first week at uni.

after a very long, lovely summer, it was was a slight shock to be thrown back into education. in a new city. not knowing anyone or how to get anywhere. moving into my house. just everything changed within a week. but looking back now, it seems really strange. norwich feels like my home now and i've met some of the best people.

the first week at uni was standard. getting to know people, taking part in group activities and workshops on how to think laterally; solving problems through an indirect and creative approach. lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using traditional step-by-step logic. from the beginning that made it clear that they encourage us to think outside the box, and we must apply this to our textile practise.

lateral thinking methods:
- random entry generating tool; choose an object at random, a noun from a dictionary, and then associate that with the area thought about.
- provocation idea generating tool; wishful thinking, exaggeration, reversal, escape. move your thinking forward with these for new ideas and inspiration.
- challenge an idea; WHY? WHY? WHY?
- concept fan idea; ideas carry out concepts - expand the range and number of concepts to end up with a broad range of ideas to consider.
- disproving; take anything that is obvious and generally accepted, question it, take an opposite view and try to convincingly disprove it.

the main things i've learnt this week;
- to study and document real world experiences to make whatever i'm doing personal and relevant to me as a person.
- i should focus on what i enjoy doing. i'm just wasting my time if i'm forcing myself to do something i'm not liking. make everything i do exciting for me, even if it's not to other people.
- i need to stop being impatient. textile processes are loooong, so if i rush my work, the outcome will be poor.
- i should extend and push my creative work through exploration and experimentation..