HPA and GSMS Grade Eight LA
Symbolic Portraits and Write-ups
Photo album - I put this in the photo to represent the past and the moments that lead up to me being who I am today. I also used it as a wall to “split” the photo to represent the positive (left) and negative (right) side of me.
Blanket and bear - I put these in the photo to represent my childhood. The blanket is on both sides of the wall to symbolize that it comforts me when I was both sad and happy.
Question mark, pencil and journal - I placed these in the photo to represent all the times I’ll write down my head-aching questions, different feelings or whatever I have lingering inside me. They are placed on the right side of the “wall” because they are part of the negative side of me.
Mittens and hat - These symbolize autumn and it’s bitter mornings. They are on the right side of the wall to because it’s my favourite time of year.
Souvenirs - I put the souvenirs in the photo to represent some of the places I’ve been to and my love of traveling. They are on both sides of the wall to symbolize how traveling is fun and a new learning experience but how I can also get cranky, jetlagged, hungry and frustrated.
Medals - The medals symbolize my love of dance/competing and all the hard work that pays off for being sore and bruised. I put them at the bottom to serve as a reminder that you can’t always come in first place and that sometimes we just need to face the fact that someone has beaten us instead of being jealous and bitter.
The items I chose to place in my symbolic portrait each represent my passion and love for the game of baseball. All of the concrete representations are to me, what define me as a baseball player. I decided to put all the items laid out around home plate, because my greatest triumphs and deepest sorrows in the game revolve around that that 17 inch wide diamond of rubber.
The jersey and hat, of the Fredericton Royals (the team I have played on for almost my whole life) are symbols of pride, dedication, and hard work. When you slip on that jersey and toss on that cap, you are sporting the pride of being the most decorated team in Atlantic Canada for AAA baseball. My Atlantic Canada medals are probably the one thing, if my house was on fire, I would go back in to get. They represent the symbol of Fredericton baseball, they have been my highest highs and my reason I try to better myself, for the next time I get there I refuse to lose. My wooden bat has a pair of meanings: a way to escape the world, and, by beating the ball relentlessly off a tee until I am weak in the knees, I am perfecting my craft. My newspaper clipping is a symbol of pride, of leading my team to the finals of the Atlantic Championships. But it’s also a symbol of defeat, the trying my absolute best, but coming up short in the end. My cleats are an example of the wear and tear of a season full of blood, sweat and tears that I pour into every season. My glove is the most important tool for me as a middle infielder, the perfectly crafted leather that pops every time a ball zips into to it. My glove has been there with me through the miraculous plays of putting my body on the line, and it has been there with me through the routine grounders and the hours of practice each night, it’s my rock. Slaughterhouse is a giant part of my life, the music that gets me through the tough losses and celebrates the big wins; it’s the pre-game pump-up and the post-game recovery. All those items are where I’m from.
Symbolic Portrait It all starts in this scene. There are many items; each item has a powerful meaning big or small. Some are my past. Some are my present. Some my future. Some say I have a complex identity with zigzags all over. Some say I’m an open book; my life is simple and easy. I do not believe it is quite that easy but either way this is what makes me, me.
To begin, you see there are many pink peppermints sprinkled across the scene. I sprinkled those to represent my past because I fed them to the horses during the coldest days.
A stack of novels-I put my novels there because I love to read and read. I would fantasize about being there in the action or having to endure the pain of an accident or a disturbing moment. My love of strong, enticing words comes in there to paint the scene.
An engraved horse brush with soft bristles-symbolizes the times in which I had to pass my time brushing the horses and cleaning the stalls. Ravishing red maple leaf-to symbolize my Canadian heritage of which I am proud.
Two plump, splendid sweet and soured strawberries-to represent my undying love to the fruit that makes my mouth water. Picture of my pets Sandy, Marina,and Cash-because they are what I look forward to after a tiresome day at school.Sandy is a rambunctious, loving dog who alerts my family to immediate danger but still cowers behind my father. Marina a very opinionated and vocal cat who loves to curl up besides you. Cash is a cute, eccentric horse who acts like a giant dog.
Pictures of many road signs-represents many decisions and unknown futures too many to even begin to comprehend; all unknown.
Two acorns-represent my love for the time of day when I love to stay up and take a walk into a silent forest.
A jar of crabapple jelly to commemorate my time helping to pick the crabapples for my mother who seems to always misspell the labels for the crabapple jelly.
White as snow candles- to remember all of the friends and family who have lost their lives and illuminate my life by their presence.
A pencil and an eraser-symbolize the famous poets and poems such as Robert Frost “Fire and Ice” that I had to restrain myself from reading again and again.
Picture of the Vampire Diaries-represents my “compelling” urge to watch The Vampire Diaries over and over again .
A toy bed-to represents my love of sleep. If anyone said you had a hour to do anything you want I would probably say sleep, it's my go to response.
My friendship ring-symbolizes that i will always try to help out my friends ,family,and more people when they need it.
There are many things that represent me that I value. When you meet someone you will probably know the first chapter of what makes them who they are.That is only the beginning of their story of who they are. There are many lessons that I have learned so far . But there will always be more to learn.
My project consists of many objects, all representing different activities and aspects of my life. I have a video game controller representing my love of gaming, and countless hours spent mashing buttons. I have included my father’s speaker, representing his love of music and the impact it has had on me. I have used my parents’ painting in the background to represent a tsunami, a metaphor I employed in my poem. I have two items representing my dogs - a collar and a chewed Nerf dart. The first item represents their obedience and the latter demonstrates their willfulness. I have included a video game disc case of the game that my father and I play; it’s also mentioned in my poem. The Winnie the Pooh doll is to represent my love for Winnie as a child. My copy of the final book of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy forms the base of the image. The position of the novel is significant in that it represents that reading is a base of all the parts of who I am, how it came before all of them and is required by each of them. I have my phone included as well to represent technology in general; I have placed it at the base of the display in order demonstrate how big an influence it has had on my life. Littered all over are bow tie pasta noodles, representing my favorite food. The reason they are spread out and there are so many of them I is to represent my grandmother and her constant and never ending generosity with food. Sandwiched between everything are my soccer socks, representing that they are relatively insignificant and most everything else comes before soccer, however it still occupies a big portion of my life.
