the last school project 2007-2008
maria's group chose the book "the heart is a lonely hunter" for their final language arts project (only two girls, the other was a "no-show" for most of the project). the rubric was long with something like 9 points to cover including theme music (songs ranged from missing persons "words" to "man of constant sorrow" from the o'brother soundtrack). these two girls work together beautifully, i sat with them a few times to make sure they were on track and pull them back when they wandered into teen girl land. in addition to a power point, written explanations and the soundtrack, they had to create an "artwork" and also serve a food significant to the book or the author. if you have ever read the book then you know food is not a major part. they chose to serve the menu from the party mick has at her home (a prom party - prom meaning dance back in the 30's). they had biscuits (blueberry scones) and cookies, punch and pb&j sandwiches. they gave out dance cards to all the girls and explained what they were. maria and laura made up t-shirts for their presentation (which was supposed to represent a museum with curators). they gave the museum a name and put that on the shirt with "staff" on the sleeve. an extra part of the presentation was having their classmates put on a set of noise blocking lawnwork headphones to mimic the silence of the main character, singer. then people would talk to that person and they had to try and figure out what was being said to them and the emotion of the speaker. there was a lot made about the interaction between the characters and singer in the book.
they also had to create a time capsule - because this book took place in the 30's, this was a bit of a challenge. instead of a traditional time capsule, maria chose to recreate Mick's hatbox from the book. it is a major part of her character - her most treasured objects. in the book there is a list of what was in the box so maria looked through our storage/old books/etc to find each item. we were fortunate to have items from my in laws that matched up. the box itself is a hatbox from sometime before 1950 i believe. the quote from the book is written on the inside of the box (again, clear sticker paper so it is easily removed)
the last part of the presentation was the artwork. maria chose something a bit odd for this one - she used a case of jones soda, painted the case white and added quotes about the interaction between characters then added labels (avery clear sticker paper for inkjet) to the bottles also. she took a photo of a mime, printed it on transparency and inserted it into the bottle. there was more than just an 'altered' reason behind the piece. here is her 'explanation of artwork' and photos of the finished piece.
The altered art piece was inspired by Bottle Whimsies, a
type of folk art created in the early 1900’s until the 1950’s. Artists would create scenes, erect models or
insert framed photos in bottles of various shapes and sizes. Some of the artwork was politically inspired
while others were based on popular objects of the time such as yarn winders.
Those containing photographs usually memorialized someone in the life of the
artist.
Our piece is all about Singer. Around the outside carton you will find
quotes related to how the other characters in the book found solace,
inspiration and joy visiting Singer in his room or at the café. He welcomed them although he didn’t
understand most of what they said. They considered him their confessor, savior,
friend or co-conspirator. The bottles represent the drinks each character
shared with him – beer, lemonade, etc.
Each of the bottles is labeled with a character’s name. The quotes/image on the label relate to
things that character said to Singer or thoughts they had about him. All of these “words” are on the outside of
the bottle while Singer is trapped on the inside, unable to hear their words.
He can read their lips and see their body language but cannot react/speak to
them. Each character believes Singer is a
kindred spirit – something that is completely untrue. Singer is printed on transparency to show
that he is not really “there”, only in the minds of each character does he take
on a personality. He is a shadow of his
true self and would love only to be with his Greek friend. (the image of Singer is that of a mute mime
for obvious reasons)
Internet sites with images/explanations of Bottle Whimsies:
http://www.amesgallery.com/FolkArtPages/BWhims.html
http://www.sdjones.net/FolkArt/beem.html
