structures
After feedback from a one to one i decided to move away from making box rooms as this was becoming very limiting in the sense that it could only be a proposal for a space and nothing else. So moving forward i wanted to create structures (small scale) still thinking about colour texture line and creating a playful space. Though time consuming to wrap in the wool the 3 i made offer lots in terms of thinking about occupying a space to make it more playful or child like. They also offer good potential for maybe more 2D drawings and collage work. I could also see them with smaller things (text ) imbedded in the wool itself.
Again however, I became stuck and decided to focus more on making an object instead of a comfort space i wanted to create a comfort object. Something that would sooth and reflect this same colourful safe childish environment that i have been focusing on.
comfort objects
shifting focus to objects of comfort my first response was things like blankets and pillows.As well as this i started to incorporate and play around with knitting and crocheting as acts of creating something to comfort someone and warm someone else. the fact that these processes are also associated with women and crafts instead of art. Th rhythmic quality of knitting i also found really interesting. I think a lot of what i take comfort in this female energy and surrounding myself with women. I always associate safety with woman. I feel like there is this shared pain and understanding between women that i don’t feel exists in the same way between men.
Women also hold this nurturing quality that i guess is almost expected and assumed. I made small little cushions with all the things i feel encapsulate comfort itself- safety, familiarity and reliability. Having them a small little objects you could hold i find really interesting, almost like little keep sakes that could be passed around when needed.
Thorough this iv been researching into why we have comfort objects. Things like security blankets or toys that provide phycological comfort to us not only as children but as adults. The transitional object does not have to be a blanket. It can be a stuffed bear or some other toy that the child finds comforting. The transitional object is comforting when the mother is not around or at any other time. Most mothers try to wash it because it becomes dirty and smelly. Most kids hold onto it because the smelliness and dirtiness forms part of what feels familiar, safe and comforting. But why do we loose this as adults?
According to the New York University Psychoanalytical Institute, “the transitional object may be conceived of in three ways: as typifying a phase in a child’s development; as a defense against seperation anxiety and, lastly, as a neutral sphere in which experience is not challenged.”
Reflecting on this i wanted to create my own transitional comfort object, using scrap fabrics and old thins associated with me. making it to ‘feel better’. Though it holds this real ugly quality to it i find it really endearing and nice to hold.
CHARLEY MILLAR ART 