HGrover

Personal Project: Process Journal

Today I completed the brainstorming section of the Investigate stage; I think it really helped me narrow down my ideas of which topic to go for to start my project. I’m a bit late completing this, as I did my first proposal sheet a bit wrong and I had to change my second one. I didn’t realize that I’m still narrowing down my subjects rather than thinking of final products/projects I could do. I was originally interested in cooking, but instead I vetoed that subject and thought I would stick to focusing on the arts as they combined two of my interests rather than one; writing and drawing/painting. I also think this was a good choice because I’m pretty sure I won’t get bored doing art all day! It would be fun and exciting! I also realized that I could combine the two forms into so many more products; there are tons of options available. Either way, I think the main goal of my project should be to interest people, specifically kids. I think it would be really fulfilling if I created a product that helped people learn or view things differently; that would even help fit things into the Area of Interaction Human Ingenuity.
 * Thursday, March 12th, 2009**

I’ve just completed my first week at the art course I’m taking at the Toronto School of Art, and I really learned a lot! This week was more about creativity, and next week, a new instructor is coming in and teaching us the more technical aspects of drawing and painting. This week we went to a lot of art galleries like the AGO and smaller ones around the Harbourfront. Most of the art we looked at was modern, and it definitely was interesting to see how there can be so much symbolism in one tiny painting or sculpture! It was a lot to think about, and I think I might prefer the older styles of art that are more classic and less confusing! I’ve certainly had enough reflection and symbolism for a long time! A big project that we worked on was making outfits out of 100% paper; I made a really extravagant dress with a feathered torso and a train of different paper shapes. The main concept of this was to create a “moving sculpture”, and today we did a “fashion show” of all out paper outfits. As well, yesterday we had a model come in, and we used conte as well as India ink on big sheets of newsprint. In the end, my sketches were okay, but I think I’m still working on getting the forms and proportions right. I’ve definitely learned a lot though, and am looking forward to next week!! Here are some pictures of what I did this week (not all of them though!)
 * Friday, July 10th, 2009**






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Friday, July 17th, 2009** Today was the last day of my second week at TSA, and it was really different to last week. Last week, we learned more about sculpture and modern art, but this week we really worked on the technical aspects of figure drawing, painting, and sketching out ideas on thicker illustration board. We had two figure drawing sessions after tutorials, and I think my drawings of faces and bodies have really improved since last week! We worked on profiles, ¾ views, and full frontal faces, as well as the techniques that go with different mediums like pencils, conte, charcoal, and ink. As well, we worked on storyboards for mini-stories, which really relates to my project! This was great, as it helped me practice formulating ideas and then depicting them which is what I’m going to end up doing for my project. Overall this week was really great as far as my personal project is concerned, because I think I really improved my artistic abilities which will help me depict whatever I end up creating! Here are some more pictures of what I made this week (I think you can tell that my figure drawing has improved!)








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Wednesday, August 12th, 2009** I’ve now decided that for my personal project, I’m going to create a children’s book! This was instead of creating a single piece of art or a video or something. I think I’m going to make it a book of fairy tales, as I’ve just finished reading the whole //Harry Potter// series and find it amazing how one author can create such a vivid and creative world for a series. As well, there are a lot of lessons in the book like the importance of friendship, courage, and integrity. I want to do that for my book! The little companion book, //The Tales of Beedle the Bard// also inspired this decision, as it’s a little compilation of ‘fairy’ tales for ‘wizard’ children each with its own moral. I rooted around my house for a lot of my old favourite storybooks and read through them too. I got a lot of ideas from them, and I don’t think I want to do just one story but rather lots of little ones so that I can incorporate a lot of morals for kids reading them. I’ve also watched a couple of old movies that I liked as a kid; my favourites were //Mary Poppins//, //Chitty Chitty Bang Bang//, and //Aladdin//.

Today I continued looking through old storybooks of mine; it made me feel really nostalgic! I miss those days. I’ve noticed how all of my favourite ones had similar characteristics, illustration-wise. I liked the original illustrations, where it was a different style of painting or drawing, and not very boring. That’s probably important when it comes to interesting children. I don’t think they’ll like my stories that I write unless the illustrations are interesting too! I want my stories to have morals too; so that my book will teach kids important lessons and will also fit into the AoI Human Ingenuity or Community and Service.
 * Thursday, August 14th, 2009**

CHANGE TO THE PLAN!!! I just noticed that the plan I made back in June is different to what I’ve decided to do; instead of one story, I’m making lots of smaller ones. The idea and order of things is the same, but I’m just going to have to do the first 3 steps over for each new story that I make. Obviously, doing each of these probably won’t take as long as I planned, as the stories are smaller, but it’s probably going to be more work to make a book of fairy tales rather than one big book. I think that I’ll write all of my stories first, and then do all of the illustrations together once I’ve finished all the writing. That way, I can stay in the same mindset and not have to switch between writing and illustration over and over again for each story! I hope it works out! I’m glad I decided to do multiple stories though, as I think it will be more interesting for me to make and more interesting for kids to read!

Today I mapped out my first story, and then started writing it. I’ve decided it’s going to be about a magic bird that’s trapped inside a cave, and can grant wishes if it’s found. The person who asks for the wish has to have good intentions though, so princes and people wanting riches and superficial things won’t get their wish granted. Then a poor boy finds the bird to wish for his mother’s sickness to disappear, but sees how sad the bird is trapped inside its cave and wishes for it to be free instead. I know it’s not a really developed idea, and I changed it around a bunch of times from the person having to defeat lots of obstacles that test their integrity before letting them into the cave, to the idea I have now. I wrote a couple of paragraphs, and found it really hard!! Already, I’m getting writer’s block! I stopped there, but hopefully I’ll come up with more ideas and be able to keep writing later!
 * Monday, August 17th, 2009**

I added more to my first story today, so now I’m almost done- I just have to add the last couple paragraphs, and then I’ll edit the whole thing. It turned out to be surprisingly difficult; I thought that as long as I knew the basic story line I would be alright, but actually writing the fairy tale is harder than I thought! As a bit of a break, I researched on the internet ways to get my finished book bound. That also was a little frustrating, as I couldn’t find much! There are a bunch of specialty book binding studios in Toronto, but they all look really expensive, and I need to make at least a couple copies of my finished books! The whole thing will probably cost way too much, so that’s out of the question. I could go to Kinko’s, but I need to look further into that to see if they can do hardcover bindings, as I don’t think I want a soft cover or a spiral bound book.
 * Sunday, August 23th, 2009**

Today I finished my first fairy-tale, and mapped out the idea for my second; it’s going to be about actual fairies! I’m not sure what the actual order of the stories will be for the finished book, but I’m kind of just going along with what I can think up. I also wrote a list of morals that I can use for my next stories to give me more ideas and to help me more along. Writing the stories is still harder than I thought it would be, and the first one took longer than I thought it would! I’m definitely going to have to speed it up if I want to be finished in time for October 16th! And I haven’t even doing the illustrations yet either! I’m starting to worry a bit, as I’m behind my schedule
 * Sunday, September 13th, 2009**

III. STAGES OF THE PERSONAL PROJECT 1a) INVESTIGATE || **__Product Ideas__** Your Personal Project must result in tangible evidence (a //Product//) that you have used your knowledge and skills in a creative, individual and appropriate way. Circle all the ideas below that may interest you as your Product.
 * BRAINSTORMING**
 * Part I:**

q Demonstration q Video/DVD q Display/Visual q Computer product q Research report

q Mural q Simulation q Original Music q Debate q Proposal/plan q Craft q Design q Club

q Speech q Experiment q Event q Prototype q Performance

q Original Writing q Photo Essay q Model q Collection q Composition q Game || || **__Audiences__** (Who else would have an interest in your work?) q classmates q special interest group q general public q decision maker q family q small group q teachers q individual q competition ||  ||

STAGE 1 INVESTIGATE //Is there anything that you want to learn more about? That you’ve always wondered about? Are fascinated by?// I’d love to learn more about lots of things; the reasons behind how things are the way they are interests me and I’ve always been really fascinated by astronomy and space.
 * Part II:**

//Is// //there anything that you’ve always wanted to learn to do?// I’ve always wanted to learn how to play piano, write books, learn to draw properly, and cook without using a recipe! There are tons of other things I’d love to learn to do, but I can’t do everything!

//What are you interested in finding out about yourself?// I would like to explore more in finding out my true interests, personality traits, talents, and what makes me genuinely happy so that I can understand myself better and lead a more fulfilling life.

//What challenge would you be willing to take?// I would be willing to take any physical or mental challenge. I think challenging myself would be a great way to understand myself (my strengths, weaknesses, what I enjoy) more fully.

//Have you traveled anywhere that changed your view of life? Where did you go?// I haven’t traveled to many places around the world (I’m going to England this summer for the first time), but visiting the cities in the US and places in the Caribbean that I have been has helped me realize that each person and culture is so unique that we should all try to learn from each other and integrate ourselves as much as we can.

//Have you ever experienced anything that changed your view of life? What was that experience?// I don’t think I’ve experienced anything dramatic enough to change my view of life completely, but I find that each new small experience (whether it’s reading a book, learning a new sport, or meeting a new person) changes the way you view yourself, others around you, and the situation that you are in.

//If you could go anywhere (country, city, building, behind the scenes) where would it be?// I would love to travel the world and go to the UK, India, Greece, Egypt and everywhere else.

//Is there any deceased person that you wish that you had met? Who and why?// I wish I had met my dad’s real mother before her accident, but I love the grandmother I have now (my dad’s step-mother)! If I could have met anyone outside of my family, I would have chosen Mahatma Gandhi, or Dr. Seuss to learn about their outlooks on life.

//Is// //there something in your culture/heritage to investigate, bring attention to, celebrate?// I would love to learn more about my heritage, both Indian (my dad’s side) and British (my mom’s side). I’m proud that I’m a ‘combination’ of two different cultures.

//Do you have future aspirations? Describe them.// In the future, I’d just like to become the best I can be. I’d like to learn as much as I can, and do what makes me and other people happy. I hope that I’ll never hurt people intentionally and be a role model for kids and everyone around me.
 * Part III:**

//Do you have any hobbies? What are they?// I love all art, especially painting, drawing, and crafty things. I also like baking, reading, music, and anything that tickles my fancy.

//Do you play any sports? Which ones?// I enjoy a lot of sports like squash, baseball, swimming, golf, and tennis. I like playing any sport, even if I’m not very good at it!

//Do you participate in any competitive activities? What are they?// I play competitive squash, but try not to take it so seriously because I’m not a very cut-throat person.

STAGE 1 INVESTIGATE //Do you play any musical instruments? Which ones?// I play the flute at school in the concert band and flute choir.

//If you don’t play any musical instruments, would you like to play any? Which ones?// I would really like to learn how to play the piano well.

//Have you developed any skills that you could use in your personal project? What are they?// I think I’m a fair artist, and a pretty good baker. I could also do a project involving squash, as I’m pretty good at that too?

//What are your major personal accomplishments? Why do you consider them accomplishments?// I don’t think I have made any __major__ accomplishments yet as I’m not very old, but I’m proud to have completed my bronze cross and medallion swimming courses (and when I turn 16 hopefully my NLS to become a lifeguard). I’d consider these accomplishments because it means that I’m on my way towards being able to help people and save lives! I have also won a couple squash tournaments which make me feel accomplished as a squash player.

//Do you belong to any clubs, community organizations etc. that could be incorporated into your personal project? Which ones?// I’ve been a part of the flute choir for two years, but other than that I haven’t belonged to any clubs or organizations.


 * NOW READ ALL THAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN AND SEE IF YOU CAN MAKE MORE PROGRESS IN FINDING A SPECIFIC TOPIC FOR YOUR PERSONAL PROJECT. YOU MAY WANT TO DO THIS BY 1. USING A MIND MAP VIA INSPIRATION OR BY HAND 2. WRITE OUT ANSWERS ON LAPTOP OR BY HAND.**

1. Eliminate (cross out) any repetitive ideas 2. Eliminate any ideas that you really are NOT interested in pursuing 3. Put together any similar ideas 4. How can you relate your ideas to an Area of Interaction? Which one? Or two? 5. Consider how relevant the ideas are to real life (are they doable?) 6. Consider the ideas most meaningful to you. Consider what, of yourself, you can bring to your ideas. 7. Can you formulate any questions about your ideas? Take a point of view? 8. Is your idea “researchable, interesting, realistic?

Interests in: - Kids - Art - Travel - Environment - Culinary Arts

Possible Products- Artistic, Piece of writing - Both could be put in form of book - **__ Human Ingenuity __** AoI- creating something from scratch

Audience: Kids, classmates, families - Kids and families in same category

Ideas that interest me: Why things are the way they are

Want to learn? - Piano - Write **__books__** à common idea with possible product - Draw properly - Cook without a recipe Find out about myself: - My interests, WHAT MAKES ME + OTHERS HAPPY? - ** Helping Others – ****AOI COMMUNITY + SERVICE** - ** BOOKS ** that I read- books can also teach important life lessons, make people laugh, convey an emotion à happiness - **I can change other people’s views on life by creating a book**
 * What changes my view of life? **

Learning more about heritage: So-So…. - Would include a LOT of research and interviewing CUT

Aspirations - To be the best I can be - To learn what makes me + others happy - REPETETIVE FROM BEFORE
 * Sports ** - Already play enough during school year! Might get bored of subject?

Accomplishments: I would consider doing something to improve the lives of others an accomplishment- Possible **AOI** **Community + Service** ?


 * BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE A MORE DIRECTED TOPIC FOR YOUR PERSONAL PROJECT. DO YOU HAVE ONE? WHAT IS IT?**
 * New Topic: ****Art, Children**

Personal Project Plan: Making a Children’s storybook.

Materials- - Computer - Storybooks to get ideas from - Paper, pens, pencils Can find all materials at home: no cost || About 4 hours total- Over the course of 1 day || Completed by July 30th, 2009 || Materials- - Paints (watercolour, acrylic, etc) - Pens, ink, coloured and lead pencils - Paper (sketchbook) - Internet, books on illustration for inspiration All materials at home: no cost May need to buy more paints: estimated cost between $20-40 || About 4-5 hours total? Over the course of 1 day || August 9th, 2009 || Materials- - Computer Materials at home: no cost || 5 days total- about 3-4 hours each day || September 12th, 2009 || Materials- - Illustration board or watercolour paper/cardstock - Watercolours/acrylics - pen, ink, pencils Materials at home or previously purchased (see #2) || Over the course of 2 weeks- 30 hours || September 30th, 2009 || Materials- - Digital Camera - Computer and graphics program || About 3 hours || October 3rd, 2009 || Materials- - Good quality paper - Printer || About 2 hours || October 3rd, 2009 || - Taken to print shop Estimated cost: $40?? || Unknown! 1 week? || October 16th, 2009 ||
 * ** Activity and Materials needed ** || ** Estimated time needed ** || ** Proposed date of completion ** ||
 * 1. Think of story, plot, characters, and moral: create rough story web
 * 2. Design a character and decide upon which artistic style I am going to use to depict the character and pictures of the book
 * 3. Write the story
 * 4. Add Illustrations to the story including a title page
 * 5. Take pictures of finished illustrations and insert into word document with story
 * 6. Print off finished product
 * 7. Get my finished product binded professionally