SEPARATION AND GROWTH:

WHY CANT I CATCH A BREAK?

INTEGRATED ARTS 2016/2017

Tori Bourinot
Mr. Taylor
Ms. Aylesworth
October 6, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS
THEME..4
Ten words........................................................................................................................5
Ten words flow chart......................................................................................................17
Personal influences.........................................................................................................18
Artistic influences...........................................................................................................23

PRODUCTION..................25
People..............................................................................................................................26
Setting.............................................................................................................................32
Space allocation..............................................................................................................36
Materials.........................................................................................................................41
Budget.............................................................................................................................44
Building instructions.......................................................................................................45

MIND MAP.49
Myths.............................................................................................................................50
Historically....................................................................................................................52

PAST IDEAS...53
Ideas...............................................................................................................................54
Decided against.............................................................................................................57

CALENDAR59
October.........................................................................................................................60
November......................................................................................................................61
December......................................................................................................................62
January..........................................................................................................................63

FINAL PRODUCT....64
The beginning................................................................................................................65
Problems........................................................................................................................68

Solutions........................................................................................................................70
8 studio habits of mind..................................................................................................72

OVERVIEW.74
WORKS CITED..75

THEME

10 WORDS
DECLINE
1.

To withhold or deny consent to do, enter into or upon, etc.; refuse.

2.

To express inability or reluctance to accept; refuse with courtesy

3.

To cause a slope or incline downward

PERSONAL DEFINITION
For something to decline means it is going downhill, whether that be a students grades
slowly getting lower, some ones emotional state developing into a more negative than positive
state or some ones health deteriorating. A decline can happen quickly or slowly; it all depends
on a situation. It can also be saying no to something, rejecting something someone does,
rejecting something someone says or refusing doing something your told.
For me the decline was my comprehension in my classes and my emotional state, after I
was taken off my I.E.P I fell behind the rest of the class, I could not read or write as well as the
other kids which made me feel slow and like I did not belong. I became a very quiet kid and did
not talk to many people or have many friends. Although being taken out of class to do word
workshops on the computer made me feel below the rest of the class, being put in a class where I
was not able to comprehend the work load like others was much worse. I became anxious when
teachers called on me to answer questions because I did not have the answers. I knew I learned
differently but I never thought it would be as challenging as it really was.
A decline is a downfall, the recession of something. It is the slow or fast drop to what
could be failure, it is what happened to me.
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TRANQUILITY
1.

Quality or state of being tranquil; calmness; peacefulness; quiet; serenity

PERSONAL DEFINITION
Tranquility is the ability to find inner peace, outer peace and environmental peace. To be
tranquil is to be happy and safe in the location a person is in, pleased with the thoughts and
feelings within oneself and confident about their outer appearance. Tranquility is when a
peaceful grace falls over some one and creates a comfortability that may have been lacking
before.
My place of tranquility is when I am alone, the drawing and painting I do alone bring me
happiness and comfort. The time I spend reading and putting myself into another world is when I
feel calm, its a chance to imagine myself in another realm. Tranquility is what I feel when I am
sitting around a campfire while my mom talks about her job and my dad is drinking beer. It is the
calmness that falls over me as I am about to fall asleep for the night, or the silence of the night
when I am up late working on something and everything is still.
Tranquility is a calmness that settles over everything that surrounds a person, a happiness
that is grounding.

GROWTH
1. The act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase
2. Development from a simpler to a more complex stage
3. Something that has grown or developed by or as if by a natural process

PERSONAL DEFINITION
To show growth is to show a change, a development in something. Growth is in
everything from a child turning into an adult, a caterpillar turning into a butterfly or a seed
turning into a sunflower. Growth is also within though, the older a person gets the more they
grow, thoughts develop into opinions, ideas turn into plans which turn into realities and interests
turn into passions.
As I got older I developed strong opinions about a lot of things, the school system is set
up to encourage the majority and push the minority under the rug. Minorities are expected to
follow the standards of those who fall under the regular curriculum. I am an animal person, if I
see pictures of abused animals I am guaranteed to cry. I am a sympathizer and although that is
not always a good thing, it has become part of my growth and learning experience. I got older I
matured and I learned to love everything around me as it grows and myself as I grow.
Growth is a change that deeply affects everyone, it is the developmental aspect of
everything humans know.
SYSTEM
1. An assemblage or combination of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole
2. An ordered or comprehensive assemblage of facts, principles, doctrines, or the like in
a particular field of knowledge
3. A coordinated body of methods or a scheme or plan of procedure; organizational
scheme
4. Any formulated, regular, or special method or plan of procedure
PERSONAL DEFINITION

A system is anything set up for a greater purpose. The education system is based around
superintendents, board officials, principles, vice principles, teachers and then students. Everyone
in the system is looking toward a common goal, to educate the uneducated. A cooking line goes
from chef to dishwasher, all wanting the same thing, to please the customer and make them want
to return in the future. A waterline system or heating and cooling system can be seen as some of
the most important systems in a school.
The education system is one of the most flawed systems on earth. Up until grade 3 I had
an I.E.P because I could not read or write to the basic standards of my grade, I had trouble
piecing letters together to form words and sentences. I could not understand that not every letter
in a word is pronounced sometimes which caused me to not be able to read at my grade level.
After grade 3 they took me off of my I.E.P which caused me to fall heavily behind in my classes,
I could not read out loud because I was not able to read a lot of the words. I had trouble writing
properly, my grammar, punctuation and spelling was all over the place, and to this day I am still
not a fantastic writer. I believe I should not have been taken off of the I.E.P as soon as I was, I
was not prepared to be integrated into a regular classroom, but I was anyways.
My brother works at a restaurant, he is a cook and manager there. He is two of the most
important positions in a restaurant setting. He is at the top of the system designed to make sure
the restaurant works smoothly. This system is very different from the education system, as this
one is usually effective.
Although systems are put in place for the greater good they do not always come out that
way, some people get left out and that means, the system is flawed. To me the definition of
system is; a circuit of things put in place to ultimately help the greater population.

PREMATURE
1. Occurring, coming, or done too soon
2. Mature or ripe before the proper time
PERSONAL DEFINITION
Premature is for something to happen before it is supposed to; growing up too fast or
saying something before it was meant to be revealed are both events that show something
happening prematurely.
To me premature is for something to happen before its time, I was taken off of my IEP
too early which led me to fall behind. I was taken off of my IEP before it was my time, I needed
to be in an area with less students and more teacher attention than a regular class has to offer. I
needed to practice and learn different strategies of learning before I was integrated into a regular
class.
Maturity comes over time, through a detailed process. Something that happens
prematurely means it happened before it was its time. Premature; something that happens before
it was supposed to.
EFFORT
1. Exertion of physical or mental power
2. An earnest or strenuous attempt
3. An achievement, as in literature or art

PERSONAL DEFINITION
There are two types of effort; physical effort and mental effort. Physical effort is to use
your body to achieve a greater goal, to make something that involves movement and handiwork.
Mental effort is to put intense thought into an idea or plan to make it precise and conductive,
both are needed in almost every project. Any effort put into something will eventually lead into
an achievement, whether that be a memorable experience or learning experience.
Effort is what I had to put forward in order to catch up to the class, being taken off my
IEP led me to fall behind so in order to catch up I needed to put a lot more effort into figuring out
how to word sentences and spell words. I had to put more thought into how to communicate my
thoughts into words on paper. I had to put more effort into learning the way other kids did before
I fell even more behind. I struggled to catch up and I did not really catch up to other people in
my grade until about grade 10, I put an enormous amount of effort into all my work until I could
get good grades. For 7 years I was being dragged behind my classes because I did not learn the
same but with effort I learned to teach myself to do things that would help me understand the
class material better.
Effort can be physical or mental which means it can be almost anything that includes
thought and movement to make it.
BOHEMIA
1. A district inhabited by persons, typically artists, writers, and intellectuals, whose way
of life, dress, etc., are generally unconventional or avant-garde
2. The social circles where such behaviour is prevalent
3. Behaving in an informal way
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PERSONAL DEFINITION
Bohemia is being different, an outcast even. To be bohemic is to be a unique individual,
to dress in what a majority of people would say is strange and out of the ordinary. It is to talk
about things that interest you even if most people do not understand it. Bohemia is what
describes someone who does not fit in, most see them as the starving artists or the creative
writers who are trying to make it. People do not understand those who are described as bohemic,
they do not comprehend their individuality as well as others.
Struggling in class made me isolate myself, I did not have many friends, I avoided
answering questions in class. I felt anxious when called on and when I was put in group
assignments because I was not comfortable talking a lot, I was seen as the useless member of the
group. In the end I became the quiet girl nobody talked to, I had maybe three friends and I spent
my time drawing. Everyone else was good at math or science or English but I drew, I was almost
the only person who drew all the time. I was good at art and I felt good doing art but my class
only ever had an art block maybe twice a week and sometimes we skipped it because nobody
really cared for art. I was too shy and quiet to say I wanted to do it, I wanted to do art but we did
not. I was the outsider of the class, the artist and the quiet one.
My brother had similar experiences in school, he was not on an I.E.P until a little later in
elementary school, in grade four his teachers basically told him he was too stupid to do French so
he was not made to. He was exempt from French class for the next 5 years, in grade 7 they put
him on an I.E.P for english and math. In grade nine he spent one period in math and one period
in English both semesters to get better, what the school did not tell him was that this would limit
his availability for colleges, which later messed him up. All throughout school he hated it
though, he did not want to go because much like me he did not understand many of the concepts
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and that made him an angry child at school, which travelled into his high school life. When high
school rolled around he skipped classes and ditched school because he hated it so much, the
teachers did not bother to understand that he learned differently than others so he decided not to
go. This led him to graduate 4 years later than he should have from the learning center.
Similar things occurred in the family, my immediate family likes to talk to cousins and
aunts and uncles and everyone. I on the other hand preferred to stay in my room when we had
family gatherings, or when we went somewhere I only talked to people who talked to me first
and even then I was quiet and my answers were short. I did not feel comfortable talking to
people I was not around all the time, I felt anxious when people asked about school. When I was
at home I drew and listened to music, my mother always said she did not know where me and my
brother got our drawing skills because nobody on either side of our family could draw. We were
the only two artists, and we were the ones who preferred not to be around crowds or people who
would ask a lot of questions about us. We as siblings were bohemic.
Bohemia is doing what you love even if your standing alone, its being in a room with
millions of people but people keep pointing you out.
RELATIONSHIP
1. A connection, association, or involvement
2. Connection between persons by blood or marriage
3. An emotional or other connection between people
PERSONAL DEFINITION
A relationship can be between many things, friend to friend, family member to family
member, or even between two business partners. To have a relationship with someone is to have
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some sort of connection, some form of communication with one another. Everything in ones life
is based around having a relationship with an item, person or event. The most prominent form of
relationships is those between people, emotional relationships can make or break them.
I have a strong relationship with my grandmother I see it as a bond that can not be
broken. When my mom and dad were at work she would take care of me and my brother, she
taught us right from wrong, good from bad and those that reside in between. She told us stories
of her growing up and held us when we cried or were hurt, she bandaged our cuts and iced our
bruises. She developed a bond with me and my brother that will live on through our entire lives,
she helped us form into the people we are today. She is part of our everyday lives and she has
impacted my life more than I think any other person has.
Most people would think having a nine-year age gap between you and your sibling would
put a dent in the relationship but for me and my brother I think that is why we are as calm with
each other as we are. We both have our own space and personalities but somehow they have
become very similar, he has also impacted my life greatly. He taught me many things and he is
there to talk to when I need, I can talk to him about anything and everything. In a span of a few
hours we can have talked about a thousand different things, we can go on for hours about
anything without getting tired of each other. Growing up my mom says we went through a stage
where we riled each other up and pressed each others buttons to no end but now we have grown
out of that. We are not the type of siblings to fight or argue, we go on trips for days at a time and
can still wish it wasnt coming to an end when we get home. My bond with my brother will hold
forever and its because of how much we have grown together at different points in our life.
My relationship with my parents is another amazing bond I have; they have always been
supportive of me. I do not think they ever knew how much I struggled in school, I was not and I
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am still not a very talkative person with my parents, they still do not know how much I hated
school and struggled. All they got was the notes from teachers but even with only that small
amount of information, they supported me and helped me to the best of their abilities. They have
always made sure I have the best and I want to be able to do the same for the people that enter
my life.
The final relationship I see as the most influential to me is the relationship with my best friend
Lexi, she has always been there beside me, not only for me but with me. Lexi and I met in the
I.E.P program I was in at school. She was also in that program, the story of how we met is we
were walking down to the library to work together as we did most days, she looked at me and
asked how you were supposed to pronounce my last name. I told her and from then on we were
best friends and continue to be till this day. She was one of my only friends growing up, I was
too quiet to make any other friends but I always had Lexi. We had sleep overs and she was at my
house almost every day, we do not see each other as often any more but we still make time for
each other. She has influenced me a lot in life, she has helped me develop who I am today. She
dyes my hair and talks to me about painting techniques, we help each other with school
assignments and I know that we will continue to be friends for a very long time. I want to be able
to influence people the same way Lexi influenced me.
Relationships are a bond between anything and everything, there are simple relationships
and complicated relationships, but all of them revolve around having a bond between those
things.
PASSION
1. Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, love or hate

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2. Strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor

3. A strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything
4. The object of such a fondness or desire
PERSONAL DEFINITION
Passion is a burning want or need to do something, it is a feeling that takes over your
entire being because you have to do it. It is the way a writers brain buzzes when they start to
write on paper, or the way a painters fingers tingle when they hold a brush over a canvas, or the
way the music vibrates through a dancers body. Passion is the burn in some ones chest as they
start to do something they love, when they are doing something they can not live without doing.
My passion is art, if I could I would become a nomad and just live off of selling my art
around the country, in different cities. I love the feeling in my chest when I am painting or
drawing, I feel energy surge through me at the thought of learning new techniques and forms of
art. I love getting my hands on new art supplies and learning how to use it, I love the feeling
when I am finished a piece. I love the burn in my chest and the buzz in my brain when I am
creating something of deep meaning to me. I crave the way my emotions get out of control some
times, the way my eyes water when I think of something powerful or my muscles tense when I
get angry. My chest aches for that feeling that makes me want to scream, not in anger but just to
get it out, I want to make people feel what I felt while painting. My passion is art, the emotion
itself that comes with art not just the physical aspect of art. I would even go as far to say I am
obsessed with the feeling of art.
To define passion, it is the intense need to do something someone loves, the need to do
something they can not live without.

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AMBITION
1. An earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honour,
fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment
2. The object, state, or result desired or sought after
3. Desire for work or activity; energy
PERSONAL DEFINITION
Passion and ambition are similar but not the same, to be passionate about something is
used more when you have a burning need to do something, when someone is ambitious it leans
towards wanting to do something in order to achieve a goal. Someones ambition in life might be
to improve on something or gain experience in a certain field.
My ambition for many years was to be at the same reading and writing level as the rest of
my classmates, as I have grown older I have learned I should have been more focused on what
made me happy instead of what was expected of me. My ambition now is to be happy, to find a
career that I do not hate, to find a place to live that I want to stay and to be happy in where I am.
My goal is to find a happiness in life that will satisfy my need for adventure. Ambition is a word
used when someone is determined to do something, they want to complete a goal or to improve
on something.

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FLOW CHART

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PERSONAL
INFLUENCES
My grandmother had lived in my house since I was born or very shortly after I was born,
she lived with us until about 4 months before my 17th birthday. This being so I never knew what
it was like to live without her, she would go on trips for a few days or even weeks but that is the
closest I came to living without her. She was always in the next room, just a knock away if I
needed to talk or just wanted to see her. She took care of me and my brother, David, when my
mom and dad went to work, she would make dinner if mom and dad were not home and she
would put band aids on our cuts and scratches. If we were to scared to sleep in our own rooms
she would let us cuddle with her in her bed.
When she moved out it felt like a part of home was gone, I now have to go to a
completely different house to see her. My grandmother was a second mother figure to me, she
was there when my mother could not be. Having her move out made me realize I never thought it
would affect me so much without her being in the same house. She taught me and my brother
right from wrong and good from bad, and everything in between. She always encouraged me to
do what I wanted, she wanted nothing more than for me to succeed.
My grandmother is one of my largest role models, she has helped me form the person I
am today, she has helped me develop my views and opinions on things, although there are things
we do not agree on and things we differ in views, she is still one of the most influential people in
my life.

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My parents have also helped me form myself, I take parts of them and put them
into myself. I have some of their physical features, like my mothers eyes and eyebrows and my
fathers rounded face. I also have my mothers bad sense of direction and my fathers ability to
plan things. They have taught me many life lessons about how to handle things that come at me,
they have shared many stories of their younger years to make sure I do not do the same thing
they did. They always supported me in my adventures in life and passions, they always wanted
me to succeed in everything I chose to do. They almost always let me make my own decisions
because they knew I knew what was best for me and they still do. I hope that if I ever have kids
they will grow up feeling loved and supported as I did.
My brother is similar to me in many ways and different from me in many ways. I think
because of the large age gap we do not fight like the typical siblings, we argue but we never got
into physical fights, that may be because David was afraid he would hurt me but still. We have
always supported each other, we have secrets we tell each other but not mom and dad, we have
conversations that we will never remember having but still affected both of us. The older I get
the more similar me and David seem to become, we both are people who prefer space as opposed
to someone who loves people clinging to them, we like to be alone sometimes instead of
constantly around people. We both can talk to people around us or stay completely silent and I
feel the older we get the more similar we will become. We will always have our differences but
we will always have each others backs and we will always support each other in whatever we do.
David has taught me that I am never stuck in one place, I can always change wherever I am if I
am unhappy. For that I thank him and I hope I can give that wisdom to other people.
Positivity is an influence on me because it has greatly changed my life. I was always a
very pessimistic person, I could not see the positive, I was a half glass empty type of person.
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Now, although I still have trouble seeing the positive in life sometimes I have more of a positive
attitude and personality. I used to have self confidence issued and although some of them still
creep up from time to time for the most part I have moved past them. I used to think about them
and become sad but then I learned about the fake it till you make it method, I started to tell
myself that those things were not as noticeable or apparent as they seemed, I told myself I did
not care what people thought and now 3 years later I really believe all that. I told myself things I
did not believe and then I started to believe them, I started to believe the very things I had not for
so long. Turning my view on myself to a positive one has impacted many parts of my life, I
started talking to new people, that is how I met Cheyenne and Raquel.
Throughout the years I have gotten ride of people I found toxic, they blamed me for bad
things happening in their lives and it brought me down, deleting them from my life helped with
my positive attitude. Now I have a good group of friends that I love dearly and that love me, I
find myself wanting to get out more, I have broken out of the antisocial behaviour and into a new
self. I am still quiet in class but I am not as anxious anymore in most classes, there are still some
I do not understand or answer questions but in most classes I am more confident in my answers
and the way I am. I do not care if people look at me weird for what I am wearing or if people
think I belong to a certain crowd, I know where I belong and it is because I changed my attitude
and personality too positive instead of negative.
The art world has influenced me by igniting a fire in my stomach, it makes me crave
things I did not know could be craved. I crave to feel emotions so strong they make me feel like I
am splitting from them, I want to feel so joyous it could erupt from me and sad it feels like theirs
a black hole in my chest, I want to be so angry I see red and happy all I want to do is scream
from excitement. I want to feel so much and so powerful that it takes over my very being. I want
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to feel whatever an artist is trying to portray in their art, I want to feel the confusion of abstract
art and the beat of music in my bones at a concert. I wish I knew the ache in a dancers muscles
after a long practice and the headache of a writer after re-writing a paragraph twelve times.
The world of art is encouraging, yet discouraging. Everyone in the art realm supports
each other and wants to watch people succeed, they want to help each other because we are all
there to gain something bigger, a release. Although there is a lot of controversy as to what is the
best form of art, all artists want to see what the rest of us come up with, visual artists want to
watch the dancers, film and photography majors want to see what musicians can come up with,
musicians want to see what the visual artists can do. All artists support each other in one way or
another, everything goes in the art world. The shock factor effects artists the least, because
although they make may be in awe about something they know that is the goal, to shock people.
This is why the art world is one of the most encouraging communities humans have created.
It is also discouraging because although there are thousands of colleges and universities
around the world dedicated to art almost every graduate becomes a starving artist. Art is still so
under appreciated because people do not see it as important but it is. Art tells a story, an emotion,
a feeling, a situation, art can tell anything. So many people give up because they do not want to
be starving artists, they are afraid and that is what discourages people but that is also what an
artist must use as their drive. Strive for a better life in something you want to do.
Learning about the art world has taught me what I need to do to succeed, I needed to
grow a spine and stop bending myself in half for people. I would not go as far as Jerome in Art
School Confidential, but I learned I can not please everyone, someone will always hate what I
do. I will fail a million times before I succeed but as long as I keep trying I will get somewhere.
Sometimes people get hurt and I had to learn to except that, to move past it and keep moving
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forward, its their decision to forgive and forget and maybe it was best anyways to have them turn
in another direction. In this community your friends will become your enemies, your enemies
will become your friends and it will be switched around a thousand times but it will always turn
out the best.
The human body is one of my art influences, I am trying to expand my horizons but for
now I am mostly a portrait painter and drawer. The shapes of human faces fascinate me, the
variations of hair and the angles that lay across the face. Each person has differences, and
although there are many similarities there are millions of differences. The greens, browns, blues,
greys, hazels and other variations of eye colours. The blondes, strawberry blondes, brunettes, red
heads and black haired people are just a very small fraction of the colours of hair. The skin tones
and eyebrow shapes, the sizes of noses and shapes of them. The human face is so similar all over
the world but so different too, the structure is the same for the most part, two eyes, two eyebrow
bones and eyebrows, one mouth with two lips, one nose and hair. That is around where the
similarities stop and individuality takes place, from then on each persons appearance depends on
their combination of features.
This has always fascinated me; how diverse the human structure is. People from all over
the world could have evolved in different ways, why did we evolve to all have two eyes and eye
brows and one mouth. Why somewhere in the world did humans not evolve to only have one eye
or three, why have none evolved to have two mouths or three noses? Our skin colours evolved,
the colour of our hair, so why has the not structure changed? To me the human face and body all
together is a strange thing to draw, but I like capturing the human emotions in a picture and the
structure that we do have. I also enjoy thinking further into my drawings and paintings though,
what would they look like if they were different?
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ARTISTIC INFLUENCES
LEONARDO DA VINCI
Leonardo da Vinci is a man of many talents, he was an artist, a mathematician, an
inventor and a writer. Da Vinci started to study anatomy and dissect human and animal bodies in
1480, this is when his anatomical drawings of a fetus in a uterus, the heart and vascular system,
the sex organs and other bone and muscular structures came to the surface. Leonardo da Vinci,
much like myself, is deeply intrigued by the human form, the inner and outer structures and this
is why he is one of my influences. His drawings of the human form are one of the earliest on
human records which is extremely fascinating because he started out with just liking art and
moved to other fields to help develop his art and intelligence.
A good painter has two chief objects to paint-man and the intention of his soul,
Leonardo once wrote.
MARILYN MANSON
Marilyn Manson has always been the type of guy to do what he wants and dress how he
wants to dress. He has his own voice and he uses it to his advantage, some people love him and a
lot of people hate him but that does not deter him. He appeals to a certain crowd; he does crazy
things that people gawk at and dresses to make people turn heads but he does not change for
anyone. His art is hit and miss with everyone, even his own fans but he keeps moving forward.
He grew up in a very Christian household where he felt he did not fit in so he created a world of
his own.

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[] There was Marilyn Manson, but there was no music yet. I created a fake world
maybe because I didnt like the one I was living in. But thats what make me make music. I had
to fill in the gaps Is created. Marilyn Manson to The Guardian in an interview.
LORA ZOMBIE
Lora is an independent self taught grunge artist from Russia. She gained popularity
when her art started circulating on social media in the 2000s, her art is a very modern grunge
type style. She now has exhibitions all over the world where she sells her paintings and prints.
Lora has a unique almost abstract sort of art that appeals to many people, she has art that leans
towards creepy and art that is funny and playful. She inspires me to keep trying to appeal to
people all over and keep working towards what I want to get my name out there.

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PRODUCTION

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PEOPLE
SCHOOL SCENE
In the school scene there would be four desks with four human figure like beings that
represent me in the chairs behind the desk, the first desk would have a small figure of about six
years old in the chair. If this figure were to be standing it would stand approximately 3.8 feet tall
(average of a 6-year-old). The first figure is so young because I am going to be showing a
progression, in my very young years I was happy because I was being helped with my education
instead of being forced to endure it myself. The figure would be wrapped in rainbows and
clouds, which would be made of pillow fluff, this will show the childlike imagination and easy
way of life at such a young age. There will be colourful flowers at this point because at this time
in my life I was a young impressionable kid that was starting to really develop. I did not have to
work so hard because I was being shown the proper way to do things.

26

The second desk would have a paper mache human figure of about ten years old, it would
stand about 4.5 feet tall and this figure is going to have crayons melted on it to show my mental
state throughout this time in my life, this would represent the time just after I was taken off of
my I.E.P. There will be hidden flowers on this body to signify the growth that came with this set
back, because even though I felt I was being dragged back I was still growing. My brain felt
overloaded and like it was turning to mush, it was like I could not catch up to where I was
supposed to be. The melted crayons are a representation of a meltdown and the physical exertion
that I felt during school, the crayons will be several different colours to show that although I did
still have that childlike imagination it was starting to deter. There would be more black, white
and grey crayons to show how drained I felt and how things became harder and the relaxed
feeling of freedom and imagination was fading into a troubled meltdown. This figure will be
sitting straight up and will have a lot of tension to the look, this is meant to show how
uncomfortable I was in class and how I was anxious.

27

The third figure will be a cardboard cut out of myself at the age of fourteen, this one
would stand at about 5.2 feet tall, this was when I was just entering high school and was still
behind the average level of my peers. This caused me to be angry and frustrated at myself, at the
work and I resented my peers. I thought very low of myself at this time therefore my work was
also reflecting that. The cut out will have yellow, red, orange and white tissue paper glued all
over it to make it look like I am on fire. The fire will represent my anger and frustrations around
these years, being so behind in my classes. Around this time, I felt like giving up a lot, I
procrastinated because I felt it was easier to procrastinate than to anger myself further, as anyone
can imagine this led me to fall behind further. The figure will be leaning back with the arms and
legs crossed to show how I was closed off and distant from classes and everything that went on
around me. I was in what some people would say was the teenage rebellious stage. There will
also be yellow, red, orange and white flowers hidden among the tissue to show my growth during
that time.

28

The final person at the desk will be a seventeen-year-old version of myself, that would
stand to be about 5.3 feet tall, this one is covered in flowers that have a lot of colour and life to
them, this will show that I finally made it to a point in my life where I was happy to be where I
was. I no longer felt sad or angry that I could not keep up, with the effort and work I put in
throughout the years I caught up to the class, I learned in my own ways how to understand what
we were learning. I am choosing to use flowers because they grow much like I did, they start
from a small insignificant bud and form into something big and beautiful, I grew from a quiet
girl that could not excel in school to a confident girl that knows I can do what I want as long as I
keep growing. The flowers will show my growth, they will show how I made it from a point
where I hated school so much to a point where I was happy where I was and that I could succeed
at everything I wanted too. This version of myself is covered in the flowers that have been
growing on me throughout my life because this is the time when my growth really excelled and
changed so juristically in such a short few years. The figure will also be leaning forward to show
how I started to pay attention in class and how I became alert to my surroundings.

29

GRANDMA SCENE: #1
In this scene three people would be present, my grandmother, my brother and I.
My brother and I would be represented by dolls to show us as children playing together as many
siblings did. I would be shown as a blonde haired small doll around the age of 2 years old,
Davids would be bigger and have brown hair and green eyes to show him as an 11-year-old boy.
The dolls would be positioned as if they were listening to grandma tell a story. Grandma would
be represented by an old rocking chair with a cane on it, this allows for the allusion of an older
figure sitting there.

GRANDMA SCENE: #2
In the second scene with grandma she would be represented as a walker and cane,
by now she has gotten older and although she does still use her cane she uses her walker more.
Changing from a rocking chair to a walker will show how she has clearly aged in the years

30

between the two parallels, she can not get around as easily as she used to. The figure that is
meant to be me as a 17-year-old would look like something that is being dismembered. This
figure will stand at approximately 5.3 feet tall as that is the average for a 17-year-old girl. I
would make a skeletal figure and make the limbs look like they have been separated, the figure
would also have a mask on but make it so that the viewer can see tears running down behind the
mask. This will show how dealing with grandma not being there, dealing with David not being
there and school has affected me in the last few months. Each limb would have something
different written on it showing which part of me is being pulled at for that situation. The purpose
of the mask is to show how I never quite let anyone in so my emotions were hidden.

31

SETTINGS
SCHOOL SETTING
The school setting is going to be displayed as four stages of my life, when I was 6, 10, 14
and 17. The first stage is me at 6 years old sitting at a desk, this version of me is going to be
wrapped in childlike things that will show me before I was taken off the I.E.P and struggling.
This will show the time I was carefree and happy with school, I wanted to be there and learn with
the other kids. This desk will be smaller than the others because of how small the figure is.
The next stage will be when I was 10 and was taken off the I.E.P, this was the time when
everything in my head started to melt, that is when the anxiety started and I hated being in
school. I could not keep up with the rest of the class and it made me feel anxious just being in a
classroom. The melting is a display of what was happening inside me, the darker melted crayons
will show how the childlike dream started to leave me and I became a shadow of my former self.
The third version of myself in the row will be me at 14 years old but it will look like I am
on fire, this displays anger and frustration. The arms and legs of this version will be crossed and
the figure will be leaning back in the chair to show how I was angry and I did not want to do the
work so I did not do it. This will show how I got defiant and decided I no longer wanted to feel
stupid, I thought the only way to do that was to not do the work at all.
The final version of me will be the 17-year-old that has made it to the place I want to be.
It will be covered in flowers to show my growth over the years, this figure will have the hands
crossed in front of them on a desk to show the peacefulness I have found. The figure will also be
leaning forward to show how I started paying attention in class.

32

Therefore, the overall setup for this part is to have four desks lined up together to show
development over the years, each stage will have a different progression. This will allow for the
change to be apparent and understandable.

SCHOOL: MUSIC, LIGHTING AND ATMOSPHERE

The whole atmosphere of this part will give a sense of growth and emotion, it will show
my development and the change in my behaviour. The music that will accompany this will have
a soft lull to it but sound inspirational and calming. This will allow for people to understand what
I felt throughout the years.
The lighting will be based around having spot lights focused on each version of myself to
make sure peoples eyes are drawn there. I will have four spotlights set up so each person has
their own, the lights will be held up on a wood pedestal that I will build. That pedestal will than
be covered in a black sheet to hide it and I will cut holes in the sheet to set the lights in so the
wires are hidden.
GRANDMA SCENE #1
For this scene the dolls playing me and David will be sitting on the floor in front of a
rocking chair with a cane leaning against it, this will give the illusion of two kids listening to
33

their grandmother. This shows how me and David used to listen to grandma talk and how close
David and I used to be. David used to play with me even though he is 9 years older than me, this
scene will show the close connection the three of us shared. The doll that is representing me
would be sitting in between Davids legs as if he was holding me up, this is meant to be
interpreted as a support system in our family at that time.

GRANDMA SCENE #2
This scene takes place much later in life when I am 17, at this point David and grandma
have moved out which has left me feeling lost and alone. In this scene grandma is no longer
represented as a rocking chair but as a walker and cane, this shows the decline in her health.
There will be a door between the walker and the figure that represents me, the door will be
painted brown but have a black shadow on it to show how I am living in my grandmothers
shadow. I will be shown as a figure that is being torn apart, my limbs will be separated by wires
to show how I am falling apart. I will have brownish flowers laying around my feet and many
live ones still on my body. This is supposed to give the impression of a suffering soul, an internal

34

battle and a setback of all the positive growth I had achieved. This will show the struggle I still
face not having two of the most inspirational people in my life right there in the same house.
There will also be spot lights on these two scenes to draw the audiences eyes, this will
eliminate any surrounding distractions. The music will be the same as the school scene as its in
the same place but it will still apply.
The entire area will be surrounded in black out curtains to make sure there are no
distractions. The scenes will stand out against such a dark background making people want to
pay attention to them.

35

SPACE ALLOCATION
STAIRWELL
My desired area of the school would be the staircase right beside the great hall that leads
up to the art and science halls. My showcase is based around three progressions in my life,
having the three levels would help my audience decipher exactly what my story is. The bottom
level near the tech hall would have the two dolls and the rocking chair, this is the earliest point in
my life and most people will be walking up the stairs meaning they would be walking in the
correct order of my life.
The second level with the windows that look outside would have the four desks, showing
my school life. This is the middle part of my life, the developmental part where everything really
progressed and changed. Should I get the stairwell this area would be perfect because the second
platform is the largest making this scene fit perfectly.
The top floor in the stairwell where the wall mural is, is where I would have the final
part, this is the part where I am still developing and coping with my grandmother and brother
being out of the house and learning to deal with school. The wire version of myself being
separated from the walker by a door is meant to be the final stage people see.
My showcase is a story of two downfalls in my life, one I overcame and one that has
knocked me back down and I am still dealing with. The stairwell will make it easier for me to
display my story in the correct order, it will let me layout my life in a way people will be able to
simply follow.

36

FISRT FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

THIRD FLOOR

If I got the stairwell I would have one stand for the lights at the top of the stairs behind
the top railing, this would make the four spotlights point towards the middle level where they
would be shining on the four figures. I would have another one of these stands with the lights
across from the actual setting on the top floor on the opposite wall. This will keep them out of
37

the way of the doors and walk way but keep my point of interest lit up. The last area that will
have the lights will be at the bottom part of the stairs on the opposite wall of the scene to keep
them out of the way of the doors there too.
So I would have three main lighting systems that focus on my actual pieces, each of these
light structures would consist of two poles of about 5 feet to hold the lights up and a piece of
plywood with holes in them to place the lights in. The bottom of these holders will have flat
supports that can have weights put on them to hold the structure up.

As for lighting the stairs, I will buy the electric tea lights to put on the sides of each stair so that
people can see where the stairs start and end. This will create a path for viewers to follow
through my showcase and it will lead them to the upper floor where other peoples showcases
will be.

38

I will build a hanging system for the curtains to black out the stairwell. The system will
consist of two large pieces of wood about 6 feet high with a large hole drilled in the top for a bar
to be put through. Then I can put the curtains on to the poles to hold them up. The bottoms will
have triangle shaped supports to keep them from falling over which will be painted black so they
blend in.

ROOM 250
If I do not get the stairwell I would like one of the larger art classrooms. In this room I
would make a maze, I would hang black curtains in a way that led people to a certain area, the
curtains would open up in three areas. The first area would open to reveal the first scene of my
life, the one with the dolls and the rocking chair. The second would be a bigger area where the
four desks are and the final one would be the last part of my life. The maze would start at the
door and continue towards the math hall, it would open up before the door into the next room to
the first scene, the maze would then turn towards the back of the room where the largest scene
would open up. Finally, the maze would go towards Mrs. Hwangs room where it would open to
the final scene and then continue to the door where the audience first came in.

39

The curtains in this room would be hang the same way as they would have in the stairwell, with
the two pillars and a pole through the top which the curtains would hang off of. The lights would
be tapped to the top of the pillars and pointed in the direction of the scenes, I would also put
lights in areas that may confuse people or where things may be tripped on.

40

MATERIALS
SCHOOL SCENE

Desks
Chairs
Spotlights
Curtains
Wood poles
Plywood
Book
Tea lights
Duct tape

PEOPLE: 6-YEAR-OLD

Shoes
Acrylic paint (Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Pink, Purple)
Cotton
Ribbon
Small clothes
Colourful yarn
Cardboard
Duck tape
Fake flowers (All colours)
Styrofoam head
Clothes
Bottles
Water
Flour
Crushed paper

10-YEAR-OLD

Crayons
Dryer
Blonde wig
Clothes
Acrylic paint (Peach)
Fake flowers (All colours)
41

Bottles
Crushed paper
Styrofoam head
Cardboard
Shoes
Duct tape
Cardboard
Flour
Water
Blonde wig

14-YEAR-OLD

Cardboard
Flour
Tissue paper (yellow, orange, red, white)
Fake flowers (red, orange, yellow and white)
Yarn (yellow, red, orange)
Clothing
Styrofoam head
Crushed paper
Water
Bottles
Duct tape
Shoes

17-YEAR-OLD

Cardboard
Paper
Clothes
Fake flowers (All colours)
Hot glue
Duck tape
Bottles
Wire hangers
Styrofoam head
Shoes
Flour
Water
Acrylic paint

GRANDMA SCENE #1

Rocking chair
Cane
One small girl doll
42

One medium boy doll

Black curtains
Spotlights
Tea lights
Wood pieces / Plywood

GRANDMA SCENE #2

Walker
Cane
Door
Bottles
Wire hangers
Black curtains
Tea lights
Wood beams / beams
Cardboard
Styrofoam head
Plywood
Duct tape
Crushed paper
Clothes

43

BUDGET
For showcase I would like to stay within a $500 limit, I expect the most expensive things
to be are the spotlights and the wood pieces. The desks and chairs I can get from classrooms at
Innisdale. The door and the rocking chair I can get at the restore. The black curtains I can
purchase at a thrift store, I can also use black bed sheets if I can not find curtains.
Tissue paper, crayons, fake flowers, ribbon, yarn, and cotton can all be purchased at the
dollar store. Each of these will cost around $1.00 to $1.50 each, buying about 10 will come to
between $15 to $20.
The duck tape, plywood and other wood pieces can be purchased at Canadian Tire or any
other hardwood store.
The bottles and wire hangers I can ask people to give to me in they do not need them to
save me from buying any.
FREE
-Walker
-Cane
-Chairs
-Book

-Clothes
-Hot glue
-Bottles
-Cardboard

-Dryer
-Paper
-Wire hangers
-Crushed paper

-Desks

TO BUY
ITEMS
Spotlights
Shoes
Tea lights (24)
Flour
Duct tape
Blonde wig
Dolls

STORE
Canadian Tire
Value Village
Bed, Bath and
Beyond
Walmart
Walmart
Value village
TBD

PRICE
TBD
Approx. $5-$10
$26.99

QUANTITY
6
5
4

TOTAL
TBD
TBD
$107.96 + HST

$9.97
$5.97
$15.99
TBD

2
3
1
2

$19.94 + HST
$17.91 + HST
$15.99 +HST
TBD

44

BUILDING
INSTRUCTIONS
SCHOOL SCENE: 6-YEAR-OLD
1. Cut out a thin cardboard figure the size of a 6-year-old
2. Duck tape bottles onto the cardboard figure to make limbs
3. Crush paper and tape it in areas that do not look right
4. Paper mache over all the pieces to give them a more human like figure
5. Paint rainbows all over the figure and glue cotton where each rainbow ends
6. Glue different coloured yarn to the head to make the figure look like a little girl
7. Put childrens pants and a t-shirt on the figure
8. Glue coloured flowers in visible places
10-YEAR-OLD
1. Cut out a larger cardboard figure
2. Duct tape bottles of different sizes to make the limbs more lifelike
3. Crush paper in thin areas
4. Paper mache over it all
5. Paint the figure to look human like
6. Put clothes on the figure
7. Melt different coloured crayons on it using a dryer
8. Glue a long blonde wig on to it
9. Melt crayons into the hair
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10. Glue coloured flowers in some places

14-YEAR-OLD
1. Same process as the other two but with more bottle
2. Use a pencil to wrap tissue paper around it to make it stand up
3. Hot glue all the tissue paper to the body
4. Hot glue red, yellow and orange flowers to the body to make them blend in
5. Dress the figure

17-YEAR-OLD
1. Same process in making the figure
2. Hot glue lots of coloured flowers
3. Paint in some areas green or brown
4. Dress the figure
5. Glue pink yarn to the head
Side note: If any of the figures do not turn out looking as planned I will stuff more crushed
paper in the clothing on the figure until it looks the way I want it to

46

GRANDMA SCENE #1
Grandma will be represented as a rocking chair but I will put purple cushions on it
because that is my grandmas favourite colour. I am going to try to find a blonde small girl doll
and a medium size boy doll with brown hair to show me and my brother. Our clothes will
represent how we dressed when we were little.
GRANDMA SCENE #2
In this part grandma is represented by a walker and cane so I do not need to build
anything. I will paint the door brown but with a black shadow that looks like grandma.
17-YEAR-OLD
1. Make a skeletal form of myself using wire hangers
2. Poke holes in bottles and places them where the limbs should be but not connecting
3. Wrap the bottles in paper mache until they are in their desired form
4. Paint the paper mached pieces in a peach colour
5. Glue brown yarn on the head
6. Place a mask over what is supposed to be the face with a smiling face
7. Have tears running under the mask
8. Make a support system to make it stand up (Thick rods with a base that can be weighed
down)
9. Dress the figure
LIGHTING

47

I would make three structures that would have two 5 foot poles holding a piece of
plywood up, the plywood would have holes in it to place the base of the spotlights in. The
lighting structure for the first and last scenes would only have two holes cut out because there
will only be two spotlights on those scenes. The middle scene with the four desks will have four
spotlights on it, so the plywood for that scene will need to have four holes cut out. The lights will
be secured with duct tape, so they do not shift throughout the night. I will have a black sheet
placed over the structure to cover the wires and the wires will be duct taped to the floor should
they cross a path where people will be walking.

The curtain structure will consist of two wood poles with holes drilled in the top so a bar
can slide through, the curtains will be strung up on these bars. There will be several sets of these
curtain structures depending on whether I get the stairwell or the classroom, although the
structure is similar I would have to make adjustments based on my space.

48

MIND MAP

49

MYTHS
SLEEPING BEAUTY
The story of Aurora, or otherwise known as sleeping beauty, is a story specifically
tailored to separation and growth. When Aurora was just a baby the evil queen placed a curse on
the girl that on her fifteenth birthday she would prick her finger on a spindle and die. One of the
fairy god mothers made the curse less devastating by saying she would only be put in a sleep for
100 years. As Aurora grew older no one was allowed to tell her of the curse that had been placed
on her and the King and Queen had ordered that all of the spindles in the kingdom be destroyed.
On her fifteenth birthday Aurora had waken up early and decided to walk around the castle until
everyone in the castle woke up. She went up to an old tower and opened a door, there sat a little
old woman with a spindle. When Aurora asked what it was the old woman explained, Aurora
than reached out to touch it and of course fell into a deep sleep along with the rest of the castle.
This story is relevant to separation and growth because Aurora grew up gaining all of the
wonderful features all of the others fairies had wished upon her, she developed in a new person
and a curious one at that. She had been separated from a crucial part of her past which led her to
be drawn into a situation that put her into a deep sleep.

CINDERELLA
Cinderella is clear evidence of separation and growth, after her father passed away she
was forced to keep living with her step mother who kept her locked up and away from the world.
She raised her as a maid to herself and her other two daughters Anastasia and Drizella.
Cinderella was raised to be a cleaner, seamstress and cook, she had to so everything they did
50

without complaining. Even through the way Cinderella was raised she still managed to uphold
her charm and beauty, which made her step mother jealous. When a messenger arrived at their
home Cinderellas mother kept her locked away so she could not be invited to the ball, she was
separated from everyone except her cruel step mother and sisters.
PETER PAN
Peter Pan is famous for never growing up, he is a boy from Neverland where people
never get old. He takes Wendy and her siblings on an adventure to Neverland where he tries to
convince her to stay, in the end Wendy goes back home and grows up but she never forgets
Peter.
SOCIAL MYTHS
Some people think personal growth is all about positive thinking which is wrong.
Personal growth is about development, going through things that change you, sometimes growth
is not always positive. The unfortunate truth is that it is possible to move backwards in personal
growth, negative development is part of life. A lot of the time growth happens through
experience, for me my largest growth so far in life is how I view myself at school. I have learned
I am not stupid or unable to be educated, I just learn differently. I know not all my growth up till
this point has been positive, my 10 to 15-year-old years were a lot of negative thinking and
disrespectful behaviour.
A parental separation is not the only reason families separate, there are millions of
reasons families separate. My family was my grandmother and brother moving out, our house
started to feel empty without them. When most people think of a family separating they think of
a divorce and that is not always the case, sometimes it is as simple as someone moving out.
51

HISTORICALLY
In the past people would start families very young as a way of honouring their families or
traditions, in many places kids as young as 12 years old get married and have children of their
own by the time they are 15. This can be seen kids separating from their own families early to
start a new one and being forced to grow up, cases like these usually come from an arranged
marriage. This is only one way families get separated from each other.
Back when the war was at large many families were being separated from conscription,
any and all young men were being told to fight for their countries and they were not given any
choice, either fight or die. Many chose to fight for obvious reasons, but back in this time people
under the age of 18 were fighting in the war. Sometimes young men would even fake their ages
just to get in so they could prove something or get away from the life back home. Propaganda
made the war seem like a great thing that would be amazing if that country won so of course
people wanted to join leaving behind kids, wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, children and may
other relationships.

52

PAST IDEAS

53

IDEAS
NATURE VS INDUSTRIALIZATION
Get several dressers, chairs, couches, stools, tables, etc. paint them to make them look
like forests with rivers, trees, shrubs, leaves, flowers, and other forestry images. Paint backdrops
to make the furniture blend in but have spot lights to make them stand out. This shows where
these pieces of furniture originated from but also the beauty in which came from the forests. I
have a deep rooted love for nature and the beings in it and I would love to make people really
think where the furniture they purchase comes from and the beauty and destruction that comes
from it.
MEMORY
Meet with friends individually, pair two of them up with the same memory and get them
to describe it. Describe peoples facial features, what the day looked like (bright and sunny,
cloudy, rainy, etc.) and the objects around them. This will allow individual memories to have a
different point of view and mood. Having two people describe one memory would allow for
everyone to see just how different ones day can be from their friends, two friends can be in the
exact same room and even sitting beside them but experiencing something completely different
from them. A memory can depend on how each person was feeling that day, if one person was
super happy that day but another was upset about something, they will remember that memory
completely different.

54

OBSERVATION OF MEMORIES
Make a list of friends and each of them picks someone else from the list. That person then
has to describe the facial features and other details of the person they chose in as much detail as
possible. They will also have to describe a background for the person they are describing. This
shows how people associate their friends to the objects around them, doing this would allow for
people to see into the brain of others. It would show how observant some people are and how
much they focus on the people they spend their day to day lives with.
EMOTIONS
Each person I ask will describe an emotion using as much detail as possible, this will
allow us to see into the human mind and see what emotions are really like. Each person feels the
same emotion differently and this will allow us to see in a tiny portion of the endless possibilities
of an emotion. The people can describe any emotion they would like, sad, happy, angry, excited,
anxious or any they can think of.
FIRST VERSION OF SEPARATION AND GROWTH
For the first version of my theme I wanted to make the people each look like actual
people and painted like a literal person. Each person was going to have a facial expression that
represented what they were feeling. The school scene would consist of a 6-year-old with a happy
expression to show how carefree I was before I came off of the IEP. The 10-year-old would have
a crying face to show how difficult school was and how my mental state was declining. The 14year-old would have a slightly angry and slightly sad face to show the change between my
mental state, going from sad and struggling too angry and defensive. The final person, the 17year-old would have happy and content face to show how I had found my place in school.
55

For the first grandma scene I was going to have me and David standing in front of
grandma as if we were listening, we would have smiling faces to show how good life was at that
point. The second grandma scene was going to have me standing behind a door with my hands
over my face and make it so the audience could see tears running down my face. Grandma would
be sitting on the other side of the door in a chair.

56

DECIDED AGAINST
NATURE VS INDUSTRIALIZATION
I decided against this idea because I am not confident in my skills as a landscape painter
and this theme is not as personal to me as separation and growth. I am not as good as I would
like to be at painting trees and mountains and outdoor settings, I find I can not blend the colours
properly or everything ends up looking very childish. I do not want childish, I want realistic and
professional which I can not accomplish without much more practice, practice I could not get
before showcase. This theme is not as personal to me as separation and growth because although
I do have a deep rooted love for nature and everything that lives I can not fully connect that to
myself personality wise. I do not have much experience with events around the environment, I
can form a large and detailed opinion about my love for nature and everything within its limits
but I can not connect that love to experience.
MEMORY
I am interested in the human memory; I can honestly say that but I can not connect it to
myself on a personal level. The study of the human memory has always intrigued me because I
want to know what other people remember compared to what I remember. Sometimes a friend
tells me about something we did so long ago and I can not remember it that way, or I remember
it completely different. Wanting to learn about memories has not influenced my life very much, I
have not dedicated my 17 years to learning about it and only in the last few years have I even
become interested. Therefore, I did not think this topic was strong enough to make an entire
showcase about and defend why I chose it.
57

OBSERVATION OF MEMORIES
This one is very similar to MEMORY which is why I did not chose it because once
again this topic has not defined my life in any way. I enjoy learning about it but it does not make
me want to rethink my future, this idea does not provoke my thoughts as much as I would like it
to.
EMOTIONS
I decided not to do this topic because I do not think I could justify myself for doing it. I
would love to learn about emotions and what triggers them, what makes people happy and sad
and angry, but it would not help people understand me. This idea would be better as a
community project so that we could understand what really triggers lots of peoples emotions.
FIRST VERSION OF SEPARATION AND GROWTH
The reason I am not doing my original idea for this theme is because I was thinking too
literal, the faces of the people at the desks would be too simple to understand. The viewers would
not be provoked to stay and look at my showcase, it would not make them think. My idea was
too plain, people would not have needed to think, they could just look at it and tell me what was
going on. I want to make people think and feel, I do not want simplistic, I want complexity.
The grandmothers scene was also too literal, I wanted to make people think and see
metaphors. I want them to be able to develop their own interpretation and my original idea did
not allow for that.

58

CALENDAR

59

OCTOBER
Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday

Friday

Saturday
1

10

16

17
Start first
and
second
figures

11
12
Proposal Collect
due
bottles
and
hangers
18
19

23
Work
on first
and
second
figures

24

30

31
Halloween

25

26

13
Collect
bottles
and
hangers
20
Start
on
third
and
fourth
figures
27
Work
on
third
and
fourth
figures

14
Lay out
all
figures

15

21

22
Buy any
extra
supplies I
need

28

29
Take
stock
of
supplies

60

NOVEMBER
Sunday

Monday

Tuesday
1
Finish
first
and
second
figures

8
Finish
third
and
fourth
figures

13

14

15

16
Work on
grandma
scene 2 figure

17

18
Get a
door
and
paint
it

20

21

22

23
Work on
grandma
scene 2 figure

24

25

27

28
29
Murphys
law time

30
DO
measurements
for lighting
structures

Wednesday

Thursday Friday
3
4
Work on
third
and
fourth
figures,
Murphys
law time
10
11

Saturday
5
Work on
third
and
fourth
figures
12
Start on
Grandma
scene 2
figure,
murphys
law time
19
Buy
wood
and
make
figure
support
system
26
Finish
grandma
scene 2
figure

61

DECEMBER
Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

5
6
Build lighting
structures

8
Work on
lighting
structures

11

12
Do
measurement
for curtain
structures
19

13

14

16

20
Work on
curtain
structures

21

15
Buy supplies
for
curtain
structures
22

26
Christmas
break
Finish
curtain
structures,
test
structures

27
Christmas
break

28
Christmas
break

29
Christmas
break
DO touch
up on
everything,
murphys
law time

30
Christmas
break

18

25

23
Work on
structures

Saturday
3
Buy pieces
for
lighting
structures
and start
building
10
Finish
lighting
structures,
test
structures
17
Start
building
curtain
structures
24

31

62

JANUARY
Sunday
1
Christmas
break
8
15
Murphys
law time
22
29

Monday
2
Christmas
break
9
Murphys
law time
16
Last
minute
touch up
23
30

tuesday
3
Christmas
break
10
Murphys
law time
17
Test time,
run
through
24
31

wednesday
4
Christmas
break
11
Murphys
law time
18
Showcase

thursday
5
Christmas
break
12
Murphys
law time
19

friday
6
Christmas
break
13
Murphys
law time
20

saturday
7

25

26

27

28

14
Murphys
law time
21

63

FINAL PRODUCT

64

THE BEGINNING
SCHOOL SCENE
I will determine what supplies I need in order to make the four figures I need for this
scene. Most of them I have access to or I can get at cheap stores like Dollarama or Dollar Tree.
I will begin by taking rough measurements of chairs and desks so that I can make my
people to scale. Making sure these people are to scale is crucial in making sure people can figure
out the rough age of the person. I can get desks and chairs from classrooms within the school so I
do not have to lug a bunch of desks around.
Next I will make cardboard cut outs of those measurements, they will be skinny cut outs
so I can manipulate the body easily for the next part. I will lay out the supplies I need for each
person beside them so I do not have to do a bunch of running around when I could be working.
Each person has their own position that displays what type of comfort they are feeling. The next
part will be to glue plastic bottles to the limbs to make them more human like, if the limbs do not
look proper or there are areas that need more mass I will put crushed paper there and duct tape it
there so it will be smooth. I will then paper mache over these pieces to make them look more
realistic. After the paper mache dries I will paint over them as a base and then dress them in their
designated clothing. The second last step is to glue whatever hair I decide to use on each person
and finally, I will put whatever the top layer is for that person on them. (Melted crayons, tissue
paper, flowers or other paint)

65

I will start all of the people at the same time instead of doing one at a time, this will allow
me to keep my area clean at all times. I wont get confused at what stage each person is at and I
can keep track of my progress through pictures and journals.
GRANDMA SCENE #2
I will collect wire hangers and bottles to make this human structure, I will lay the pieces
out so I can determine where I need the bottles to go. One I have it planned out I will poke holes
in the bottles and tape them to the hangers where I need them to go. I can also tape the parts
where I have the hangers twisted together so that they will not move. I will paper mache over the
bottles to create human like body parts. The legs will have rods running through them too so I
can have the figure on a piece of plywood which I can weigh down so the figure stands up
straight. The figure will be wearing a skirt and t-shirt so that the body parts that are separated
will be visible. The hair on the figure will be pink yarn and the head will be made out of
styrofoam.

66

GENERAL
I will have to build the light and curtain structures; these will be built last because I think
they will be the easiest. I will make the curtain structures first because I will have to make sure
the holes in both poles are at the same level so the curtain does not slide and it is not lopsided.
Then I will make the lighting structures because I will be buying lights later than curtains, so
they can be done last and I think they will be the simplest to make.
The last part will be the actual set up of showcase on showcase night.

67

PROBLEMS
SPACE ALLOCATIONS
Not getting the stairwell would put a dent in my idea because I am trying to tell a story
which would be the easiest to do with the levels the stairwell provides. My story would be better
understood if people could walk through it. Having to convince a whole committee that I need
the stairwell for my showcase may cause a problem because I am not as good with my words as I
might need to be.
TIME MANAGEMENT
I tend to procrastinate a lot; I wait until the last minute to do things. I know that doing
that in this course could be severely detrimental to my mark and I could fail doing that. I have
trouble estimating how much time I need to do things which could end up leaving me treading
behind the class. I also may run out of time the night of showcase trying to set up if I try to do it
on my own.
LIGHTING
The biggest problem with the stairwell will be the lighting, I need to be able to light the
stairs enough to make sure people can see the stairs and make sure people do not trip on wires.
Another problem is that there is no out lets in the stairwell which means I will have to find a way
to wind the wires outside of the stairwell without disrupting walkways around me.

68

TROUBLE BUILDING THE LIGHTING AND CURTAIN STRUCTURES

I may run into the problem of not being able to operate the tools I need in order to create
these structures. I am not very handy with electric tools; this may cause me to fall behind on
schedule.

69

SOLUTIONS
SPACE ALLOCATIONS
If I do not get the stairwell I have come up with a different way to setup my showcase in
a maze format. I would have a maze made of curtains that would lead the viewers through my
life in a similar way the stairwell would have. This will allow me to show people my life on the
flat surface instead of the levels the stairwell would have provided. This plan would also have
me change the lighting structures though which would be undesirable.
TIME MANAGEMENT
I will make sure I stay on schedule, completing everything I need to get done in a week
as I have written on my calendar. Each week I will have at least one thing completed in order to
be ready to showcase, I will have all my supplies organized and keep my space tidy so I know
where everything is. If I feel it is too much work for me to do on my own I will get some family
or friends to help me until I am confident I am back on schedule. I will prioritize certain jobs and
constantly have a list of things to complete in one week. I am hoping to get my bearings and be
able to confidently estimate how long I will need to do everything.
LIGHTING
There are no outlets in the stairwell, this will complicate things just a little bit but not
make it impossible. I will have to borrow extension cords to run as close to the walls as possible
and out into the nearest hallways. The cords will then be tapped as close to the wall as possible
and tapped to the floor to avoid anyone from tripping.

70

People will be need to be able to see where the stairs are to avoid tripping. I can
accomplish this by placing an electric tea light on each side of the stairs so people know where
the stairs start and end. These will also be close to the walls so that people will not step on them
and they will be out of the way.
TROUBLE BUILDING LIGHTING AND CURTAIN STRUCTURES
If I do not know how to operate the tools in order to make these structures I will have to
recruit the help of either my friends in the trades area to help or my dad as he is also handy with
tools. I can make the measurements and if I am not confident in my ability to work with power
tools I can get help from the people as my dispose.

71

8 STUDIO HABITS OF
MIND
In order to develop my idea to be outside of literal thinking I had to adapt to my
surroundings, I am learning how to sculpt in order to make my figures look lifelike. I am using
tissue paper to make the appearance of fire, melting crayons as a metaphor for my mental state
and flowers to show happiness and growth. For one figure I am taking the wrapped figure we had
to draw in grade 11 art and turning it into a 3D image, I am actually wrapping a figure I have
sculpted into a real size. Over the course of the last few years I have learned to think more
conceptually and less literal, even though most of the time my first thoughts come as literal ones.
I have learned to convey a thought or feeling without throwing it in some ones face, I have
learned meaningless art is just that, meaningless and that the art that can make people feel is the
art that makes it the furthest. Some people will love my art and some people will hate it but as
long as I make people feel something I am doing my job.
I have learned to except problems as they come and find a way around them, all I have to
do is think of different ways to solve them. When my first version of separation and growth was
too literal I came up with things that are connected to the emotions but not directly, I wanted to
make people think about my showcase so I started to really think about it. I want to tell a story
that will make people wonder about me, I want them to think about what I am trying to say.
When I am imagining my next steps I imagine it in several ways so that if one way does
not work I have another way to turn to. I try to always have a backup plan or have someone on
hand to help me quickly come up with one.

72

When creating work, I want people to be able to ask other what they think I am trying to
say. I do not want people to immediately know what I am trying to say, I want different people to
have different answers. I want people to question my life as well as their own while look at my
piece. I feel the same when I am observing another artists work, I want to be able to formulate
questions about the work and have the work give me a million answers. I like hearing the
opinions of others as well as giving my opinion to others.
The older I get the more mediums I want to explore; I think exploring as many
possibilities before formulating your own type of art is important because to form your own kind
of art you must first test the boundaries of others. I do not think any artist should immediately
pick one medium, every artist can be good at many things. Testing the boundaries of all types of
art is extremely important before forming your own style and signature.
Understanding the art world and art culture is important because the history will tell us
where we came from as artists. We can see where our art culture began and we can integrate
their methods into modern day ones to form a completely unique composition. Getting to know
other artist in the local community can open a new world of discoveries and opportunities,
working with artists within a community could also help you widen your horizons.

73

OVERVIEW
THEME
My theme is based around two struggles I faced in my life and a happiness that was taken
away. The struggle I went through in school and the separation from one of the most important
people in my life, my grandma. In the beginning she was there and we were happy living in the
same house, she was my role model. Then in the later grades I struggled in school but grandma
was always there to go home to and talk to, then four months before my 17th birthday she moves
out. The happiness of home suddenly felt lonely and I was anxious about grandma not living at
home. I could not and still can not stop thinking about what would happen if something bad
happened to grandma and I was not there for her. It breaks my heart worrying so much about her
and I am still struggling with her not being in the next room.
That is the story I am trying to tell the people that come to showcase, I want them to think
and understand the impact the system has on people and the impact family can have on people.
SPACE ALLOCATION
The stairwell would be my ideal space as I could easily display my story and people
could follow it easier. I can work with a class room but I would really benefit from having
several levels to work with.

74

WORKS CITED
Biography.com Editors. Leonardo da Vinci. N/A. A&E Television Networks, LLC.

Oct. 2,

2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da/vinci-40396>
Cadwalladr, Carole. Marilyn Manson: I created a fake world because I didnt like the one I
was living in. Jan. 18, 2015. 2016 Guardian News and Media Limited. Oct. 2, 2016.
<http://www.google.ca.amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/music/jan/18/marilyn-manson-icreated-a-fake-world>
Dictionary.com. 2016 Dictionary.com, LLC. Sept. 27, 2016. <www.dictionary.com>
Grimms Fairy Tale. Sleeping Beauty. N/A. 1998-2016 DLTKs Sites. Oct. 7, 2016.
<http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/sleeping-beauty/story.htm>
Cinderella. N/A. Disney Entertainment. Oct. 7, 2016.
<http://princess.disney.com/cinderellas-story>
Average Height to Weight Chart Babies to Teenagers. N/A. The World Health Organization,
Gerontology Research Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 20042016 Disabled World. Oct. 7, 2016.
<http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-weight-teens.shtml>

75