PS范文杜克大学
Shadow-Box Stick Art
写PS时，很多人都在纠结“我要写多牛的项目、多强的履历”，但这篇杜克大学的文书告诉我们——有时候，一根树枝就能撑起整篇文书的灵魂✨。
1、兴趣起源与自然感知
It was a crisp fall morning. In the distance, the outlines of trees resembled people. Some were tall, slender, brown bodies; some with sparse green-yellow clothes, some naked, some with arms spread, some folded, some heads straight, and some hidden. I got out of the bed, stepped outside, and to my amazement, discovered these beautiful sticks laying in the grass. To most, they are just sticks, but to me, they were pieces of art.
这是一个秋高气爽的早晨。远处，树木的轮廓像极了人。有的身材高大、纤细、棕色的身体；有的穿着稀疏的绿黄色衣服，有的赤身裸体，有的张开双臂，有的合十，有的昂首挺胸，有的若隐若现。我下了床，走到外面，惊奇地发现草地上躺着这些美丽的木棍。对大多数人来说，它们只是树枝，但对我来说，它们是艺术品。
As I went to pick one of the sticks up, I recognized the brilliance of this simple object that had fallen from those beautiful people-like trees. This small yet remarkable brown stick that fell from the branches of the tree was part of nature's way to renew life for the coming spring. On that brisk fall day, I picked up every stick that fell in the small backyard of my house and brought them inside. My mother was annoyed and immediately asked why I was bringing garbage into the house. But that didn't stop me. I had an idea, and I knew these sticks that she saw as garbage could be turned into something beautiful.
当我去捡起一根树枝时，我发现了这根从美丽的人形树上掉落的简单物体的光彩。这根从树枝上掉落的棕色小木棍是大自然为即将到来的春天更新生命的一部分。在那个秋高气爽的日子里，我在家里的小后院捡起了每一根掉落的木棍，并把它们带回了家。母亲很生气，马上问我为什么要把垃圾带进屋。但这并没有阻止我。我有了一个想法，我知道这些被她视为垃圾的树枝可以变成美丽的东西。
2、创作探索与艺术实践
I took those sticks into my room and placed them on my desk. I then took a small brush to gently remove the dirt and some of the bark that had started to decay. They were even more beautiful than I had first imagined. The next day, I asked my father to pick up a 3x4 shadow box frame at the local store and waited in anticipation until he arrived home. When I got that frame in my hands, I immediately started working on my computer desk, which I turned into a makeshift studio. As I carefully observed, no two sticks were alike, even though some fell from the same tree. The vivid image detailing the randomness of nature was sitting on my table. As I put sticks together in different patterns, I saw various shapes and I quickly recognized that I could use nature to create art. I opened the frame and began assembling the sticks in patterns that made sense to me. I closed the back of the frame, locked it, and felt my heart pumping to turn it over and see what I created. When I did it was beautiful! I had taken something that would typically be discarded and turned it into something worthy of being displayed on a wall – I had created art. That first piece of art still sits next to my bed, though I have created more shadow-box stick art since then. Some have been given as gifts to friends, but more importantly, some have been sold for a loftier goal.
我把这些树枝拿进房间，放在书桌上。然后，我用小刷子轻轻地刷去泥土和一些已经开始腐烂的树皮。它们比我最初想象的还要漂亮。第二天，我让父亲去当地商店买了一个 3x4 的影框，满怀期待地等着他回家。拿到影框后，我立即开始在电脑桌上创作，电脑桌成了我的临时工作室。我仔细观察，尽管有些树枝是从同一棵树上掉下来的，但没有两根树枝是相同的。这幅生动的作品就摆在我的桌子上，详细描述了大自然的随机性。
当我把树枝拼成不同的图案时，我看到了各种形状，我很快意识到我可以利用大自然来创造艺术。我打开画框，开始把树枝拼成我认为有意义的图案。我合上画框的背面，把它锁上，心怦怦直跳，想把它翻过来看看我创造了什么。翻开一看，真是美极了！我把通常会被丢弃的东西变成了值得挂在墙上的东西--我创造了艺术。第一件作品现在还挂在我的床边，不过从那以后，我又创作了更多的影箱贴画。有些作为礼物送给了朋友，但更重要的是，有些已经出售，以实现更高的目标。
3、成果分享与社会价值
The funds raised from selling these shadow boxes help to support a charity I have created. The charity is called Redacted, an umbrella 501(c) organization. Working in conjunction with Redacted Charity, a local non-profit, we are providing safe drinking water to women and children in developing, and underdeveloped countries. Being a young and impressionable woman spending many of my family vacations residing in my grandparent’s village, I know first-hand the struggle these women face daily to fetch basic clean drinking water for their families. Similar to how I gathered sticks to make art, I plan to continue gathering funds and resources to create change in these communities with need. Every autumn and beyond.
出售这些影盒所筹得的资金将用于支持我创建的一个慈善机构。该慈善机构名为 Redacted，是一个 501(c) 伞式组织。我们与 Redacted Charity（一家本地非营利组织）合作，为发展中国家和欠发达国家的妇女和儿童提供安全饮用水。作为一名年轻而易受影响的女性，我的许多家庭假期都是在祖父母的村子里度过的。就像我收集树枝制作艺术品一样，我计划继续收集资金和资源，为这些有需要的社区带来改变。每年秋天及以后。
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