Clean up

Clean up! The number one rule of painting is always clean your brushes after use! you wouldnt was old paint rusted into the brush because it would ruin it!

End product of the day :)

Masterminds

Here are some pictures of Erin and I working hard on details to make the mural look even more amazing

Helping Hands

I had no problems asking students to help paint. Everyone was curious on why I choose to do a mural as a project and I must have told my story about 10 times today to different people that asked. Having time to explain my project to others was an awesome time to practice how I want to word things during my presentation.

Ready, Set, PAINT!!!!

Today I started to paint!!!!!!....well only the white background but still I started to paint today! I started with a white base primer that I found at my house because Judy suggested that I started with a layer of that. I just received a call from Blick Art (paint company) that informed me my paint will be here by the end of next week. This is good and bad news...good news because it’s on its way and bad news because my mural won’t be done in time for my presentation. This makes me think I should have found a different source for paint but there is nothing I can do about that now.

Better late then never:)

After a very productive day I had yesterday it gave me motivation to ask my brother some questions that I was curious about even before my project started. I called him and I asked him if he had time to talk. I asked him 3 simple questions in our phone call.

Me: so how come you never finished the mural you wanted to do during your senior year?
Phil: I had everything done, the image was approved, I set up a location, and had all the paint bought and ready to go. The reason why we couldn’t start was because a lady in the school district (he didn’t remember her name) was going to set up training for scaffolding so we could use a scaffold to paint on the walls, which never happened.
Me: Well where did all the paint go?
Phil: After my class graduated they used it to paint benches and rails outside the school.
Me: Do you know where your original image is?
Phil: Yeah last time I was home I pulled it out and it’s on the bookshelf before you enter my room.

*PHIL'S ORIGINAL IMAGE ABOVE*
--->kinda like mine right???? ;)

Here I am in the art room (THANKS JUDY!) with my projector in place and ready to go:)

Take a Look

Here i am working extra hard to get my mural in motion!!!

TA-DA!

today during my free time I started sketching the bear and skunk image onto the panel I purchased! It was very easy! All I had to do was watch the video that is my guide line on how to make a mural.

These six steps I followed

1. Make copies of image. (one on paper one on transparency)
2. Project image (on panel)
3. Adjust size (so lines on image are easy to see
4. Trace (took about 30 min)
5. Set up drop cloth (reduces messes )
6. PAINT!

*Steps 5 and 6 are on hold until i get the paint, which will be very soon!!!!*

http://www.howcast.com/search?q=How+to+Paint+a+Mural+With+a+Projector

Check In

How much time did you spend on your project?

15 min car ride to (CL), 2 periods (45 min each) running around school to get projector and a transparency, 5 min walking to mail box to mail check, I woke up early to meet the adviser of the student activities, I was in class both days this week(2 hours), and an hours meeting with Ms. M.

What did you do that was hands on? 

I was able to set up supplies in the art room this week and I will start the mural on thoursday.

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?

Yes we met and we just talked about getting the mural done by mid next week and getting things turned in for the final presentation.

Do you have at least 3 journal entries?

Were you in class this week?

Yes, both Tuesday and Thursday.

What are your plans for next week?

Start set up for presentation and paint

Ms. M

Ms. M was very pleased to hear that things are going to be moving fast this week. I start the mural this Thursday and hopefully with all my helpers I can get the image on the panel asap. That is the most important and that’s what I need done right now.  During our meeting we didn’t really talk about much in regards to my presentation. We just said that it would be awesome if I could have the mural done for my presentation so it could be a visual during my evaluation.

Tips for Future Students

In our weekly class meeting we wrote letters to future Wise students to tell them what they should know about what they should know what they should know in order to understand the expectations of the class. I didn’t really write a letter but I wrote down a few key points I think all the future students should know.

Wise Guide

• Details are important, you can’t just cut details out of your recording of your progress. Even if you think some information doesn’t matter, it does. You need to explain how you get from one step to the next. You need to let your reader know exactly what was going on, in order for them to truly understand how things were done.
• Plan ahead! Always question “What next?” .  After you get done with a task make sure you know what needs to happen after that to keep things going! Set goals. Write things out! Tell people your ideas and sort out what needs to happen first. Think things through!
• Don’t take on too much. Know your limits. You cant expect your body to keep up with a packed schedule because there will be a tipping point of too much work. Keep in mind that you cant always to everything, challenge yourself but not to the point of execution. Take care of yourself and don’t let a little extra work make you go crazy.

Mail Time!!!

Today I got up a little but earlier to pick up the check at the student activities office, for the paint. I sent the check in the mail to the catalog company. Once that was sent the lady on the phone awhile back said it would take 4-5 business days until it would arrive at my house. The sooner the better though!!!!

Getting Things in Motion

Since I had two free class periods in a row today it seemed like a good time to get things started for the creation of my mural. I first went to the library and signed out a projector and rolled it through the halls all the way to the art wing of the school. Then I asked my dad to drop off the panel at school so I could also store the panel in my art teacher’s room. My teacher is very willing for me to use her room on my free period when she also has free (6^th). So since I have free every other day I will start going to her room to work on my mural!!! Also i photo copied my Bear and Skunk image to a transparency.

*Future Thought* having a post of all supplies used for my mural 

Order Up!

I got a call from John from Cayuga Lumber  today saying that my panel was ready to be picked up! So after I was done with my last class of the day I drove to Cayuga Lumber which took about 15 min. I ended up paying $89.64 for a one long sheet of a panel. We were able to cut into the sheet and I walked away with two sheets of panel! This gives me other ideas for a future mural project over the summer! Wouldn’t that be cool?!

Also I took a video of the guys cutting the panel but I couldn’t figure out how to up load me blog so that why I don’t have it up at the moment. (I need some help)

Red Flag 9

How much time did you spend on your project?

45 min with Mentor, 15min spending time on the phone with Cayuga Lumber (CL),10 min drive to CL, 30 min at CL to pick up panel, 45 min in total talking to Liberians about signing out a projector for the mural, and about 4 hours fixing and taking notes on my blog to get ready for the final project.

What did you do that was hands on? 

I was on the phone with Cayuga Lumber (CL), I drove to CL, and I talked to the schools Liberians about signing out a projector for the mural.

What research did you do?

The Liberians told me what needs happen in order to sign out a projector.(Just fill out a sheet that I wouldn’t break it and then to sign it)

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?

Yes we met, and basically I need to get things in gear in order to finish the mural in time.

Do you have at least 3 journal entries?

Yep, Tuesdays Class, Thursdays class, Mentor meeting, an Important dates entry, and a forgotten post which I found as a draft when I was looking through older posts.

Were you in class this week?

YepJ Both days.

What are your plans for next week?

GET MURAL COMPLETED!

Important Dates!

 May 25th- After school working on the sketch being on the mural (Judy's Room)

                28^th-Prom dress shopping(this is important too)

June 3^rd-First Student Evaluation (5PM)

                7^th-My Project Presentation!!!!

                10^th-Second Student Evaluation (3:45PM)

                14^th-Econ Local Regents

                18^th-Prom

                 25^th-GRADUATION!!!

Ms. M

When I arrived to my weekly meeting with Ms. M I found her playing cards on her laptop.  I sat down and like usual she greeted me by saying “What do you got for me Care?” and I reply by saying “Well, where do I start?”. I love taking time out of my week to talk to someone about my project. It gives me a chance to say my ideas out loud and organize them and eliminate the crazy ideas;).

Anywho…..I told her about her that the panel will be here this week I want the image on the panel by next Wednesday, and that the paint is being ordered and will be here from 5-7 business days. Also I told her the date of the presentation(the 7^th) and she marked it in her book and will be there. All she asked of me was to get things done, and said she knows i can do it.

Same Old, Same Old

After today’s class it felt me feeling drowsy. we really didn't do much, just some altering of the presentation schedule but that left me time to think about how much work I have to do! If I were to make a list right now i would be up all night I really just want to stay up all night and see how much work I could get done. But I know myself and I’ll get tired half way through the night and pass out. I need to start moving things in motion and get stuff done. No more waiting around. I want my Bibliography and research commentary drafted by the end of this week. That is a set goal. Things need to start happening fast if I want this mural done.

A forgotten post

I’m working extra hard to make the ending of my project less stressful as possible. Therefore I am trying to get organized with things I should have done during my project instead of now. So since I’m making up for lost time I was looking through my blog for links/ people that I could use when I get my Bibliography & Research Commentary started. After looking at all my posts I have done this year for my project I found this link from Howcast.com that should have been posted but wasn’t. There was no writing in the draft post just the link so I must have forgotten about it. WHOOPS!

Well since I have it now let me explain why this link is so important. Since I am not an artist I needed a way to transfer my image for paper to a panel. One day I was looking through different videos to see different ways I could do that and this one looked the easiest ;) when I do my mural I will do different posts to explain how I am doing things like in the video. At this time in my project I am looking into video posts and little notes to explain in more detail. I also have to keep in mind that my video posts cant drag on forever because I wouldn’t want to bore my readers.

http://www.howcast.com/search?q=How+to+Paint+a+Mural+With+a+Projector

Red Flag 8

How much time did you spend on your project?

45 min mentor meeting, 20 min first time at Cayuga Lumber asking about what kind of panel I needed (walked out with no answer), an hour in total on the phone with both Cayuga lumber/ the paint catalog comp.,  I was able to get started on my Bibliography/ Research Commentary, and I would say I spent 3 ½ hours journaling for this week.

What did you do that was hands on? 

Getting in touch with Cayuga Lumber, seeing what the total is for everything regarding my project. I went the extra step when they wouldn’t.

What research did you do?

I looked back on my research throughout my blog and I am now seeing I should have organized this earlier in my project.

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?

Yes, we talked about how I need more money if I plan on paying for everything…which I have to! (future fundraisers)

Do you have at least 3 journal entries?

7….counting this one ;)

Were you in class this week?

Yes, I was both Tuesday and Thursday.

What are your plans for next week?

When I get the panel next week I need to get the image on it right away!!!!!!

Extra Help

One of my classmates came up to me today who is in the AP art class at my school and asked me if her class could help me with painting my mural and of course I said yes! This is great; this will take a lot of stress off the shoulders if I have some artists on my side when it comes to putting the Bear and Skunk on the panel. Plus the AP art class is for Seniors ONLY!!! MUAHAHAH! So when the panel arrives we can get started on it and this will be used as their end of the year project. I see no problem receiving some help from my fellow classmates when I could really use it!

If they wont, I will

The first time I called Cayuga Lumber they said that they would call me on Monday to give me my total. Well Monday rolled around….no call so I called them and asked them if they figured out a price range for my panel, and they replied that they will call me back in an hour. Well more than an hour rolled around and no call. So I called and finally they connected me to John who is the guy that helped Mary Beth when she needed a panel.

He told me that the panel that I need (that is approved my school district) is a fire retartent , and  formaldehyde free panel which costs $93. It will arrive in about a week so when that gets in my hands I have to start right away. Time is very limited!

Time Flies when you’re Having Fun

Turns out I did the creative assignment earlier than I expected it being due and got it done a week earlier. This is good because today in class I saw what needs to be done before my presentation which is on the 7^th of June at 3:45. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!---we also picked student evaluation dates but I wasn’t able to this class but I will next class.

Some of the things that need to be done are a Narrative essay, a story about my WISE project, a Bibliography & Research Commentary and I need to do a Distribution of Materials. If I learned anything from my portfolio experience, I am NOT putting this off until the last minute. Therefore I set personal due dates to get things done in time so there is less stress to deal with when they are due. These dates might change because of interferences in my schedule but i will try my hardest to make it happen. This leaves me room to ask for help/ or if I need revisions. So in a way I’m learning from my experience in this class and taking step into improving my way of working.

Ms. M

Just like every Tuesday I have to put in a little extra effort to get out of bed to attend my weekly mentor meeting. I forgot my coffee today so that set my day off on the wrong foot. But after my mentor meeting it made my day a little better. Infect that’s why I love my mentor, she know exactly what to say to make me feel better and she is always cracking jokes.  I told Ms. M where I am with the panel and the paint…which are both being ordered at the moment. We talked about a future fundraiser for extra money and she said the sooner the better, so that is one of my goals to get done before the panel and paint arrive. So that’s pretty much it. I need to get a little more money to afford both the paint and the panel….but no worries I can get it doneJ

Woops!!

As I was checking my email today I saw that I had a conformed order for my paint. And good thing I checked it because I forgot to order yellow! This was a huge concern for my project because I am want to include my school colors in my mural which are red and gold. Well there was no “gold” color in the catalog and the closest to gold is yellow. So I got on the phone again to add to my order which now brings my total to $53.11….and the panel is around 90ish dollars so I need to look into getting more money to afford both paint and the panel.

This is a mistake I made in my project, which I knew I was going to at some point, good thing it wasn’t a threatening mistake to my project! PHEW!

Car Ride

 After school I drove to Cayuga Lumber and asked about the panel that Mary Beth told me to order. This panel is ICSD approved....it’s because it’s fire resistant or whatever the guy called it. Oh yeah, that guy name is Mike and he was very helpful with helping me figure out exactly what I need. He said he will talk to the people where he got one for Mary Beth and give me a call on Monday to let me know my total and the size they will order for me. They said that they will cut the panel there for demotions of my panel…..which I don’t know them yet, I should get on that!

Frustrated

After Todays red flag class I felt frustrated.  When I was talking to my teacher about my blog she mentioned how I’m leaving out things I could be putting into my blog that could make it a little better. Sometimes I do see  that I do give up on detail in some of my posts….and I know that I could be doing a little bit better when it comes down to writing what I think on paper.  She gave me advise to add more detail into my posts and how to mention things that may not seem important to me at the time, but it would look good in my blog to show the work that I am not recording. So since I only have one more month for this project, I think I could clean things up a bit before it’s too late!!!!

Red Flag 7

How much time did you spend on your project?

I ordered paint over the phone that took 30 min,20 min on the phone with Mary Beth to see where I should go looking for a panel,4 hours blogging,10 min driving from school to Cayuga Lumber,  20min waiting for Mr. Mills when he didn't show up, I went to Cayuga lumber to check out panels for an hour and I spent 45 min with Ms. M during our weekly meetings, and I have been talking to my old art teacher about using her room for a place I could work on my panel in.

What did you do that was hands on? 

I ordered paint over the phone and took a looked at panels at Cayuga Lumber.

What research did you do?

What type of paint would be best for painting on a panel (got help from art teacher). Also that I need a flame retardant panel for it to be in the school

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?

Yes we met, and we made a deadline for me to have the image...Just the image no paint yet, on the panel by the end of next week

Do you have at least 3 journal entries?

Yes,more than three.

Were you in class this week?

For the red flag class I was.

What are your plans for next week?

Get the image of the bear and skunk sketched on panel!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An Old Friend

After seeing that every day this week coming up has to be used to its fullest potential, I realized that I need to get right to work!

“Okay, time to buy a panel.”

“Wait.”

“Where do I get one?”

“Ohhh let me ask Mary Beth!”

           --> I called Mary Beth and after we were done catching up, I asked her where she got her panels from when she did a mural in an elementary school here in town. She told me to go talk to the people at Cayuga Lumber, and tell them that she sent me. She also told me that the price for a panel with be around $100…..But maybe I could talk them into a deal ;)

HURRY HURRY HURRY

Ms. M was very excited to hear that i ordered paint for the mural last night. She was also very pleased to see that I’m moving along with my mural and not waiting around for answers. We made a goal of the week and that is to have the image itself on a panel by the end of next week. So this means I have to hurry up and order a panel and get the image on it in less than 10 days!!!!!!

Approved!!!!!!

 When I went into the main office today I was able to pick up my sketch of the mural and I was very relieved to see that it was approved!!!!! After I got the wonderful news I went home to order paint from a company called BLICK art materials and I was able to get a catalog from my art teacher Judy. She said that this type of paint would be good for murals and she used it when she did a mural a few years back.

The types of colors I got were, Blackout White, Mars Black, Bright Red, Burnt Sienna, and Fluorescent Yellow. I got these in all Quart Size Jugs and my art teacher said that would be more than enough.

So in order to pay for these I’m going to have to hold another fundraiser YAYYYY! :/ I was thinking popsicles after school outside sometime soon. Also I met with my class officers and they said that they will match what I make (up to $50) and then I could raise even more money to maybe pay for some new brushes!!!! 

Yes or NO?

Today I had a 2:00 meeting with my principal to discuss approval of the bear and skunk sketch. It came to no surprise that he was dealing with a "situation", and he couldn't spare me any time. So he told me to drop off the sketch to a secretary and he would look at it over the weekend. I'll know on Monday if the sketch has been approved or not. Great =/

Red flag 6

How much time did you spend on your project?
this has been a really bad week for me with this project. my friend erin who is now doing the sketch will have it done tomorrow before my meeting with Mr. Mills. I am still stressing about it because its not set in stone and i still need to think about things that could go wrong (like her being sick tomorrow:X !) Also today after school i plan to stop at some Hardware stores to see about the cost of paint so that i would say would take about 2 hours.
So in total i would say i spent 45 min meeting with Ms. M, I'm guessing 45 min with Mr. Mills (thats what it has been in the past) 4 hours in total working on editing my blog and the rest of the time stressing about getting things approved. UGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What did you do that was hands on? 
Paint cost shopping and talking to Mary Beth (library mural) about seeing if i could use some of her scrap panels that she has left over

What research did you do?
Tomorrow i will know who to contact about getting my image approved and location

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes i met with M.s M and we mainly talked about what i should ask Mr. Mills during my meeting tomorrow and that i need to get my image approved ASAP!!!!!

Do you have at least 3 journal entries?
Yes, i have them written out, and i will get to that this weekend

Were you in class this week?
Yeppp:)

What are your plans for next week?
talking to the people i need to in order to get my mural approved, and if that happens paint shopping. i dont want to buy pain until the image is approved and set in stone.

Get a Grip

In class today we read an article called, "Get A Grip". I didn't get much from the article when we were reading it, because of the fact that I have one month to get this mural painted, and not much is actually happening. The pace of my project needs to increase if I want to see my mural be complete. During class I was just focused on what needs to happen in order for me to finish my project before school ends. I would make a list, but I don't even know where to begin.. So I need to "get a grip" and finish this.

How can you tell if it’s a Mural?

After looking at his website I saw a lot of inspirational things that reminded me about my project in some ways. “Just as murals are not completed in isolation…” This is one of the things I found out early in my project was that sometimes you need peoples help in order to get things done. That is why I am allowing any students who wants to help, can help. This will bring people together to do something fun and a great way to meet new people.

When I was reading this website it was talking about is the context of a mural and this is the list it came up with….

• Social context- Who are the people who made it? How does it fit into the community? 
• Physical context-Where is it? 
• Political context- What is it's purpose? Does it sell, promote, inform, inspire?
• Historical context- When was it made? What difference does that make? 
• Don't get caught up in what you think the artist was thinking when they created the mural. Talk about what you know from your eyes and from your background in mural analyzing.

*Once my project is completed/ started I will reflect on these questions in a later post to see what my answers are like for my mural.*

http://www.stanford.edu/group/arts/nicaragua/student/mural/studentguide.html

Where did murals originate from?

Spring Break Day 2,
In ancient times, cavemen/ cave women were mural artists. They created picture stories on the insides of their caves, and few of those stories are still visible to us now. 
-----While researching this topic i also found that some art historians in 2005 argue that murals first paintings created on walls date back at least 30,000 years ago. Prehistoric and ancient cultures created the "first murals". They can be found in caves in Lascaux, France, and locations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece and Rome. 


So really if you ask me i would say that murals originated from cave people:)

http://www.freearticlesinc.com/view_article-id-21051-at-Mural-Artists-Wanted---Nowadays-You-Gotta-Be-More-Than-a-Caveman.html

http://www.homebase8.net/webquest8/Communication_Arts/Murals/

What does this word mean????

Spring Break Day 1
Today is the first full day of my spring break and i am sticking to my promise of not being lazy. So i figured i would start with one of the easy questions on my list, what does the word mural mean? So i surfed (wow that's an old term) dictionary.reference.com and browse the word "mural" and this is what i got. The word mural is both a noun and an adjective.

–Noun

• a large picture painted or affixed directly on a wall or ceiling.

• a greatly enlarged photograph attached directly to a wall.

• a wallpaper pattern representing a landscape or the like, often with very widely spaced repeats so as to produce the effect of a mural painting on a wall of average size; a trompe l'oeil.----what is that?!

 (WOW that was easy) The funny thing about this question is that i kinda knew what was going to show up when i looked up the word mural. Its a a no brainier ; )

Fine I’ll do It!!!!!!

For the two people that follow my blog, I have decided not to be lazy during my spring break. I made a promise to Ms. M that I would do research over break, and I’m sticking to it. I know that this will be hard but I have come up with a solution to motivate me during spring break and get some research done. I came up with a list of five questions (one per day). Now these questions are not random questions, these questions are the ones that have been floating around in my head ever since I started this project.

1. How can you tell if its a mural?
2.   What does the word mural mean?
3. Where did murals originate from?
4. Who is the most famous person who ever created a mural? (I think I know this one)
5. When did the United States see that murals were important? 

(who, what, where, when, why)---Easy right;)

Red Flag 5

How much time did you spend on your project?
With baking and mentor meeting and being at the bake sale i would say well over 20 hours! this week was so busy! i am very happy with the out come of my bake sale:D i would say this week was "time well spent" ;)

What did you do that was hands on? 
Bake sale, baking, frosting, mentor meeting.

What research did you do?
Well, what i learned about the bake sale was that High school students at my school LOVE cupcakes!

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes, we met on Wednesday this week because of the bake sale on a Tuesday. One of my goals is to get a final sketch done before we come back to school over Easter break....also to catch up on journal entries ;)
Do you have at least 3 journal entries?
Not yet, but i wrote everything down, i just need to add it to my blog

Were you in class this week?
I will be today but i wasn't on Tuesday.

What are your plans for next week?
sleep, journal, and sketch

Just to Swich Things Up

Since i had the bake sale on monday and tuesday this week, Ms. M and i decided that it would be wise to move my mentor meeting to wednsday this week. when i arrived she was very pleased to see that i remembered and didnt let the bake sale interfear with our meeting this week. She contributed to my bake sale by buying a brownie one of the days. i told her about the money i raised and she was very proud of me and that made me realise what a great job i did.

Like every mentor meeting we set goals of the week and this is what we came up with

Goals of the Week

• FInished sketch of mural (Erin my friend will be working on it over break)
• figure outestimate cost of all supplies
• meeting with Mr. Mills to see who i need to talk to about getting everything approved
• a random list of EVERYTHING i think that needs to happen before mid June (just to see where im at)

Bake Sale Success

After working on no sleep this weekend and with the help of my boyfriends mom i managed to make $115.52 in sales!!! I am very pleased with my success of this bake sale and i know see that you have to work for what you want in order to get it. Over Easter break i will find out a rounded out estimate of what everything will be and see if i need to write a grant and or hold another bake sale.

Cupcakes!!!!!!!!!!

During todays bake sale my cupcakes sold like hotcakes!!!!!!! i had to run to the store and get more cupcake mix and make 24 more cupcakes for tomorrows sale!!!!!! thats AMAZINGGGG!!!!!!

LONG DAY!!!!!!

Over the past few months i have been stage managing the spring musical "The WIZ"...and what a stressful time that was for my life and my project. today was the last performance so i am allowed to breathe now;). while i was stage managing the show i asked my boyfriends mom (who is an AMAZING baker) to help me out during my time of need. She was very excited when i asked her to be apart of my project. When i went back to her house she taught me how to frost cupcakes and turns out I'm kinda good at it. I added red sprinkles for some school spirit and made a sign with the cost of the bake goods and what the bake sale is for.

• cookies 50
• brownies 27
• muffins 24
• cupcakes 48-But now there is now only 47 cupcakes because we decided to split one because they looked yummy....and they were!!!!!!

So tomorrow i will set up my bake sale starting second period which means i need to get out of bed before i normally do...but no big deal right??? And i will sell 3rd and 6th period and my boyfriend is willing to help me during 4th and 5th when i have classes. i will report back tomorrow on what a sell and how much i make, WISH ME LUCK!!!

Ithaca Journal

Today, as usual I showed up late to my first class (Economics) and i was surprised about the comment made by my teacher.When i walked in he was in the middle of telling the class what they were doing for the day, and when i walked in he stopped to tell me he say me in the paper this morning. I had no clue what he was talking about but then he asked me if i was doing something with murals. At that moment i was filled with excitement because the article about the library mural had arrived!!!! So i told EVERYONE that day even Ms. M and she was very proud to see my hard work pay off and to get recognised for it :D! So below i attached the article that was online and i hung the paper copy in my room.

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20110405/NEWS02/110405014/Work-Library-mural-continues?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Cimg%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

This is not an April Fools Joke!!!!!

Mr. Mills signed the mural serve sheet!!!!!! I had a meeting with him today to inform him that a decision has to be made about which image is going to be used in the mural, and that the project cannot go any furthur until the sheet is signed by him. He understood, and signed it. As he was signing it, I felt the relief wash over me. Finally, some real progress is being made.

Red Flag 3

How much time did you spend on your project?
 45 min with Ms. M, 45 min waiting for Mr. Mills to attend a meeting that he didn't end up coming to? which ended up i spent 2 hours crying because it feels like nothing is going right for my project.....that counts right??? also i met with the head custodian for 10 min to ask him what i need to do for clarification on the cleaning that needs to happen. also  i went to both classes this week and cleaned up my blog so that fills out the rest of the hours.
What did you do that was hands on? 
I'm not in a hands on stage right now, i tried getting the polls out to the students.....but I'm waiting on Mr. mills approval
What research did you do?
Most of my mural research is though asking questions to Mary Beth and people in school like Mr. Mills or Ms. M. the questions just are a way to help he through situations that i will have to handle with along the road.
Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
 i met with my mentor ands we talked about getting the polls out to the students ASAP . we also talked about a new option for the place of the mural but i still need that approved....which i hope happens before hell freezes over!
Do you have at least 3 journal entries?
 Yes i have done 3 this week.....but I'm also working on cleaning up past journal entries.
Were you in class this week?
 both Tuesday and Thursday i was here for class.....and if you look at my track record, that's an improvement!
What are your plans for next week?
 besides pulling my hair out? talking to Mr. mills and getting everything in order and buying supplies for my bake sale

This I Believe

Today in class we listened to a recording of a man that talked about how he took risks in his life and wasn't afraid to try something new. after listening to the man talk about his own story... it made me think about my project and how I'm doing things i never thought i would be doing during my senior year. things like using my free periods to work on my project and taking my interest in paint to a new level in creating the mural in the library. when i first started working at the library mural i didn't know anyone there. so i had to talk to other people involved with the mural and ask them what made them interested in helping out with the mural.

also we were given a written assessment for the 3rd quarter self-evaluation sheet that is due next Tuesdays class. unlike other written assessments i will not be waiting until the last minute to do this because i found in the past its not worth the rush to get things handed in on time

This is bad...

I STILL NEED BAKE SALE DATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is bad. there is no reason why this is caring out for so long. i missed the women i need to talk to to set dates today because she is only here in the morning, and i only have afternoon classes so tomorrow i need to get my ass out of bed and meet her in her office so i can set bake sale dates. This will make Ms. M happy that i can cross it off the list we made. I need money for paint. depending on how much money i make i should also look into writing a grant for other supplies that i wouldn't be able to purchase, like better paint/ brushes.

Ms. M

Like every tuesday i met with Ms. M to talk about the progress of my project. i showed her that i have the serve ready for the seniors to pick out what draft of the mural they like. i was able to put it together with the help of my friend erin who is a better artist than i am. i also had to break the news that i wasnt able to set any bake sale dates but i have until next meeting to have that all settled. As of last week Ms. M and i set goals of the week so i can focus on what needs to be done by next meeting.....and this is what we came up with
Goals of the week

• BAKE SALE DATES!-----this needs to happen ASAP!!!!!!!!!
• Set up serves in Senior lounge(they will be there from 3/28/11 to 4/1/11)
• Announcement to let seniors know about serve location
• Find a spot for the mural by (4/1/11)

In this picture I'm working on a mural in the Public Library in the city of Ithaca. Some of my work on this mural includes painting various parts of the mountains, trees, water, and landscape. The person on the scaffolding is Mary Beth, the person in charge of the mural. While we were painting with each other, I asked her for advice on my own mural. The techniques used with this mural may be helpful when im in the designing process of my own. There are a lot of steps that need to be taken before you start painting on the wall.
Steps to making this mural

• Sketch out design of mural
• Sketch on grid paper to make an image that can be scaled to larger sizes
• Use a chalk-line to make the grid on the wall, then trace over with pencil
• Use scale image to copy onto the wall in pencil
• Paint the background, then move up to the foreground

Red Flag 1

This week my life has been very stressful. i have spent 3 hours at the library working on the mural with Marybeth, and 45 min on my mentor meeting. not to mention running around the school to see what i need to do for approval for my mural in the school. i NEED in this next week to find a spot for my mural, which i still dont know if i want to put it on a panel or just paint on a wall in the school. Also i need to set bake sale dates so i can get some moneyyyyy!!!!! Paint doesn't grow on trees!

Two Tramps In Mud Time

The class gathering this week was very helpful for me to see how other student's projects are going, however I was not one of the students that shared project progress; hopefully by next class I will be able to.
Towards the end of class, we were handed a poem by Robert Frost called Two Tramps In Mud Time. We are supposed to relate to the poem. I didn't really understand the poem, but what I got out of it was that I should look back and reflect on previous entries and goals before I move on, much like the way that Frost goes from talking about the tramps, then nature, and then back to the tramps.

Goals of the week

My mentor meeting this week was very reassuring. I told Ms. M. about my experience over the weekend. She was thrilled to hear about the interest I had in this outside project. We also talked about ways that we could improve on our communication with each other. An idea we came up with was to set "goals of the week". From now on, at every mentor meeting we will set goals that I should complete before the next meeting.
Goals of the week

• Schedule at least 3 bake sale dates, to raise money for materials
• Create a question sheet regarding the mural for seniors

Community

Today I went to the public library for the opportunity to be apart of a mural that will be displayed in the library. The theme of the mural is fictional characters such as dragons, fairies, and stories like Hansel and Gretel. The development session that day was very useful for me because i learned about copy writing and how you can take other peoples work to every last detail but you can alter it to your style. The women in charge if this mural is very interesting to me. Marybeth is her name and she has many wonderful murals that she told us about around town. Her job is to create murals. Thats SO cool! Just think about painting murals as a career, who wouldn't love to do that??? Anyways, we got a lot done in the hour and a half we were there for. We talked about the layout of the project and we marked on the wall a grid that is scaled on paper and used chalk string and pencils to trace where the chalk was. Since i am so tall i was used to get the high spot on the wall to trace and i was able to get on a scaffold (VERY SCARY>_<) and learned how to assemble it and everything! I do have a video of me up on the scaffold but it on a friends phone but i plan to get it on my blog ASAP.

We weren't able to finish the tracing of the gird so this week when i have time i can stop by when ever and help and same with the other kids involved in the mural. At least once during the week i plan to meet her in the morning to see what i can do to help and work around my conflicts.I am very excited to tell Ms. M about my amazing experience tomorrow during our mentor meeting.

Opportunity For Community Mural Painting

Today when I saw my mentor in the hallway, she told me she had an exciting opportunity for me. When she was reading a newspaper, she found an article about our county public library wanting help from teens in the community for a mural painting project at the library. The design of the mural is still in the process of completion, but there is an idea development session that will be held in the library in the programming room from 3 - 4:30 pm on March 13th. I called the Youth Services Department to register my name to attend this meeting.

Zwackart

On March 7th I went to go see my art teacher Judy to ask her if she knew anyone in the community that would be able to give me a few pointers/ help with my project ideas. Judy wasnt there, but I managed to talk to another art teacher. I asked her if she had any advice for me. She gave me a website: http://www.zwackart.com/, because Anne Marie, who created the website, helps out in the community. She helped some students with murals in Spencer, so hopefully she will be willing to help me out. Her phone number is on the website, and I called and left a message. Hopefully she will get back to me, so that I can tell her about my project.

Money Doesnt Grow on Trees

(3/3/11)
After considering my principals suggestion about platforms that would hang in our senior courtyard for seniors to paint their graduating year, I would have to strongly consider looking into raising money, or seeking out a grant. If I were to go along with this idea, I would not only have to purchase a platform for my class, but three more after that for the next classes to come. This is where I question if this idea will work. because after the four panels have been purchased, who will buy the next four? The murals would have to be a routine, which might not work out as planned.
 For me to get started on gathering supplies I need to reasearch how much it would be for the total price of my mural. I will need to look at the price of paint and brushes that will be needed for this project. And if i were to go with the platform idea how much would that cost me. So my next mentor meeting i will come up with a list of ways to be able to raise money for this class mural.

Mentor Meeting Number 3

On Tuesday the 8th of March I met Ms. M. on her watch duty to discuss my project progress. I told her about ideas of ways to raise money for the paint supplies for my mural. I brought up the idea of having a bake sale. When the weather gets nice, perhaps there's a possibility of selling popsicles outside of the school. She thought that they were great ideas, and told me to arrange a date sometime in the next few weeks. She suggested that I have more than one day for each event, to make more money.