For my Capstone project I designed and painted a mural on the formerly ugly wall on my block. When I heard of this project, I almost immediately knew what I would be doing. I’ve always liked art, but mostly small things like drawing and small paintings. I knew going into this that a mural would be tough work, and I wasn’t wrong. Getting the materials for this was also tough, because of the way I chose to go about it. I decided that I would not be buying paint for this, so all the paint used here was either trashpicked or something I already had. After the design was done, I started sketching out my work on the prepped wall. Then I painted it. Painting took the longest out of everything, and was definitely the hardest. But I did finish, and I am happy with the product. This mural includes a welcome to my neighborhood, “Francisville”, a map of the place, and some architecture you will see when you visit. I went in on what would be good for my community on this project, and I think I succeeded. Having completed this project, I know all the mistakes I made along the way, and have learned so much. For example, don’t mix oil based paint with acrylic paint because it will turn into sludge. But more importantly, doing something kind for your community is very important, and something everyone should try and do, no matter the size of the action.

Seen above is the completed mural that I designed and painted with all recycled (or trash picked) paint.

Hello, my name is Jasmine Young, and I am a current senior at SLA. Not many people know this, but I am a legacy my brother attended school here when Mr. Lehmann approached many families and asked them to give him a chance in his vision for a new school, resulting in my brother becoming a member of the first graduating class. I began the manufacture of alumni tiles, which instructors and former students can purchase to memorialize their time at SLA. I charged $50 for each tile, with the profits going back into the alumni fund. I was inspired by the desire to leave a legacy here and provide individuals with a physical representation of their accomplishments. SLA does not believe in ranking and making others feel excluded, hence there are no rewards for student achievements. This made me think of the tiles where you may write your name and graduation year so that students can look back and reflect on their time here.

“Song of The Heart” is a book that aims to teach students how to songwrite. The book features basic music theory, song analysis, my personal experiences, and writing prompts and tips to help students navigate the songwriting process. To create this book, I had to plan the chapters and their order, listen to and analyze songs, read sources, find images, and write everything comprehensibly. I spent time editing, creating the covers, planning the format, creating a template for song analysis, and structuring the information. All of my hours were spent creating an over 130-page book. Most of my ideas about how to create the book were run by my mentor, Mr. Speaks, to see if it would help. I also relied on what I thought would be helpful to think about as a songwriter.

Through creating this book, I learned about the history of the different genres I covered. Each section was prefaced with a summary of the historical background of the genre in America that contributed to its evolution through several decades. It helped me gain a clearer sense of the connections between different genres of music, despite how different they sound. I also learned a bit about how music theory can be applied to song analysis. After learning about music theory, specifically chord progressions, I noticed the same concepts in the songs I listened to. If I listened for long enough, I would also be able to hum the progressions.

Song of The Heart: A Guide To Songwriting https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GpTgKHfGaFufm11YPa2ISMoKYDML6OpX/view?usp=sharing