Rebecca

J. Russo

Personal Project Research Draft

My goal for this project is to explore the topic of IB learner profile traits and
understand how they shape my focus audience, TMS students. I will create 10 canvases
to increase the understanding of these traits throughout TMS, through the lens of 10 art
movements. This will be done with mosaic like, reconfigurable canvases, where students
can rank their traits based on their personality. However, I am still deciding on the best
method to represent and compare these results. I would consider this project to be
personal because it allows me to connect my own interests with a leadership position
I hold at the school. In my case, I enjoy painting, and am the MYP Prefect. Altogether,
this project combines these two aspects to allow me to improve my artistic skills and
benefit the school under the Global Context of Identities and Relationships.

I would consider this goal highly challenging because it challenges me to first
learn and master the skills/techniques of 10 art movements, and then apply them to
create 10 canvases. Also, I will need to focus all these newfound skills into the topic of
the IB Learner Profile Traits, and find ways to represent all 10 of them interestingly,
within the scope of their art movement.

The Global Context for this project is Identities and Relationships. It has a direct
connection to this project, as I will be exploring the values and perspectives of TMS
students. Also, my goal allows every student to have a personal connection to my art, as
they will be able to rank their traits appropriately. I first considered the Global Context
of Personal and Cultural Expression, however I had decided on this one because I felt
that it allows me to recognize all the different types of IB students at TMS, and how we
are all successful utilizing these 10 traits to different extents. This project is globally
relevant for sharing because it explores different personal values through art, and
connects them to our school community, displaying each students individuality.

I modified my goal throughout the research stage, to better the outcome. Firstly,
I decided to create 10 smaller, reconfigurable canvases that can be pieced together like
mosaics, instead of a mural or large canvas because of the expenses, preparation, time,
etc. Secondly, I wanted to incorporate 10 different art movements into my paintings.
Originally, I was going to use only one, but to elevate my goal I decided on exploring 10
different art movements. As there are 10 IB Learner Profile Traits, each individual trait
can be expressed through one art style. This also allows for a variety of people to
connect with my art, if they can relate to one of the ten movements.

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Rebecca J. Russo

What I knew prior to this project was strictly general information on some art
movements and painting canvases from MYP Visual Arts class in grades 7-10. In
addition, my goal for the year as MYP Prefect is to help students better understand the
IB Learner Profile Traits. A good way to do this could be having an artistic approach to
them in school. I want to ensure that my final products do not look boring, and are
instead unique/aesthetic. I plan to send out a survey collecting primary research, with
input from students to see how they would represent them. In conclusion, all these
interests led to my goal because I wanted to learn about more art styles, improve my
painting skills, and relate this all to the IB learner profile traits at the same time.

I set my highly challenging goal at the beginning of this project as a first step, so I
knew what I wanted to attain through my research process. This allowed me to realize
what I would need to learn before I could reach my goal. I knew that I needed to learn
about:
10 different art styles
Understand the full meaning of the IB learner profile traits
Canvas specific painting techniques
Materials I could use for canvas painting
Other ways people have already represented IB Learner Profile Traits
I did my research using both written work and visual images, as this project is related to
visual arts, where pictures are commonly used to display information or in my case, my
research.

I already demonstrate multiple Approaches to Learning in my everyday academic
classes that will help me reach my goal. For this project, I think that the most important
one will be thinking skills. I used mind maps to plan out my research in a creative way.
Also, I used image galleries to represent data in a more visual way through a blog
format. Both my existing knowledge and the knowledge I am obtaining make my goal
highly challenging. I am able to build off my previous knowledge of art movements to
create canvases for the TMS student body to find the commonalities between
themselves and other peers.

To be able to attain my goal, research was required, so I could learn about my
chosen topics further. I created a research plan during the summer, which I followed to
complete all of my research. I prioritized my research by topic, starting off with the
more general topics. When I started the project I had average research skills, as I could
take point form notes from a source and cite it in APA citation. However, I have been
able to develop even better research skills throughout the project. For example, I
displayed all my research in a blog format, and began to include information in other
forms like images, slideshows, etc. Altogether, this research helped me to refine my

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idea, whilst remaining highly challenging, as it allowed me to focus on the important
aspects of my goal. I was then able to research relevant information that was all
pertinent to my final goal. I tried to use reliable sources allowing me to collect more
accurate information as well.

Word count = 988

Bibliography:

International Baccalaureate. (2017). The IB learner profile. Retrieved on June 22, 2017,
from http://www.ibo.org/benefits/learner-profile/

Craftsy. (2017). 13 Acrylic Painting Techniques All Beginners Should Try. Retrieved July,
2017, from https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/07/acrylic-painting-techniques-for-
beginners/

Will Kemp Art School. (2017). How a prepared canvas can drastically improve your
painting. Retrieved July, 2017, from http://willkempartschool.com/how-a-canvas-can-
drastically-improve-your-painting/

Dictionary.com. (2017). definitions. Retrieved July, 2017, from
http://www.dictionary.com/

Thesaurus.com. (2017). synonyms. Retrieved July, 2017,
from http://www.thesaurus.com/
Enclyclopaedia Britannica. (2017). 10 Modernist Art Movements. Retrieved September,
2017, from
https://www.britannica.com/list/10-modernist-art-movements

Google. (2017). Art Movements. Retrieved September, 2017,
from https://www.google.ca/search?q=art+movements&oq=art+movements&aqs=chro
me..69i57j0l5.1851j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

The Art Story. (2017). De Stijl. Retrieved September, 2017,
from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-de-stijl.htm

The Art Story. (2017). Surrealism. Retrieved September, 2017,
from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm

The MET. (2017). Cubism. Retrieved September, 2017,
from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm