Woodlands Secondary Tiles and Reflections

After finishing their tile, the students were asked to write a reflection about their tile and their spark.
These reflections are heartfelt and unique to each student, and really add to the value of the mural.

Click on one of the squares below to see a close-up of the tile and the individual reflection.

"Shrek", Dylan

"Hockey", Hannah

"Flowers and Springtime", Jordan

"Art and Creativity", Jetahnoh

"Beach Volleyball", Hailey

When I was little I used to watch my sister and her friends play volleyball. Although it was only a school team it always looked so fun to me, so in grade five I started going to her practices. I used to wake up every morning at seven just to go to school for a 7:30 quick practice even though I wasn't old enough to play quite yet.

In grade six I was finally old enough to indulge in this sport. I joined the team and became captain, it was pretty exciting but then again I was only 11. I've been playing since then, but throughout the years I've once and a while gone to the beach to play as well.

In grade nine I switched To Woodlands Secondary School, to get involved in the Beach Volleyball academy. At first I wasn't too fond of it because we don't do much court practice until winter comes around, and the rules were also much different, but I came around to absolutely love beach volleyball, it's definitely a passion for me. I enjoy beach volleyball way better than court volleyball because you get to touch the ball way more. I love just being out in the sun having fun, also I like how less serious and less stressful it is than court volleyball. Instead of playing with a team of six you play with a partner. All your trust goes into them and if you mess up you have no one to blame but yourself, and I like that. So there that's my spark; beach volleyball.

"Imagination", Seanrei

One of my sparks that keeps me aflame is imagination. I believe it's healthy to have an imagination, even if you're older than seven. A place in your mind where you can imagine and believe anything you want. A place in your mind where anything is possible and magic can exist. This is in everyone. You never truly grow out of it. No matter how old you get, it will always be there. It's really just your choice in accepting it. This is the part of your mind where the most amazing colours shine through, and you can be you. I find my tile, even though it's simple, can represent imagination and belief. There are mermaids all over the tile and are blending into the water. Mermaids are haven't actually been proven, (yet) so for now they are just a figment of imagination. But in my mind and tile they are very real.

"Ballet", Katelyn

Comedy", Kieran

My spark is laughing and watching funny movies. I live my spark at movie theaters in my room on Netflix and at school with friends. Basically everyone I've been around knows I loving laughing at anything and everything probably my dad knows that I only like watching comedies. Comedians, friends, movies and random objects everywhere. School movies that try to be funny but are terrible.

Blue sky is on my title and a painting of a random person laughing. It says that I love to laugh and watch funny movies/ tv shows my family is always around me and they help me exceed in laughing. Time at home is my development asset.

"Music", Kyle

For this tile, I decided to focus on one of my favorite sparks, which is music. Music makes me feel happy. I like country music because it makes me relaxed when I am mad. I like pop music because of the beat. I picked a composition with musical notes and lettering. I liked working with all different values of blue.

"Hockey", Lester

My spark is hockey. I live my spark almost every day, with my team and hockey academy. I think that everyone that knows anything about me knows my spark. My parents are the one that definitely feed my spark the most. The only thing that gets in the way is school. On my tile there is water and the ground. Nothing but I have an idea to make it relate to my spark. The developmental asset that matters most to me is parents support because it can make a big difference in my life. The asset that is around me and helps me succeed is my parents support.

"Internet", Nathan

For this tile I decided to focus on one of my favourite sparks, which is the internet. The Internet makes me feel really alive. When I use the Internet, I don't think about every little click, and just follow the redirections instead. Time stands still, and nothing else matters; I feel energized. I love interacting with others on the internet, smiling, laughing and making people happy. Depicting all of this in one painting is a daunting task, so I needed to have some good visuals. I wanted to show internet and happiness throughout the painting, as well as a hint of computer.

"Horse-Back Riding", Rafaela

This painting is about horseback riding. I love my horses and riding them makes me feel in bliss. On this painting you see me at a competition I attended and really enjoyed it, and reports the nature which I see when I ride my horse. 

"Poetry", Ashia

My Spark is poetry. I like artistic expression. I believe everyone can paint whatever they want; even if it means absolutely nothing to you, it can mean the world to someone else. I don’t honestly know what my spark is yet, but one day I will find out what makes me, me. At the moment, I enjoy reading, relaxing, and dancing around randomly. I love taking pictures and just having fun. So I don’t know what my main spark is but it’s me. On my tile, I painted the background 10 different colours, and added some textures. In front, representing my spark, I drew a triangle. I like triangles and it looks pretty cool, almost like a tent near the water.

"Creative Writing", Leticia

"Berry Picking", Shanni

For my tile, I decided to form my spark from how the feeling of summer coming in makes me feel like berry picking. Every summer (usually right before the startup of September) berries in my neighborhood peak through and so then it's time to go out with buckets in hand, and come back with enough for many blackberry crumbles and bags to freeze. On the mural this tile is a very vibrant section of the eagle's majestic wings, and so I decided to use royal, vibrant colors. I used reds to enhance the blue and make the colors as deep and "pungent" as I could. The blueberries are easily seen as being individual instead of making it look like a heap. I tried to show depth in each "pile" of berries in the baskets they are in... I used black to try to show shadowing, and whites to thinly show the outlines of the berries and hidden details: little stems and shine marks.

Perhaps, the deep blues and violets in my tile can represent the depth of how l respond emotionally to different situations in life. Blue can be an emotional color, but also when we think of "clear skies" we think of resolve... a clear mind. I hope this transferred onto my tile, but if it is subtle then maybe that says something about the viewer's depth perception. I tried to use balance as a large component in my tile, balancing light and dark hues of blue.

"Hockey", Trey

"Volleyball", Kierra

"Helping Others", Seanrei

"Sailing", Avery

My spark is sailing as it is something I find very relaxing. I just love the sound of the sea and the other smells and everything. I chose to make this tile the way it is because I think it just shows how the different things in the ocean move.

"Creative Spark", Jasmine

I chose my spark to be about reading and writing because I hope to be an author one day. I love reading and trying to write stories. I'm also in a strict writing group outside of school to help me get better oat writing my own stories.

I painted a head to symbolize the mind where ideas and imagination comes from. I made streams of different colours of paints coming out of the head to explaining that the mind is overflowing with ideas, imagination, and inspiration. I wrote quotes of deep thinkers and what reading and writing means to them, but smeared them out because the only thoughts and opinions belong to the writer and the secrets inside of their stories.

I tried to be more abstract, less realistic with the paint because art doesn't have to be all precise, the same with reading and writing. Things that happen in stories may or may not happen or ever happen in real life, but the creative, emotion, and technique make the idea good; the same with a painting.

"Creativity", Jordan

"Cars", Jarod

The spark that I picked for my tile project is exotic cars. It is important because cars are one of my passions. My tile was located on a brown tree so it was a challenge to make the car look good using only browns. I like the challenge of using odd colours for a car and making it work. The painting as a whole represents a passion for driving and creativity.

"Music", Monica

"Movies and Music", Avery
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