RC Project Reflection

For the RC project, I made a piece of artwork that honored my two resilient individuals; Clara Barton and Lynn Grady. On the night of Resilience Cafe, me and my partner presented flowers to our current community member, Lynn Grady, to thank her for coming and for being resilient throughout her life. We created a connection between Clara Barton and Lynn Grady through researching about them and learning their lives to be able to see how they were similar to each other. During this project, I learned about slavery and the Civil War through a fun activity where the class was split into the North and South and we all debated over issues. I also learned about the actual Civil War and how it happened, some of the most bloody battles, and the advantages/disadvantages of both the North and South.

My professionalism during this project really came up when we presented Resilience Cafe to the parents on Feb. 28, and to the sixth graders the following day. I felt that I was more professional on the night of, because I was wearing only black and white, but I seemed more nervous. I think that when we presented to the sixth graders the following day, I was only less professional because I wasn't wearing black and white, but I definitely presented better because either I had practiced more or I was just less nervous in front of the sixth graders rather than all the parents. For presenting and showing off my artwork to the "public", I think it went rather well because I kept my "speech" to the people passing by, short and concise unless they asked further questions. And, I mostly let them read my 100 word description first, before I talked and explained it more, unless they kind of looked at me like, "I don't really want to read your 100 word thing, just talk to me".

For the writing portion of this project, I made a page for the book that we presented to all our resilient individuals who attended Resilience Cafe. I created it in InDesign with pictures, a quote from Clara Barton, and my 100 word description. My InDesign page was read over by some friends and I made minor changes after, plus I am pretty sure that there aren't any spelling or grammatical errors in it. And, in my 100 word description that I included in my InDesign page, I stated the connnection between my two resilient people: Clara Barton and Lynn Grady.

In conclusion, over the course of the project, it has become obvious to me that the part of my project I am most proud of is the piece of 3D artwork itself. I am most proud of my artwork, because I took my time on it and I used a lot of different materials like tiles, ribbon and beads. I'm not sure what grade I deserve for this project but maybe a "meets" or "exceeds" unless you think differently... whatever

Reflection

During this project I learned a lot about connections and correlations. We had to find a connection between our resilient community members and our person from the past. Sometimes this was very difficult because we chose two people who seemed to have nothing in common. My partner and I went through about three different people before settling on Clara Barton and Lynn Grady. Then we had to connect them. We had be creative to find a connection between the two but if you think about it they are actually very similar. Our final connection was that Clara had seen suffering in others by nursing during the civil war and Lynn also saw suffering but within her self instead of in others.
I think that My spoken Word piece turned out very good. Katie and I worked really hard on choosing good music for the background. We wanted it to really represent our two people. I think I was very professional when we presented our spoken word both Wednesday and Thursday. We explained our two people, the song and the connection, which I don't think anyone else did. I was kind of nervous to get up in front of all those people and talk and see what they thought of the song but I think I concealed it rather well and not many people could tell.
I worked very hard on my music/spoken word. It took me a while to think of an idea to incorporate both Clara Barton and Lynn Grady. I also had to think of a way to write about both of their accomplishments and make it long enough so it wasn't like three seconds long. I started about three different poems before finishing and polishing the one we used. I used quite a bit of history in my poem about Clara Barton and Lynn Grady, well mostly Clara because Lynn isn't that old. Like i said she was called the angel of the battlefield and how she walked where no woman had walked before which are actually true facts that I read in a book. Lynn I just wrote about my experience at home, since she is my mom. All of the things that you heard in her section of the piece actually happened. Trust me I was there.
All in all I really like this project and I think I did pretty well on it. My mom went to a group she has for her breast cancer and shared the book we made her with all the ladies there and she said that a lot of them cried. They said it was really nice and sweet of us to do that for my mom.

100 word description of my spoken word piece

My spoken word piece is a poem about Clara Barton and Lynn Grady. The first part of the poem I described the meaning of resilience. Then I described Clara Barton, I wrote about how she nursed in the civil war and how the soldiers revered her and her work. The music behind this part of the poem is dark and somber, a tribute to the brave people who died during the civil war. The next part of the piece I spoke about Lynn. I talked about how she had the cancer and what a terrible disease it was and then told about the treatments to get rid of it, how they made her sicker than she had ever been before. The music behind this section is lighter than what was before. It represents the hard times Lynn and her family had to go through for her to get better. The ending of the poem is happier than the rest; it says that they are alike in their resilience and they will be remembered forever

100 word paragraph on artwork

My artwork honors our two chosen resilient individuals: Clara Barton from history and Lynn Grady from the current community. Clara Barton and Lynn Grady connect to each other is many ways, and are both great people who did/do great things. Clara Barton founded the Red Cross, and was a teacher before she became acquainted with medicine and nursing the wounded (in the Civil War). Lynn Grady went through breast cancer and still lives a happy life today, which shows us that we can do anything if we try. When people see my artwork, I want them to "see" Clara Barton and Lynn Grady. In my artwork, the pink Breast Cancer ribbon is shown to represent Lynn Grady, and the Red Cross behind it to represent Clara Barton. We used tiles, ribbon, wood, and our creative minds to create this piece of artwork to honor the resilience of two special people.

How I Connect with My Resilient People

There are many reasons I connect with my resilient people. I connect with Clara Barton because I did a report on her in sixth grade and since then have been interested in her and her work. I own a book about her and have read it many times, which is part of the reason why I know so much about her. I think it was amazing what she had accomplished in the world. She nursed in the civil war, and founded the American Red Cross (as seen on our art piece), and did millions of other things on top of that.
I connect with my current comunity member very well. I guess it's because we know each other so well, I mean she is my mom. My mom has inspired me to do so many things in my life. She is part of the reason I am who I am today.

spoken word piece

this poem is going to be said with a beat behind it

Resilience
Resilience
The ability to bounce back
No matter what
Clara Barton
Resilient
Lynn Grady
Resilient
Clara risked all
Her life
Her well fare
everything to save soldiers
she nursed
on the battlefield
at the front lines
Where soldiers lay
wounded and dying
Waiting to be taken
Taken to a hospital
Waiting for hours
Waiting for someone
The Angel of the Battlefield
That's what they called her
Clara Barton
The Angel of the Batllefield
She walked
where no woman had walked before
She brought them food
and water
bandaged their wounds
Watched good men
die in her arms
She is resilient
because she saw their suffering
and fought to save them
Lynn was sick
Wounded just like the soldiers
but differently
Inside
not out
A cancer
an illness
a monster
rooted in her chest
She fought too
Fought to live
fought against the pain
She suffered
through treatments
that made her weak
Made her angry
Made her afraid
Treatments
that made her burn
made her swear
made her sad
Yet she made it
through all of it
The hurt
The pain
The fear
She is resilient
because she
did not give up hope
did not fall down
she stood strong
Clara Barton
and Lynn Grady
so different
yet so alike
Both resilient

Danika Grady

How do you connect with your project or resilient people?

I think I connect with my resilient individual (Clara Barton) because she was kind and helpful to everyone and I try to also use that kindness in my life to the people I meet. Clara Barton was a teacher too, and worked with medicine after, so maybe I connect that way because I want to teach others and my parents are doctors (who work with medicine).
Our other resilient individual is Danika's mom (Lynn Grady), who suffered through breast cancer and I think I connect because she showed that we all have difficulties in life, but we can overcome them!

Studio Time Reflection - Artwork

During Studio time in class today, I got the pieces of tiles and beads that I need for my project, so I can start on Monday. But this weekend I need to get the piece of wood that I'm going to put the tiles on for my artwork. On Monday, I'll have the wood and I'll probably start placing the tiles on where I want them to be; and/or draw where I want them. Eventually, I'll glue or use grout to put them on the wood permanently and it will form a design of the Pink Breast Cancer ribbon and the Red Cross.

Blueprint Feedback - Artwork

My piece of artwork was inspired by some of the art at the House of Blues that were on the wall and only used sequins or beads. I decided to create a piece of 3-D artwork in that style but a little different. It included a mixture of the pink breast cancer ribbon to represent Lynn Grady who struggled through it, and the Red Cross which was founded by Clara Barton. The whole piece would be made of mosaic tiles, and some beads on a piece of 3 by 2 ft wood.
Some of the feedback I got today asked how it was 3-D and where the beads were being placed, but others suggested to make it less symetrical, and plain. On the other hand, some said it was nice plain and simple, though also symbolic. I'm not sure if I'm going to change it, but if you have any ideas, please comment and tell me. I think even though it's plain, it's symbolic and blends our two resilient individuals pretty nicely and straightforward. I'm not sure if it'll look too simple when I'm done, but I think with all the tiles and beads on the wood, that it actually might look pretty cool! Any suggestions are welcome though... :)

Quote from Clara Barton

Quote:

“I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.”

- Clara Barton 1821-1912 (Founder of the Red Cross, and nurse during the Civil War)


I think this quote represents Clara Barton, because she nursed soldiers during the war and helped the wounded to get through the tough times. She was a great person and wasn't afraid to face challenges in her life, as she did before other men let her on the battlefield to make use of her medical skill. I think she is resilient because she stood up for what she thought was right (furthering women's rights) and fed and cared for others throughout her entire life!

Quote of Lynn Grady

"Look for the silver lining every day. No matter how hard each day is there is always one silver thread"

Lynn Grady

This quote defines my mom because this is the policy she lives by. It helped her during her illness by making her see the good things in life. Instead of thinking of how bad she felt she thought about something good that had happened that day.

Clara Barton - 5 W's and Connection

Who: Clara Barton

When and Where: She was born on Dec. 25, 1821 in Oxford Massachusetts and died on 1912 in Maryland at 90 years old.

What: She was born the youngest of 5 siblings (2 older brothers and 2 older sisters), and educated at home by her siblings. Being an unusual child, she could spell complicated words at 4 years old, and nursed her brother though an illness at 11. She began her career as a teacher at 17 years old, teaching a school in Massachusetts. Then in 1843, she founded her own school around New Jersey. After teaching, she "started her life over" by switching to medicine...
When she realized the Army Medical Dept. was unprepared during the Civil War, she aided and nursed soldiers from the North and South. And, at the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln put her in charge of searching out for the missing soldiers of the war. She was able to trace 30,000 men and even send letters to their families notifying their deaths. Later on, because of all her medical work, doctors advised Clara Barton to take a rest, so she vacationed to Europe. In Europe, she expanded the concept of the Red Cross and was grateful for their service during the Franco-Prussian War. Therefore, she made it so the Red Cross would assist anyone in great national disasters that occurred. She became the President of the Red Cross for 22 years until she retired at 83 years old, dying 7 years later.

Why: I think Clara Barton is resilient because before her, there weren't any women on the battlefield, at hospitals or in camps and she convinced them to let her help. She dedicated her life to women's rights; fighting for them and expanding them! (She even founded the National First Aid Society which provided local First Aid Programs) She was educated only at home, but surprisingly, could spell at a young age and was very skillled in medical business (working until 83 years old).

Connection: The connection between Clara Barton and Lynn Grady is that they are both teachers and Clara Barton nursed & helped others while Lynn Grady was nursed by others during her breast cancer. They both endured hard times of their lives; Clara Barton during the Civil War nursing the wounded, and Lynn Grady during her breast cancer, but came out fine to become great people that are honored by us as resilient individuals.

5 W's of Marilyn Esther Grady

Marilyn Esther Grady was resilient by being strong in the face of a painful and lasting illness. In December of 2005 Merilyn (Lynn) was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. In the next year she went through treatments including chemo therapy (medicine that gets rid of all fast producing cells in your body, including cancer cells), radiation and other medications and medical procedures. She is resilient because during all of the treatments and medications she stood strong and did not give up hope. My mother has prevailed through all of this with her head held high and is is ready for whatever the future can bring her.