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Technology project survey :)

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Painting Project Reflection

For this Unit I decided to paint a picture of a cut in half avocado that i took,  I thought it be fun to paint a still life since for my last project with pastels I drew a landscape.

During the practice time in class i experimented with gradation and blending,  I applied that technique to my avocados ad their shadow.  I also attempted to recreate one of emily Carr’s paintings .  In the painting the sky was a mixture of different tones of blue and some white,  I used the same type of style in my painting except the brush strokes where vertical instead of horizontal like emily Carr’s

I think a negative with my work is that my  some parts of my painting looks quite scratchy especially on the background and shadow on the right avocado.  Also I started of with panting the avocados and now looking back that was really stupid because i now have small white spots right on the edge of the avocado.

The background was my biggest struggle in this painting,  i went over it many times to get the final result.  The first time I painted it, it was too light and I thought it washed out the green in the avocados. The second time round it was too vibrant, and took to much attention.  I ended up painting a sheer white on top of the vibrant background to get the colour I wanted.

If I where to redo this painting I would like to improve my blending to avoid the harsh and scratchy lines in my painting.  I think to do this, I should focus on making  the colours I want to use and be prepared before I start painting so the paint doesn’t dry out before I finished blending.

Pastel drawing reflection

For this pastel unit I decided to draw A picture of a ocean cliff with that I took during winter break in Saipan. I had no experiance with pastels before but throughout the unit we got the chance to do a lot of research and experimenting so I was able to get a good understanding of how both type of pastels worked.  We also wrote a comparison essay that not only widened my knowledge on pastels but also taught me how colour, composition and texture can effect the art.  I had never used pastels before this unit so I began with experimenting with both types of pastels, I was drawn towards soft pastels because of the subtle colours, how blendable they are and how forgiving they are with mistakes.

In my drawing I attempted to try overlapping colours by painting the painting large chunks of the drawing in colours that would complement each other.  I put a hot red pink under the green and a pastel pink where the sky is.  The mountain I made orange and the water green.  At first when I was layering other colours on top it looked really nice and especially the red made the green pop but as I was blending the under layer of colours began to disappear and in the finished art barely noticeable.

While drawing my final composition I spent a lot of my time on the mountain.  In the beginning I tried to not blend so much and to make the mountain look realistic but it didn’t work out as I wanted it to so I dusted of the pastel and drew it again, this time blending a lot and adding shades of purple and orange.

If I where to draw this again I would focus on making sure not to blend too much and giving the drawing more defenition, especially where the grass on the cliff meets the sky.  I would also spend more time on my ocean and focus on making the waves more detailed and add more shades of colour to them.   I was told not to use black but ended up doing so anyways because I could not find another colour dark enough to put at the bottom of my mountain, but because It was black I found it hard to shade to give it depth as in the original.

How the purpose of corporations has changed over time

A corporation is a group of people working together together towards a common task.  Originally a corporation was made for one purpose that would benefit society like building a bridge, after that the corporation would close.  By law and culture a corporation was looked upon as gift from people to society. There where only few corporations and they had to follow strict rules made by the government.   After the civil war the fourteenth amendment was made to protect the rights of black people.  Corporations managed to persuade the court to give them the same protection and rights.  They where now able to sue, be sued, buy and sell property and cannot be deprived of life, liberty or property.  Corporations now did not close when they had completed they’re task but kept on going to make as much money as possible now that the government can not limit them or shut them down. Over the years these changes has made corporations one of the most powerful entities in the world that affects everyones life on a daily basis.

Goals

1.  Not go to bed later than 11:30 on week days – I will achieve that by not procrastinating my homework so i have to stay up late doing it.

2. Not get lower than 5 in math – I will achieve that by studying a several days before the test.

3. Be more organized with my school work – I will achieve that by keeping my room clean and sorting my papers in folders so i wont loose them.

Observational drawing reflection

In Art class we had a unit about observational drawing.  We started of by drawing simple cylinder  and sphere shapes with marker and moved on to drawing popcorn and apples and making them look 3d by shading.  During the unit we also researched about how to make an interesting composition, after that we where asked to take multiple pictures from different angles at home and in the classroom.  We picked the picture which best matched the research we had done and created a realistic still-life drawing.

My final composition was a low-angle close up shot of a cocktail umbrella, i choose to draw this because I really liked the contrast between the black and white, I also liked how there where leading lines.

In my composition there where a couple of areas where it was unfocused, I used he tortillon to blend out all sharp edges and lines.  The composition also had some super dark areas so using pencils with soft led helped me achieve that.

A difficulty I had whilst drawing my composition was the lines,  It was hard getting them to not look crooked and even in the end it looked like the umbrella was broken because of that.  I tried to overcome this difficulty by drawing many small strokes instead of one thick line.

From this project I have learnt a lot,  I have learnt how to use different tones and shading to make objects look realistic and 3D.  I have also learnt how to use a tortillon and many ways to create an interesting composition.

If i could repeat this project I would focus on making the lines straight and look more like they are connected, because my umbrella ended up looking kind of funky and broken because my lines where not good.  I would also improve the way I drew the paper part of the umbrella texture,  I think that I was on the right track but I should have made more lines and shaded more.  I would add more tones to my composition too.

Field studies: Phuket Adventure and Taking New Risks

On the second day of being in Phuket, Tuesday my group ( group A) went trekking in the rainforest.  Out of everything we where going to do in Phuket the rainforest trek was the one thing i was a little unsure about.  It was my first ever time being in a rainforest so i wasn’t really sure what to expect.

We set off early in the morning to the rainforest, I wasn’t too excited, especially when Mr. Jones told us it was going to be a four to five hour hike.  But the more we walked the more excited i got, it was really fun experiencing being in a rainforest, it was super humid and i could hear the sound of running water through out the whole trek.  One of the things i was most worried about was spiders.  I had heard that there are some really big spider in the rain forests in Phuket which had made me really nervous and scared, but i actually didn’t see any.  There where many leaches and other type of bugs but i didn’t really mind them.

It was very easy to fall and hurt yourself due to all the “slippery rocks bridges”  and fallen trees we had to jump over, but everyone was really kind and we all helped each other throughout the entire trek.  What seemed like along time actually went by really fast and i had a lot of fun exploring the new environment.

Field studies: Phuket Eco systems and environments

On this years field studies grade nine went to Thailand, Phuket.  During many of the trips, such as mangrove planting, snorkeling, rainforest trekking and at the rubber tree plantation; we learnt about ecosystems in Phuket.

On the second day of being in Phuket, my group had our first trip about ecosystems and environment in Phuket, was a three hour and thirty minute trek through the rainforest.  During the trek we would have breaks and rest while Mr. Jones, a BIS teacher, taught us a little more about the plant life and ecosystem.  During the first break we had Mr. Jones explained to us about producers (organisms that use sunlight to photosynthesize), primary consumers (organisms that eat producers) and predators (organisms that eat other animals).

After walking for about another hour we stopped again, this time we where asked to in small groups count how many different species there where in a range of 10 by 2 meters.  I didn’t think we where going to find very many but my group ended up finding 36 different species.

Our last stop of the rainforest trek was a big waterfall, I had heard from the group that went trekking the day before us that the water looked dirty, so I was surprised when I saw how pretty it was.  We where asked if we wanted to swim in the waterfall, I didn’t but many others did looked like they had a lot of fun.

After the rainforest trek we went mangrove planting.  I learnt that mangroves have been removed from the beaches because they are not appealing to foreigners, but they are needed because they help prevent tsunamis from reaching and ruining land.  We walked into the mud and placed mangroves into holes.  I had some trouble planting the mangroves at times but they’re where some really nice Thai people that helped me.  I actually did not know what a mangrove tree was until that day so it was fun to learn about them.

On our second to last day of Phuket the whole grade went snorkeling together.  This was my favorite day of Phuket, a good mixture of fun and education.  We went to Racha island, it took us around one hour thirty minutes by boat to get there.  It was a really nice boat ride, the sun was shining and the ocean was clear blue.  Mr. Jones split us into several group depending on our snorkeling skills.  As I was snorkeling I was so surprised by how many fish there where, I was also excited to see the coral reef.

We got back on the boat again after around 25 minutes of snorkeling, and M

r. Jones told us about how the coral reef has been ruined by global warming and chemical that have been out into the ocean.  There where some people throwing pieces of bread out the boat, it was amusing to see as all the hundreds of small fish came and eat it but Mr. Jones then told us we should do it.  He explained to us that if we throw food out the boat the fish will of course prefer to eat it rather than the algae on the coral reef, causing the coral reef to die.   He also told us about the food chain, he told us how if the predators where to disappear there would be many primary consumers because there are no predators to eat them.  The primary consumers will then eat all the producers causing them to die out.

We got to our second destination and snorkeled some more.  We where asked to do the same experiment, looking how many species there where in a 10 by 2 meter range.  This time individually, I counted 17, which still is a lot but not as much as the rainforest.

What about on Earth? Galileo’s Ping Pong drop

My goals

Goals I want to become more organized with my homework. If i’m organized i can easily see what i need to do and do it in time. I will become more organized my making sure I put all my papers in folders and update my calendar with all my assignments.

I want to increase my grades in science. I will get better at science by paying more attention in class and doing my homework as good as i can. I don’t mind how much better my grades get, but i want to know that I did my best in every test and assignment. I want to start dancing again.

When I moved to japan i quit, and i really miss it so i’m going to start again. I have already started the school dance class, but i am also planning to to join a class outside of school.