A PERSONAL RESPONSE DEVELOPED FROM A LIVE BRIEF AND DIARY ESC WRITING
A continued project from Practice one, developing my sensory work to something which can help Secondary School students, bringing Art to help people
Monday 11th January - Start of Practice 2
Title of my brief:
Creating my own brief
I knew I didn't want to start a new brief but go off the work I have been doing already as I wanted to keep the sensory element going due to my teaching degree (Secondary Art and Design) I will be starting in September, as well as just wanting to experiment further with things I didn't get chance to do during practice 1. It was just a matter of how I could create my own brief that was doable and manageable in the time frame of 6 weeks that we have. Due to timing being so short for this project it's important I have a clear vision of what I want to create and why.
For a couple of hours, I just did these mind maps and thought about what I want to crate and what's pushing me to do it. After talking with my tutor and bouncing some ideas around I really liked the idea of bringing the Art into a secondary school, possibly in a quiet room or safe room in which a student who feels anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed can go in and be able to be secluded with a chance to control their emotions and calm down.
What I have talked about on my mindmap is how important it is to not overlook Secondary school children's mental health and well-being as those years are where you become a young adult and it's extremely important to support them however they feel. Due to it being an older age range I want to create more of a sensory art installation within the room as it's more engaging for older students rather than the sensory toys often used for young children. It feels more mature for them. This is something I want to carry on from Practice 1 as I did pieces which can be appreciated by people of all ages and even non lovers of Art.
Developing from Practice 1 - Creating a Sensory Art Installation Safe room for Secondary Schools
Finding the line between Art and Sensory Toys
Doing some research on some techniques and installations that include a sensory element and are doable during a pandemic.
I can see some of these techniques being appreciated by older children as they are more mature but still hold a sensory element which is the main two things to connect. it needs to be able to calm someone down and be interesting and encompassing and still taste-wise, modern, and mature.
I really loved some of these techniques as they're quite simple but so effective as a sensory element. I think light can be extremely relaxing and can help with feeling anxious. the examples I found give off a calming and peaceful vibe and just emotes quietness, which may be worth looking at, possibly bringing in some of my acetate technique from my pieces in practice 1 and really see how they work with light perception.
I have done some research on what some Sensory/quiet rooms look like in schools now. There is some play with light which I would like to look at.
Mostly, Sensory rooms adhere to children with autism and they can be brilliant in that sense, with this in mind I would like to create something that children with mental health issues can also be a part of.
With the space being a safe place I would like to implement a sort of privacy agreement, in the terms of not anyone being able to walk in at all times but more so a place where one student can take some time out in private and have their own time in the room. something that is closed off from the outside world, for escapism.
Now I will plan and see how I can create a medium between a safe room and an art installation to create a fresh and modern approach to a safe room that doesn't feel like its for younger children but for young adults to take some time for themselves.
Looking at colours that create calming feelings
Calming colours often lean towards pastels and muted colours. It includes lots of greens, blues and some may consider quite 'flat' colours. After speaking to my friend who has ADHD her advice was to keep in a muted colour range and not have too many colours going on as that can then trigger a sensory overload which is very common. She said some sensory rooms that include too many activities or bright colours can be overwhelming in itself, so the plan is to keep it simple in how I design the room and not necessarily have activities but just create a calming environment with my samples and small perhaps fidget like components but keeping it simple.
What type of room
I have been researching types of rooms or pods that can be used to spend time in. Due to the aim of keeping it simple I found some Inspiration from Japanese temples/houses, reading pods and modern architecture that uses light to its advantage. I like the pods but do prefer the idea of of a room with maybe dividers like in the Japanese temple/dividers (shoji screens) as i feel like the pods could be quite claustrophobic to someone who is feeling panicky.
What to put in the room
I want to keep it simple enough for the room that it isn't overhwleming but keep a calm atmosphere. I will be experimenting with some different samples to see what would look good in the room, I think playing around with light will be really interesting. Some things i will be trying out:
- sliding door design? play with light
- fabric sensory samples
- sensory printing experimentation
- printing designs to go on cushions and couches
I spent a lot of time planning and doing my project outline due to how short this project was.I felt it was important to do this so I can get everything done that I have envisions and have a clear path for the project.
Developing my Practice 1 prints
Prints to go on cushions and couches in room.
Prints by Ottographic
I will be doing some experimenting with collagragphs, photoshop and stamps etc. I want to establish some prints that can be on the glass surrounding the safe space
I enjoyed doing my prints for practice one and thought they were successful so would like to carry them through and develop them over practice 2. Ottographics is an artist I found who does screen print but with natural materials like myself. I loved the sporadic nature of these and how simple they are at the same time I especially love the printed flowers which are similar to my practice 1 prints I have been experimenting with. I would like to try some of this technique. Although with limited supplies I still plan to use some different and innovative ways to create some prints with my press.
Some printing techniques to try
Collagraphs
John Brunsdon
different pressures using cardboard under leaves to create darker and lighter tones
Monoprint
Sandra Pearce
Simple printing style inspired by Ottographics and Sandra Pearce. using oil-based ink and newsprint paper. ink rolled on sparsley to still capture some detail and outline of the natural material.
Collagraph experimentation
I did the one on the right first and liked how to cardboard on the print showed so did some simple cardboard prints, i think they have a possibility to become nice backgrounds or standalone patterns for part of the room when more developed colour wise.
some collagrpah experiments. cardboard and some fabric, netting and paper.
Deciding on specifics - Refining it
Word association
Doing some word association for sensory and what people will want to feel when in the room and what they need to hep with how they feel at the time.
Focussing on light
Whats the most important things to include - what is the most helpful to improve mood
- Light
light can be extremeley helpful in boosting mood, increased hours of sunlight heighten the brain's production of the mood-enhancing chemical serotonin. Studies have discovered that the more sunlight we are exposed to, the more serotonin we produce.
-Changing your focus
changing focus from what's overwhelming and taking yourself out the situation. as you cant fix a situation without stepping away and taking some time to think
- Relaxing your body
you become very tense when angry, anxious or overwhelmed, so going to sit somewhere comfy where your body can relax is often helpful
- Having a centering object
When you’re anxious or angry, so much of your energy is being spent on irrational thoughts. When you’re calm, find a “centering object” such as a small stuffed animal, a polished rock you keep in your pocket, or a locket you wear around your neck.
Light can be a huge part of how we feel, people genuinely feel happier when in the sun rather then a gloomy day, vitamin D can do a lot for our body and mental health. i think i would quite like to focus on playing around with light moving forward as it creates some really interesting emotions just looking at some of my research photos.
Inpsirations
A tokyo KinderGarten byt Tezuka architects promotes outside learning as they state it improves mood, as not being confined to a classroom allows the children to become used to the outside world and learn how to interact and control their emotions with other children
Joining these together
- Curved architecture
- Lighting with colours
- Calming environemt
- My own prints
Developing from my original idea i wanted to scale it down slightly to be able to just focus on a couple of things and not too manyas that's an important part of this short project.
I would like to create a couch area, and coloured glass with my own prints on them that will shine through on to the room, i have been inspired by my research i have done so far above and below. The reason for having coloured glass with my prints on is to gain the light as from my research it has come across as the most important thing for improving mood, and some schools that would like this room may be in urban areas with not a lot of nature around, the printed glass allows light to come in, but project natural images so you feel like you are truly isolated and away from the outside world to calm down from what the students may be experiencing.
I want to develop my 'our planet' prints for the glass as i had already began working on developing my acetate prints so it feels like a natural progression.
Ive always loved Gaudi and his achitecture, Ive always found it so unique and pretty. the way he uses curves and light is really inspiring and something which i have already been looking at for my safe room, the use of curves has been proven to give off more of a calming auroa as it takes our brain less time to process the shape then if it were square or rectangular.
This is close to the practice of 'feng shui'; an ancient Chinese concept of arranging furniture is a way that is plasing and health giving. curves can signal a lack of threat which is also why we tend to gravitate towards it more.
Another brain imaging study, conducted several years ago by Moshe Bar of Harvard Medical School, found that viewing objects with sharp elements–once again, square watches, pointy couches, and the like–activated the amygdala. That’s the part of the brain that processes fear.
I adore the 70s and am inpired with my clothes and own room decor by the iconic era, when thinking about curved architecture the classic 70s conversation pit came to mind, something that is sunk slightly in the ground and typically near natural light, they are naturally quite cosy which i feel is necessary for this room i like the idea of merging light and the conversation pit together and thing they could marry very well.
The seating
I did a sketch of the style of couch i think would be nice for the room, keeping it an open space i feel is important so the person in it doesn't feel smothered but free and have enough room. i sampled one of my references from my research for this.
Shape options for the
coloured printed glass
I would like to use this layout for the coloured glass as i felt it resembled raindrops which is a nice nod to nature and the prints that will be on them
Substitutes for acetate for my prints
As I am wanting to develop my prints from practice one I am looking for a more eco-friendly substitute to acetate which I can carry on this style with. as well as this I plan to use some lighter coloured inks to match the theme of my practice 2.
I have been researching some materials that I could print on that may be an alternative to just using acetate and developing from that.
- Stained glass slabs
- Clear acrylic from recycled plastic
- Tracing paper
- Old photo frame glass slabs
- Cellophane, is plastic but laid over glass slab print
- Second-hand tiles, coloured glass sheets
Selecting colour from my own images
I was already leaning towards the green and blues for my prints on the glass as they proved to be calming colours and leaned to the environmental theme i wanted to carry on from practice 1. I collected images i had of nature and landscapes that included the colour spectrum of blues and greens and samples colours to create a colour scheme.
I have also purchased some coloured inks to have an experiment with prints that aren't my usually style of solid black.
As well as this I have ordered some coloured cellophane and a thick glass slab to do some experimenting with so i am excited about trying these new resouces this week.
Some drawing from my own images focussing on colours
Experimentation Printing
I purchased some primary colour inks to be able to create some green and blue shades for my printing to go along with my colour scheme and images I have.
Playing around with textures and my new perspex sheet I bought to mimic how the prints would look on stained glass and how the shadows would come across.
Beginning to develop - what's next
- begin to think about how I can visualize them for the final product
- develop my nature prints ready to be put on my stained glass
- do some fabric experiments for cushions to be added to the couch and experiment visualising them
- come up with a visualization plan as such / research influences and how i will present my work
Experimenting with cushions shape and some colours.
Adding some pillows to the couch to hold
While doing my research I found that keeping it more on the simple was the way to go as having too much in the room could cause sensory overload. However, after a tutorial, I was thinking of adding cushions to the couch as something to hold/hug which I think will add an even more comforting element for the person using the room. I would like to create some with my own designs but my landscape designs that focus on colors rather than imagery as it will allow more texture to be on the cushions and won't be too much pattern with the stained glass as well.
I would like to go down a circular route as I have kept everything in this theme due to my research showing round and curved shapes help with calmness instead of sharp edges with can induce stress.
For example here are some prints I have been experimenting with, based on my own landscape images, I will be doing some experiments on fabric to create some pillows in some different styles
Thinking of how to Visualise
I have been looking at ways I can visualize my final work as I am creating something that doesn't already exist so visualizing I am finding quite hard, I have been having a look at some software in where I can design the room fully. Or even just drawing and adding photoshop elements, I'm going to do some research and show some influences for how i will create this
I have been creating some brushes from stained glass pieces to achieve that effect, as well as practicing my prints on the glass, although I am not using rectangular-shaped I was just playing around with the colours of this. I feel drawings the shapes by hand instead of in photoshop may be a better way to go as I can photoshop the prints on like on the left but the hand drawn glass will give a more textured and sketchy feel, which i like.
Going back to basics for visualisation
I found I was getting myself worried about how I would visualize this, then I thought about just simply drawing and creating a form of design board with pull-outs for more detailed sections to then add my prints and colours on photoshop of course.
I had a play around with doing some models and even though of doing that for the final outcome but decided it would be too time-consuming and I would be focussing on the wrong element, where the most important is how I use my prints and how I want to room to look like, drawing allows me to get this point across without me focussing on making models etc.
I will be looking at some inspirations for design boards and experiment with how to draw and organise it.
Researching Design Boards
I really like the idea of doing a design board for the final outcome/visualisation as it allows me to do some drawings elements and add my photoshop elements in, and would be perfect for a pitch fo schools that would like to include a sensory room within their building. It's a way for me to show all the elements of the rooms in a full picture as well as pulling bits away to show the detail and research that's gone into this project for me.
Things I will be including in the design boards:
- Sketches of the couch
- Sketches of the layout of the room
- Visualisations of cushions with my prints on
- My prints photoshopped on to the stained glass
- Colours of the stained glass
- Sketches of the stained glass segments and how they'll join together
- Colours of the couch and surrounding walls and floor
How to draw the stained glass
When thinking of drawings the staned glass i knew i needed something inbertween the pieces and a reference to go off, when thinking of glass architecture the Harpa concert hall in Iceland as well as the Louvre came to mind for their beautiful use of glass and light, although these have black to join the glass pieces together i want to steer away from darker colours so will most likely use a grey or even cream colour to outline the stained glass to keep it as neutral as possible with the stained glass being the main part of the room.
In my drawing i have already been experimenting with i loved how watercolour looked as the glass, due to it adding texture and matching the sketched nature of the drawings around it. I believe this is a more viable option then just blocking the colours out with paint blocks in photoshop and it can look quite harsh and 2D, watercolour also helps show how stained glass often have raises and bumps in to help distribute the light reflections and look more relaxing.
Harpa concert hall reykjavik Iceland
The Louvre Paric, France
Close up images of the concert hall in Iceland, they have sections of coloured glass which is the same as my plans for my sensory room, its really inspiring to see something so similar to mine as i have thought of the idea mentally i have yet to have seen something which shows it directly.
Cushion Development
As well as using one of my prints for the cushion I thought about pushing it a bit further and adding some embroidery details, still keeping it pretty simple so it's not overwhelming but still adding something that would be nice for touch. the first picture is of me experimenting with a few different yarns I have and what combinations would be simple enough to be effective but not overwhelming. i settled on the chord fabric and just a few strips of soft yarn with a zig-zag stitch to add some feel to it. I also experimented with the type of stitch while looking at my yarns and found the zig-zag was effective in feel and look.
While printing some fabric I did some prints just on cartridge paper. the top left and bottom left I absolutely love and will have a play around visualising them but I think that the fabric will offer more of a sensory aspect which is the overall most important part of this project.
Reaching out to schools and teachers
I sent my ideas off to a few teachers i know through my placement and connections i have to see how they would react to the idea. I received this email back from a teacher i know from Church Lorton school. The feedback from here was so positive and she loved my concept and idea, she has experience in working in these types of rooms and schools so this feedback was extremely valuable. there are a few things she suggested which i will definitely take on board for finishing my project off for example:
- placement of the couch
- having the stained class perhaps be a non breakable material in case a student feels angry as then it become dangerous which is a really good insight and not something i had thought about, so this will be a good option/change to have.
Visualisations - planning out design boards
I began drawings components of the design boards to bring the room to life, i focussed on each element and will be creating boards for the main sections these include:
-all the components
-the stained glass prints
-the stained glass colours
-the centering object
-the couch
-the safe/sensory room
The idea for the design boards is so there can be a closer look at each of the components and explanations as why each part matters so much, as ive done so much work and research on all of this i wanted to show that each part is thought out and there is a reason why each part is done how it is.
Cushion visualisation
I visualised a few of my prints on to the cushions but I felt the most successful one was the fabric samples as it added to the sensory feel but wasn't too overwhelming with its colour use, or fabric choices, it was also inspired by the lined from my own landscape drawings, a slight nod to this is the slight inclines on the fabric pieces indicating the hills in my drawings without it being too intense. I feel like this is the perfect balance between nice to touch and look at but not too overwhelming for someone with ADHD for example.
Final print development for stained glass
I love how these final prints came out I feel like I have evolved with how I print now and really value quality over quantity, which is what third year is about, really refining your craft and preparing for life after graduation.
i have achieved some lovely textures and I feel like light will shine beautifully through these when they are on the stained glass.
Pictures of the press and colour mixing
Final Design Boards
