Tag Archives: SP2

COMFORT: Resolved work + Evaluation

For my resolved object i wanted to include all the elements had previously explored with my drawings and smaller object making, incorporating text work, knitting, embroidery using parts of things I already had and used and thing left over from earlier in the p[project that i wanted to include.

the thing itself is very heavy to move around because of all its embellishments however i feel this gives it more human like qualities as well as the form and shape it takes. Because of this it is physically made to feel comforting and plesent to touch and hold. to cuddle and sit-beside it and be stimulated by the various textures is soothing i find really soothing and think is very succesfull. Compositionally everything wraps around and leads into the next surface element so i think it flows very well without appearing too perfect and retaining that childish messy quality i have carried with me throughout the project and making work.

of course it hold this unique on of a kind soft toy because i have made it purely for the purpose of soothing myself and occupying me and my space. however id like to think that the object would become its own thing and i and other people have the ability to add their own qualities and things to it despite the fact its inanimate.

I wanted to take images of me interacting and sharing comfort spaces with the object. Showing how I interact with it and how it would fit in around me and my life. ideally i wanted to also take it outside and about with me but the weather wasn’t in my favour and as it was already so heavy with it not being wet i just took these images inside and round my house. Locations where i sit and feel the most comfortable i sat for 5 mins at a time and recorded my time with the object. Touching and sitting with it in my own space.

I think theres soothing really sad but kind of endearing about these images. above all they feel kind of lonely and quiet. Maybe this is just because its just be and the object or the fact that i and the objects appear really childish. These images also hold a lot of potential for drawing and paintings

I later comprised all the videos I took and over lay them with one of the letters i wrote to/from the objects perspective. I find the video kind of endearing and disturbing as the contrast of me sitting with and caring for the object are met with me asking it all these questions about itself and question its ands my identity. Where and why did i make it? does it truly belong to me?

link to video : https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/549882702

Evaluation of Project

Looking back over the project and what i set out to do i think i have created a strong body of work. I have a new understanding of materials and have moved from 2D and 3D successful and repeatedly to spark new ideas and research thought. Initially wanting to look and and create my own comfort space i changed the project slightly to consider comfort objects rather than comfort space. I think this was a good call and i wouldn’t have produced as much work if i was just repeatedly making rooms and ideas for installations and spaces.

This has also encouraged me to look into other areas of interest thinking about objects and the qualities that they hold not only as children but how we carry attachment through to adulthood in different forms. How i feel about myself and the things that i make and how I value something aesthetically as well as my understanding of colour line shape and composition when making objects and not just drawings. I think physically making more things that are a bit more time consuming has allowed me o maybe focus a bit more and think more about the physicality of something and the space it occupies.

Given more time or if i could do the project again i would have left more time for material explorations with the expanding foam maybe resin and clay. 3D materials id like to experiment with and gage a better understanding of. However giving restrictions and not having access to studio space i still think i was explorative enough in my approach and methods of working. I would have also made more time for drawing and 2d work as i think i lacked it a lot in this project and got to invested in the actual making process.

I think i responded well to feedback throughout the crit and moved the project forward at a good pace as the weeks went on. I also enjoyed doing a bit more text and written work and having an open dialog with whatever it is i’m making and question its purpose and who it belongs too. Why am i making something and what quality sand purpose dose it have. My art as a style and the aesthetic qualities it holds i feel has also really developed this childish quality i think is very effective and reflects how i like to work and the approach I like to take.

COMFORT: comfort objects

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.

COMFORT :Initial Responses

Theme

Starting this new project I wanted to explore the idea of comfort. A theme a touched on in the last project thinking about contrast between comfort and discomfort.

Initial Responses

When I think of what comfort is for me I immediately think of objects I surround myself with and things I do or keep that sooth and bring me this feeling. Weather thats because of the person that gave me the item or memories attached to it. I also have unconscious things i do repeatedly that I guess sooth me in some way and I assume I do to make me feel comfortable. So initially I just made a digital collage on my phone of all the first thing that come to mine to me when I think about comfort. Making a list of anything I didn’t have an image of. the collage itself isn’t very thinking about possible avenues for the project and consider how personal i wanted to make it.

Thinking about home, specifically my mums house, I made a little house model out of soft pink clay which I initially though was rubbish but i guess everyone finds the thought of their childhood home comforting to come extent. I also took a lot of pictures of my bed a place I feel everyone experiences the ultimate sense of comfort. However has become a place i’m spending the majority of my time in to a point it becomes uncomfortable and i feel unproductive, in excess it brings around feelings of depression. Thinking about my space and how I occupy it I do use a lot of pink and always associate it with my room specifically sleeping and my bed. Lastly this week I made bubble wrap bra and pants to kind of represent the comfort and fragility I have within being in my own body and how hard it is to love your own body and how you almost need to protect this as a woman. My own body is my forever home and though its often difficult I think its really important to find comfort and safety in your own skin.

Initially I found starting the project and finding a theme was very challenging I think based on all of the things iv made and i’m exploring so far i’m confident this project has a lot of scope and i’m excited to further explore things like comfort space and the materials usage.