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.

Class Supervisor Check-In

After talking to my principal, he advised me to go to my class supervisor. After my meeting with Ms. M, I went to go talk to him. I needed to talk to him about approval of having a mural for my class. As I was talking to him, he was very interested in it, and invited me to a class officer meeting for the senior class next Wednesday, March 9th, before school. I will be able to talk about my ideas and questions I have for my mural.

Second meeting with Ms. M.

Today during Ms. M's watched duty, I met with her to talk about the progress in my project. I told her about the meeting with my principal, and I told her what we talked about. She tought that his idea was really interesting. She brought up my brother's project by telling me that my brother wanted to take down an old painting in our senior lounge so that there would be room for his mural. The significance of this painting is unknown and is very out of date. This week I plan to ask teachers that have been at the school for a while what the history of the painting and report back to Ms. M to see if that is a possibility for my mural.

Barn Song

Today in class we watched a documentary that a former WISE student did for his project. He documented another kid's project. This documentary took us through a journey of a kid's project, building a barn. After watching this, we were able to see the steps that needed to be taken in both projects (Hard-work and dedication). This gave me inspiration of what I want to see in the final outcome of my project.
Also in class today, we received a project evaluation rubric from a past WISE student's project. I am to read through her journal, on Duck-Tape art, and fill out the rubric by next class.