Finally Done!

In class on Friday, we went outside even though it had snowed the night before. We knew we were going to finish this project in this class period, so we got to work. Everyone grabbed a bag of mulch or gravel and began spreading it. The mulch was to go in-between the cross sections and the rocks. This material represented the sophomore class. The gravel was to go around the spiral mound and in a rectangular shape at the very bottom of the installation (by the street). We did have some changes we needed to make with the cross sections when the mulch was added, but other then that everything went smoothly! In no time we had finished our installation!   

We then went back inside to work on our community sharing portion of this project. Some groups went into the library. My group had to make flyers, so we sketched out a few designs for a couple of flyers that we could post around school to let our peers know about the installation. On our flyer we put where the project is located, the blog address, and briefly described our reason for making the art piece. The other groups had to design the bulletin board, make a video, and write articles for HHS Press & Metro West. Overall, we are all really happy with the outcome of our installation!

To Name, or Not to Name.

Today, our extended lunch block period, was spent inside. Although it was slightly different than what we've been doing for the past few classes, it was just as busy! Today we began working on the final aspect of our project, essentially, getting our work noticed by the public. We

also had a very important decision to make about our piece.

We split into groups of four or five people, and each group picked a media in which we are going to tell the community about our work. Our first task was spreading the word to the people right here at the high school, so one group worked on posters to hang around the school, while another group worked on designs for our bulletin board. Next we had to think a little bigger, so we had a group working on an article that will be published on hhspress, and a group working on a movie that will be posted on the blog, possibly the school's website, and maybe even HCAM (the local tv station). Finally there was a group working on the plaque that is going to be placed on the site of the installation. These tasks may seem simple, but in addition to being creative and eye-catching, each has to successfully convey our purpose, process, and the overall meaning of the piece to the public.

As we worked we also had to vote on a very important issue. Whether or not to name our piece of art. After the initial vote that decided that it was going to have a name, some suggestions were brainstormed.

(This is Ms. K writing our ideas on the white board

so that we could tally a vote.)

All of the ideas were great! However, in the end, the winning idea was to name the piece "Prism". So now it has a name to put on the plaque, in the article, movie, and on posters.

All that's left to do is lay down some mulch, gravel and add the finishing touches! We're getting close to the end, and when we're done we're going to have to put our names on it somehow. That is where our logo, that is a compilation of class ideas, comes in! Thanks to Hannah we have an awesome logo, and today everyone signed it :)

(Signing the official "SMArt" logo)

Close but No Cigar

So today we came into the class with one goal. It was to get as close as humanly possible to finishing our project. We first wanted to start the placing of our freshly cut wood slices. We got the majority of the wood slices down on the ground. We saw that there wouldn’t be enough wood slices to fill our desired area so we devised a new plan. Our plan was make the wood cuts a series of waves, such as you would see in a river, with little indents between them. We eventually changed this back to the way it was originally supposed to be because we placed the six more huge wood slices at the end making our freshman section complete.While this was going on, a group was forming the mound to have more of

a point with a trench at the base.Our project was still missing some key components such as a more reasonable way to finish. We decided to make the bottom of the raging river was to flow so the sticks and rocks flow around the bottom of the project. The reason we did this was because the lack of the wood slices and how they would only reach a certain point.We finished off our day by deciding that one of our middle sections would be covered in mulch to give a better appeal to more people. Once the mulch section is complete then the project in general will be pretty much done except for some cosmetic work

.

Pep, Prisoners, and Preparations!

During our last class, the wonderful members of SMART decided on one simple goal for next class: we need rocks, LOTS OF ROCKS. So on the day of Hopkinton High School’s Pep Rally, the arrangement of orange jumpsuits and green camouflaged shirts made their way out to the art site. Can you imagine 15 or so teenagers dressed in bright orange jumpsuits? Escaped prisoners or merely prisoners making art ‘tis the real question of the day!

Our goal in mind Ms. K and Mrs. Williams picked out a crew to go retrieve rocks in the Hope Trail by Hopkins to find more rocks. The rest of us were surprised when we noticed Ms. K’s trunk of her car filled with rocks at our disposal. As we began arranging rocks, we noticed the pile was diminishing very quickly while our path was still rather bare. Once again we were taken by surprise as Mr. Williams drove up with another trunk filled with rocks, as well as Megan and Lucy for moral support! Instantly we formed an assembly line to pass rocks down for arrangement, a rather effective strategy. Our assembly line proved to be worthwhile as the once bare path of rocks was soon filled.

With our shortened period, as well as the seniors having to leave early to prepare (GO 2012!), we still managed to accomplish a lot of work! Our art was beginning to take form and look less like some bare dirt and more like an art installation. In addition to rocks, we were also able to add sticks to their own row, adding diversity. We managed to keep our message of unity and diversity, a key controversial subject on the day of Pep Rally, despite our revisions. Overall, the day was a huge success and our art project will be finished very soon!

The First Day of Work

Yes, yes this post is extremely late, I just got my invite to the blog to work so here it is. From the first day of work.

______________________________________________________________

Today was the first day that we were able to get outside and start gathering materials and clearing the area for the construction. Before leaving the classroom, Ms. K divided the class into five separate groups. Each group had their own project to work on for the start of the art piece. There was a group in charge of weeding the area, a group in charge of collecting tree branches, a group to collect medium size stones, a group to layout the area for digging, and a research and development team to figure out the best way to use the materials collected.

When we got outside, Ms. K showed us all of the equipment that we could use for the project. There were shovels, clippers, buckets, a wheelbarrow, and more. We talked about what each group needed to do and what the plan was for today. After our discussion, each group went off and did their own thing. I was in the group in charge of collecting rocks along with Phil, Barrett, and Brian. We used the wheelbarrow to bring rocks from the Hope Trail back up to meeting area. From there, we could see what every other group was up to. People cutting weeds, digging and edging for the spirals, collecting sticks, every group had a job to do and everyone was working hard.

After another 20 minutes of work it was about time to get everything put away. We all finished up what we were doing and assembled at the meeting area. Everybody discussed what they did today and Ms. K talked about what needed to be done for next class. Everybody helped clean up all of the materials and organize it neatly to be put away. There is still a lot of work to be done, but everybody is eager to see the finished product.

Getting close to the finish

Today was an extended lunch block period spent outside where a lot of productivity took place. One of the main goals to shape up the mound of dirt into a more spiraled shape. Classmates got together to first break up the dirt. After this the dirt was able to be carved into a spiral shape. This specific shape is used to show the movement of the art installation. The class was able to finish the spiral mound of dirt as it shows the unity of the four classes of Hopkinton High School.

Like many other of the previous classes, another focus was to gather and cut branches. Some of the class was cutting larger stubs from a tree while others were cutting smaller branches into littler pieces What makes the task of cutting the tree stubs difficult is the thickness of the tree. It takes a long time and a lot of energy to manually cut the thick tree. Both the stubs and the branches are going to be used in the installation to show the different classes of HHS.

The last part of the period was mainly used for digging on the side of the hill. Digging on the side of the hill would help elongate the installation and make the art more noticeable from the road. Students used rakes and shovels to try and pry the grass and dirt away from the hill. By the end of the period the class was able to get a pretty decent chunk out of the hill. The installation is getting awfully close to the finish and it is looking more like art after every class.

Change of Plans (Stephen G)

So today we arrived to class ready to go outside and continue working on the project. We have been making great progress and have been excited to see the changes we make each day. But today, instead of going directly out side, Mrs. K and Mrs. Williams had some interesting news. They said that we would not be able to dig any deeper at our site because of the wiring underground. This disappointed us all, but we saw it as a challenge. Right away we were able to brainstorm great new ideas and realized that with our new plan, we are actually ahead of schedule. The change was unpredictable, but definitely manageable. Before we went outside we determined that our goal was to clear out our site and remove all the grass. And we definitely accomplished that.

Our next plan of the day was to lay out our new plan and lay out the divide with the materials we have. We were also going to move the sticks and continue to shape the mound, which we did great with. Later, we would make cross-sections with the wood or lay it down like a current (another idea). We didn't reach all of those goals today but will in the forthcoming.

My group worked on sawing today, and as other people in the class have seen, it is not easy with a handsaw. So after wasted minutes fighting over a log to reach maximum efficiency, we finally obtained the log and Jake, Andrew, Cal and I made a type of assembly line and it worked extremely well.

The technique we used was each person in our group would saw as fast and as powerful as they could and then once they got tired we would hand it to the next person to do the same. We were able able to cut each log in 4 minutes. And compared to the usual time of 20 minutes, this technique worked well. We were able to accomplish 6 cuts in the remaining time we had of class when we obtained the log we needed.

Everybody in the class did a great job today, and we are clearly making great progress on this. Everyone is excited to see the final product.

I'm not lifting that bucket!

Today was our 4th class working outside on our Art Installation project. We continued our tasks of collecting large rocks, cutting discs of wood, digging, and breaking up the mound of dirt in what will be the center of the spiral formation.

The largest group today seemed to be the digging group, who are responsible for clearing the land in the widest part of the installation, in order to create the stairs that will travel down the hill. Some methods that students were using to do this were:

• breaking up mounds of dirt and grass with a shovel or rake.
• shoveling loose dirt into buckets that are deposited into the center of the spiral.
• edging the sides of the formation with a small spade.

Aquipped with 4 new shovels, we had a few more diggers than previous days and were able to clear a good portion of the land today. The only problem was that the buckets of dirt were filling up quickly and needed to be emptied often. And they were heavy! But we came up with a few SMArt solutions to transport the dirt more efficiently.

We decided to use several of the orange buckets at a time, as well as a large tarp. We also thought of using the wheelbarrow to empty large amounts of dirt at one time with little effort. Which do you think was the best method?

10/7/11: Digging and Much More (By Molly)

Today we went outside to do some more work on the class Art Installation project. The people in the class had many jobs, like digging/edging, clearing the space, collecting stone/wood/sticks, slicing lumber from the log we found. It was very, very cold outside, so it was a little harder to do work. It was harder to dig, because the ground was harder. Justine and I were shoveling and digging. We found worms in the dirt and in the ground. The worms were white and warm, and some people picked them up! We dug deep holes. We had our gloves on, because they made our hands warm in the cold and helped us dig better. We had buckets for dirt from the ground from all of the shoveling and digging that we did. I helped Ms. K to dig and with the shoveling, and I also picked up the roots from the ground while wearing gloves. I helped to clear the space, because it helps us with our project. I felt happy today, because I got to go outside and could dig. I like this project!

Molly A.

Progressing

Today, Wednesday October 5th, much progression was made on the Art Installation to be formed next to the high school. The same groups used last class were used again today, and also worked on the same part of the project as they did last class. However, about halfway through the class period, groups went to different stations (i.e. the people sawing went to cutting weeds, etc.). This allowed all of the students to try out the different jobs in creating the installation, which they will need to learn throughout the creative process.

While the work was harder than expected, a lot of progress was made concerning furthering the creation of the installation. People who cut the weeds, such as myself, made a significant dent into the area of weeds close to the road, each day getting closer to what needs to be cut to. Students using the saws made very noticeable progress on cutting- mainly with the largest piece of wood; the same piece that took the whole class to bring to the art installation spot on one of our first days outside. This piece of wood was cut into smaller pieces at the same time as wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of rocks were being brought to the site. Rock finders were able to do a great job at not only finding the rocks needed for the site, but also at transporting them from wooded trails to the site where they were needed. Wood and branch finders in the same areas as the rock gatherers found great items for the installation, as I saw every person in their group bring many branches, carrying them as a team effort. Lastly, I became a digger for the last portion of the class. I helped dig the general outline of where the installation shall take place, and it was tougher than it looked. However, at the end of the day, there was a lot more area dug up than there was before, and the pile of dug up grass seemed to double. This installation has proved to be a group effort, and we have proved to be up for the task.

Installation Sketches

Here are a few of the sketches created for the installation. Before actually breaking ground, there were a few decisions to make. The class had to agree on whether the beginning point for the sculpture would be raised or below the surface of the ground.






The consensus was to begin with a raised mound, signifying unity while reflecting the raised topography of the installation site. The tail portion would then "flow" in 4 steps, below the surface, drawing attention to the change in elevation on the installation site.







The final plan, not shown, merges all of the agreed upon elements of the sketches into what will be one cohesive work of art that visually explores the complex dynamic between unity and individuality.

Breaking Ground (From Matt)

Okay, first of all, this is Matt doing this, not Nikki. Something weird happened and I didn't get invited to the blog, so I couldn't edit it, and Nikki helped me out. Second, this is for Wednesday and Friday's classes.

9/28
Anyway, on Wednesday we started building off of the idea that we decided upon recently. After the class where we decided what our monument was going to look like, not without much debate and disagreement, we began the planning stages.

Ms. K had sent me her blueprints of some of our plans, but my computer is being screwy and I can't figure out how to get them on here. Sorry...

The planning mostly involved deciding on a list of supplies to buy for the actual building process as well as what supplies we would actually need from nature. We would need to buy things like buckets, shovels and a wheel barrow to be able to transport large materials like logs or rocks. The greatest achievement of the day was the transport of a massive log found on Hopkins' HOPE Trail. It took the entire class to move it, but together we were able to move something that could be considered megalithic. Ha ha!

9/30
Today is the day. We are beginning the process of building our art. To start we were placed into teams. Some used white spray paint to mark the area where the digging is going to begin. Others gathered materials like rocks and sticks. And still others cleared brush, allowing our art to be better seen from the road.

My group was Research and Development. Sam, Nikki, Cody and I were in charge of finding the best way to make mud without it washing away too much in the rain. Once we got the mud made, we made three sample mud bricks and left them out to dry. One brick contained just mud, acting as our control. The second brick had dried grass, which we hope will hold the mud together making it stronger. Our prediction is that this will be the strongest mud brick. Finally, our last brick had small rocks mixed in. We hope that this will allow it to act like concrete.
The strength behind this test remains unknown.

The construction process is well underway, but we still have a lot of work to do in the weeks ahead.