PROCESS JOURNAL
Below are a selection of sources from my process journals. The rest of the process journal is accessible through Managebac. The link is below.
https://iics.managebac.com/groups/10055195/users/10294840/projects/10360190/project_evidences
ONE:
7/11/2014
The goal for this process journal entry is to demonstrate excellent research skills, showing my ability to find out whether resources are credible or reliable. I chose to have a variety of different sources.
There are many sources I have decided did not qualify to be credible, and therefore I have rejected those sources. Reasons for this include bias, lack of strong information, author or writer is not credible.
Below are 3 sources that I found to be credible.
Source 1: Interview with Ms. Zaza (26th of October).
I conducted an interview with Ms. Zaza, an artist who has a lot of experience with creating murals, and has created many of them throughout her life. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and has had her work exhibited in galleries worldwide. I had this interview with her due to the fact that she has a very high level of experience with creating murals; having just created one last time she visited Nepal. This interview was very important because it helped me get first hand information about all of the difficulties that she personally faced. However, a lot of the events were based on luck, and it is highly unlikely that I get that lucky. She gave me a lot of very reliable information on the type of paint that she recommends, and alternatives that would be good as well. She agreed to help me with the designing and creating phases, also telling me that she could let the mural club support me in creating the piece. Overall, although some of the circumstances are not fully applicable to my specific situation, the interview is very helpful to my researching phase, and it was very interesting to speak to an actual artist about this product. This gave me a first hand account for what it is like, realistically, creating a mural, and was able to give me a lot of insight into the process.
Questions asked:
See link to interview at the bottom of this entry.
Source 2: Pera Museum - Language of the Wall Exhibit (Summer)
I visited the Pera Museum Language of the Wall exhibit before the personal project process journal was introduced to us, a little before I first started considering the subject, helping me realise I had interest in it. It was a very helpful visit that offered me a huge insight into the world of street art and murals. It hosted more than 20 artists from America, Germany, France, Japan, as well as Turkey, including works by distinguished artists from different generations and disciplines such as Futura, Carlos Mare, Cope 2, Turbo, Wyne, JonOne, Tilt, Mist, Psyckoze, Craig Costello, and No More Lies. Pera Museum has previously hosted work by very famous artists such as Andy Warhol and Picasso. This exhibition ended on the 5th of October, 2014. This visit gave me a greater understanding of some of the important aspects within the meaning of street-art, and where the entire genre of art originated. It was very interesting to read the different inspirations behind many of the pieces, and to get some understanding of the different styles of murals that I can create, and the different aesthetics that I use.
One limitation of this source is that the exhibit was more centred around street art and graffiti rather than murals, but essentially, a mural is artwork that is painted directly on a wall, which is what many of the art they displayed was. Thereby falling into the category of street-art. One very inspiring message I got from the trip was that the street art movement evolved from “an individual struggle for existence and addresses larger masses by embracing social issues” (Language of the Wall). This was a very enlightening statement that, though brief, helped me understand the core values of distinguished street artists.
Source 3: Field-Trip (19th of October).
This source is in reference to my personal project journal entry on Sunday the 19th of October. One of my most important sources included the fact that I took a field trip to Taksim. This was in order to both look at murals that have already been created, to look at the walls that had a potential of being painted, and walls that I could paint over. This was a very interesting experience for me because even though the trip isn’t a tangible source of information or research, it offered me a hands-on involvement with the street-art community in Istanbul. Throughout the trip I was able to take notes on specific areas where street-art was very popular, and where I could possibly put up my mural.
Although I did not get any very concrete results, the trip really helped me understand the difficulty of my task, and also helped me see different types of murals and street-art that were legitimate and displayed to the public. This trip might not be very credible as a resource due to the fact that I only visited a specific area in Taksim and Galata, and not many different locations around Istanbul. However, this was due to the limited amount of time that I had, and the transportation issues. The trip as a resource offered me experience out on the street with the street art community, and that is something that I will need, since my personal project heavily involves social interactions and communication. I believe that it was very valuable, helping me to get a better understanding of the street art culture in Istanbul, and the type of artists that display their work. Pictures of this field-trip can be seen in the slideshow below.
https://iics.managebac.com/groups/10055195/users/10294840/projects/10360190/project_evidences
ONE:
7/11/2014
The goal for this process journal entry is to demonstrate excellent research skills, showing my ability to find out whether resources are credible or reliable. I chose to have a variety of different sources.
There are many sources I have decided did not qualify to be credible, and therefore I have rejected those sources. Reasons for this include bias, lack of strong information, author or writer is not credible.
Below are 3 sources that I found to be credible.
Source 1: Interview with Ms. Zaza (26th of October).
I conducted an interview with Ms. Zaza, an artist who has a lot of experience with creating murals, and has created many of them throughout her life. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and has had her work exhibited in galleries worldwide. I had this interview with her due to the fact that she has a very high level of experience with creating murals; having just created one last time she visited Nepal. This interview was very important because it helped me get first hand information about all of the difficulties that she personally faced. However, a lot of the events were based on luck, and it is highly unlikely that I get that lucky. She gave me a lot of very reliable information on the type of paint that she recommends, and alternatives that would be good as well. She agreed to help me with the designing and creating phases, also telling me that she could let the mural club support me in creating the piece. Overall, although some of the circumstances are not fully applicable to my specific situation, the interview is very helpful to my researching phase, and it was very interesting to speak to an actual artist about this product. This gave me a first hand account for what it is like, realistically, creating a mural, and was able to give me a lot of insight into the process.
Questions asked:
- Do you have any experience with creating murals? Where?
- What made those pieces fit into the definition of "murals"?
- How were you able to get legal permission to put up the mural(s)?
- What process did you go through to transfer the design to the wall?
- What kind of paint did you use?
- What style of art was the mural? What was the design of?
- How many people were working on it? What was it like collaborating with many students/artists?
- Did you put into consideration a specific audience?
- Would your mural club be able to help me create the mural in later stages?
- Would you be willing to help guide me during the design process?
See link to interview at the bottom of this entry.
Source 2: Pera Museum - Language of the Wall Exhibit (Summer)
I visited the Pera Museum Language of the Wall exhibit before the personal project process journal was introduced to us, a little before I first started considering the subject, helping me realise I had interest in it. It was a very helpful visit that offered me a huge insight into the world of street art and murals. It hosted more than 20 artists from America, Germany, France, Japan, as well as Turkey, including works by distinguished artists from different generations and disciplines such as Futura, Carlos Mare, Cope 2, Turbo, Wyne, JonOne, Tilt, Mist, Psyckoze, Craig Costello, and No More Lies. Pera Museum has previously hosted work by very famous artists such as Andy Warhol and Picasso. This exhibition ended on the 5th of October, 2014. This visit gave me a greater understanding of some of the important aspects within the meaning of street-art, and where the entire genre of art originated. It was very interesting to read the different inspirations behind many of the pieces, and to get some understanding of the different styles of murals that I can create, and the different aesthetics that I use.
One limitation of this source is that the exhibit was more centred around street art and graffiti rather than murals, but essentially, a mural is artwork that is painted directly on a wall, which is what many of the art they displayed was. Thereby falling into the category of street-art. One very inspiring message I got from the trip was that the street art movement evolved from “an individual struggle for existence and addresses larger masses by embracing social issues” (Language of the Wall). This was a very enlightening statement that, though brief, helped me understand the core values of distinguished street artists.
Source 3: Field-Trip (19th of October).
This source is in reference to my personal project journal entry on Sunday the 19th of October. One of my most important sources included the fact that I took a field trip to Taksim. This was in order to both look at murals that have already been created, to look at the walls that had a potential of being painted, and walls that I could paint over. This was a very interesting experience for me because even though the trip isn’t a tangible source of information or research, it offered me a hands-on involvement with the street-art community in Istanbul. Throughout the trip I was able to take notes on specific areas where street-art was very popular, and where I could possibly put up my mural.
Although I did not get any very concrete results, the trip really helped me understand the difficulty of my task, and also helped me see different types of murals and street-art that were legitimate and displayed to the public. This trip might not be very credible as a resource due to the fact that I only visited a specific area in Taksim and Galata, and not many different locations around Istanbul. However, this was due to the limited amount of time that I had, and the transportation issues. The trip as a resource offered me experience out on the street with the street art community, and that is something that I will need, since my personal project heavily involves social interactions and communication. I believe that it was very valuable, helping me to get a better understanding of the street art culture in Istanbul, and the type of artists that display their work. Pictures of this field-trip can be seen in the slideshow below.
ms_zaza_interview_.mp3 | |
File Size: | 8810 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
TWO:
19/1/2015
The goal of this process journal entry is to demonstrate my rigorous criteria for the product I am creating, demonstrating excellent thinking skills. I aim to have a strong criteria to test my products again.
1. The mural’s design and painting must be of high quality.
Why: The mural’s design and painting must be of high quality in order to insure that the mural is appealing to the audience, and is aesthetically pleasing. This is to make sure that the message I am trying to send has not been neglected through a low quality portrayal of the issue. Also, in order to insure that the product I have created is successful, the mural has to demonstrate that my skills as an artist have been developing.
How: I will do this by studying different styles of murals to try and create sketches that are of high quality. I will use different styles to create a number of different designs that are appealing. I will ask for feedback on my designs, in order to insure that I chose a design that is of highest quality. As I am signed up for the mural club as an afterschool activity, I will make sure that the painting is of high quality by paying special attention to the techniques that are used in the mural club to insure that the painting is well done.
Test: I will ask one arts expert for feedback on the designs created. This expert will be Ms. Zaza, who has had many prior experiences creating murals before, and is currently leading the mural club at IICS. I will also ask 5 random people for feedback on the design, primarily aiming to find out whether or not the public understands the message of the design. I will aim to get an average of 80% or higher average success rate over the 6 people asked. When I complete the mural, I will ask 3 art experts on their opinions of the quality of the mural. I will also ask 15 or more random people what they think of the mural itself. I will aim to receive average success rate over the 18 people asked of 70% or higher.
19/1/2015
The goal of this process journal entry is to demonstrate my rigorous criteria for the product I am creating, demonstrating excellent thinking skills. I aim to have a strong criteria to test my products again.
1. The mural’s design and painting must be of high quality.
Why: The mural’s design and painting must be of high quality in order to insure that the mural is appealing to the audience, and is aesthetically pleasing. This is to make sure that the message I am trying to send has not been neglected through a low quality portrayal of the issue. Also, in order to insure that the product I have created is successful, the mural has to demonstrate that my skills as an artist have been developing.
How: I will do this by studying different styles of murals to try and create sketches that are of high quality. I will use different styles to create a number of different designs that are appealing. I will ask for feedback on my designs, in order to insure that I chose a design that is of highest quality. As I am signed up for the mural club as an afterschool activity, I will make sure that the painting is of high quality by paying special attention to the techniques that are used in the mural club to insure that the painting is well done.
Test: I will ask one arts expert for feedback on the designs created. This expert will be Ms. Zaza, who has had many prior experiences creating murals before, and is currently leading the mural club at IICS. I will also ask 5 random people for feedback on the design, primarily aiming to find out whether or not the public understands the message of the design. I will aim to get an average of 80% or higher average success rate over the 6 people asked. When I complete the mural, I will ask 3 art experts on their opinions of the quality of the mural. I will also ask 15 or more random people what they think of the mural itself. I will aim to receive average success rate over the 18 people asked of 70% or higher.
2. The audience must understand what the issue I am trying to express is
Why: Since my goal is to create a mural that expresses a social issue, it is essential that the audience understand that I am trying to express my opinions on the issue of consumerism. As I will be putting up my mural in a public space, there will be a very wide audience that can see the mural. In order to achieve my goal, I must insure that the message comes across to most of those who see the piece.
How: I will show at least 5 people from the public the designs for the mural, and ask them if they understand what the message behind the design is. This is going to help insure that when the mural is created, most people understand the concept behind it. After I create the mural, I will ask the audience if they understand the concept, to find out whether or not I met my goal.
Test: Short survey to at least 5 people who have seen the design to see if they understand the message behind it. After putting up the mural, give a short survey to 20 people in the audience to see if they understand the message. For the design, 80% or more of those who took the survey generally understand the concept behind it. For the mural, 80% of those who took the survey understand the concept behind the mural. If this statistic is met, then the mural will be considered successful. There will be no rubric for this, since there is only one correct answer, consumerism, though it is a broad concept.
3. The mural should be put up in an area where there are humans present.
Why: In order to spread my message to the largest audience possible, I will need to put up my mural in an area where there are a lot of people can see the message. To ensure that my target audience of avid consumerists see the mural, I need to make sure that out of all of the people who see the mural, there will be a percentage of them who the mural is directly targeting. As a mural is classified as public art, there must be a lot of public exposure in order to insure that it is successful.
How: I will find a wall in an area that is populated. I will have to be able to obtain legal permission to create the mural in this area, since this is a crucial part of making sure that my project is successful. The creating of the mural must not be in any way illegal, and I must obtain a form of signed documentation that I am able to put up the mural. I will also ask for permission to put up the mural at school, as a plan B. There will be a flow of students and adults present at IICS.
Test: I will obtain legal permission to create the mural in an area where there are people actively present. My target is to get a legal document or formally signed agreement that my work can be displayed on the wall. If the mural is in any street, or at school, there will be humans present.
4. The mural’s design has to be adaptable to fit certain circumstances that are not under my control.
Why: The mural has to be designed in a way where it is adaptable to whichever shape the wall I find is. Since it is already really difficult to find a wall where I can freely put up my mural on, I am not in the position to be overly selective or demanding of which shape the wall I find is. The design of the mural has to be adapted to fit all of the shapes that can be presented to me.
How: I will do this by having a running theme throughout my designs, or a constant element that is repeated. This repeated element will allow me to extend my design. I will also make sure that the size of specific elements of the design can be increased and stretched or condensed to fit the wall that I will be creating the piece on.
Test: To test this, I will look at the design to make sure that the sizes can be adapted, and certain elements be repeated. If I envision the design to seem very awkward after the changes, then it will not meet this specification. I will also attempt to reproduce the design into the size of the wall I found, and if the changes cannot be successfully implemented, then it is not successful in relation to this specification.
5. I must use paint that is durable and aesthetically pleasing.
Why: I will need to use a type of paint that is durable, and will last for a moderate amount of time regardless of the weather or other natural influences. This is because my mural will be put up outside, therefore the paint that I chose must be prone to the natural issues that relate to the weather in Istanbul. In order to create a piece of high quality, I must insure that the type of paint that I use will not be blotchy or easily scrapped off.
How: I will do this by using acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is waterproof when dry, and dries very quickly. This makes it durable through rain and snow. Acrylic paint can also be applied to the surface of the wall that I will be using it on. It is commonly used for artistic purposes, but can also be used to regularly paint on walls.
Test: I will try acrylic paint on a wall to ensure that it works. However, I have already tried to use acrylic and it has been waterproof and very durable. It was recommended to me by Ms. Zaza, and is currently being used to paint the walls between both of the cafeterias by the mural club. Acrylic is commonly used to create outdoor murals as well.
6. The product has to inspire or invoke some thought
Why: since I am trying to express a social issue through art, I believe that in order for my art to be successful I have to inspire some thought into my audience. I will try to make the mural as meaningful as possible, in order to invoke as much thought as possible. In order for my goal to be fully achieved, the audience must be at least slightly inspired by the work that I have produced. This will mainly be due to having a powerful design that is very attractive and effective.
How: As that can be extremely difficult to influence someone into making a change through your artwork, I have to create a very dynamic and effective piece of work. I will do this through the use of powerful images, and using very strong and attractive colours. I will create a design that is very meaningful, and pushes the audience to think more about the meaning of the images that are being used. I will try and create a design that attracts the audience’s attention, and keeps their attention, aiming to use this time to push them to think about the meaning of the piece.
Test: In the survey that I will give those who see the mural, I will ask them if the mural, in any way, made them think about the amount they consume, or how their products are controlling them. I do not however expect the audience to change their lifestyles or actions after seeing the piece, just consider a new opinion and slightly add to their mind-set.
Why: Since my goal is to create a mural that expresses a social issue, it is essential that the audience understand that I am trying to express my opinions on the issue of consumerism. As I will be putting up my mural in a public space, there will be a very wide audience that can see the mural. In order to achieve my goal, I must insure that the message comes across to most of those who see the piece.
How: I will show at least 5 people from the public the designs for the mural, and ask them if they understand what the message behind the design is. This is going to help insure that when the mural is created, most people understand the concept behind it. After I create the mural, I will ask the audience if they understand the concept, to find out whether or not I met my goal.
Test: Short survey to at least 5 people who have seen the design to see if they understand the message behind it. After putting up the mural, give a short survey to 20 people in the audience to see if they understand the message. For the design, 80% or more of those who took the survey generally understand the concept behind it. For the mural, 80% of those who took the survey understand the concept behind the mural. If this statistic is met, then the mural will be considered successful. There will be no rubric for this, since there is only one correct answer, consumerism, though it is a broad concept.
3. The mural should be put up in an area where there are humans present.
Why: In order to spread my message to the largest audience possible, I will need to put up my mural in an area where there are a lot of people can see the message. To ensure that my target audience of avid consumerists see the mural, I need to make sure that out of all of the people who see the mural, there will be a percentage of them who the mural is directly targeting. As a mural is classified as public art, there must be a lot of public exposure in order to insure that it is successful.
How: I will find a wall in an area that is populated. I will have to be able to obtain legal permission to create the mural in this area, since this is a crucial part of making sure that my project is successful. The creating of the mural must not be in any way illegal, and I must obtain a form of signed documentation that I am able to put up the mural. I will also ask for permission to put up the mural at school, as a plan B. There will be a flow of students and adults present at IICS.
Test: I will obtain legal permission to create the mural in an area where there are people actively present. My target is to get a legal document or formally signed agreement that my work can be displayed on the wall. If the mural is in any street, or at school, there will be humans present.
4. The mural’s design has to be adaptable to fit certain circumstances that are not under my control.
Why: The mural has to be designed in a way where it is adaptable to whichever shape the wall I find is. Since it is already really difficult to find a wall where I can freely put up my mural on, I am not in the position to be overly selective or demanding of which shape the wall I find is. The design of the mural has to be adapted to fit all of the shapes that can be presented to me.
How: I will do this by having a running theme throughout my designs, or a constant element that is repeated. This repeated element will allow me to extend my design. I will also make sure that the size of specific elements of the design can be increased and stretched or condensed to fit the wall that I will be creating the piece on.
Test: To test this, I will look at the design to make sure that the sizes can be adapted, and certain elements be repeated. If I envision the design to seem very awkward after the changes, then it will not meet this specification. I will also attempt to reproduce the design into the size of the wall I found, and if the changes cannot be successfully implemented, then it is not successful in relation to this specification.
5. I must use paint that is durable and aesthetically pleasing.
Why: I will need to use a type of paint that is durable, and will last for a moderate amount of time regardless of the weather or other natural influences. This is because my mural will be put up outside, therefore the paint that I chose must be prone to the natural issues that relate to the weather in Istanbul. In order to create a piece of high quality, I must insure that the type of paint that I use will not be blotchy or easily scrapped off.
How: I will do this by using acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is waterproof when dry, and dries very quickly. This makes it durable through rain and snow. Acrylic paint can also be applied to the surface of the wall that I will be using it on. It is commonly used for artistic purposes, but can also be used to regularly paint on walls.
Test: I will try acrylic paint on a wall to ensure that it works. However, I have already tried to use acrylic and it has been waterproof and very durable. It was recommended to me by Ms. Zaza, and is currently being used to paint the walls between both of the cafeterias by the mural club. Acrylic is commonly used to create outdoor murals as well.
6. The product has to inspire or invoke some thought
Why: since I am trying to express a social issue through art, I believe that in order for my art to be successful I have to inspire some thought into my audience. I will try to make the mural as meaningful as possible, in order to invoke as much thought as possible. In order for my goal to be fully achieved, the audience must be at least slightly inspired by the work that I have produced. This will mainly be due to having a powerful design that is very attractive and effective.
How: As that can be extremely difficult to influence someone into making a change through your artwork, I have to create a very dynamic and effective piece of work. I will do this through the use of powerful images, and using very strong and attractive colours. I will create a design that is very meaningful, and pushes the audience to think more about the meaning of the images that are being used. I will try and create a design that attracts the audience’s attention, and keeps their attention, aiming to use this time to push them to think about the meaning of the piece.
Test: In the survey that I will give those who see the mural, I will ask them if the mural, in any way, made them think about the amount they consume, or how their products are controlling them. I do not however expect the audience to change their lifestyles or actions after seeing the piece, just consider a new opinion and slightly add to their mind-set.
THREE:
The goal of this process journal entry is to show my time-management skills, and to show a detailed plan, recording the development process of the project.
For the initial detailed plan, see the black colour for the font. For the updated detailed plan, see the red font colour.
The goal of this process journal entry is to show my time-management skills, and to show a detailed plan, recording the development process of the project.
For the initial detailed plan, see the black colour for the font. For the updated detailed plan, see the red font colour.
Alia - Updated Detailed Plan | |
File Size: | 140 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Evaluation of the Plan
Think about how you worked to your plan:
What changes did you need to make (examples might include, lost time, or something took longer than expected?
I lost a lot of time due to the snow days and the semester break. It also took a longer time than expected to plan going to the mural, but this was mainly due to the hold up because of the snow days. The weather situation was not in my control, and it completely held me back during the creation. I lost so many days that I could have been painting, and in the end I had a very small time frame where the weather was warm enough to go outside in countless layers to paint. My project could not be completed unless I was outside, on the streets, and therefore it was dependant on so many aspects that were beyond my control, including transportation. I was not able to go to the wall very often until I was tight on time. Since the due date was extended, I was able to spend longer perfecting the mural. I had to completely change my plan after the snow days, since I was completely behind, although it was not my fault. Once I recreated my plan, I was able to follow all of it smoothly since I was able to remove the weather factor from the equation. I was able to control all of the aspects within my reach, and I did work for very long hours in the cold in order to complete the task of the day, since the snow set me back a lot.
Explain why you had to make these changes?
I made these changes mainly because of the weather conditions. Since my project is completely based on working outside, I was completely held up by outside factors that were not within my control. I was forced into altering the entire plan in order to make up for the days that I had missed because of the snow, forcing me to cram all of the work into the limited amount of time that was left. However, after re-planning everything to suit the original deadline, and then there was an extension that was given to us, changing the due date of the project. This allowed me to then again change my plan, helping me stretch out my work throughout a longer period of time. Although the changes caused because of the snow days were very negative, the changes caused by the extension was positive, because I was allowed more time to work on my project in a more evenly spaced out manner.
How did you change (adapt) your plan to ensure that kept on track?
I planned ahead of time when I found out about my travelling details during the February break. After the snow days, I tried to divide my work throughout the days as evenly as possible, planning for the days in which I paint not to clash with major school assignments or homework that I had to study for. This helped ensure that I keep on track because I did not have an responsibilities on the days I went out to paint, thus enabling me to spend as much time as possible catching up on personal project. I planned frequent visits in order to make sure that I got as much as possible done, and that even if I were to get tired, I would be able to have more time to work on it during the next visit. However, this was all very stressful and crammed together due to the amount of time that the snow days wasted. After the extension, I divided the workload evenly between all of the days. Again, I did take into consideration the specific assignments that would be due, and try not to have the time working on the mural affect those assignments in order to have a balance between personal project and the rest of the school work that needed to be done. I did this by spending specific time intervals after school everyday, rather than cramming it all into a Saturday, which is what I was originally forced to do at one very stressful point before the deadline was extended.
If you made a plan again in the future, what might you do differently?
I would take the possibility of the weather being snowy or too cold into consideration, and I would distribute the times spent working on the mural more realistically, since I did not give myself enough time to complete the mural without being under the pressure of time. I would have taken into consideration the amount of time that will realistically be taken to create the mural, since the plan seemed to have slightly rushed the entire process. I should have also not overestimated how much time it takes to get the legal permission, since I could have started a long time before I planned to if I had taken this into consideration. However, I think that I generally planned it well because this whole process was very unfamiliar to me, and I was not at all sure how the procedure would go. There were so many elements that were not in my control, and would have been very difficult to guess that they would happen.
Think about how you worked to your plan:
What changes did you need to make (examples might include, lost time, or something took longer than expected?
I lost a lot of time due to the snow days and the semester break. It also took a longer time than expected to plan going to the mural, but this was mainly due to the hold up because of the snow days. The weather situation was not in my control, and it completely held me back during the creation. I lost so many days that I could have been painting, and in the end I had a very small time frame where the weather was warm enough to go outside in countless layers to paint. My project could not be completed unless I was outside, on the streets, and therefore it was dependant on so many aspects that were beyond my control, including transportation. I was not able to go to the wall very often until I was tight on time. Since the due date was extended, I was able to spend longer perfecting the mural. I had to completely change my plan after the snow days, since I was completely behind, although it was not my fault. Once I recreated my plan, I was able to follow all of it smoothly since I was able to remove the weather factor from the equation. I was able to control all of the aspects within my reach, and I did work for very long hours in the cold in order to complete the task of the day, since the snow set me back a lot.
Explain why you had to make these changes?
I made these changes mainly because of the weather conditions. Since my project is completely based on working outside, I was completely held up by outside factors that were not within my control. I was forced into altering the entire plan in order to make up for the days that I had missed because of the snow, forcing me to cram all of the work into the limited amount of time that was left. However, after re-planning everything to suit the original deadline, and then there was an extension that was given to us, changing the due date of the project. This allowed me to then again change my plan, helping me stretch out my work throughout a longer period of time. Although the changes caused because of the snow days were very negative, the changes caused by the extension was positive, because I was allowed more time to work on my project in a more evenly spaced out manner.
How did you change (adapt) your plan to ensure that kept on track?
I planned ahead of time when I found out about my travelling details during the February break. After the snow days, I tried to divide my work throughout the days as evenly as possible, planning for the days in which I paint not to clash with major school assignments or homework that I had to study for. This helped ensure that I keep on track because I did not have an responsibilities on the days I went out to paint, thus enabling me to spend as much time as possible catching up on personal project. I planned frequent visits in order to make sure that I got as much as possible done, and that even if I were to get tired, I would be able to have more time to work on it during the next visit. However, this was all very stressful and crammed together due to the amount of time that the snow days wasted. After the extension, I divided the workload evenly between all of the days. Again, I did take into consideration the specific assignments that would be due, and try not to have the time working on the mural affect those assignments in order to have a balance between personal project and the rest of the school work that needed to be done. I did this by spending specific time intervals after school everyday, rather than cramming it all into a Saturday, which is what I was originally forced to do at one very stressful point before the deadline was extended.
If you made a plan again in the future, what might you do differently?
I would take the possibility of the weather being snowy or too cold into consideration, and I would distribute the times spent working on the mural more realistically, since I did not give myself enough time to complete the mural without being under the pressure of time. I would have taken into consideration the amount of time that will realistically be taken to create the mural, since the plan seemed to have slightly rushed the entire process. I should have also not overestimated how much time it takes to get the legal permission, since I could have started a long time before I planned to if I had taken this into consideration. However, I think that I generally planned it well because this whole process was very unfamiliar to me, and I was not at all sure how the procedure would go. There were so many elements that were not in my control, and would have been very difficult to guess that they would happen.
FOUR:
6/02/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
In my planning section, I stated that I will have confirmation that I have legal permission to paint on the wall by February the 11th. I am 5 days early in meeting this deadline, and I have received this permission yesterday, with confirmation from an official to the person helping me contact the municipality, Melda. I have met one of my most important deadlines today, and I will go visit the wall tomorrow as planned. This went more smoothly than expected, but I did face some difficulties throughout the whole process. The communication between my contact who was helping translate and I was very smooth, and the municipality people mostly gave us very quick declines, and did not lead us on. Attached below are some emails that we exchanged throughout the process of trying to obtain legal permission. We were able to communicate well, and ended up having legal permission in Yalin Street.
Legal permission from our contact, Canan Asmaz:
"Telefonla görüştüğümüz konu ile ilgili olarak öğrenciniz Gürsel mah. Yalın sok. (Damat Tween binası karşısı) perde duvarda belirtilen resim uygulamasını yapabilir."
Location: Gursel Mahalles, Yalın Street.
Below are a series of emails that were sent out throughout the process of attempting to obtain legal permission. The first email is the first time I contacted Melda via email, after we talked on the phone. Since then, there are the emails she has sent me about the possibility of putting up the mural in Besiktas, and the decline of that offer. Afterwards, there are the emails about the prospect of putting it up in Kagithane, which was successful in the end. There was a constant contact between Melda and I via telephone during this time period, as well as emails that were exchanged.
6/02/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
In my planning section, I stated that I will have confirmation that I have legal permission to paint on the wall by February the 11th. I am 5 days early in meeting this deadline, and I have received this permission yesterday, with confirmation from an official to the person helping me contact the municipality, Melda. I have met one of my most important deadlines today, and I will go visit the wall tomorrow as planned. This went more smoothly than expected, but I did face some difficulties throughout the whole process. The communication between my contact who was helping translate and I was very smooth, and the municipality people mostly gave us very quick declines, and did not lead us on. Attached below are some emails that we exchanged throughout the process of trying to obtain legal permission. We were able to communicate well, and ended up having legal permission in Yalin Street.
Legal permission from our contact, Canan Asmaz:
"Telefonla görüştüğümüz konu ile ilgili olarak öğrenciniz Gürsel mah. Yalın sok. (Damat Tween binası karşısı) perde duvarda belirtilen resim uygulamasını yapabilir."
Location: Gursel Mahalles, Yalın Street.
Below are a series of emails that were sent out throughout the process of attempting to obtain legal permission. The first email is the first time I contacted Melda via email, after we talked on the phone. Since then, there are the emails she has sent me about the possibility of putting up the mural in Besiktas, and the decline of that offer. Afterwards, there are the emails about the prospect of putting it up in Kagithane, which was successful in the end. There was a constant contact between Melda and I via telephone during this time period, as well as emails that were exchanged.
FIVE:
26/02/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
As I have previously mentioned in my plan, there have been a lot of difficulties with the weather. Since being outside is detremental to the project, I was not able to complete any of my mural throughout the periods when it was snowing. This was due to the transportation issue, coupled with the very difficult working conditions. I would not have been able to find anyone willing or able to help during this period of snow, and therefore I had to wait until recently to finally get started. However, then the february break approached, and my family had made travel plans; again, this project could only be done in one specific place, and there was no way for me to get started unless I was outside and working in Yalin Cad. Today was the first day that I was able to go outside and work on it since I got organised with all of the details. Since it was break, I had also been travelling with my family, so I was not able to go until today.
Only three people emailed me back about being willing to help me work on the mural during the break, and only one person out of those three, Yasemin Anany, was available to help me. Today was the first day working on creating the mural, as there have been circumstances that did not permit me to work on it before. I bought all of the supplies necessary to clean the wall and paint it white. I used acrylic for this, and I was told that it was prone to rain and weathering. I got two 2.5 litre boxes of white acrylic, two outdoor paint rollers, two brooms to clean the wall, a stick to extend the length of the rollers, and a plate to put the paint on. I also used water to make the paint less thick.
There were some words spray painted onto the wall, and pieces of paper that we tore off as part of the cleaning process. After cleaning all of the paper tape off the wall, we began to paint. There were a few challenges that we faced. The first challenge was that the wall was fragile at the top, as can be seen in some of the pictures. This meant that whenever we tried to apply paint to it, parts of the wall would scrape off. It was not only one layer that would come off, but a few. There were constantly bits of the wall being scraped off and falling from the part at the top. This did not change as we applied more layers of paint, therefore there were parts of the wall at the top that were not properly painted. The second problem was that there was a gap between the bottom and top half of the wall. This could not be painted using the rollers as they could not get deep into the gap. Since I did not have any brushes, we ended up using the brushes on the brooms to get into the gap. As the brooms were also big, we did not manage to paint every single groove present. The final problem is that there are holes throughout the wall. This could not be changed or solved, and I am planning to incorporate these holes into the design, and to add different shadows as to not make them look out of place.
Throughout the process of painting the wall white, we were asked questions by a lot of people who were passing by. They were really interested in what we were doing, and since I speak a limited amount of Turkish, I was not able to explain to them everything in detail. However, everyone who passed by was very excited about the project, and looked forward to seeing the final product. Aside from many people asking questions, there were some who said "kolay gelsin" to us, wishing us luck with the project. All of the remarks we received were very positive and encouraging, with no comments that were at all negative. The reaction we got at such an early stage was extremely encouraging. I was able to begin to improve some of my Turkish communication skills, and practice speaking to a group of people who I would have probably never gotten the chance to.
Below is the email that I sent out to everyone who signed up:
26/02/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
As I have previously mentioned in my plan, there have been a lot of difficulties with the weather. Since being outside is detremental to the project, I was not able to complete any of my mural throughout the periods when it was snowing. This was due to the transportation issue, coupled with the very difficult working conditions. I would not have been able to find anyone willing or able to help during this period of snow, and therefore I had to wait until recently to finally get started. However, then the february break approached, and my family had made travel plans; again, this project could only be done in one specific place, and there was no way for me to get started unless I was outside and working in Yalin Cad. Today was the first day that I was able to go outside and work on it since I got organised with all of the details. Since it was break, I had also been travelling with my family, so I was not able to go until today.
Only three people emailed me back about being willing to help me work on the mural during the break, and only one person out of those three, Yasemin Anany, was available to help me. Today was the first day working on creating the mural, as there have been circumstances that did not permit me to work on it before. I bought all of the supplies necessary to clean the wall and paint it white. I used acrylic for this, and I was told that it was prone to rain and weathering. I got two 2.5 litre boxes of white acrylic, two outdoor paint rollers, two brooms to clean the wall, a stick to extend the length of the rollers, and a plate to put the paint on. I also used water to make the paint less thick.
There were some words spray painted onto the wall, and pieces of paper that we tore off as part of the cleaning process. After cleaning all of the paper tape off the wall, we began to paint. There were a few challenges that we faced. The first challenge was that the wall was fragile at the top, as can be seen in some of the pictures. This meant that whenever we tried to apply paint to it, parts of the wall would scrape off. It was not only one layer that would come off, but a few. There were constantly bits of the wall being scraped off and falling from the part at the top. This did not change as we applied more layers of paint, therefore there were parts of the wall at the top that were not properly painted. The second problem was that there was a gap between the bottom and top half of the wall. This could not be painted using the rollers as they could not get deep into the gap. Since I did not have any brushes, we ended up using the brushes on the brooms to get into the gap. As the brooms were also big, we did not manage to paint every single groove present. The final problem is that there are holes throughout the wall. This could not be changed or solved, and I am planning to incorporate these holes into the design, and to add different shadows as to not make them look out of place.
Throughout the process of painting the wall white, we were asked questions by a lot of people who were passing by. They were really interested in what we were doing, and since I speak a limited amount of Turkish, I was not able to explain to them everything in detail. However, everyone who passed by was very excited about the project, and looked forward to seeing the final product. Aside from many people asking questions, there were some who said "kolay gelsin" to us, wishing us luck with the project. All of the remarks we received were very positive and encouraging, with no comments that were at all negative. The reaction we got at such an early stage was extremely encouraging. I was able to begin to improve some of my Turkish communication skills, and practice speaking to a group of people who I would have probably never gotten the chance to.
Below is the email that I sent out to everyone who signed up:
SIX:
4/3/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
I had to wait until today, since I had to attempt to borrow a projector from school before I began the process of converting the design to the wall. I also thought that I would be able to dedicate a lot of time to the project, since we would be let out of school earlier because of parent teacher conferences. I was right, and there were many other students who were available to join me in the painting and drawing process.
After the parent teacher conferences today, I began to transfer the design onto the wall. We ran into very bad traffic, and were not able to arrive until 12:30, picking up 3 out of 5 people who were going to help with this stage. We ran into many issues the moment we arrived. It was a very sunny day, and therefore it was highly unlikely that the projector would be able to show the design with all the light. We asked the building in front of the wall for a plug to use, and I brought with me three 2 meter long power extensions. After, the security brought their technician to help us with all of the extensions, even though it was not completely necessary. After waiting and spending time moving the projector, we realised that we had to take it to the other side of the street for there to be any chances of it showing. Being extremely kind and supportive throughout, the technician went and brought the companies 35m extension cord and pulled it across the street. This first cord was not working, so he brought another one instead. Even after all our efforts, the design would not project onto the wall to scale. It did not show, and there were also too many people walking past constantly. We projected the drawing onto the wall at a much smaller scale, and decided to free hand it. This whole process wasted around an hour and a half, and we decided that we had to work much faster in order to get a lot done. We marked down the two halves of the wall, and measured 40cm inwards as a place for the corners of the mouth. Our ladder was not tall enough, therefore only Micah could draw the top of the lips. It was hard to make the design symmetrical, but we constantly backed away and looked at it from a distance, figuring out which lines were wrong and which ones were well drawn. The lips took the longest to draw, and drawing everything else went smoothly after that. Although this took us a long time, we were able to get the drawing up there very symmetrically
Similar to last time, throughout the process, there were so many people who wished us good luck, and even more people asked what we were doing. The security guards of the building in front of us brought us two rounds of complimentary hot chocolate. The first time was around 2 hours after we began working, and they told us that they were impressed by our work ethic, and proud that we were working so hard. The second time was at around 7, when it got dark and very, very cold. They thanked us for putting in all of this effort, and complimented the piece. There were so many pedestrians that stopped and watched us working, some of whom asked to take pictures of us and the mural. There were also many children who were really impressed by the colours and design, and their parents were happy as well. A lot of people told us that they appreciated our work on the otherwise dull wall. Throughout we heard people contemplate the meaning of the design, and compliment the shading. When we began to paint a man approached us about creating a design and painting on a wall he owned further along the street. He told us that he would really appreciate it if we painted his wall near a green area, and told us that the design could be of our choice. At the end of the conversation, he gave us his name and number to contact him. I believe this is a great way to take my personal project to a new level, and start to introduce mural work and street art to places unfamiliar with it. The positive attention also attracted quite a few people who harassed us for a while, lingering around us, and not leaving us alone.
It was a little difficult to collaborate with the whole group for this part, but in general it went well. We all had to work together in order to get everything done, and some people were more enthusiastic than others. After the background was done, I found it difficult to tell them what to do next, since I felt as though they would not completely understand what I am asking them to do, and that they will not do it the way that I want it to be done. I got past that issue very quickly, and was able to ask them to help with the different parts, such as the teeth, although I had to do the shading myself in order to ensure that it was the way I wanted it to be done. I was able to learn how to collaborate on my project with a large group very quickly, and throughout the day we showed amazing teamwork and social skills, along with communication. We were able to get over all of the issues that we faced through critical thinking, and thinking creatively.
We had a total of 3 run ins with the law. The first two involved police officers who were just interested in what we were doing, and wondered if we had permission. Only the final one was serious. I had the permission I received from the manager of the municipality saved, but they did not accept it as completely valid. They claimed that the design was different to what was usually painted on walls, and that was confusing. This was before the design was fully painted, and most of it was not completely clear. I explained as best as I could about the concept behind it, and that there are people who are constantly spending without thinking on things that do not matter. After sending pictures to our contact, Canan, they had to contact an official of higher rank to confirm that we could continue. This took around 15 minutes, and at the end we were allowed to continue. It was difficult to talk to the police, since they spoke a limited amount of English and us Turkish, but at the end we managed to both get our messages across to each other. We solved this issue through simple communication.
The whole process went very smoothly, and we did get a lot done. We are over halfway through. Next time, I will need to bring grey paint and a taller ladder, because the black paint I have is a very dark shade of green, so when it is mixed with white, a green colour comes out. This is going to be an issue with painting the conveyer belts. Micah, the tallest person helping, could not even reach above a certain point using that ladder. I measured the wall to be 6.10m by 4m.
4/3/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
I had to wait until today, since I had to attempt to borrow a projector from school before I began the process of converting the design to the wall. I also thought that I would be able to dedicate a lot of time to the project, since we would be let out of school earlier because of parent teacher conferences. I was right, and there were many other students who were available to join me in the painting and drawing process.
After the parent teacher conferences today, I began to transfer the design onto the wall. We ran into very bad traffic, and were not able to arrive until 12:30, picking up 3 out of 5 people who were going to help with this stage. We ran into many issues the moment we arrived. It was a very sunny day, and therefore it was highly unlikely that the projector would be able to show the design with all the light. We asked the building in front of the wall for a plug to use, and I brought with me three 2 meter long power extensions. After, the security brought their technician to help us with all of the extensions, even though it was not completely necessary. After waiting and spending time moving the projector, we realised that we had to take it to the other side of the street for there to be any chances of it showing. Being extremely kind and supportive throughout, the technician went and brought the companies 35m extension cord and pulled it across the street. This first cord was not working, so he brought another one instead. Even after all our efforts, the design would not project onto the wall to scale. It did not show, and there were also too many people walking past constantly. We projected the drawing onto the wall at a much smaller scale, and decided to free hand it. This whole process wasted around an hour and a half, and we decided that we had to work much faster in order to get a lot done. We marked down the two halves of the wall, and measured 40cm inwards as a place for the corners of the mouth. Our ladder was not tall enough, therefore only Micah could draw the top of the lips. It was hard to make the design symmetrical, but we constantly backed away and looked at it from a distance, figuring out which lines were wrong and which ones were well drawn. The lips took the longest to draw, and drawing everything else went smoothly after that. Although this took us a long time, we were able to get the drawing up there very symmetrically
Similar to last time, throughout the process, there were so many people who wished us good luck, and even more people asked what we were doing. The security guards of the building in front of us brought us two rounds of complimentary hot chocolate. The first time was around 2 hours after we began working, and they told us that they were impressed by our work ethic, and proud that we were working so hard. The second time was at around 7, when it got dark and very, very cold. They thanked us for putting in all of this effort, and complimented the piece. There were so many pedestrians that stopped and watched us working, some of whom asked to take pictures of us and the mural. There were also many children who were really impressed by the colours and design, and their parents were happy as well. A lot of people told us that they appreciated our work on the otherwise dull wall. Throughout we heard people contemplate the meaning of the design, and compliment the shading. When we began to paint a man approached us about creating a design and painting on a wall he owned further along the street. He told us that he would really appreciate it if we painted his wall near a green area, and told us that the design could be of our choice. At the end of the conversation, he gave us his name and number to contact him. I believe this is a great way to take my personal project to a new level, and start to introduce mural work and street art to places unfamiliar with it. The positive attention also attracted quite a few people who harassed us for a while, lingering around us, and not leaving us alone.
It was a little difficult to collaborate with the whole group for this part, but in general it went well. We all had to work together in order to get everything done, and some people were more enthusiastic than others. After the background was done, I found it difficult to tell them what to do next, since I felt as though they would not completely understand what I am asking them to do, and that they will not do it the way that I want it to be done. I got past that issue very quickly, and was able to ask them to help with the different parts, such as the teeth, although I had to do the shading myself in order to ensure that it was the way I wanted it to be done. I was able to learn how to collaborate on my project with a large group very quickly, and throughout the day we showed amazing teamwork and social skills, along with communication. We were able to get over all of the issues that we faced through critical thinking, and thinking creatively.
We had a total of 3 run ins with the law. The first two involved police officers who were just interested in what we were doing, and wondered if we had permission. Only the final one was serious. I had the permission I received from the manager of the municipality saved, but they did not accept it as completely valid. They claimed that the design was different to what was usually painted on walls, and that was confusing. This was before the design was fully painted, and most of it was not completely clear. I explained as best as I could about the concept behind it, and that there are people who are constantly spending without thinking on things that do not matter. After sending pictures to our contact, Canan, they had to contact an official of higher rank to confirm that we could continue. This took around 15 minutes, and at the end we were allowed to continue. It was difficult to talk to the police, since they spoke a limited amount of English and us Turkish, but at the end we managed to both get our messages across to each other. We solved this issue through simple communication.
The whole process went very smoothly, and we did get a lot done. We are over halfway through. Next time, I will need to bring grey paint and a taller ladder, because the black paint I have is a very dark shade of green, so when it is mixed with white, a green colour comes out. This is going to be an issue with painting the conveyer belts. Micah, the tallest person helping, could not even reach above a certain point using that ladder. I measured the wall to be 6.10m by 4m.
SEVEN:
7/3/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
We went painting on Friday, and today as well (Saturday). I had just talked to Ms. Zaza about the work that I completed on Wednesday, and she told me that it looked good so far, and that we were able to cover a lot of work in a short period of time, which would make the mural take less time to finish if we continued in this manner. Ms. Zaza confirmed that we were on track, and I decided to try and continue with working on it on both Friday and Saturday.
Valentina and I left school a little earlier on Friday in order to get through traffic and complete some work on the piece. In reference to the previous process journal entry, I had an issue with the black paint. It was a dark shade of green, and therefore when it was used to paint, it was green on the wall. Using my prior basic knowledge of the colour wheel, I realised that if I mixed some red, then all of the primary colours will be balanced out to create a good black. It worked, and we were able to finish painting all of the conveyor belts, after mixing some grey as well. We were also able to colour in the television screens, and the outsides of the televisions too. We met an art teacher during this process, and she showed us a piece of hers that was about consumerism as well. It was a large euro bill, with patterns and motifs surrounding destruction and death surrounding it. She taught at a local art school, and her students walked by and she introduced them to us. They stayed and watched us paint for a while before leaving, but it was interesting to have an audience. She gave us a lot of good advice and said that she looked forward to seeing it once it was finished, which I appreciated.
I also completed the shopping bags, and the brains. The colours were slightly difficult to mix, and I ended up choosing a lemon-colour for the shopping bags and a more pink looking colour for the brain. The shopping bags and the brains were a little sloppily coloured in, and I planned to draw a black contour onto them in order to make them stand out more. I also planned on adding a lot of detail to the brain. One of the greatest issues we faced was the cold, and we had to stop working because the weather got very bad, and we were very tired.
7/3/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
We went painting on Friday, and today as well (Saturday). I had just talked to Ms. Zaza about the work that I completed on Wednesday, and she told me that it looked good so far, and that we were able to cover a lot of work in a short period of time, which would make the mural take less time to finish if we continued in this manner. Ms. Zaza confirmed that we were on track, and I decided to try and continue with working on it on both Friday and Saturday.
Valentina and I left school a little earlier on Friday in order to get through traffic and complete some work on the piece. In reference to the previous process journal entry, I had an issue with the black paint. It was a dark shade of green, and therefore when it was used to paint, it was green on the wall. Using my prior basic knowledge of the colour wheel, I realised that if I mixed some red, then all of the primary colours will be balanced out to create a good black. It worked, and we were able to finish painting all of the conveyor belts, after mixing some grey as well. We were also able to colour in the television screens, and the outsides of the televisions too. We met an art teacher during this process, and she showed us a piece of hers that was about consumerism as well. It was a large euro bill, with patterns and motifs surrounding destruction and death surrounding it. She taught at a local art school, and her students walked by and she introduced them to us. They stayed and watched us paint for a while before leaving, but it was interesting to have an audience. She gave us a lot of good advice and said that she looked forward to seeing it once it was finished, which I appreciated.
I also completed the shopping bags, and the brains. The colours were slightly difficult to mix, and I ended up choosing a lemon-colour for the shopping bags and a more pink looking colour for the brain. The shopping bags and the brains were a little sloppily coloured in, and I planned to draw a black contour onto them in order to make them stand out more. I also planned on adding a lot of detail to the brain. One of the greatest issues we faced was the cold, and we had to stop working because the weather got very bad, and we were very tired.
I sent out an email asking everyone who signed up to join me, but no one replied. I was counting on a couple of people who verbally told me that they would join, but no one was able to in the end. It was really difficult trying to work on all of it alone, and a little disheartening that no one was able to come. However, I was able to borrow a ladder from a gardener, and I will be able to keep the ladder until I'm done creating the mural. I was not able to get as much done, since I was alone, but I still managed to use the ladder to get the top lip finished. I made it more even and symmetrical, now that I could reach. I also completed all of the shading on the top of the lip, which really made a huge difference to the piece, making it stand out a lot more. I fixed all of the conveyor belts, and added a face to one of the televisions, which I later erased because I did not like at all. I had to stop working because it began to rain, and it was too cold to work through this weather.
EIGHT:
12/3/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
Today, before going out again to try and work on my mural, I had a meeting with Ms. Zaza about how I was doing, and to ask for some feedback. We talked about how it was going so far, and all of the stages of creating it. I talked to her about a suggestion given to me by a man who we met twice, and told me the exact same thing both times; add some white between the teeth. She told me that I should take his advice, and that she was going to suggest that even if I had not brought it up. She saw how I was doing with the saliva so far, and gave me a couple of tips on the shading. She also advised me not to add the contour on the shopping bags, just to fix them up and make them less sloppy. We discussed not adding the black contour, and in the end I decided not to, although I would have to mix the lemon colour again. We also discussed all of the detail that needs to be added, and she warned me not to be too fixated on these details, and to look at the larger scale to make sure that I finished the project on time. It was a very helpful meeting, and I came out of it ready to start work on the mural again later today.
I had already done some of the drooling before today, and I decided that I would finish all of it within the day. I had completed the right side and very little of the left, and used the ladder to finish the parts at the top. I also took Ms. Zaza and the man's advice and added white between the teeth. After looking at it, I agreed that it did look a lot better. I realised that throughout many of the times I went to the wall, I hadn't looked at my design for a long time. Looking at it this time, I began to see all of the differences between my design and the actual mural, and tried to work towards making the drooling look more like what it looked like in the design, since I thought it looked better that way. This made the piece stick out a little more, although I think I added a lot more drooling than was necessary in the middle, which I really did not like. I tried to cover up the drooling in the middle with paint, but I did not have the exact colour that I mixed previously, and when I tried to cover it up using orange it because really heavy, and was shades darker than the original colour of the background. Since it was nighttime by then, I decided to not do anything drastic until I can see the piece in the light, and have the ability to see what it looks like clearly. I met the school girls who the teachers introduced us to again, and they stayed for a long time watching. I got the chance to practice a lot of my Turkish with them, which was very good.
I concluded that I will have to finish the mural by tomorrow, maximum, in order to get everything in check and on time, especially in relation to the testing. I have to complete the details on the teeth, the brain, the faces on the television, and the rest of the money. I think I will be able to finish it, especially because I will have one person, Kaan, helping me.
12/3/2015
The goal of this entry is to show my self-management skills, showing the development of my project, while demonstrating excellent time-management skills. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills.
Today, before going out again to try and work on my mural, I had a meeting with Ms. Zaza about how I was doing, and to ask for some feedback. We talked about how it was going so far, and all of the stages of creating it. I talked to her about a suggestion given to me by a man who we met twice, and told me the exact same thing both times; add some white between the teeth. She told me that I should take his advice, and that she was going to suggest that even if I had not brought it up. She saw how I was doing with the saliva so far, and gave me a couple of tips on the shading. She also advised me not to add the contour on the shopping bags, just to fix them up and make them less sloppy. We discussed not adding the black contour, and in the end I decided not to, although I would have to mix the lemon colour again. We also discussed all of the detail that needs to be added, and she warned me not to be too fixated on these details, and to look at the larger scale to make sure that I finished the project on time. It was a very helpful meeting, and I came out of it ready to start work on the mural again later today.
I had already done some of the drooling before today, and I decided that I would finish all of it within the day. I had completed the right side and very little of the left, and used the ladder to finish the parts at the top. I also took Ms. Zaza and the man's advice and added white between the teeth. After looking at it, I agreed that it did look a lot better. I realised that throughout many of the times I went to the wall, I hadn't looked at my design for a long time. Looking at it this time, I began to see all of the differences between my design and the actual mural, and tried to work towards making the drooling look more like what it looked like in the design, since I thought it looked better that way. This made the piece stick out a little more, although I think I added a lot more drooling than was necessary in the middle, which I really did not like. I tried to cover up the drooling in the middle with paint, but I did not have the exact colour that I mixed previously, and when I tried to cover it up using orange it because really heavy, and was shades darker than the original colour of the background. Since it was nighttime by then, I decided to not do anything drastic until I can see the piece in the light, and have the ability to see what it looks like clearly. I met the school girls who the teachers introduced us to again, and they stayed for a long time watching. I got the chance to practice a lot of my Turkish with them, which was very good.
I concluded that I will have to finish the mural by tomorrow, maximum, in order to get everything in check and on time, especially in relation to the testing. I have to complete the details on the teeth, the brain, the faces on the television, and the rest of the money. I think I will be able to finish it, especially because I will have one person, Kaan, helping me.
NINE:
The goal of this entry is to show the development of my project, evaluating it. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills. It also shows a reflection of how well the project went, also showing a reflection.
I began to compile quotes in order to reflect on how the community surrounding my saw the project that I was working on. It helped me understand how this project had effected not only me, but my peers, my friends who helped me, and also the public on the street who we met throughout the process. These quotes really did help me reflect on what went well throughout the project, and how I affected those around me through the mural. I think that the quotes and feedback I received really helped me gain a better understanding of what went well, and what did not go so well.
Below are quotes from people who were involved in creating the mural, a student at IICS, and also some locals that we met on the street.
“The experience gained painting the wall was eye opening. Seeing the children and adult's reactions passing by was amazing. I felt like I was a part of something bigger and better. It really helped me interact with people I would never talk to regularly. I also learned valuable art skills, such as mixing colors as well as shading. I would definitely do this again.”
- Valentina Prisco
“After having looked at this mural many times, I must say thank you for taking the time to create this. I think that it sends a very strong message about consumerism that must be addressed. I was informed that you heard a complaint from someone residing in the vicinity of this mural, however if it's upsetting people then clearly something must be working.”
- Kenny Kobayashi
“Painting the mural was an amazing experience. We got complimented by almost every pedestrian walking by, honked at by supporters in cars or trucks, and received job offers. We even had hot chocolate brought to us when we were working out in the cold by security guards in the office building across from the wall. Art isn't promoted as much as it should be in Turkey. I think it was great for the local children to see youths having fun with art and doing something meaningful with a giant grey wall.”
- Yasmin Van Breemen
“I think this was an experience that I will remember for a long time. This was very inspirational; the amount of work that we did and the response from the people was astonishing. I think that in the future I'd be up for doing more of these across all of Istanbul, if that would be possible. Overall, I think that I grew as a person, and I think we all have grown in some way or another, as artists or people. I wholeheartedly thank you for letting me participate in this. Thanks, Alia.”
- Micah Mackinnon
“This is very clever. Not many people realise that consumerism is an issue these days. They're trapped.”
- Art teacher at local high-school
“I really like this project that you are doing. Our we need art like this on the streets.”
- Local art teacher
“This mural isn’t just an empty painting there is a lot of meaning and people can’t just look at it and get the full message, they have to think about it and that is a great thing.”
- Pedestrian
The goal of this entry is to show the development of my project, evaluating it. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills. It also shows a reflection of how well the project went, also showing a reflection.
I began to compile quotes in order to reflect on how the community surrounding my saw the project that I was working on. It helped me understand how this project had effected not only me, but my peers, my friends who helped me, and also the public on the street who we met throughout the process. These quotes really did help me reflect on what went well throughout the project, and how I affected those around me through the mural. I think that the quotes and feedback I received really helped me gain a better understanding of what went well, and what did not go so well.
Below are quotes from people who were involved in creating the mural, a student at IICS, and also some locals that we met on the street.
“The experience gained painting the wall was eye opening. Seeing the children and adult's reactions passing by was amazing. I felt like I was a part of something bigger and better. It really helped me interact with people I would never talk to regularly. I also learned valuable art skills, such as mixing colors as well as shading. I would definitely do this again.”
- Valentina Prisco
“After having looked at this mural many times, I must say thank you for taking the time to create this. I think that it sends a very strong message about consumerism that must be addressed. I was informed that you heard a complaint from someone residing in the vicinity of this mural, however if it's upsetting people then clearly something must be working.”
- Kenny Kobayashi
“Painting the mural was an amazing experience. We got complimented by almost every pedestrian walking by, honked at by supporters in cars or trucks, and received job offers. We even had hot chocolate brought to us when we were working out in the cold by security guards in the office building across from the wall. Art isn't promoted as much as it should be in Turkey. I think it was great for the local children to see youths having fun with art and doing something meaningful with a giant grey wall.”
- Yasmin Van Breemen
“I think this was an experience that I will remember for a long time. This was very inspirational; the amount of work that we did and the response from the people was astonishing. I think that in the future I'd be up for doing more of these across all of Istanbul, if that would be possible. Overall, I think that I grew as a person, and I think we all have grown in some way or another, as artists or people. I wholeheartedly thank you for letting me participate in this. Thanks, Alia.”
- Micah Mackinnon
“This is very clever. Not many people realise that consumerism is an issue these days. They're trapped.”
- Art teacher at local high-school
“I really like this project that you are doing. Our we need art like this on the streets.”
- Local art teacher
“This mural isn’t just an empty painting there is a lot of meaning and people can’t just look at it and get the full message, they have to think about it and that is a great thing.”
- Pedestrian
TEN:
The goal of this entry is to show the development of my project, evaluating it. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills. It also shows a reflection of how well the project went, reflecting on the quality of the product as well.
My exhibition day went very well, and I got a lot of feedback from many parents, students, teachers, and mural experts throughout the day. I prepared a foam board poster with several famous murals on it, and showed my testing on it. I also had all of the paintbrushes that I used on the table, in front of this poster. Beside me, I had my blue board with pictures of the murals hung all over it, and behind me was a sheet, and on top was the video of the creation of the mural, which can be seen in the Taking Action section. It was a very interesting day, and many parents approached me, telling me how interesting they thought the project was. After explaining to them what the subject was, all of them agreed that consumerism was an issue that should be given more attention, and further stressed. One parent even asked for the exact address because she wanted to visit the mural. I gave her the address. I was approached by many 6th and 7th grade girls who were really interesting in the creation process, and asked a lot of questions about murals in general. Many people who visited my stand did not completely know what a mural was until I explained it to them, but did recognise a couple of the famous pieces I had displayed on my stand.
I had four very valuable visits that helped give me a lot of feedback on my project. The first was Ms. Modly, who asked me a lot of questions on the creation process, and what I did to prepare for the project throughout. She asked me about what inspired me to create a mural, and what my influences were. She was very supportive about the piece. Mr. Andre also visited my stand, and since he was one of the teachers on my panel interview, he told me that I had come a long way since then, and that he was a little surprised that I was able to successfully find legal permission and put the wall up. He had expressed his doubts and concerns in October, and was skeptical, but did let me proceed. He told me that he was very proud of the work that I had done so far, while being very shocked at the size of the mural, since it was very big. He asked me questions about how I would proceed with this project and asked about a possible future in studying art. Throughout the conversation he was very nice, and gave me feedback on my time management skills after I told him about the difficulty with the snow days, and how I could improve the piece itself. Next, Ms. Thompson came to visit my stand, and was very impressed. She told me how happy she was seeing all of these projects, and commented on how creative the topic I chose was. She wanted me to send her a photo of my mural to possibly put up at school, and during one of my classes I received an email from her asking for a picture of the mural. After sending it to her, she told me that she wanted to show it to the teachers as an example. The two emails from Ms. Thompson are attached below.
However, the most useful feedback I received throughout the day was from Mr. D'Arcy. He asked me a lot of questions about the project, and the process of creating the mural, asking for a lot of details ranging from the meaning of the piece to the technicality of the painting, and about the collaboration that went along with creating the mural, and also asked me to show him my design. At the end of our conversation, he asked me about what I would personally improve. I gave him an honest reply, telling him that I thought that there was too much saliva in the middle, and that I did not like the composition of the piece, since it ended up differing from the design when I began to transfer it onto the wall. He agreed with all of what I said regarding the piece, and told me that he could not think of anything further to improve. Mr. D'Arcy has had experiences with murals, notably having created a huge Warner Bros mural in their office.
Overall, the exhibition went very well. I was able to properly communicate with so many people in the IICS community, and all of them were very supportive of my project, and many of them liked it. I think I got very good feedback throughout the process, and was able to successfully showcase my mural. Below are also pictures from the exhibition.
The goal of this entry is to show the development of my project, evaluating it. I also aim to show excellent thinking and communicating skills, as well as as social and collaboration skills. It also shows a reflection of how well the project went, reflecting on the quality of the product as well.
My exhibition day went very well, and I got a lot of feedback from many parents, students, teachers, and mural experts throughout the day. I prepared a foam board poster with several famous murals on it, and showed my testing on it. I also had all of the paintbrushes that I used on the table, in front of this poster. Beside me, I had my blue board with pictures of the murals hung all over it, and behind me was a sheet, and on top was the video of the creation of the mural, which can be seen in the Taking Action section. It was a very interesting day, and many parents approached me, telling me how interesting they thought the project was. After explaining to them what the subject was, all of them agreed that consumerism was an issue that should be given more attention, and further stressed. One parent even asked for the exact address because she wanted to visit the mural. I gave her the address. I was approached by many 6th and 7th grade girls who were really interesting in the creation process, and asked a lot of questions about murals in general. Many people who visited my stand did not completely know what a mural was until I explained it to them, but did recognise a couple of the famous pieces I had displayed on my stand.
I had four very valuable visits that helped give me a lot of feedback on my project. The first was Ms. Modly, who asked me a lot of questions on the creation process, and what I did to prepare for the project throughout. She asked me about what inspired me to create a mural, and what my influences were. She was very supportive about the piece. Mr. Andre also visited my stand, and since he was one of the teachers on my panel interview, he told me that I had come a long way since then, and that he was a little surprised that I was able to successfully find legal permission and put the wall up. He had expressed his doubts and concerns in October, and was skeptical, but did let me proceed. He told me that he was very proud of the work that I had done so far, while being very shocked at the size of the mural, since it was very big. He asked me questions about how I would proceed with this project and asked about a possible future in studying art. Throughout the conversation he was very nice, and gave me feedback on my time management skills after I told him about the difficulty with the snow days, and how I could improve the piece itself. Next, Ms. Thompson came to visit my stand, and was very impressed. She told me how happy she was seeing all of these projects, and commented on how creative the topic I chose was. She wanted me to send her a photo of my mural to possibly put up at school, and during one of my classes I received an email from her asking for a picture of the mural. After sending it to her, she told me that she wanted to show it to the teachers as an example. The two emails from Ms. Thompson are attached below.
However, the most useful feedback I received throughout the day was from Mr. D'Arcy. He asked me a lot of questions about the project, and the process of creating the mural, asking for a lot of details ranging from the meaning of the piece to the technicality of the painting, and about the collaboration that went along with creating the mural, and also asked me to show him my design. At the end of our conversation, he asked me about what I would personally improve. I gave him an honest reply, telling him that I thought that there was too much saliva in the middle, and that I did not like the composition of the piece, since it ended up differing from the design when I began to transfer it onto the wall. He agreed with all of what I said regarding the piece, and told me that he could not think of anything further to improve. Mr. D'Arcy has had experiences with murals, notably having created a huge Warner Bros mural in their office.
Overall, the exhibition went very well. I was able to properly communicate with so many people in the IICS community, and all of them were very supportive of my project, and many of them liked it. I think I got very good feedback throughout the process, and was able to successfully showcase my mural. Below are also pictures from the exhibition.