But problem solving helps to fight that.  That's because when you are willing and able to solve a problem, you look at the problems in a whole other way.  You are now focusing on what you can do, instead of the things that are out of your control.   Not every problem is completely solvable though. There are a lot where there is very little you can do.  Even with harder problems, you should still make an effort and take a shot at them, that way at the very least you can feel satisfied that you have done what you can.  

Problem solving is key to any problem in your life, whether its school related, work related, self related, etc.  The big key to problem solving though is to focus on solutions to the problem and not the problem itself.  If you do that you have a better attitude about the problem and you have a better happier feeling for yourself! 

For my first Blog of weekly work i decided to use pictures i took where i noticed patterns in everyday things.  It was actually really cool to see how almost everything around us has specific patterns.  Take 1967 chevy Impala for example the patterns are everywhere on it, in the grill, the rims in where the bolts are placed so perfectly in order and perfectly spaced.  Its truly a piece of art. 

This picture is my brother and me at cedar point a few years ago.  Both of our shirts u can clearly see patterns, mine being checkered and plaid, while my brothers being simply a stripe or two.  Also in the scenery around us, just the ride you can see in front of us is built from patterns, having all the parts all being placed and built in a pattern like rhythm. 

This is my family at our farm this past year just hanging out being funny.  But each and every piece of all our clothing contains patterns of different colors, design, and texture.  In this picture i noticed the barn behind us has a pattern in just the way the wood is placed.  As you can see it makes a striped background for the picture basically.

This is the DEVOS place dowtown Grand Rapids.  Even in the struct of buildings we can see that in how they are put together, we find many different patterns throughout the entire building!!

As you can see, we can find patterns everywhere we go, and everywhere in the world around us.  Patterns essential in almost everything we know and see.  Its not something one would normally think about, but if you just take the time to look, you can see Our world is basically of patterns and all of them can be looked mathematically in how they are made, using formulas to find the next pieces of set patterns, etc!!!  Its crazy!