The Whirligig
My shoe:
Explanation-
- whirligigs- the story I read was called “the whirligig” its about a Boy named Brent putting up 4 whirligigs up on the 4 corner states of America to honour a girl who he killed in an accident, Lea. This is important because Brent learns how to create his own whirligigs. I always saw the whirligig as a metaphor to be free and carefree. Maybe he’s alone but he can affect strangers and make them smile and laugh. They affected a whole bunch of characters who are seeing the whirligigs around their lives.
- red- the sparkly red represents the red picnic bench at the campsite in Maine. all the pieces from it came from a junk yard. it gave Brent the idea to use old/ warn out/ shells and sand dollars for his final whirligig. It also showed Brent that no matter the beginning, everything can become beautiful or special.
- lighthouse- Brent told one person the truth about him trying to commit Suicide, and that was a painter from Maine. She lived by a lighthouse, they would drink lemonade together, collect shells and talk to each other. she told Brent that he wasn’t a bad person, he wasn’t a murderer and that everything would turn out okay. Brents mother never had this conversation with Brent, this lady was giving him advice that he wasn’t getting from anyone else.
- book- Brent near the end of the story would always be reading, he had something to do. He felt attached to the characters in the story. it also gave him something to do on his long bus drives.
- whirligig book- this gave Brent advice, it affected him as being a mentor. the previous owner wrote notes along the pages teaching Brent or the next people how to build their own whirligigs. Brent felt like someone was with him, he wasn’t alone.
- checker board- This checker board is Brents first embarrassing moment of the horrible house party. Him and his friend arrived in colours and jeans when they were supposed to wear all black or all white (to play a human version of chess) This was just one of the many horrible parts of Brents night.
- highway- my highway is on the sole of the shoe. It represents the highway that Brent was taking to just leave, he had no destination, he was just driving. It also shows the roads/ highways that the greyhound bus took around the states with Brent on it.
- car- this car is red (the real one was black) *sorry I ran out of black paint* this is Brents car he took to the art, the one that he crashed against Lea’s vehicle. this is important because it was what was taking him farther and farther away from the way home, it was the vehicle that he road away mad and angry and embarrassed (and drunk).
- bus- The green bus on the side of the shoe shows the bus that Brent took around the states. Leas mother gave him an unlimited (certain days) bus pass. Brent met characters and himself on this bus. It was the item that physically took him around his adventure (other than hitchhiking once)
- pencil- the pencil on the back of the shoe is mean to show the pencil/notes that he was writing to a maid. in his motel room he was writing letters to one of the maids about how no one is alone with god, about how he is a professional forgiver and how he is always with you, deep meaningful notes that stayed with Brent the whole story.
- (colours) black- I made one side of my shoe dark and black (galaxy) because this represents Brents thoughts near the end of the story. He was in a bad place in his life and killing Lea didn’t help. He dug himself deep into the darkness and so that is him mind. I’ts the darkness inside him.
- (colours) yellow- the yellow shows the end of the story, its Brents thoughts at the end. happy and peaceful. I made it a sun rise/sunset because its still partially dark from the night but slowly making its way to become the bright sunlight. it represents that he can become a bright person with out these horrible memories/thoughts of Lea and Brianna.
Reflection- I used creative thinking to design/paint/etc my shoe. I also used creative thinking to “find a creative way to demonstrate your learning from this book”. I also used critical thinking, I had to think about the connections a made from the book and character to design my shoe in a accurate representation. I also used social/personal responsibility, I finished my project in time with what I believe is filled with what was asked of me. I also used communication to communicate with my peers to see how they designed their shoe, and too see if I had missed any important/key points in the story. I think I did a good job and made my shoe colourful and fun. I had fun on this project as well. Next time I would maybe choose to glue my photos to the shoe (decided to paint) or maybe make my shoe less busy. Our teacher also told us that we can not put photos inside the shoe (I put a highway on the sole of the shoe) Im not sure if that counts as inside the shoe or not. For the most part it went well, and I think I ended with a good outcome. This project was to show the character or story with certain key elements. It needed to explain the character within 12 photos or colours.