This video is the digital documentation of process it took to complete our senior project, Painting Smiles.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Final Presentation
So we had our final presentation on Friday, April 8th. It was pretty successful! Considering it was in Bay city (2 hours away), we actually had classmates come and support us. Thank you Massita, Tamar, Lore, Cesar, Eduardo,and Luis for coming to our presentation. Also we actually had three teachers show up; Susan, Dorothy, and Jeremy. Thank you for taking the time to drive all the way over there. Hopefully the snacks were worth it.
But yeah Rebecca and I did a pretty good job in dividing equally all the points we had to cover so each talked for the same amount and we didn't have any necessary repetition. I think we did a pretty good job at it. We covered all that we wanted. Well we did forget to mention one fun fact about the mural. We spent a total of 32 hours on the actual making of it!! Overall i would say it turned out to be pretty awesome and the feeling of being done in great. It feels amazing to know that we are officially done with the actual project. Now we just need to work on the digital documentation.
But yeah Rebecca and I did a pretty good job in dividing equally all the points we had to cover so each talked for the same amount and we didn't have any necessary repetition. I think we did a pretty good job at it. We covered all that we wanted. Well we did forget to mention one fun fact about the mural. We spent a total of 32 hours on the actual making of it!! Overall i would say it turned out to be pretty awesome and the feeling of being done in great. It feels amazing to know that we are officially done with the actual project. Now we just need to work on the digital documentation.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
We are Famous!
Well, last week that we were at Bay City two local newspaper came over to the Boys and Girls Club and interviewed us. The newspaper Matagorda Advocate came on Tuesday and The Tribune came on Thursday. Adriana Acosta, from Matagorda Advocate, seemed very excited to do an article on us because she used to be involved with the Boys and Girls Club. She was a teacher there so whenever something happens at the club she likes to write about. I think we gave her a pretty good story. :)
These are the links
Matagorda Advocate
The Tribune
These are the links
Matagorda Advocate
The Tribune
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
We are Done!!
Our mural is now done and signed!!
I would be lying if I said this process was easy. It required a lot of work and time outside of class. To begin with, finding a place was the hardest part because without this we couldn't make our senior project happen. Once that was done our challenge became coming up with a design. We had to paint something that had meaning but that also made the people that looked at it smile! Fortunately we got the inspiration from another mural and got our idea. Now it was time to actually paint the mural. We had to make 3 trips prior to creativity week so that we would be ready to just get there and start painting. We also had to make a trip to Sherwin Williams to buy the 14 water-based colors we used. On Wednesday(Feb.16), time really began to be a pressure so we had to work from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. That day we were exhausted but we still had to go back to Janet's house and cut out start for an activity. Then the next day we worked at full speed so we could have enough time to do touch-ups.
We worked very hard last week but we enjoyed every moment of it. Painting was a challenge at times but it was regarding to, at the end of the day, look back and see all the progress we had done. The Boys and Girls Club now has an awesome, permanent mural of little children chasing their dreams. So whenever Rebecca and I go back to see it, all the memories of the good times spent there will rush back into our heads.
I would be lying if I said this process was easy. It required a lot of work and time outside of class. To begin with, finding a place was the hardest part because without this we couldn't make our senior project happen. Once that was done our challenge became coming up with a design. We had to paint something that had meaning but that also made the people that looked at it smile! Fortunately we got the inspiration from another mural and got our idea. Now it was time to actually paint the mural. We had to make 3 trips prior to creativity week so that we would be ready to just get there and start painting. We also had to make a trip to Sherwin Williams to buy the 14 water-based colors we used. On Wednesday(Feb.16), time really began to be a pressure so we had to work from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. That day we were exhausted but we still had to go back to Janet's house and cut out start for an activity. Then the next day we worked at full speed so we could have enough time to do touch-ups.
We worked very hard last week but we enjoyed every moment of it. Painting was a challenge at times but it was regarding to, at the end of the day, look back and see all the progress we had done. The Boys and Girls Club now has an awesome, permanent mural of little children chasing their dreams. So whenever Rebecca and I go back to see it, all the memories of the good times spent there will rush back into our heads.
Girls, girls, girls!!!
"Girls, girls, girls!!" That was the first reaction we got when the little kids at the Boys and Girls club saw us. It was on Tuesday and we had been working on the mural all day, when the kids finally started arriving. Since on the past occasions they had not seen us working - the had only seen the progress on the wall - they were curious to know who "the painters" were. "The painters" would become our new nickname.At first they were a little shy but eventually they warm-up to.
Whenever they were in the computer room and we were working on the mural, they get easily distracted with what we were doing. At one point, we decided to give a little girl and boy the chance to actually paint. Epic fail! They painted outside the marked lines, which we later had to go back and fix, and one of them kept jumping with the paintbrush in his hand. (This made us really nervous cause there was carpet on the floor and the paint didn't come out easily.) After that small experience we realized we needed another way of getting them involved.
On Thursday, we got to take over an art class(from 5:45 to 6:30) in which we allowed them to decorate a star. The plan is to later laminate it and put them on the wall. The children really enjoyed the activity and went all out by putting a lot of paint on those stars.
Overall the experience with the kids was very rewarding because we enjoyed spending time with them and hearing their good feedback about the mural!
Whenever they were in the computer room and we were working on the mural, they get easily distracted with what we were doing. At one point, we decided to give a little girl and boy the chance to actually paint. Epic fail! They painted outside the marked lines, which we later had to go back and fix, and one of them kept jumping with the paintbrush in his hand. (This made us really nervous cause there was carpet on the floor and the paint didn't come out easily.) After that small experience we realized we needed another way of getting them involved.
On Thursday, we got to take over an art class(from 5:45 to 6:30) in which we allowed them to decorate a star. The plan is to later laminate it and put them on the wall. The children really enjoyed the activity and went all out by putting a lot of paint on those stars.
Overall the experience with the kids was very rewarding because we enjoyed spending time with them and hearing their good feedback about the mural!
Monday, February 14, 2011
So far, we have been talking a lot about the sketches we've been doing but here is the actual picture so that y'all can get an idea of what we have been talking about. This design is our original idea. The left side is the night and the right side is the day. On the left, the stars represent dreams children might have and on the right we have example of those wishes. (Playing sports, reading, and the all time favorite FLYING!!)
This design here is our second one. The same concept still applies; the left is the day, the right is the night, and the children are just doing things they enjoy. The main difference on this second one is that the stars aren't there. So instead of having the children's dreams we have some of their favorite hobbies.
We already presented these two designs to Janet and David, from the Boys and Girls Club and they already picked one. It might not be exactly like the ones y'all see here but it will definitely be better! :)
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Trip to Bay City!
The trip to Bay City was a success! Well, it actually didn't start that way. Vicente DeLeon, a member of our panel, took us there on Wednesday. Neither him or us had been there before so we had to mapquest the address and follow them step by step. As you can imagine, something went wrong. Mr.DeLeon trusted that we would tel him exactly what to do and he would just drive. Well apperantly, Big Mistake! We accidently told him to exit 288 way too early and we ended up driving in the dirrection where we were coming from for about 30 minutes. This is only because at one point Rebecca and I had an inkling that something was wrong. We just kept looking at each other wondering who would have the guts to tell Mr.DeLeon. Eventually I did and - as expected - he didn't trust us anymore so he took the directions away from us. :( This made us really behind.
But just because we had a bad start doesn't mean it ended bad. Eventually, we got there and I finally got the chance to met Janet Peden. She is such a nice lady that made us feel welcomed and seemed very enthusiastic about the project. She invited us to the room where our wall is located. It is Big! (We have a lot of work ahead of us.) There we sat down with Janet, the director of the Boys and Girls club, and also a teacher of the kids. We showed them both of our sketches, of the potential mural designs, and their reaction were priceless. The liked them a lot! But they were instantly drawn to a particular one. They gave some suggestions and we agreed to come back on that Sunday (February 6) to project and trace the outline of it. The time for creativity week is getting closer by the minute so there's no time to waste.
So there it goes. We now have an official sketch of the mural and its Amazing! We really can't wait to get started on it! :)
But just because we had a bad start doesn't mean it ended bad. Eventually, we got there and I finally got the chance to met Janet Peden. She is such a nice lady that made us feel welcomed and seemed very enthusiastic about the project. She invited us to the room where our wall is located. It is Big! (We have a lot of work ahead of us.) There we sat down with Janet, the director of the Boys and Girls club, and also a teacher of the kids. We showed them both of our sketches, of the potential mural designs, and their reaction were priceless. The liked them a lot! But they were instantly drawn to a particular one. They gave some suggestions and we agreed to come back on that Sunday (February 6) to project and trace the outline of it. The time for creativity week is getting closer by the minute so there's no time to waste.
So there it goes. We now have an official sketch of the mural and its Amazing! We really can't wait to get started on it! :)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Loading the Scaffold!
So tomorrow Rebecca and I are finally going to go to Bay City and see our wall. Whoo hoo! I'm super excited. But we are not only going to go see our wall, we are also going to leave some materials over there so we can be ready for whenever we start painting (February 14-17). Our most important tool was the scaffold, which is what is going to help up reach the top of our 9.5 feet high wall. Rebecca and I had to load all the pieces of the scafold onto the Suburban on our own. This turned out to be an interesting experiance. First of all, it was painful because today happened to be one of the coldest days in Texas. (Seriously what is up with our wheather.) Well, escetially in the fifteen minutes or so that we spend loading the Suburban our hands got so cold that at one point I'm pretty sure they were numb. Also, Rebecca at one point got a splinter that I had to carefully take out. It felt like I was doing surgery on her finger cause I had to be careful not to make it worst - I was able to get it out in time for her basketball game. Yay!
This was just a little fun, yet painfully cold, experience that gets us one step closer to making our project a reality. I'm pretty sure we still have a lot more little stories that will come up. Like unloading the scaffold and picking the paint. Don't worry, I will keep yall posted on the progress of our project.
This was just a little fun, yet painfully cold, experience that gets us one step closer to making our project a reality. I'm pretty sure we still have a lot more little stories that will come up. Like unloading the scaffold and picking the paint. Don't worry, I will keep yall posted on the progress of our project.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Painting Smiles Trailer
Bellow you can watch the preview for our project, Painting Smiles! Its a small teaser.
Full of Ideas!!
So at one point Rebecca and I could just not come up with what to paint, but we eventually settled on an idea. This idea is going great. We have already finished the sketch of it so that whenever we go to Bay City we can show Janet Peden or idea and see if she approves. Our fingers are crossed!!
Now we don't only have that idea to show her but we are currently working on another one. It still involves having the day and night but on this one we will have more going on in the background. This makes me so happy because it shows how much progress we are making. I'm so glad we are actually putting our ideas onto paper and each day we find new ways to make it better. I hope we keep up the good work because Creativity Week is getting closer - this is when we are actually going to go to Bay City to paint!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
What to Paint!?
As I've mentioned before Rebecca and I found a place to paint. Let me remind you that it is a Boys and Girls Club in Bay City. When I found out we had a place, I thought to myself that our hard work had payed finally payed off and I got so excited. I remember thinking it would all get easier after this because having place plays such a huge role on our project.
Well now, reality has started to hit me. Yes, we have made a huge accomplishment but the rest is still to come. Now my biggest concern is what are we going to paint on our huge wall - 19 feet long. The last couple of weeks I had been a little anxious because, even though we had a lot of good ideas, we could never actually settle for one and go with it. It wasn't until this last week that Becca and I finally settled on an idea. We want half of our mural to be night and the other half to be day. And within each time we will paint different activities that kids like to do or that they dream of doing. The overall message we want to send out is to encourage little kids to dream big no matter what their dreams are. Little kids already do this but the problem is that as they are getting older they stop forgetting about these dreams and the creativity in them starts to die out. I can't change this but I do know that with this mural Becca and I can leave a little reminder for them.
Well now, reality has started to hit me. Yes, we have made a huge accomplishment but the rest is still to come. Now my biggest concern is what are we going to paint on our huge wall - 19 feet long. The last couple of weeks I had been a little anxious because, even though we had a lot of good ideas, we could never actually settle for one and go with it. It wasn't until this last week that Becca and I finally settled on an idea. We want half of our mural to be night and the other half to be day. And within each time we will paint different activities that kids like to do or that they dream of doing. The overall message we want to send out is to encourage little kids to dream big no matter what their dreams are. Little kids already do this but the problem is that as they are getting older they stop forgetting about these dreams and the creativity in them starts to die out. I can't change this but I do know that with this mural Becca and I can leave a little reminder for them.
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