Stone Soup

I grabbed paper plates from my kitchen cupboard, a roll of scotch tape, a package of colored pencils, and a pair of scissors. The concept of "Stone Soup" was foreign before this past Tuesday's class. The one thing I knew was that I wouldn't be the only one faced with this task of creating something from nothing. My hopes for a successful project relied on the thoughts and awareness of my peers to bring objects and art supplies which can be manipulated at will.

I'll say this right now, my mentor and my group came through in the clutch with an outstanding idea which seemed to distinguish our creation with those of the other groups. Francois is his name. A shy guy known for a divine pallet of fine wine and the arts. His "Honest Abe" mentality allows him to be regarded as a man who knows what he's talking about without any doubt in the air. However, we find him on this bench, endlessly waiting for a date who never shows.

Each student in the group piled their materials and equipment together in order to derive any thought on possibly how to tackle this task. We used the process of 'looking' to visually identify which materials would prove the most useful. We had plenty of tools to create with, including several boxes which were perfect for Francois' chest, torso, and legs. With the addition of colored construction paper, we were able to create clothing for this naked man. After all, he is supposedly going on a date.

We also looked to the surrounding environment for assistance. We found several decently sized fallen limbs from the abundance of trees which were utilized for his arms and legs. Construction paper was also used for this shoes and wrapped around the sticks to resemble skin. The face was created using a paper plate, portions of an egg carton, wire, yarn, and an exaggerated top hat. He seemed to steal the show, as many students felt the urge to take a photograph with this lonely man, waiting for a date who never arrives.