Shannon Roycroft- Kindness Bench

On Tuesday we spent our time going over what we designed on Monday on the pot and painting it. We painted the pineapple and put fun quotes around it. I think that the pot and flower go really nicely with the whole Wellness idea for where we're putting our bench. Today was the last day we got to work on our bench and I must say it was a long time coming. We put a lot into making this bench! It was really fun and I'm happy we chose this to leave proctor with. Our whole idea was being able to give something back to the place we love! We are finished with 51 hours!

On Monday we went to Walmart to get the pot and flower for our bench. We decided we were going to put it in the new wellness center. We didn't think that we should have it be outside because the paint would chip off. We also checked with maintenance and they didn't really seem to into it, which we understand. We outlined the pot with different designs on what we are going to paint on it. We got a pineapple flower that never dies and will always grow back. A pineapple is the sign of "Welcome" and we thought that went really nicely with the flow of our kindness bench. We are starting to paint the pot on Tuesday and get everything together to present on Wednesday!

This past week was full of last minute touches. We had to paint over all the colors so they would stay and not chip. There are so many different designs on our bench so that took us a while for sure. There were a few small spots in nooks and crannies of designs that we had to be super careful while painting over. When I was going over the whole bench in white I came across a few areas that had no white on it at all. We missed a few spots and had to paint it for the first time. It wasn’t a big deal because these areas were somewhat hidden and you wouldn’t be able to  see it unless you really looked. I painted over it and then moved onto finishing up painting the rest. We had to come up with a plan to put the bench somewhere at school, but we didn’t know at first if we wanted to put it outside or inside. When we talked to Kelly she gave us the idea to donate it to the new wellness room so we all agreed that would be the best thing. If we left the bench outside the paint might chip more a

On Friday we went to Lowe's in Tilton to get the spray. We started our day off with our usual routine, breakfast and a work out. After we were done we headed to Tilton. There was a lot of traffic on the way there so it slowed us down a bit. When we go to Lowe's we went right to the aisle that had the finish spray so we bought it and then was on our way! When we got back we made sure we finalized any finishing touches to make sure that before we sprayed down the bench we didn't forget anything. We sprayed it and waited for it to dry for about an hour ish and then sprayed it again! The bench is finally finished. Now we have to plan out where we are going to put it!

On Thursday we spent a lot of time making the finishing touches on our bench. We were able to complete the outlines on all the designs and words. We went over the bench in white again so it looked clean and nice. We went over everything in the color it was before so that it also looked really clean and nice! The bench came along really nicely! Even though it was for sure much more challenging than we thought it was so fun and completely worth all our time and effort. On Friday we will go get the spray to finish it off!

On Wednesday we started our leg design. We had to first clean off the bench and wipe it down with water and paper towels to make sure there wasn't anything like dust or pencil shavings that the paint could dry over. When we finished this we put a trash bag over the parts of the bench that we didn't want to get paint over and then started our design. We're not giving anything away so a little hint is that it is super messy. Our design took a long time to finish, but it was really fun. After we finished we went over the entire bench in like a 5th coat of white. We painted white in between letters, pictures, words, etc. It took a very long time to make sure we didn't get any white paint over anything we had already painted. We had to let the paint dry so we stopped there and are going to finish the other coat on Thursday, and then the bench will finally be done!

On Tuesday we started to outline our idea for the legs of the bench. We came up with a few different ones but none that really made us want to do them. We thought about polka dots, swirls, all different fun crazy designs. We didn't pick any of these. We decided to do something that doesn't require drawing it out first, its all freehand. After we came up with this we went over all the writing again in black or white so that it stuck out more. When we were finished with this we brainstormed ways to do what we wanted to on the legs so that we could start tomorrow!

This past week was really fun and challenging. We started off working out every morning and then leaving to go to work on our bench. As easy and simple as painting a bench sounds it definitely has its difficulties. We have so many small detailed parts to our bench that makes it hard to paint. Mack had to use one of her make up brushes just to be able to paint over super small writing. We got a lot accomplished. We finished the top of the bench, we just have to go over it again so the paint stays. We messed up on a few things but it turned out to be a good thing because it lead us to new ideas. We were going to write across the top of the bench who the bench is to and who is is from but when we messed up on writing that so many times we decided it would be better to change the location of it. We put it on a smaller piece of the bench that turned out better than we thought it would. There are a lot of pencil marks and scribbled out writing all over the bench that we have to go over but i

Today we started to draw out or outline for where we are putting the "To Proctor, From ....." I drew out the words with pencil so I had room to mess up. I drew them too close first so I erased it and rewrote it. When I outlined it for a second time I thought it looked really good. I started to paint over it and it was coming out good. Painting words really small with paint brush is harder than you would think. I really did underestimate how long this bench would take. We have put a lot of effort into it so far and it is coming out great! We are continuing to take our time painting the little details because we want it to be perfect! Tomorrow we are working on doing the legs of the bench and painting the design we have in mind!

Today we worked on touching up the little things on our bench. I fixed the part of the tree with the quote on it that got messed up. Mack fixed the top of the bench that we rearranged to have a proctor quote on it. Katelyn went over all the marks on the bench that were covered in different colors with white to make it look more clean. Fixing the marks by the tree that got messed up was a little challenging because it wouldn't blend in all the way with the rest of the white bench. I had to scrub off the black completely and then paint white all over again. After we made these tough ups we started going over everything again to make it look neater! Now we are moving onto finishing up the bench and will be adding on the final touches on it soon!

On Thursday we just continued to do what we've been doing. Around my tree design I wrote a quote that goes along with the symbol of a tree. I messed up on writing the quote in black so I had to redo it. Whenever we mess up on something it takes so long to redo. You have to take of the paint and then paint over it 3 different times with white. It takes forever to dry and is extremely frustrating. Painting the bench was for sure harder than we all thought it would be. Including all the details and images we chose to has been challenging, but also really fun. Tomorrow we are going to start by fixing what we messed up on today. We are at 24 hours.

Today consisted of painting all of our outlines and designs. We went over all the bubble letters again and perfected the edges of the letters. We painted over the the arms of the bench that we wrote the zip code of Andover on and Andover, Nh, in green to have more Proctor colors. We decided to change up the top of the bench and write proctor's motto on the top instead of our names. We put that in a different location. We started to paint the quotes but realized that the brushes we had were to big. First thing we are doing tomorrow is getting a thinner brush so that we can paint the quotes and make it neater!

On Tuesday we started our day by getting breakfast and working out at school. When we started working on our bench we went over all the designs and writing we did with another coat of paint so it comes out better when we're finished. We began to paint the tree and the hornet. I painted the tree on the side corner of the bench and Mack painted the hornet. We are starting to paint the quotes on Wednesday and add on more designs. We want the bench to be as colorful as possible!! We are up to 18 hours.

Today we made a lot of progress. We started out by making the finishing touches in our outlines and our designs. We wanted to make the bench to have more "proctor" things incorporated in it so we decided to draw a hornet on one side and a tree on the other. I drew the tree and Mack drew the hornet. After this we decided our outlines and designs are good so we started painting the big capital letters that spell out "Kindness Bench" in different colors. It started to really look like the bench we were imagining! We're going to continue to paint it tomorrow and add on as we go!

This week was fun, exciting and something totally new. I love the idea of being able to take time out of my Proctor experience to leave something that means a lot to Katelyn, Mack and I. Our bench is a symbol for kindness and we have been working really hard on it. I wasn’t here on Tuesday or Wednesday because of what I explained in my past blog post and I made up for everything I missed; hours and work. When I got back and was able to begin work on the bench we started out on Thursday by painting the second coat. It takes a while to dry so we began to plan out our bench for the remaining time before practices in the afternoon. On Friday we went back to working on our plan for what we wanted to put on the bench. We came up with cool ideas to spread out different quotes that mean a lot to us, in different ways, all across the front of the bench. We want to incorporate Proctor colors into the bench and since it is already white, we thought we would put green stripes along side the quotes

On Monday-Tuesday, I was away with my Dad visiting a college, Hobart and William Smith. I wasn't able to contribute to our senior project because I was gone. While I was at William Smith, I toured around the campus and met many new people. It was for sure the most beautiful campus I had ever been on. My dad and I stayed in a hotel on Monday night so that I could have more time at the school. It is a 6 hour drive so it made sense to stay over. On Tuesday night we didn't get back until late and I had to make my decision on where I was going to college so I drove back up Wednesday morning which is why I missed that day of working on the bench also. I have mad up for what I missed and the hours I missed!

Today we got a lot accomplished. In order to start painting the bench we had to plan everything out; the design, colors, writing, etc. We have to use acrylic paint on the bench because of the specific type of wood. We started by planning out the quotes and sayings we want and where we want them to go. Then we started planning the rest of the bench. We came up with the words we want to put to cover the bench, neatly, and the designs. We messed up a lot which was good because it led us to new ideas on how we want the outcome of the bench to look. Every, we got a lot done and we are continuing to plan out what we do so we can hit the 50 hour mark.

Today was a good day. Since I missed the first two days of painting the bench, I helped catch up on finishing the top coat. Katelyn and Mack got the white paint on Tuesday and Wednesday and painted the first coat of white. They had to leave it to try for 24 hours so today we all painted the second coat and covered all the nooks and crannies that were originally missed. We have to leave the paint to dry for another 24 hours so we can start the design. We are going to start at the thrift shop on Monday!