Alyssa Wickham Mrs.

Wilhelmus AP English Literature 9 April 2014 When it came time for my senior project, I already knew what I wanted to do. Every year since its inaugural event, I had wanted to participate in the Aurora Midwest Gingerbread Competition. The competition combined two of my favorite activities, serving others and baking. In all the previous years I had Santa Switch setup for Student Council and I, as the co-chair, had to be there. This year though, Santa Switch was pushed back a year which left Saturday the seventh of December open on my calendar. Once it came time to get the ball rolling for senior projects, I promptly signed up for the competition. I couldnt have been any more ecstatic. I began right then on planning my house design right away. While seemingly simplistic on the outside, the project entailed a great deal of work. For the competition I had to have my gingerbread already baked and could have prior detail work already completed. The competition event itself lasted all of the Saturday, but we would be working for six hours to set up our houses and completing the decorating. My project entailed more than just the day of the event though, prior to the event I had to design a house, bake my pieces, decorate the pieces, and create sculptures and other details for the house. Prior to the event, I had experiences in baking and decorating. Every day I work I typically bake several batches of items. Additionally, on Saturdays I help with decorating cakes. These experiences helped me in my project; however, I had never baked gingerbread and I also only create flat images with fondant and had never really done any sculpting with fondant. Entering the competition really grabbed my interest because it would challenge me to further my skills I

already had developed from working and my passion for baking. Also, I knew it would be an exciting event where I could interact with people and actually see people enjoying my art. With my job I really dont get to see the response to what I have created and I found that to be a part of the competition I was really looking forward to. Before I began any work on my project, I started researching. At first I searched Pinterest for gingerbread houses that others have made. From seeing other peoples work, I gained inspiration and ideas for my own. Afterwards I moved on to sites where the authors themselves have competed in large gingerbread competitions. I was looking for tips to help me when it came for competition day and I analyzed various large-scale plans that have been published on the web. My next step in research was to talk to my mentor. We discussed the various recipes for gingerbread, what kind of frosting would work well for what part of my project, and the overall design and appeal to the judges. After meeting with her, I continued my research into how to design my own gingerbread house. Later on in the project I spent a great deal of time researching gingerbread construction techniques and sculpting basics. Through my research I was able to find out a great deal of information and ideas for my project. From my mentor I found my recipes for gingerbread, royal icing, fondant, and gumpaste. My research also led me to a site called Wicked Goodies that was a great inspiration for my house. Additionally, research helped me to learn techniques to make my gingerbread stronger through tricks like the elimination of butter and greater ratio of molasses. As I mentioned before, my mentor played a key role in the research and planning process of my house. She gave me a materials list to use and recipes for my project. She also had ideas for my house design and encouraged me to go above my original house plan. Had the

gingerbread competition not been cancelled, my mentor would have also been a resource at the competition and helped me with tips throughout the competition day. My project entailed numerous steps in the process to make everything to go together well. I began with the research, but then moved on to using those ideas and tips I found in research to create a house plan and design. I began with the fondant work because it was the part of the project that would last the longest. I then began the baking of the gingerbread in late November so I would be prepared, but also so that it would not become stale and fragile. The last step of my project was the construction of the house and putting all the sculpted pieces in the house. My first step was to do a great deal of research as mentioned in previous paragraphs. Once I had done several hours of research, I constructed a paper model of the house I thought I would be making. After talking with my mentor, I decided to scrap my first model and come up with a completely original design for my house. Creating my own house design was a great part of what I learned from my project. I had to calculate the height of walls which was especially complicated when it came to my two story building with the clock tower. In addition to just picking a height for the walls, I had to come up with the scale my figures would be in relation. I did not want to have to make microscopic figures to place in the house so it was a step I felt was really important. After I figured the scale and wall height out, I had to calculate the height the tower could be and at what angle the roof slant under the tower could be. When I had my final design down I took it to my mentor and we looked at the various parts of it. One concern we had was if the slanted square roof on top of the two story building would support the clock tower and our other great concern was how I would add a second floor to the two story building. We decided to put hidden supports in the roof under the clock tower and that it would be best if I

made two separate stories for the building and then stacked them at the competition to make one two story building. After all the initial planning and size calculations were done, I began the actual work. My first step was to mix up fondant from my mentors recipe and to make a batch of gumpaste too. My mentor agreed that a mix of half fondant and half gumpaste would be the best mix for my figures as the gumpaste would make it dry more like porcelain and the fondant made it more moldable and less likely to crack. My first attempt at sculpting was on the elves. I created a prototype elf, decided what would make the production quicker and more stable, and lastly went to produce a dozen elves in an assembly line like fashion. Throughout this process I learned more about sculpting with fondant and gumpaste mostly through trial and error. After leaving a batch not wrapped well enough, I had to start a new batch of fondant and gumpaste so that I could continue. Additionally, I had some elves that had bodies that cracked, colors that bled, and limbs that were unproportional. I was able to rectify some of the mishaps by cleverly placing hair or hats and also I just scrapped some after the realization I had more than enough elves. My second venture in the sculpting part of my project were the reindeer. Making the reindeer was tedious; the elves tiny hands had nothing on the reindeers antlers. Between family members breaking off antlers to them falling off the head, I spent more time fixing antlers than I did on sculpting the whole rest of their bodies. I never really found a solution to the antler problem, some of the deer ended up with horns because I gave up on fixing their full set of antlers. Finally after assembly line sculpting elves and reindeer I was excited to make the one and only Santa. I really had no inspiration for making santa like I did the whole rest of the figures. I went with my gut and he actually ended up being my favorite part. Sometimes I pick him up off his balcony and just admire him because from his button nose to his golden belt fastner he is just perfect! My

only problem with Santa is that he was a heavy figurine and he liked to lean. A few days propped up by several mason jars helped keep him in the upright position. The last sculpting to be done were the toys for the elf workshops. The toys were quite simple after the other figures and even the more difficult parts, like zebra stripes, I found ways to make easier, I painted on the stripes. Some of my biggest problems overall with the sculpting were the fuzzies that kept appearing on my sculptures in addition to the heads and limbs that did not want to stay in place. I found that wiping my hands on my jeans and any cloth was the source of the fuzzies and that spaghetti noodles were great bones to hold heads, arms, and legs in place. Overall, I was pleased with the sculptures as it was my first venture in sculpting and because sugar is not exactly the easiest medium to work with. When it came to the gingerbread part of my project, most aspects worked out smoothly. I had issues at first with pieces coming out of the oven a different size that I had cut them to before they went in the oven. I learned that I could recut the pieces once they were done baking as long as I wore a pair of gloves to hold down the template so that I would not burn myself. Once the pieces were done baking and had cooled off, I frosted the outside with royal icing so that the buildings would be colored. This process was relatively simple, but I ran into issues when I frosted a piece the wrong color, broke a few pieces, and had frosting that was too runny or bubble. Most of my problems in this step were remedied by just starting over and rebaking the messed up piece. Construction of the houses was the fun part, not only was it a mark that competition was gearing up and that my project was almost completed, but it was fun to see how all my work came together to create one piece. Construction was completed about half before the competition. After I found out that the competition was cancelled I began work on construction

the other half that I had saved for competition. Putting the pieces together was simple where I had done my math correctly. In my octagon shed, I had measured all the pieces right and even though it had the most angles and edges, the pieces fit together perfectly. The two story building was where I ran into the most issues. I had accounted for the two feet of height and had added the walls and roof heights, but I failed to include the height of the floors and the building ended up an inch too high. This was probably the most nerve wracking part of the project as it was about 8 oclock the night before the competition and I had stacked the pieces together to see how awesome the house was and then realized I was above the height limit. Luckily my molassesy gingerbread was easily bendable and therefore didnt break when I cut a little over an inch of the clock tower off to account for the extra height. From this experience I learned a little more about construction and architecture. I definitely learned to leave a little extra wiggle room for unexpected height also. Throughout the whole project, I learned many things. One of my big issues that I spent a lot of time on was proportionality. Not many people will look at my project and think about if everything looks proportional, but I knew if it turned out unproportional people would be able to notice. What made the proportionality especially difficult was trying to coordinate the size of Santa and the elves in relation to the walls, the reindeer, the toys, and more. I learned one of the best ways to figure out proportionality for real life items was by measuring them and using fractions to make them model size. For items like reindeer I that I couldnt measure, I used my best judgement on size. Mr Siau had taught me the importance of proportionality, but through this project I was able to learn hands on how to find proportionality within a piece. Perhaps the most impactful lesson I learned throughout this project was how to deal with such a let down and view it from a new, more positive, perspective. Despite reassurance that the

competition would go on in light of the extreme weather predicted unless a state of emergency was declared, at nine oclock the night before the competition I found out it was cancelled. Since it was the night before the competition I had already completed all the baking and decorating and had even packed for the next morning. I had put hours upon hours into planning and carrying out all the plans that I felt shattered when it was cancelled. It didnt help that it was nine oclock at night and when I read the email I had just spent hours attaching elf hands. I was not sure what the cancellation meant for my senior project and I was worried with all the hours I put it would go to waste since I did not get to complete the big event. I remained a little hopeful that they would reschedule the competition, but I knew it was a big undertaking. They did end up doing a facebook competition, but they gave three days notice and those days I was in Indianapolis for our We the People competition. After the series of unfortunate events, I really did not even want to finish the house. This was probably the hardest part of my project. I had been so excited for every other step, but I knew not many people would end up getting to see it and the atmosphere the competition created was completely gone. Eventually I decided it was no use being disappointed, I told myself what happened happened. Finally I decided to unpack all the boxes and start putting everything together, I put on my Christmas carols and made some hot chocolate and then dove in. It was still a little bittersweet when I saw the house together and just how amazing it really was. Through this experience I learned to accept such a letdown and turn it into something positive. After I completed the house, I showed it to Auroras president and she told me I would have won first hands down. Knowing that was meant as a complement, but inside I was frustrated that the competition was cancelled. I had to learn to look at the competition from a new perspective. Even though the city never called a state of emergency, a great number of supporters probably would have not showed up. I had to keep in mind that it was

a fundraiser and that the lack of attendees could cause a smaller income for Aurora. The whole reason for the competition was to bring in money for Aurora and realizing they would make more money if the competition was cancelled helped me overcome the frustration that the competition was cancelled. The cost of my project surprised me, in a good way. Somehow I hit the perfect sale at Schnucks where almost my entire shopping list was on special. The total ended up at 80 dollars. My original plan was to hopefully win back what I put into the competition and have more than enough left over to give to various charities. Time ended up being the most significant resource I put into the project. I spent hours upon hours sculpting, decorating, baking, and designing. The time put into the project from the beginning research to finished product was 67 hours. In the future this time can most likely be cut back since I now have experience and know the tricks and tips to make a simpler house more efficiently. Entering a gingerbread competition did not come with significant risks, but a risk I did take during my project was putting in time and money for a competition I didnt know if I was going to win in. While it was free for me to participate, I had to buy ingredients for the house, the base, and my mom also spent money on aprons for the competition and dum dums for spectators. In the end it can be considered a bad risk I took because the competition was cancelled and my goal of going to the competition was not achieved. If I could do anything differently, I would add more detail to some aspects of my project. I would have liked to add trees or shrubbery outside, I even bought ice cream cones to do so. Some of what I left out came down to the time I had to complete everything before the competition. If I were to do the competition again, I would start sculpting earlier as I have learned that the figures still look good even months after they were first made. I would also like

to redo walls that had frosting that was not perfect, but that again came down to time and resources. Additionally, I would also research a recipe for a floor that had less molasses and give to it so that it wouldnt break after a few months. Lastly, making the base of my project not a square would be something I would try to change as it seemed sharp and rigid and detracted from the overall design. This project was able to teach me many skills and habits that not only pertain to Gingerbread. In addition to learning the skills I discussed earlier, I was able to learn valuable traits like time management, organization, and remaining calm in unexpected situations. I also was able to learn many traits about myself. I learned that if I just try new skills, like sculpting, that are intimidating, I can still succeed. I learned that even if it does not end out well, I still feel satisfied that I gave it a try. The project was a stretch in that it was a huge time commitment that required me to learn several diverse skills, and that it expanded on every skill I had a foundation in. Coming into the project I knew I'd have to be organized, but I did not realize how organized I had to
be. At first I just began making pieces for the houses, but the. I realized I needed a system after I missdecorated a piece and began confusing the parts of different houses. The organizational challenges ended up building on my skills and stretching the beyond my original level. Another stretch I experienced was on my creativity. Before I began the project, I had always considered myself crafty and creative, but I typically work off inspiration from other people's works. With this project, my mentor and I myself pushed me further into making my work original and brainstorming my own ideas. Again, pushing myself creatively I was able to stretch my learning. Parts of my project like creating my own building plan, for example, helped me learn a significant amount about architecture and construction. My project in general expanded upon little skills I had and started to develop them further. With a future goal of becoming a Nurse Midwife and running my own practice, the little skills the project helped me to strengthen like my organizational skills and remaining calm when faced with tough situations will greatly aid me when it comes to my future career and in life in general.