Creative Project and Self-Reflection

For this project, I wanted to create something that was out of the ordinary. I figured that the obvious choice would have been to make something like a Keynote, but I wanted to challenge myself to be more creative. So, the idea came to make something that people could actually touch. At first, I was unsure of how to go about this. I considered making something out of clay but realized that this would be too time consuming. Finally, after watching a commercial, I came up with the idea to make a voodoo doll. I knew that this would well represent a theme from the novel and movie involving pain.

            After I figured out that I wanted to make a doll, I had to figure out what specific themes I wanted it to represent. The best choice seemed to be sin and punishment, which occurred through much of The Scarlet Letter and Juno. The toothpicks that I wanted to put in the doll could be labeled, each with a different type of sin present in the two works that we studied in class. When all of the sin-representing toothpicks were put together, it would show how more sin equals more pain. This then led me to another theme shown in both the movie and book, self-condition. I realized that the toothpicks on the doll could also represent how the aftermath of added sins can take its toll on a person, as the doll seemed more uncomfortable as more toothpicks were added. This was much like the characters in the book and movie getting increasingly uncomfortable as they committed more sin in the eyes of the elite.

At this point, it was time to start making the creative piece. Since I knew it would be impossible to find a real voodoo doll, I decided to make one myself. After seeing a sock monkey online, I instantly thought about making a sock doll, which I could easily stick toothpicks into. To do this, I gathered up the materials, followed an online reference, and carefully constructed the doll. Even though the process went smoothly, I was not pleased with the final appearance of the first two dolls that I created. I felt that the limbs were not proportionate to the head in the way that I had hoped. As a result, I created more dolls and selected my favorite. After this, I labeled a set of toothpicks (each with a different sin) and randomly stuck them in the doll, finally completing my goal.

Now looking back, I am most happy that the final doll came out the way it did. It is one of the most unique products that I have ever created. I was shocked to see that it actually did look like a voodoo doll when completed. In fact, I was so pleased with it that I actually preferred making the doll, as opposed to buying one. The reason is because since I made it, I could make every aspect of it (its size, colors…) the way that I wanted it to be. On the other hand, my least favorite part of this project was the fact that I did not get to utilize my class time as well as I could have. The reason is because I would keep my supplies at home for fear that I would leave them in school. It is my guess that if I had brought my materials to school, I could have taken advantage of school resources, like specialized paint. As such, I will do this the next time I have a creative project.