- Met with Mrs. Miranda to discuss project. Topics discussed were visiting an art museum, sculpting methods, type of clay to use, size of sculptures, and timeline.
- Researched animals worshiped throughout history in different cultures.
- Researched sculpting methods (specifically reductive sculpting)
- Chose the three animals that I will portray in sculptures (Cobra, Eagle, and Jaguar)
- Began researching and taking notes on specific animals
April 26-30:
- Continued researching information for paper
- Began Draft 1 of the research paper
- Discussed with Mrs. Miranda if and when to take pictures of sculpture (before and after photos or in the process photos) (took photos)
- Began first sculpture (Cobra)
- April 26-27: Sculpted general shape of body and head of Cobra
- April 28-30: Added detail to Cobra (scales, eyes, mouth/nose)
- Added to research paper information about the process of sculpting the Cobra and challenges that arrived.
May 3-7:
- Sculpted general shape of Eagle head (added some detail - eyes and beak) (used reductive sculpting method).
- Meeting with Mrs. Miranda to discuss what more to add to the research paper and the timeline of the project.
- Discussed with Mrs. Miranda how to sculpt the Eagle's body - decided on slab construction rather than reductive sculpting.
- Began sculpting and shaping Eagle body
- Continued research and added more information to the paper (discussed general information about animals in art and famous sculptures).
- Continued taking pictures of work in progress.
- Decided to create a blog for the journal - took all journal entries previously on word document and posted them onto blog.
- Began creating a keynote presentation of project, researched information, inspirational pictures, and work in progress photos.
May 10-14:
- After deliberating with Mrs. Miranda, we decided to scrap what we had of an Eagle to start over and do a better job.
- Created Works Cited Page using Noodle Tools and added Parenthetical Citations to research paper.
- Decided to take a break from the Eagle and began the jaguar sculpture (Wed May 12).
- Created a nice block of clay to begin reductive sculpting of jaguar.
- Sent research paper draft 1 to Mrs. Miranda to be read, edited, and suggestions made.
- Sculpted general shape of jaguar body, legs, and head.
- Began refining the jaguar face and legs.
- Cobra snake was baked in the kiln and retrieved. Discussed with Mrs. Miranda possibly mounting the finished sculptures on finished wood planks.
- Mrs. Miranda also suggested painting a nice "title" of each sculpture on the wood plank.
- Will look for possible ways to mount the sculpture and possible nice pieces of wood over the weekend.
- Talked to Mrs. Koehler about the research paper. My main question was, "am I allowed to use I in the paper due to the fact that I am suppose to include my original analysis in addition to outside sources?"
May 17-21:
- Continued adding detail to the jaguar sculpture. Added ears, face, paws, and refined the body.
- Began painting the fired cobra sculpture. Chose a variety of shades of brown. Lighter on the belly and darker on the back.
- Finished Jaguar sculpture, allowed it to dry and harden. To be fired in the kiln.
- Went to writing center. Edited research paper based on teacher's suggestions.
- Put whole paper in past tense. (did take advise)
- Make more distinct connections between the physical description of and characteristics of animal and why it was worshiped. (did take advise)
- Add that the Eagle was also chosen as our nations bird. (did not take advise because paper focuses more on ancient cultures rather than today - could be a good connection to make of past to present in presentation though).
- Edit thesis - include a statement saying that the cultures valued the traits of the animals (did take advise).
- Talk about other animals and their traits (did not take advise - I was worried that I would get too far off on a tangent and lose track of the paper).
- Finished research paper to date. Submitted it to Mrs. Miranda on Thursday. (included finished works cited)
- Finished painting underglaze of Cobra and gloss glaze. To be fired a final time in the kiln.
- Continued taking photos of works in progress - uploaded them to the blog.
- Added more information to the presentation keynote.
- Discussed with Mrs Miranda the "gutting" process. Decided that the Jaguar did not need to be split in half and gutted but instead I poked holes in the thicker areas of the sculpture using a needle tool.
May 24-28:
- Fired completed Cobra and biskwear Jaguar.
- Began the Eagle, only general shape of body and wings (again - but this is the final attempt).
- Reviewed corrections made by Mrs. Miranda on research paper.
- Finished research paper and submitted it to "turnitin.com" (submitted it on Tuesday).
- Continued working on presentation (adding information about animals, worship, and art).
- Decided that when the presentation is almost complete - I can present it to Mrs. Miranda and friend for review and suggestions (will do that early next week).
- Carved out the feathers on the wings and feet of the Eagle. Added detail such as eyes to the head.
- Printed out 5 copies of the research paper and delivered it to Mrs. Koehler's mailbox Friday morning.
