Martha Neth
What will you do with the last few weeks of 2023?
Do you have course work to get caught up with? Will you be traveling?
Don't forget to make an appointment with the SLC if you need another set of eyes on your work.
And if you need some entertainment, check out STASH from the library database list. Also, did you know the classic animation, The Point was on Films on Demand?
This may be a good time for some exploration of our offerings. What else can you find?
We’re approaching the time of year when we’re all encouraged to ‘count our blessings’ This may seem like a trivial act, but evidence proves otherwise. Studies have indicated an association between gratitude and well-being. Being grateful can lift spirits, improve sleep, mood, immunity, self-esteem, relationships, decrease stress, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and risk of disease. Sounds like a magic cure-all, doesn’t it?!
Gratitude is appreciating what you have instead of reaching for something new. It is a different perspective, one in which you refocus on what you have instead of what you lack. Gratitude enables you to see the good happening around and to you even when things aren’t necessarily going your way.
Gratitude is often called a practice because it is something that takes time to cultivate and to reap the rewards of. Researchers agree that in order to see the benefits of a gratitude practice, it must be practiced daily, not just at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Even devoting just a few minutes a day can be beneficial. If you begin to incorporate gratitude into your daily life, you will begin to value the goodness in your life, see a bigger picture, and navigate adversity with greater resilience. Taking a moment to be grateful can even cause physiological changes in your body that initiate the parasympathetic nervous system - the part of your nervous system that helps you to ‘rest and digest’. In this way, being thankful can reduce your blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing to enhance overall relaxation.
There are many ways to incorporate gratitude into your daily life. Some suggestions include:
-Write thank you notes
-Say ‘thank you’ and then pause to really feel gratitude
-Thank someone mentally
-Keep a gratitude journal. One strategy is to write down three good things from your day and the causes of those things)
-Pray
-Meditate (see the previous blog post A Case for Mindfulness)
Don’t fret if you’re feeling like you don’t have anything to be grateful for. You probably don’t have to look that far, some everyday things you could focus on are:
-Your health
-A friend who has always been there for you
-A barista who remembers your order or who asks you how you are
-A partner who supports you
-A family member who loves you
-The sunshine
-Memories- you can be thankful for past experiences
-Your pet
It can be easy to get overwhelmed or bogged down by the negatives or hardships in life. November is a good time for a reminder that noticing the good things in our lives is a good practice, one that can benefit our mental and physical wellbeing all year round.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/can-expressing-gratitude-improve
health#:~:text=Expressing%20gratitude%20is%20associated%20with,pain%20and%20risk%20of%20disease.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
https://mindful.org/the-science-of-gratitude/
If you didn't see the visiting artist talk last week by Deanna Marsigliese, you missed out! One of the things that really stood out to me was her emphasis on being able to work as a team. We all hate group work in school, but it is really important to be able to work with others.
We often assume that we are going to end up doing all the work. I have worked in a group where a group member just assumed nobody else would work and she took over and gave very little room for the rest of us to contribute. That may seem ideal, but it is not. Doing all the work is just as bad as doing none of the work.
You need effective communication, including listening, discussing, and resolving conflicts. Also, you need diverse perspectives and skills in a group, leading to more creative and comprehensive outcomes.
In the real world, you get fired if you do nothing and you get an ulcer if you do too much!
The collective effort of a group can lead to greater productivity and better solutions than individual efforts. You develop essential skills like teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving, as well as the aspect of building professional relationships and networks through group collaboration.
Good group work includes setting clear, achievable goals for the group. Managing time effectively, including regular meetings and setting deadlines is essential. Consider making a group appointment with the SLC to start. Use the tools at hand! Google Docs allows you to work on the same document at the same time!
Remember that the people you work with in school are often people who you will work with in industry. Start networking now!
Upon discovering that November 16th is National Button Day, I went down a deep, deep rabbit hole (buttonhole?) about the history of buttons. Buckle your seat belts folks, this is one wild ride!
The earliest object that might have been used as a button dates back to 7000 BCE and was excavated from a burial site in the Indus Valley in present day Pakistan. It has a hole drilled in it and it is made of shell. Evidence from other excavated sites in the same region suggests that carved and decorated disks made out of bone, ivory, clay, and stone with holes in the center or bones across the back (suggesting that they were sewn onto fabric) date back to 4000-5000 BCE. In the Netherlands, a form of knotted button and fabric loop appeared around 1400 BCE. In China, the earliest recorded button dates back to 1000 BCE during the Zhou Dynasty and is a knot-and-loop button (more on different button types later). This style of button appears to have traveled west along the Silk Road with other innovations such as paper and made its way to Europe via. the Mediterranean during the Crusades which started in the late 11th century.
Buttons were not always used as buttons as we know them today. Have I confused you yet? In their early existence, buttons were commonly used as commodities for trade. However, as time progressed they began being used for decoration and then, as they fell into their traditional use, they became a sign of social rank and wealth. This evolution probably took place around the Renaissance with the invention of the buttonhole. If a person could afford enough cloth that required a button, they were probably well-off financially. Buttons with intricate, unique designs, or that were made of precious stones or metal, indicated that the wearer had enough money to afford to commission the pieces from a button maker or a jeweler and then pay a seamstress or tailor to affix them to their garments. The wearer of a button adorned garment may have required assistance getting into and out of their clothing and would have had to have a certain amount of wealth to afford this type of assistance. Because buttons signified wealth and were of significant value, they were often cut off old and discarded garments and sewn to new items. Buttons eventually became more accessible and commonplace as a result of the Industrial Revolution during which mechanization allowed button production to increase.
Outside of being traded, used for decoration, and fastening clothing, buttons have had some nefarious uses over the years. They have been used to hide secret information, codes (Morse code) or insignia, compases, conceal contraband (poison! and drugs!) and gems, and even melted down and turned into bullets. Some buttons portray scenes of war or comics and black buttons were widely used to signify grief in Queen Victoria’s decades of suffering after Prince Albert’s death.
Think about a world before the button for a moment. Clothing would have consisted mostly of drapery and would have been fastened with laces, stitches, or ties. Sounds inconvenient and very *flowy* to me. When buttons entered the scene as fasteners it allowed clothing to be worn more closely to the body and for fashions to evolve, diversify, and become more efficient. Coats were warmer, dresses hugged bodies more tightly, and new styles emerged. Before I ramble on too much about buttons, I think it’s worth noting that many folks who are interested in buttons believe that they can teach us about the social, political, and militaristic histories of the world. I’ve already explained how buttons indicated social status and how they spread with the changing political climate of the world. So, let’s consider the military aspect. Buttons have adorned military uniforms since their inception as clothes fasteners. These buttons often had distinct insignia and decoration that signified nation, rank, unit, or achievements. The materials that they were made of were significant and often reflected innovations and available materials of the time. Where buttons, and what type of buttons, of fallen soldiers were found helped historians to trace the paths of wars throughout lands.
To conclude, I wanted to just touch on the variety of types of buttons that are out there. To my surprise there are many different types of buttons, some I have seen on various articles of clothing throughout my life while others were new to me.
2-hole and 4-hole flat buttons - much like their names describe, these are flat buttons with two or four holes punched in the middle. Most commonly they are round, disk-shaped, but sometimes they can be square or other shapes. They can be made out of a number of different materials including, but not limited to, horn, metal, plastic, wood, shells. These types of buttons are typically used for light to medium weight fabrics, everyday clothing, and pillow cases and bedding. 2-hole and 4-hole buttons differ in that the 4-hole button can be more securely sewn to fabric because of the additional two holes
Shank buttons - flat or domed buttons with a small rectangular or round ‘shank’ attached to the back side with a hole in it. This hole is used to sew the button in place on fabric. The ‘shank’ allows for space between the button and the fabric and doen’t need to interrupt the surface of the button allowing for intricate designs and patterns. Usually this type of button is made of metal, leather, crystal, fabric, or glass. Typically this type of button is used on outerwear, evening or formal wear, and upholstery.
Stud buttons - que the stud muffin pun here… crickets… anyways, this is a very unique type of button which is not sewn on and is composed of two parts, a front and a back. Instead of being sewn on, they are affixed to the fabric by using the back to poke a hole in the fabric and pressing the top onto the back. This process usually requires a press or kit. These are most commonly made out of metal and seen on jeans and workwear because they are very sturdy.
Toggle buttons - you’ve probably seen this type of button but never heard it named. Used primarily on coats, bags, and heavier fabrics, toggles have long, thin cylindrical shapes with rounded pointy ends. The toggle will have two holes through its center which are used to sew them onto fabric. They are affixed to the fabric using a leather loop and then fastened with another leather loop. Traditionally, toggles were made of wood, but any other sturdy material will suffice.
Other button types are generally qualified by their material type. There are buttons made of:
-plastic/polyester
-mother of pearl
-horn or bone
-corozo- made using corozo nuts which come from tagua trees - they have a natural grain pattern
-wood
-metal
-leather
-coconut
-ceramic or porcelain
-fabric covered buttons
-enamel
-glass
-rhinestone
-Chinese knot
If you’re as interested in buttons as I have found myself to be, here’s some suggested further reading:
-"Old Buttons" by by Sylvia Llewelyn, a book of rare and artful buttons around the world
-"The Big Book of Buttons," by Elizabeth Hughes and Marion Lester
Sources:
https://www.nationalbuttonsociety.org/
https://www.almanac.com/content/november-holidays-fun-facts-folklore
https://threadsmonthly.com/button-types/
https://www.aramcoworld.com/Articles/November-2020/The-Westward-Journeys-of-Buttons
https://www.oregonlive.com/hg/2008/06/marv_bondarowicz_the_oregonian_3.html
https://www.wglt.org/show/wglts-sound-ideas/2019-04-24/modernizing-the-button-history-you-can-hold#stream/0
https://nancysnotions.com/the-evolution-of-the-button/