Personal Project Report

Title of the project: Sustainable Jewellery

Goal Statement: To research current jewellery trends and design patterns. Collect recycled materials that can be transformed into jewellery pieces. Learn how to create the jewellery pieces. Create bracelets, necklaces and earrings.

Word Count: 3500

Table of Contents

Investigating......................................................................................................................3

Define a clear goal and context for your project, based on personal interests.............................3

Identifying prior learning and subject-specific knowledge relevant to the project.......................4

Demonstrate research skills........................................................................................................5

Planning............................................................................................................................6

Develop criteria for the product/outcome..................................................................................6

Plan and record the development process of the product............................................................7

Demonstration of self-management skills...................................................................................7

Taking Action.....................................................................................................................8

Creation of a product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteria....................8

Demonstration of thinking skills.................................................................................................8

Demonstration of social and communication skills......................................................................9

Reflecting..........................................................................................................................9

Evaluation of the quality of the product/outcome against your criteria......................................9

Reflection on how completing the Personal Project has extended your knowledge and understanding of the topic and global context..........................................................................11

Reflection on your development as an IB learner through the project.......................................12

Bibliography....................................................................................................................14

Appendix.........................................................................................................................15

Investigating

Define a clear goal and context for your project, based on personal interests

The goal that I have set for my personal project is to create sustainable jewellery using recyclable materials based on current design trends. I decided to use materials found in everyday households or naturally sourced materials including plastic bottles and seashells from the beach. I plan to learn how to incorporate and upcycle these materials and develop environmentally conscious jewellery pieces. This goal has helped extend my understanding of current jewellery trends and patterns. I am able to develop pieces that are unique whilst being supportive towards the environment.

This project is shaped on my personal interests as I am a creative person and when I finish school, I wish to own a business on the side, for example an interior design business. This project is able to allow me to fully develop my creativity skills which will be valuable later on in my life. Following current jewellery trends allows my product to appeal to society and acceptable fashion statements.

The global context chosen for my personal project is ‘Personal and Cultural Expression’. This global context allows me to explore ways to express my ideas, feelings, creativity and aesthetic through jewellery while also including inspirations from a variety of cultures and nature. I can extend my creativity in crafting earrings, necklaces and bracelets and appreciate the aesthetics of current jewellery trends in different cultures. This area of exploration relates back to my chosen research question ‘To what extent can recycled materials be used to create jewellery that targets current trends?’

Through my personal project, I want my jewellery to appeal and have a positive and long-lasting impact on those who buy fast fashion. For example, the fast fashion industry becoming less common with consumers opting for environmentally friendly options. I plan to show people how crucial it is to reuse materials to make jewellery yourself or buy sustainable jewellery to help the environment. The global context of personal and cultural expression has given greater purpose to my project as it enables me to focus on developing and addressing my creativity, ideas, feelings, cultures, nature and aesthetics. I can address creativity, ideas and feelings through my choice of jewellery trends and following aesthetics. I address cultures and nature through where I source my materials from (e.g. beach) and incorporating values and beliefs in my product.

Identifying prior learning and subject-specific knowledge relevant to the project

Prior Learning

The prior knowledge identified is when I was younger, my mum and I used jewellery kits to heat up pieces in an oven and cool them to form jewellery. My mum originally suggested this idea as she thinks I could use my creative skills, it’s practical and not extremely difficult. I learnt that you can meld and form different shapes of plastic when heated up. This knowledge relates to my goal of using recyclable materials to make jewellery, hence use of plastic.

Subject-specific knowledge

The two subjects I have studied the past three years through the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme that helped establish prior learning were Religion and Art. In my Year 9 Religion class, we were given an assignment to complete based around Stewardship. I focused on showing the effects of pollution and what our world would look like if we treated it correctly. I researched different types of pollution including noise pollution, plastic pollution, and air pollution. This is one of the reasons that steered me towards creating a product that will hopefully reduce some aspects of the problem of pollution in our world. Religion is advantageous whilst considering variety of cultures and their beliefs and also ethical issues.

In terms of subject-specific knowledge from Art, some personal based assignments have allowed me to fully express and reveal my style and creativity. I explored different materials and artists that encouraged me to be creative and express different ideas, feelings and aesthetics, sometimes based off of nature and cultures. Ben Quilty was an example of an artist who influenced me to show expression and be unique in my work. I completed an art piece of butterflies in nature using paint, string, paper, texture. Through my skills, I was able to understand the deeper symbolism of butterflies. This was beneficial as I could symbolize nature, fresh air, the sun and the beach when using shells for my jewellery.

In terms of subject-specific knowledge from Art, personal based assignments have allowed me to fully express, reveal my style and creativity. I explored different materials and artists that encouraged me to be creative and express different ideas, feelings and aesthetics, sometimes based off nature and cultures. Ben Quilty was an artist who influenced me to show expression and be unique in my work. I completed an art piece of butterflies in nature using paint, string, paper, texture. Through my skills, I was able to understand the deeper symbolism of butterflies. This was beneficial as I could symbolize nature and the beach when using shells in my jewellery.I was able to develop communication and critical thinking skills through both subjects. I interpreted a range of symbols, received feedback, and considered ideas from multiple

perspectives which is evident in Religion and Art. Through subject specific knowledge, I developed an element of creativity and individuality in my final product.

Demonstrate research skills

Throughout this research process I used prior skills and established new ones. Over my time spent at Mercedes Catholic College I have learnt how to gather accurate and reliable information, analyse sources, complete a Harvard bibliography and only include relevant information. Not only have I relied on previous knowledge but through Microsoft Teams and meetings with my supervisor, I have learnt many more useful skills (see appendix A).. I studied how to analyse primary and secondary sources in depth and extract relevant information.

For each primary and secondary source used, I would evaluate them using questions in my process journal. These questions are as followed: Authority- who is responsible for presenting this information and what are their qualifications and level of experience? Accuracy- is the information accurate and can it be proven and verified? Objectivity- is the information based on facts, is there any personal bias? Currency- how old is the information and is it important? Through following this detailed evaluation I was able to acquire certified sources and information.

Primary Sources:

For this project, I acquired five primary sources. I completed a first-hand and direct interview with my French teacher allowing me to spark more ideas surrounding what materials I would use. I also spoke to my friend about shell earrings she was wearing which helped me incorporate the idea into my design later on (see appendix B). I found two websites which showcased individual’s tutorials and design patterns to assist in instructions to effectively follow for my jewellery. These are primary sources because they give direct access to the subject of research. The final primary source was created using SurveyMonkey to make an original survey that gathered knowledge and thoughts from fellow peers (see appendix C). I can use the results to include tags/labels with information when jewellery is sold. These tags will inform buyers of the environmental problems of fast fashion and also talk about the materials used and how they can do it themselves easily (see appendix D).Secondary Sources:

A large variety of articles that I researched had the ability to provide me with current jewellery trend information relating back to my goal statement. The websites I accessed helped me develop my initial ideas and knowledge surrounding my designs. For each source

I evaluated thoroughly ensuring the articles were written by qualified authors and did not have any bias towards their particular preference of jewellery designs. I made sure that the articles were published within the last two years so that trends were not outdated. The information can be deemed accurate and reliable as the information given is verified on other jewellery sites (see appendix E).

Through my demonstration of research skills I was able to find some really helpful sites that have contributed to the background of my materials used and upcycled.

Planning

Develop criteria for the product/outcome

Once I composed all my preliminary research, finished my goal statement, global context and identification of prior subject learning and subject specific areas, I created a guideline for what I wished to achieve from my personal project. These guidelines allowed my criteria to be really personalised to my goal and product.

Criteria for successCreating my criteria aided my product as I was able to self-assess during the process to ensure I covered the 7-8 band for an excellent product (appendix F). I based my criteria from the template on Microsoft Teams and MYP criteria.

Plan and record the development process of the product

At the beginning of my personal project journey I created a basic timeline. My timeline included specific dates for when Mercedes College Year 10 students were required to submit their draft and final report. I also included small and long term goals so the project was manageable. Throughout the process I made minor edits to my timeline which specifically only applied to my product. For example, I edited in when I would not be working on my report because of birthdays and family holidays , therefore more personalised to my project (appendix G).The progression of my project from start to finish involved many trials of ideas and different design patterns. Looking through my secondary sources before beginning my product enabled me to decide which design patterns I preferred and wished to implement. Using my reflection skills to self-assess allowed me to identify strengths and weaknesses. Using critical thinking skills allowed me to carefully observe the process in order to recognise problems. I

was able to identify and overcome challenges such as using hot glue to connect the plastic earrings as it sometimes showed through the plastic (see appendix H).

Demonstration of self-management skills

At the commencement of this project I evaluated my self-management skills and decided they were not good because I was not progressing (see appendix I). I did not have motivation to complete and research my topic during the holidays, therefore I didn’t complete extra journal entries that would have been valuable. I found it extremely difficult to locate the appropriate resources on Microsoft Teams as there was so many places to look. Despite these challenges at the beginning, I turned myself around from this bad start and organised my learning better. I used my process journal to effectively submit entries for every minor to major bit of research thus demonstrating self-management and organisational skills. My mum motivated me to work extremely hard to get back on track which made me have a positive outlook on the whole project. I managed my state of mind and affective skills by ensuring I stayed positive, took time to focus on myself and released the stress I felt. Another skill I developed during this time was reflective skills. I developed new skills, identified strengths and weaknesses (self-assessing), considered environmental implications of using non- recyclable materials and imitated the work of others through primary and secondary sources with design patterns. By constantly reflecting throughout the process, I found ways to improve my overall product.

Taking Action

Creation of a product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteriaIn order to complete my Photography BlogSpot I had to critically and creatively think to solve problems that occurred throughout the process. I have broken down each stage of creating my Photography BlogSpot into photography elements and blog creating In order to complete my Photography BlogSpot I had to critically and creatively think to solve problems that occurred throughout the process. I have broken down each stage of creating my Photography BlogSpot into photography elements and blog creating

During the process of working towards achieving my product I closely adhered to my goal, global context and criteria. My jewellery displayed personal and cultural expression mainly through my creativity and appreciation of aesthetics, nature (shells from beach) and expression of ideas. I created/duplicated many different designs that I had researched. Firstly, I created the popular face earring trend by melting clear plastic into an aesthetic shape and drawing on the face design afterwards (see appendix J).Using the same method I designed another pair of earrings duplicating this coloured Swarovski love heart pair I researched (see appendix K). Employing another idea given to me by a primary source I was able to incorporate nature into the creation of the shell earrings (see appendix L). Applying a shell to fishing lure and attaching clasps demonstrated my creativity and integration of nature and recyclable materials (see appendix M). Lastly, I replicated the current necklace aesthetic of gold chunky jewellery by using gold safety pins that I found in a draw at home,

therefore I was reusing (see appendix N). I fulfilled my goal by using research skills, self-managing my process journal entries, overcoming problems and finding solutions in order to create a high quality product. Relating everything I completed and accomplished back to the criteria (appendix F) ensured my product was of high quality.

Demonstration of thinking skills

My use of thinking skills has been a strength of mine even before the project. In order to complete a high quality product I had to input these skills into my learning. I have examples of when I have demonstrated my critical and creative thinking skills.

Critical thinking skills:I used critical thinking skills to carefully observe my method and determine problems with melting plastic and finding a solution that would overcome this problem for next time (see appendix H). I also interpreted data from my generated survey which helped me understand what consumers would want from the sustainable jewellery.

Creative thinking skills:Various times in the project process I identified strong use of creative thinking skills. This relates back to my personal creative aspect that I generally tend to show in everyday situations. I brainstormed (e.g. mind map) in order to generate new ideas and inquiries that would assist in the completion of a high quality product. These new ideas involved use of shells, defining the colour choices best suited for shielding hot glue marks and testing different researched methods.

I also transferred different skills throughout the project when I had to apply skills in the unfamiliar situation of making the jewellery and transferring current knowledge to learning of new technologies. This involved following instructions and testing strategies to gain a variety of appealing aesthetics for my personalised jewellery.

Demonstration of social and communication skills

I started this project with high social and communication skills which allowed me to interact with others who could helped me. I used emails as my main mode of communication with my supervisor (see appendix O). This communication allowed me to organise meetings so I could have face to face interactions and ask inquiry questions about the whole process. Not only did I speak with my supervisor, I also spoke to friends and other teachers to gauge a broader view and acquire different opinions. I was effective and social during the whole process allowing me to receive meaningful feedback.

Reflecting

Evaluation of the quality of the product/outcome against your criteria

I am exceedingly pleased with my outcome as I believe it is high quality, connects to all my process journals and measures up against my criteria within high grade bands.

Aesthetics:6/8I chose to give aesthetics - 6 out of 8. The reason for this is I created many detailed pieces using colours, shape, texture and differing basic designs but lacked intricacy (e.g. simple shapes and designs) To improve for this particular section of criteria I would need to add some more little details.

User/Audience:8/8I chose to give user/audience - 8 out of 8. The reason for this is every piece I made is suitable to be worn by any gender and age group. I surveyed both guys and girls as to whether they would buy sustainable cheap jewellery over expensive trending jewellery and majority said they would buy sustainable jewellery (appendix P). The jewellery pieces are broad and varied therefore anyone can wear them.

Function:7/8I chose to give function - 7 out of 8. The reason for this is I used old coke and water bottles from not only my house but community rubbish bins for some jewellery and shells for the other pieces, which are recyclable. An improvement would be to be certain the duration the jewellery would approximately last for and to use some type of recyclable material for the clasps and hooks, therefore it would be fully sustainable and recyclable.

Materials:6/8I chose to give materials - 6 out of 8. The reason for this grade is I incorporated recyclable materials (e.g. shells, plastic bottles, fishing lure) as much as I possibly could as a beginner in

creating jewellery. The only times when I did not use recyclable materials was for the actual clasps and earring hook as that would have been extremely difficult for me to create myself.

Impact:6/8I chose to give impact - 6 out of 8. The reason for this is because I believe through the use of these materials ,reduction in waste has occurred around my household and some of the community. An improvement would be to ensure the pieces are going to be long lasting as the buyers demand will be higher as a result of how high quality the pieces are.

Reflection on how completing the Personal Project has extended your knowledge and understanding of the topic and global context

Through creating sustainable jewellery and completing the Personal Project, I have extended my knowledge and understanding of sustainability, jewellery designs and personal and cultural expression.

My knowledge of sustainability and jewellery designs has extended in the following ways:

Materials: From the research I undertook I learnt what types of materials would work best and would be sustainable/recyclable. I have always been passionate about helping our environment seeing as it is confirmed that little adjustments can make a huge impact. Although I started the project passionate about reusing materials around communities and households I was unsure which materials were recyclable. Primary sources and secondary sources were able to provide me with some helpful answers which allowed me to find those materials and incorporate them into my designs. This research has extended my knowledge of recyclable materials and materials in general. I now know that shells are considered recyclable and so are textiles, which I didn’t know prior to completing my personal project.

Patterns: From experimenting and following tutorials from primary sources I was able to attain aesthetic jewellery designs. I had to grow as a learner in the short amount of time given (7 months) to overcome any problems surrounding the patterns. I encountered challenges along the way where I needed to extend my knowledge in order to solve the issue (see appendix H for examples). These challenges allowed me to form intricate and unique patterns through the extension of my knowledge and understanding.

Trends: Researching current jewellery trends and duplicating these ideas into my creations supported my aesthetics and had an impact on my audience. Following current jewellery

styles and trends meant my pieces appealed to an audience of a range of ages and both genders. I originally had a preconceived idea of what I believed was trendy but research helped confirm and extend my knowledge and understanding in this particular area. =

My knowledge and understanding of my global context- personal and cultural expression has been extended. Through my research of primary and secondary sources I learnt about others’ ideas and feelings towards sustainable jewellery. I was able to enjoy my creativity, appreciate aesthetics and use nature in my final product.

The personal and cultural expression guiding question is; what is the nature and purpose of creative expression? My creation of earrings, bracelets and necklaces gave me the ability to explore aesthetics, ideas, feelings, nature and enjoy my own creativity. Through exploring this global context I have come to the conclusion that aesthetics of jewellery are different for certain individuals. This difference in aesthetics is reflected everywhere around us. I have seen many people wear jewellery that is not particularly my style and some that is my style. I was able to creatively express this variety of feelings and ideas through the different designs and styles that I included in my final product/s. This creative expression is important as it helps to appeal to everyone. I have used as many recyclable materials as possible for a beginner in jewellery making. I have also included many designs and patterns acquired from my research of current jewellery trends. I believe that dependent on the qualifications of the maker of the product, recyclable/sustainable jewellery can be made to target current trends hence answering the question of; to what extent can recycled materials be used to create jewellery that targets current trends? I have gained extremely beneficial knowledge and understanding surrounding my global context through completion of my Personal Project.

Reflection on your development as an IB learner through the project

Through completion of Personal Project I have developed as an IB leaner. I mostly began this journey with an open-mind and a willingness to extend my knowledge and learn. At some points in the Personal Project journey, I felt myself disregarding the responsibility and having a unenthusiastic view towards all the extra research. Despite these adverse thoughts, I decided during the first few weeks of 2020 that I needed to work really hard to stay on track. I had to carefully manage my extra-curricular activities, family times, social life and other subject homework whilst enduring this extremely large project. With ongoing assignments from 9 other subjects and around 5 sport trainings a week and games on the weekend, I felt an overwhelming amount of pressure. I was worried that I would not have time to complete Personal Project and it would never get finished. However, creating a timeline and focusing on a positive mental state I was able to grow as a balanced leaner.

Finding this balance required me to be caring towards not only myself but those people who were close to me. I knew that being caring towards people close to me would benefit as they would be there to help me along my journey. I have become increasingly knowledgeable through my deep communication, thinking, inquiry and risk taking. I communicated and inquired about my goal with friends, family and teachers in order to gage their opinions. I showed risk taking when creating my product and continuously testing new, sometimes even difficult designs.

Continuous reflection of every process journal entry and primary or secondary source used allowed me to grow as a reflective learner. By constantly assessing and reflecting on my ATL skills, strengths and limitations as a beginner jewellery creator, I contributed more thought into the designs and aesthetics thus developing high quality sustainable pieces.

Bibliography

Dummies. (2020).Which Materials Can You Recycle? - dummies. [online] Available at: https://www.dummies.com/home-g... [Accessed 26 Feb. 2020].

Eggertsen, L. (2019). The 9 Spring Jewelry Trends Everyone Will Be Buying in 2019. [online] Who What Wear. Available at: https://www.whowhatwear.com.au... [Accessed 29 Nov. 2019].

Reagan, A., 2020. This Season's Jewellery Trends Have Something To Say. [online] Fibre2fashion.com. Available at: <https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/2936/this-seasons-jewellery-trends-have-something-to-say> [Accessed 28 April 2020].

Huynh, C., 2020. The Ultimate Guide To Ethical Jewellery. [online] Good On You. Available at: <https://goodonyou.eco/the-ultimate-guide-to-ethical-jewellery/> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Happy Family Art. (2020). Recycle Plastic Bottle Into Earrings Tutorial. [online] Available at: https://www.happyfamilyart.com... [Accessed 28 Apr. 2020].

Bluprint. (2020). Jewelry Patterns | Bluprint. [online] Available at: https://shop.mybluprint.com/je... [Accessed 28 Apr. 2020].

MNN - Mother Nature Network. (2020). Is there such a thing as eco-friendly jewelry?. [online] Available at: https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/... [Accessed 28 Apr. 2020].

Dalton, R., 2020. The History Of Jewellery Proves Fashion Can And Should Be Considered Art. [online] Wellmadeclothes.com.au. Available at: <https://wellmadeclothes.com.au/articles/TheHistoryOfJewelleryAndFashionAsArt/> [Accessed 1 May 2020].

Primary SourcesAyliffe, Helen, French MYP Teacher and Staff Member at Mercedes College (accessed 5 Feb. 2020)

Orbach, Luka, Year 10 Mercedes College Student (accessed 28 Apr. 2020)

Charlton. M (2020). Sustainable Jewellery [online] Available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-JR9CK5Z9/ (Accessed: 29 July 2020).

Appendix

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

Appendix F

Criteria

Your goal: To research current jewellery trends and design patterns. Collect recycled materials that can be transformed into jewellery pieces. Learn how to create the jewellery pieces. Create bracelets, necklaces and earrings.

Your global context: Personal and cultural expression

Aesthetics

Appearance, style, colour, shape, pattern, form,texture, finish, layout

User/Audience

Who it is for? Consider age, gender, socioeconomic background

Function

What is its purpose? What will it do? Howeasily can it be used / maintained?

Materials

What materials will be used? What properties do the materialsneed to have?

Impact

What impact do I want my product / outcome to have?

1 – 2Limited

The student: Uses one

design aspect (e.g colour, shape, texture) to create a basic jewellery piece.

The student: Creates

jewellery only appealing to one age group and gender.

The student: Uses one

piece of recycled materials to reduce waste.

Is able to create jewellery that last for at least a month.

The student: Uses one

piece of recycled material to transform into a jewellery piece.

The student: Attempts to

help the environment by creating reasonable sustainable pieces.

3 – 4Adequate

The student: Uses one or

more design aspect to create an appropriate jewellery piece.

Applies different

The student: Creates

jewellery for one or more age groups.

Only made specifically for one gender.

The student: Uses a few

pieces of recycled materials to reduce waste in the household.

Creates jewellery that

The student: Uses more

than one piece of recycled material to create a jewellery piece.

The student: Slightly helps

the environment by reusing the recycled materials in their houses by creating 5 – 6

SubstantialThe student: Uses a range

of design aspects (e.g colour, shape, texture) to create a detailed jewellery piece.

Applies differing basic designs for each

The student: Creates

jewellery for a variety of age groups.

Attempts to create a wide range for both genders.

The student: Reduces

recyclable rubbish around their house hold.

Uses a lot of recycled materials to create sustainable lasting jewellery.

The student: Creates

jewellery pieces using near to all of the recycled materials.

The student: Assists in

helping reduce wasted materials that can be recycled into detailed jewellery pieces.

7 – 8Rigorous

The student: Applies a

variety of colours, shapes and textures to create intricate jewellery pieces in great detail.

Uses good aesthetics to make a detailed piece of jewellery.

Uses multiple design aspects differing for each piece.

The student: Creates

jewellery for every single age group necessary.

Creates a wide range for both genders.

The student: Reduces

recyclable rubbish around the community.

Uses all recycled materials to create sustainable long lasting jewellery.

The student: Creates

jewellery pieces and transforms them only using recycled materials.

The student: Helps to

reduce materials that can be recycled instead of wasted into detailed, long lasting jewellery pieces.

Appendix G

Appendix H

Appendix I

Appendix

Appendix J

Appendix K

Appendix L

Appendix M

Appendix N

Appendix O

Appendix P