Last day...

Today was my last day on Senior Project. I went out and got the simple nylon string I needed for my wooden stick today in Concord, and then came back and set out to finishing the weaving of my stick. Again, this is much harder than it appears and sounds. I sat down and studied my mother's weaving on her stick head and for the longest time could not figure out where to begin. However, as I picked a place and started, it started to come more naturally and fluently (the first part that is...). Then, once the first string was strung, I had to figure out the next and thread the string somehow through the tight holes from the string before. As long as this took, I finally finished and the weaving looked almost the same as my mother's stick (somewhat...). My stick was finally complete, and I took it out to throw around a little at our dorm dinner. It was very difficult at first to throw and catch with the wooden stick, but I had been practicing with my mother's stick. It was bizarre, but so satisfying to be able to play with my wooden stick that I had just spent that past week and a half building from scratch. I am sad that senior project is over, but excited I was able to finish my stick and slide show. I am anxious to show my senior project and see everyone else's Thursday afternoon.

Weaving

I always thought the weaving of my stick head would be the easiest part of my stick. Alas, I was quite wrong. First, I soaked the rawhide in water for a while until it became lenient and alterable. Once it was soaked, I thread it through the holes for the side wall and doubled it up and coiled it until it was a sturdy sidewall. Once it hardened, it really hardened and became taught and tight so it is almost and actual wall. From the looks of it, it looks like it will definitely keep the ball in the weaving. After the sidewall dried and hardened, I took the Latigo (substitution for the leather shooting strings) strips and made four taught strings in the middle of the head. I had to replicate the exact way the strings were strung by using my mother's stick as a model. This was very hard and took a very long time. Tomorrow I will go to Concord to get the rest of my strings and finish my weaving tomorrow.

Weekly Reflection #2

This week was my first time in the wood shop besides when giving tours. First, Greg and George helped me strip the wood into strips with a sharp piece of machinery that I did not feel comfortable handling myself. Even though I was not able to do the actual cutting and sawing of the wood, it was cool and interesting to watch and learn from a safe distance how to do it. I had no idea how strong the glue was, but when we glued the strips of wood together and clamped it to the form to shape it, sure enough it stayed together and appeared to be very durable. When I started chipping away with the spoke shave, the wood stayed together perfectly and you could hardly tell the stick was made from strips of wood glued together. After I left it out to dry, I took it out of the form and it was miraculously a wooden shaft. I could shape it with the spoke shave, and then when it was all shaped, I spent hours sanding it to finish the shaping and making it smooth. When all of that work was done, I drilled the holes where they needed to be for the weaving. Then, I finished it off by continuously spraying it with finish to make it presentable and shiny. George and Greg helped me navigate my way through the wood shop and using the hand tools. All of this was so new and interesting to me.

This week was probably the most productive and rewarding for me. I learned how to use the power drill, spoke shaver, clamps, a form, saws, and more. I loved working in the wood shop, despite the infection in my lungs I got from the dust. My sickness was a minor set back, but I persevered and still worked through it. Successfully, my stick is fully formed and ready to start weaving. I hope to still have time to learn how to string a modern day girl’s stick, but if I do not, I have had a very successful senior project and learned a lot this week.

Finishing my Stick

Today was my last day in the wood shop. After hours of sanding last night and this morning, I spent the rest of the day measuring where the holes for my strings were going to go, and then drilling the holes as well. After drilling my holes, I had to spend another hour sanding the stick again, because of the shards of wood that were messed up from the drilling. When everything was perfectly shaped, smooth, and ready, I took the stick upstairs and sprayed it with the finish. I put 2 coats on either side and left it to dry. Later, I will start the weaving with the rawhide i have been soaking for two days and the leather.

Shaping the Stick

Despite feeling like death this morning and having a very hard time getting out of bed, I persevered and got up to work diligently on my stick. I started out using the hand tools to shape my stick that is more resembling a cane rather than a stick at this point. I rounded the shaft and replicated my mother's wooden stick for the head. I made it so it will be easy to scoop the ball and the side wall is somewhat curved for maximum release. After shaving the excess wood off, I sanded the whole stick to make it smooth and presentable. I will finalize the sanding and put the finish on tomorrow as I will also drill holes in it and start the weaving with George. I soaked the rawhide in warm water all day so it will be pliable for tomorrow.

Slow Day...

Today started out with waking up and working a little more on my movie. It's still not done, but with a little more extra time, it will hopefully be completed by Monday. I had class and then because it was a short day, I had to race to lunch and get on the bus to compete in my last high school lacrosse game. On the way back I started feeling very nauseated and when I got back to my room I passed out because I felt so sick. I was supposed to go work on my stick at 7 for a few hours, but I felt so sick, I was not able to work on it too much today. I will just have to make up the hours laster this week and Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Woodshop Work

Today's events started out a little hectic when I got in my car to go get my materials in Chelmsford and realized that I had left my credit card and license at a Mcdonald's an hour and a half away. Luckily, with a little research I found that Gregor had picked up my wallet and kept it safe (thanks Gregor). So with a late start, I raced down to Tandy's Leather in Chelmsford, Mass. There, I talked with the owner about which materials would be best and most accurate for my replicated Indigenous stick. Surprisingly, he was very knowledgeable on the subject and helped me pick out stripped rawhide, leather, and latigo lace for the weaving of my stick head. We chatted for a while about other things that originated from the Native American culture and he showed me various types of shaped objects such as moccasins, spoons, bowls, cases for various different things, etc. It was very interesting to see all of these intricate artifacts and be able to appreciate how Native Americans used there resources.

After I got back, I was able to spend a few hours on shaping my stick. I was able to take it out of the form and clamps and amazingly it had stayed perfectly shaped. Greg then shaved the excess glue off and made the sides smooth and even with a very scary blade. I then made my lines on my stick where I was going to grind the wood and make the stick strategically shaped for the game of lacrosse. It was scary to use the grinder at first, but then, as I got the hang of it, it was hard to stop and I just wanted to do it more and more. After today, my stick is mostly shaped and ground. However, I still have a lot of finishing touches to do before I start my weaving on the head. Tomorrow I will finish that up and hopefully start the weaving on the stick.

Today was the first day of my wooden lacrosse stick making. Personally it was my most exciting day because this is what I picked my senior project to do in the first place. I have only ever been in the wood shop while giving tours, so when I walked in this morning during george's E block class, I did not know where to begin. Greg helped a lot by cutting the strips of wood I would need later to make the base of the stick. The reason we need to use strips of wood and not just cut a block is because you can bend and shape a bundle of sticks without the wood peeling or breaking. After that, I could not be in the wood shop alone, because I did not know what I was doing and George and Greg could not be present after 9:30 AM. So, I spent the rest of the morning researching where I could buy rawhide and leather strips to make the weaving for the head. Then, at 1 I went back into the wood shop and George and I glued the strips together and bent the wood to the shape of the form Greg had made. We used clamps to secure the wood to the form so it would dry in that position. This process had to be quick so we could shape the wood before the glue dried.

Here's a picture of the form and the wooden strips:

Weekly Reflection #1

I learned a lot of new skills this week that I never would have had a chance to learn if it hadn’t been for the senior project opportunity. Due to some set backs with the creation of the stick and a doubtful expectation of how long the stick would take, I set my mind this week to creating a short documentary on the evolution of lacrosse. Through this, I was able to learn valuable skills in iMovie while also learning all about the origination and evolution of lacrosse.

Being a dedicated lacrosse player and a huge fan of everything about lacrosse, I loved learning about how this game that I love so much originated. Through the research, I found that the game of lacrosse came from Native Americans. To find out more about the Indigenous people, I made a trip to the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum. This was probably my favorite thing this week. I was able to learn so much about the culture of Indigenous people and the museum surprisingly had two lacrosse sticks and the tour guides had a lot of interesting, helpful information about the game. Apparently, the game used to be used as practice for war, as well as being a pleasure and leisure game. The only experience I have had with iMovie is simple slide shows. This week has given me the tools and skills to create an advanced movie using iMovie which I have always desired.

This week is dedicated to making my wooden lacrosse stick, stringing and weaving it with leather and rawhide. Also, I hope to learn how to string a boys and girls lacrosse stick as that is a skill I have always desired to acquire. I hope to get skills in working in the wood shop (of which I have none) and learn how to safely maneuver the hand tools in woodworking. I am excited to make my stick this week and I think I will benefit a lot from this project.

End of Week 1

Today was the last day of week 1 and I am almost finished with my movie. Today was all about putting everything together and getting my last bit of research. I found some great pictures of olden day lacrosse and tried to find clips, but only found some good modern day clips. I am hoping to even interview Swayze or some players that used to play in the 40's-90's that can give me a few quotes on how it has evolved and how the game used to be played. Today I basically did the same thing as every other day working on the movie, but I spent the longest time today and I think, movie wise, this was the most productive day.

I am eager to start work on my lacrosse stick next week and get in the woodshop to start working with George.

The Little Brother of War

Today I was able to go spend about 4 hours at the Mt Kearsarge Indian Museum (Founded 1991) in Warner, NH. I arrived and surprisingly was one of the only people there as it just reopened for the season 6 days ago. Being one of the few there, I was able to have a personal tour of the exhibits and able to ask various questions. The tour started with a film on the history of the museum and the museum founder, Bud Thompson. At first it was a little slow, but it caught my attention when he mentioned his influence and inspiration arising from Chief Sachum SilverStar of the Pequot Indians in Connecticut. I felt a personal connection with this bit of information because I am from the town in Connecticut that the Pequot tribe originated from. I learned from the video that the Native American Tribes played the game of lacrosse to prepare for war and battle. The tour not only brought knowledge of the game and equipment used, but it was intriguing being able to understand and learn about the background and culture of the Native Americans who started the game. In the museum, they had 3 different lacrosse sticks. When we came upon the sticks, I was able to ask questions like "how long are the sticks?" "What are the sticks made of?" "Were there different variations or one commonly used stick?" and get answers, first-hand. After the tour of the museum, I was able to sit down and talk with one of the tour guides and learn her experience with the game of lacrosse. She told me that they often called the game "The little brother of war." It was a man's game and it was played through many villages on average 20 miles apart. That is almost the equivalent of Warner to Concord. After our talk, she lead me to the back of the museum where I was able to view an abundance of books in their own personal library. It was interesting to learn how important the game was to the tribes. I learned that the game was not so much played for pleasure and sport, as it is now, but instead as a lifestyle, and a gateway to manhood.

The Indian museum was a trip I needed to make not only to find more about the game of lacrosse and its history, but the culture and reasoning behind its origin. I was happy to find just that. I have a new appreciation for life itself and the significance of everything organic we use today and simplicity. The quote plastered in the entrance of the museum pretty much represents the Native American lifestyle.

"Every part of the earth is sacred to my people... Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every light mist in the dark forest, every clearing... and every winged creature is sacred to my people. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The fragrant flowers are our sisters; the deer and mighty eagle are our brothers; the rocky peak, the fertile meadows, all things are connected like the blood that unites a family."

-Chief Seattle 1887

The Museum was also purposely shaped in a circle. Thompson's wife did this to demonstrate how they viewed life. There was no straight path and there was the element of surprise. You never know what is around the corner, so you must live in the present; not the future, not the past. They believed in the circle of life and that life should just keep going in the present. The shape of the circle is sacred to Indigenous people and fitting for the museum.

Tomorrow it is back to working on my movie. But, I now have a strong appreciation for the Native American lifestyle and I have learned much more about the emotional value lacrosse had for Indigenous people. Now seeing multiple wooden lacrosse sticks, I am eager to begin working on my very own for the majority of next week. I hope to maybe go back to the Indian museum and talk with Bud Thompson at some point in my life.

The Modern Game

It is so interesting learning about the origin of the game I love so much while being able to play the modern game as well. Today was the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team's last home game, and to be honest was pretty emotional for the seniors. I started my day with, yet again, more research on the history of lacrosse. I found out there were multiple variations of the game played by the different tribes of Native Americans. One, played with two sticks and the more violent of the types, and another, the variation that is most like the modern game, played with a single, 3 foot stick were the most common of the games.

Being the seniors last home game, and being a captain and senior myself, I had a lot of preparation to do before the game, but I set aside a good 3 hours to work thoroughly on my movie and research. My mother also came up today for the game and graciously brought her wooden stick from high school and college for me to use as a model. I had the opportunity to throw around a bit with the stick after the game and got a good feel of what I am going to be making next week. Also, it was so cool to throw and catch with the wooden stick and my modern day stick and get an idea of the evolution of the sticks. Overall it was a productive day for my movie and I cannot wait to learn more about the Native American culture that started the game of lacrosse tomorrow at the Mt Kearsarge Indian Museum.

iMovie

Today was all about my movie. I have made simple, elementary movies on imovie before, but never had to put effort or learn about the in depth concepts of imovie. I spent hours today researching and figuring out how to convert clips from the web to a format that would fit in imovie, finding clips and images from the web, and learning the ins and outs of imovie. I found an interesting 1 hour video of a seminar conducted by the Syracuse Peace Council of the "Creator's game" of lacrosse. There was a lot of interesting facts and stories of the Indigenous history of lacrosse. I hope to be able to contact one of the men that was part of the talk and be able to get an interview or ask some more questions that will aid my understanding of the game. I learned there is still a large portion of the tactics and strategies used from Indigenous lacrosse in today's modern day game as well.
Tomorrow and Friday will be my last couple of days to be able to work on my movie as I intend to go to the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum on Thursday and get in touch with the culture that began the game of lacrosse and see if there is anyone there I can speak with that may be able to aid my knowledge. Friday I will also be getting my strings and materials for my lacrosse sticks. I have also been calling companies that still make wooden lacrosse sticks to get some more perspectives and tips on prices, time management, and materials.

Here is a short clip from the "creator's game" video I found:

First Day Research

I have always loved the game of lacrosse and been intrigued by the lengthy history and evolution of the game. Since I am playing on the varsity lacrosse team this Spring, I figured what a perfect time and opportunity this would be to learn more about not only the evolution of the game, but the equipment and sticks as well. This morning I faced a minor set back with my project by finding out to make a wooden lacrosse stick, the wood needs to be cut and left out to dry for 10 months. Because of an apparent time crunch, I have altered my goal of making a wooden crosse from scratch to shaping, stringing, and weaving a blank stick that I will be soon purchasing from Tuskewe Krafts in Sanborn, NY. In addition, I will be learning the most common way of stringing a modern day lacrosse stick so I will have the knowledge and skill to compare and contrast the two crosses.
I will also be spending this week researching and making a short documentary on the evolution of lacrosse.
I have spent 2 hours today researching the history and origin of indigenous lacrosse and organizing for my clip. I also spent an hour figuring out where and how I am going to obtain the materials for my sticks and the blank. I have called and compared prices for the materials needed, such as raw hide, the blank, and string for the modern lacrosse stick at various companies. I hope to go to the stores at some point and find the best prices and makes.
In the next week I hope to be making a trip to the Kearsarge Native American Museum to learn more about the indigenous game and Native American culture that created the game of lacrosse.