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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Evaluation

Together

I absolutely love the outcomes before adding the drill holes, I am proud of the quality and the visual aesthetics, although they are not what I had planned as I am not tiering them up, they still represent and portray what I hoped to in my original proposal.

One aspect of my research and a major influence was found near the end of the project, the Buddhist Zen gardens. This ancient practice and the way these work is based on Zen philosophy, to be at peace and ease, to be mindful. The curator designs the Zen garden, using a Rock as the center point and decorating around it for people to come to and contemplate on something. This is how my pieces work although you come to contemplate in a home instead of outside. There are miniature Zen gardens people have made for inside the home too.

The shape and form are influenced by the tiers of the Stupa, a structure found on lamps, buildings, temples, gates and shrines around Japan and China where every part of the structure and design is symbolic of something 'divine'.

For my pieces, the form of the circle represents a harmonious cycle, a natural flow and a state of 'oneness'.

Together they were meant to tier up.I was unable to tier the pieces and add the rods like I had designed, but as the pieces were to also come as individuals I like how they are separately, apart from the drilled holes in 'Gaia'.

'Spirit'

Spirit comes with the affirmation 'I Am'. I am is a powerful mantra, bringing us into the moment and reminding ourselves of our existence, this is an important step when it comes to being conscious of our existence and place on Earth, which is why this piece comes with this collection, with the 'Gaia' shrine.

The surface pattern comes from an intuitive drawing of mine to be found in my sketchbook. I feel that the lines part cut into the background contrast well with the curvaceous brass pieces, again bringing in the balance, Yin and Yang. I also love the Wabi-Sabi approach to this piece. The imperfect perfection. The natural details that came with the process. I love the whole design.

The stone I have chosen to put onto this piece is a Selenite Sphere I have designed with throughout this module, the shape carved by man, in contrast to the piece for 'Gaia' that I'd found myself.

As mentioned before, I feel I ruined the piece by adding the drill holes so this is NOT FINISHED. And I'm okay with this.

I actually videoed the whole process making 'Spirit'. My meditation, then straight to the intuitive drawing, composing the drawing for the laser cutter and cutting it. I planned to make a video but realised this would take a while to watch and is quite irrelevant. The process is easy to understand and has been previously documented.

Gaia

'I am within the Earth'

'The Earth is within me' - the affirmation that comes with the Gaia shrine. An affirmation that reminds us of the meaning behind this whole projects. The understanding of man's place on Earth, an affirmation like this connects us to the land. It reminds us of what the land gives, and perhaps asks what we are giving in return.

The surface pattern comes from an intuitive drawing of mine to be found in my sketchbook. The shapes are very representative f nature, expressing seeds and flower pettals, I decided that th shapes represented these parts of nature after the intuitive drawing came out!

No Candle

When realising I was unable to add the rods I left this piece behind. It's a bit unnecessary now the piece isn't being tiered. This part was meant to be so the viewer could interact with the shrine.

Issues that have come from this project - Mainly Time Management

Organising and presenting the work

This is my first time using a blog to present a project. I have used this blog to gather and bring together the research directly relevent to the progression of the project and to track my technical processes.

As the content is not rearrangeable, it isn’t entity in chronological order. This has made it difficult to show the time line of the whole making process.

Making Process

Surface Pattern - Transferring hand drawn images onto files such as Illustrator and Autocad ready for the Laser Cutter took a long time to understand, the process is different with every new drawing. I now know how to do this quickly and efficiently in a range of ways!

Cutting and shaping brass, this was the first time i’ve worked with small metals and sheet metals, I’m proud of the outcomes but they took a lot of time and patience, re working and re doing until fitting in the slots.

Constructing the Shrine - I left designing the construction of the piece too late. I had the idea drawn out and in my head, and thought that because the shapes are simple they would be easy to work with and fit together.

As the drilled holes are placed in 4 points equal distances from eachother, when they are aligned with a pattern that isn’t quite precise, the imprecisions become a lot more obvious. This isn’t something I thought about when designing and making the Spirit surface..

I didn’t think about how the small scale of the piece makes small imperfections more visible either.

Presenting - I really like how they look in my home and can envision them fitting aesthetically in many environments because of their contrast, dark and white. Although the brass has a warm tint, the light often makes it a light silver-like colour.

They both work really well as crystal stands and truly remind me of the Scholars Rocks, natures art expressed through my own vessel, coming together with another piece of natures art.

I have not thought about presenting or exhibiting as these prices are not for that. I feel I should have looked at how I could sell/present them as buyable objects.

Have I achieved what I wanted to?

I am very happy with my use of materials and understanding how to me more 'environmentally conscious', especially as I worked with materials I've never really touched before. I wanted to create something that will last a long time & that can either be recycled or decomposed.. which is exactly what I did ! Although I didn't find an eco-friendly glue that I liked in time. The glue is the least environmentally conscious part, I am not unhappy about this, it does the job.

Visually and aesthetically, I'm overwhelmed! It is a style that has come from the first designers in my sketchbook aswell as my own intuition, representative of Yin and Yang, balance and harmony.

Over All Reflection & Future Visions

Over all, I really enjoyed all aspects of this project and have learnt a lot about WHY I make as well as being drawn to more delicate small materials which I'll definitely take into the future.

I will be introducing my AutoCAD skills into the next project, bringing them together with my new learnt handmaking skills! I have a couple of starting point ideas such as looking at pattern within my heritage and culture, going deeper into my personal life.

I'd also like to plan how I'd sell and present pieces like this professionally, looking at packaging, representation and so on. As well as having hand written 'affirmation' notes with each piece.

My dissertation goes hand in hand with this project so the subject matter isn't ending now! I'm really excited to move on.

#evaluation

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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The Final Pieces!

Images with the wire and fitted!

#final making #presentation

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Brass Polished. Without the wire, edited to show what it would look like bare.

I've taken pictures of them in various places in my home where I would place them as well as around other normal house hold ornaments to show how they look among other things, which is where they would be.

#presentation #final making

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Images of the pieces almost finished in the workshop. Without the brass wire around 'Spirit' as I was going to cost it in a finish first.

At this point I'm truly debating whether I want to coat them. It has been 2 days of contemplating and I've chose to leave them as they are. I really like the dusty finish so I have just taken away the top layers of burnt ash so that it doesn't get on to anyone!

I didn't think about this before, I thought it would just keep rubbing off!

#final making

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Making and Fixing the Brass Rods ~ Fail

Up until this point I have been extremely caring and mindful about every aspect of the making, treating each bit with patience, so coming to add the rods and drill into the surface of a piece I have been working on for weeks made me nervous.

Before drilling the holes I was seriously contemplating not doing so! I loved the outcomes of both surfaces. I had a lot of fun making them and really felt the whole process made sense to me.

I'd spent weeks perfecting the pieces to potentially make a mistake that takes two minutes to make! Anyway, I went ahead and measured up where the rods were to fit. I laser cut out a small circle with the points on as a guideline, 1cm in from the edge of the circle.

I looked back at my plans and measured up the rods to the size I preferred the most, straightened my brass rod and cut 4 X 13cm rods, filing the ends.

I wanted them to be at least 1.5cm deep so I used masking tape on the drill 1.5cm up from the tip to give me a stopping point with using the drill.

When I put down the guidelines the brass shapes did seem off, as they are not geometrically aligned. They are hand drawn and hand carved and bringing the brass rods into it makes the small imprecisions which did not matter before suddenly become very visible.

I chose to leave 'Spirit', not to coat it, just to add the wire and come to it in the future.

Gaia's surface is untampered with.

Before the holes.

#Final Making

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Photo 1: Texturing the larger circles with the smallest metal ball end tool.

Photo 2, 3, 4: Glueing in the brass pieces with a multi purpose glue and a small precise wooden tool. I came back to file the brass shapes using one of my test samples as a reference guide so I didn't break the edges of the slots.

This took the longest time, I had already flattened and files the pieces but still wasn't satisfied. I repetitively positioned, cut and filed the pieces, making multiples until I achieved a finish as perfect as I could.

I came back the day after and some had raised, so I re-fixed any that were out of place.

Photos 5, 6, 7, 8: Coating and Finishing

I have already tested the brasso and the tung oil on samples. The brasso works just fine as a polish and I liked the finish using the Danish oil, it darkened the wood and only created a slight sheen.

I wanted a coating that would enhance the depth of the colour and keep it as matte as possible.

Unfortunately the oil had all either ran out or dried out. Folly Lane 3D work shop had some but I would have had to do the coat there and leave the pieces there. I had other things to do such as make and fix the rods so didn't have time to do this.

Using a clear Laker was another option, I tested this out on some premade samples and I didn't like the outcome. The lacker set weirdly over the textured parts of the wood.

I then bought some Teak oil from J mart.

Here you can see where the heat took away the glue from the outer rim of the fixture, I may add some brass wire! I think it would compliment the whole piece as the bottom is very large and bare.

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Entanglement / Responsibility

We are surrounded by objects, we are the product of our environment. While we are impacted by objects, we also impact them. We give birth to the existence of what ever it is we make, giving them meaning, creating the function and use for the object. Using them to influence ourselves and others, this is how I feel shrines work, whether it is a spiritual phenomenon or if it's just a subconscious cue. I just think that if it works, it works.

If you are able to curate your surroundings, why not do so in the most beneficial way for yourself and your works? This is just a little question, a little nudge, and it's aimed at those privileged to do so. It's all about taking care and consideration of the bigger picture.

Mindfulness is also important when talking about making such conscious decisions, because this type of thinking isn't mainstream, it isn't 'common sense' get. It is easy to engage with things we don't want to.

#personal development #concept

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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A quote from Conversations before the End of Time, interview with Christopher Maines.

I am still interested in animism and Earthbased religions and how they interact with art and design, there are many parts of the world where the communities make and craft out of natural, sustainable materials. And, they usually only craft and make what they need. I’d like to look at these cultures, historically and contemporarily.

#future ideas

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Revisiting the viewpoint magazine ‘Spiritual’- This is one of my responses to an article in the Viewpoint, Spiritual magazine.Since knowing what my creations are, Affirmation Shrines, I've felt like that harmony, or 'Zen' truly does come from an understanding within. Spending time in nature is important but not accessable for everyone which means it's benefits are not accessible for everyone.

My affirmation shrines, like any other object we use to feel, connect to, use as a reminder, has the ability to bring one closer to something.Similar to how we use healing crystals to remind us of certain traits and meanings such as peace, trust, love, focus and so on.

Proposal: Harmony, Balance, Challenge the mainstream ideologies around why we make, challenging our responsibilities as artists and designers

#Personal deveolpment #revisiting

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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I am revisiting the two Viewpoint magazines, Rise Up and Spirituality.

Both books aligned with my project proposal, highliting the contextual side. The Spiritual issue shares and discusses a range of artists and designers who are concerned with the rise of spirituality among younger generations, especially within the art & design world, as well as talking about the disconnection between man and Earth. These artists and designers are renting to challenge the, which is exactly what I aim to do with my own art.

I gained a lot of inspiration reading these two books at the start of the project, coming back to them at the early research stages. I found it warming to see so many people in the creative field coming together to help eachother, and our planet.

Both books

Photo 1:

The first Viewpoint magazine I read called ‘RISE UP’ actually speaks about this magazine as its ‘sister’ and recommends reading it as the topics link. As soon as I saw ‘Spirituality’ on the front cover I got excited and opened it to a random page, the page being something I’m really interested in and got even more excited to explore the book.

Page 3 of the book: IN GOOD SPIRITS

‘’Messages of self-awareness, respect for others and self-love are noticeably consistent’

‘Design’s roll in the new spirituality is enabling one supporting customers in their quest for a satisfying internal life. Key concepts include empowerment, enlightenment, vision, awe, wonder, calm and tranquility. Products, services and concepts that embed an extra layer of genuine meaning will find favour with adherents of the new spirituality. And beauty and joy also have their places - along with a deep appreciation of originality and creativity.’

‘Design in itself can be a spiritual practice. The process of making, and the absorption and engaged flow it involves, leads to a deep connection between maker and craft.’

Photo 2:

This image reminds me of my little spiritual space at home, using objects like candles and incense to aesthetically make a room peaceful and aid in wellbeing. Later in the magazine there is a page dedicated to the creator of this work, Yield Design, Florida. It’s all about ‘playing with our emotional connection to scent, the series draws on elemental notes in these majestic spaces and distills feelings of wander and awe.’ This links with my want to connect to people emotionally through work, I’m thinking about how scent can be a part of the project..

Photo 3:

This image is visually pleasing, i’ll be looking deeper into this exhibition. The exhibition is called Wisdom of the Earth teamLab: A forest where Gods Live - Earth music&ecology, Kyushu, Japan.

Page 13 from this book:

The term ‘Wellness Design’ sticks out to me, I’ll be researching further into this..

Photo 4:

Time over Time by Dawn Bendick. Bendick also has a section in the first Viewpoint magazine, ‘RISE UP’, where her piece expresses her feelings towards climate change. In this book she describes this piece as ‘a way of tapping into our peripheral senses and heightening awareness of changes in seasons, atmospheric light and weather’. She uses found objects, stones, crystals and glass to create her pieces. This reminds me of wanting to use my own stones and crystals in this project, but how?

Photo 5:

Ritual Empowerment. This page describes my own spiritual practice and how intention and ritual are one of the ‘most powerful manifestations of the 20th-century’. This page reminds me of WHY I’m so focussed on self discovery, self love, connection to the planet, Earth connection, human connection and so on.. I have been very disconnected in the past, I wasn’t aware or conscious of anything at all, navigating through life based upon what the media and my family told me.

I want people to make the transformation I made, to become better, happier humans. To be in tune with their passions and desires. If we evolve individually we will evolve together, it is a collective conscious effort.

Page 19 from book:

The caption - ‘ELEMENTAL HEALING - A global shift towards urban living is driving a feeling of psychoterratic disconnect.’ this section ‘explores a restored value in nature and the race to preserve it for future generations.’

What’s interested me about this section of the magazine is ‘The Tonic of Trees, The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing’ by Julia Plevin. Plevin says that her ‘psychological malaise’, which means psychological discomfort, is an effect of her concrete-jungle urban surroundings. I feel exactly the same.. I notice that the more time I spend in nature the happier I am, my positive mindset is consistent with my nature explorations, especially in the forest.

I spend a lot of time in nature when i’m home in Cardiff, I live within walking distance from natural woodlands, a river and a bus ride away from a mountain. This article is making me think of bringing nature into the home..? How can we connect to nature living in the concrete jungle?

Page 33 from the book:

‘Philosophers and psychologists are now suggesting we should acknowledge spiritual intelligence’

Photo 6:

This is the page that I immediately got excited about, this photo basically describes me at home, just kidding.. or am I?

I’m drawn to the colours, immediately thinking about the Crown Chakra and what the colour purple means to me spiritually, how it’s the highest vibrational colour, the colour of ‘magick’.. the name of the installation is ‘You Are Magic’ by The Hoodwitch which is basically what I want people to understand when looking at all of my art work, even when listening to my music, because it’s true. We are impossible beings with infinite creative power, why are so many so sad, stuck, lost? Why is the planet so sad, stuck, lost, with such powerful creatures living on it?

Of course the crystals in the background caught my eye too, there are lit up Selenite towers on the floor which i make and sell as well as a Quartz crystal grid in the background.

Photo 7, Page 41:

‘Studio Swines Ware Practice Duplex in collaboration with A/D/O focusses on the relationship between nature and technology, with many of the pieces incorporating plasma to capture bursts of light similar to those observed in the sun, stars, and comets.’ There isn’t much written about the installation in the book so i’ve found it on Dezeen. This reminds me of using my nature, crystals and stones, and linking them with technology.. digitally designing?

On this page there is a section called ‘The Spirit of Connection’ which talks about how ‘21st-century spiritualism is all about connection: to ourselves, to others and the wider environment.’ which is basically what my work is all about. It says that ‘Viewpoint has frequently touched on the role of creatives and brands as enablers, and on the importance of supporting positive movements within the global community’ - this makes me really happy, to know that the artistic work of us spiritual young people is being recognised by such large, important art magazines! I honestly didn’t realise that my concepts and ideas have been explored creatively already. I feel like i’ve found my place in the design world by reading this magazine.

Page 73:

‘People are increasingly seeking to experience heightened states of mental wellbeing’ - I hope to cause these experiences with my work..

Viewpoint describes the spiritual youth of today as ‘putting their faith int eh power of the metaphysical, where science and mysticism combine to create therapeutic sensorial experiences using immersive colour, light and sound’. Exactly what i’d like to do!

Photo 8:

The images on this page remind me of Lepidolite Mica, an iridescent shiny light, flaky stone often used to make glitter. It’s bringing me towards using stones and crystals as materials, or using their beauty as inspiration for colour, texture, form, light..

Page 89:

‘Tom Sewell explores the relationship between humans and nature at a time when GPS, modern medicine and supermarket deliveries are accessible at the touch of a button. He investigates the interplay of the elements and the spiritual world through delicate drawings and totemic sculptures.

Sewell reflects on his ventures into nature, from the firths of Scotland to London’s Epping Forest, in order to create assemblages of organic matter, climbing rope and naturally died fabric. His ritualistic installations show respect for the natural world as well as hinting at a new mystical practice for the modern day that celebrates the rotting, uncanny beauty of the woods and the wilds.’

I’m intrigued by the concept behind Sewells work rather than the work itself which is why i’ve not shown images. He’s doing exactly what i’d like to do.

Page 104:

‘PRACTICE BEING IN YOUR NATURE’ “We are in a pint in the world where we’ve become very disconnected. Things are super-fast - we are very top heavy, we think so much. And we lead life from a strange sense that we are in control or can control everything, so we become detached from our energetic systems and our nervous systems” - this makes me think about how we no longer rely on our natural compass, our intuition or ‘gut instinct’.. aiding towards more disconnection.

Page 107 - 117:

A few pages about artists that, bellow are the ones that stand out.

I relate to Rachel Wingfield on very deep levels. ‘I feel very passionate about certain topics such as climate change and mass extinction’ - Rachel Wingfield

Shama Rahman speaks about flow, the work her and her crew does ‘addresses our ability to be in flow, harnessing the ability of our own consciousness’.

Ben Lindsay speaks about church and says that ‘apart from down the pub, it’s rare that you see such a mix of people’ and how the church accepts a mixture of people, it accepts everyone.’ This reminds me of the art space, the art gallery, exhibition, the creative project.. how art and design bring people together, not leaving anyone out. Everyone can relate to it, everyone can connect.

Photos 9, 10, 11:

I practice modern witchcraft and haven’t found a better explanation than what’s said by The Hoodwitch in this article. I’m now drawn to expressing/demonstrating my own personal spiritual practice as it’s a clear example of what i’m trying to portray through my work, I am proof that my methods and ideas work towards connecting to ourselves, connecting to the planet and consciously evolving positively.

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affirmationshrines · 4 years

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Photo 1:

This is the first time I’ve heard of ‘The Colour Book’ and what caught my eye was the contents ‘The Colours of Resistance with Extinction Rebellion’. While flicking through the book I found lots of concepts I resonate with.

The second page of the book is labelled ‘Our Genoration, Our Choice’ and talks about how the young ‘have given up on their countries’ leaders and taken things into their own hands’ and describes it as ‘peaceful anger’. This quote caught my eye the most ‘Young people are demonstrating resiliant hope and creativity in the face of the looming climate crisis, balancing measured, informed storytelling with playful, inclusive campaigns that have captured imagination and empathy across the world’. As a young person who’s very knowledgable about the climate crisis I’d like to trigger imagination and empathy with my own work.

Photo 2:

‘Time Rock Stacks’ by Dawn Bendick and Joe Hartley. These pieces are made of stone and crystal, I think it’s Quartz and Calcite by the look of the texture. I found this information on The New Craftsman website - ‘Dawn’s pieces are made with a special multitone glass that changes colour under different light sources. Each piece explores the movement of natural light across both surfaces, and time. The Time Rock series was cast from found objects, discovered on an ancient pilgrimage site, and an 11th Century churchyard.‘

Natural objects.

Photo 3:

This page immediately stuck out to me because of the colours and lighting used, it’s very ethereal, mystical and magical. I then read the caption - ‘IMMERSIVE INSTALLATIONS’ ‘The following projects explore its use in creating deeply sensorial and otherworldly experiences’ - I’d like to do this with my own work, to trigger these feelings in order to connect one to themselves and the Earth, to know our true mystical nature.

I really like the idea of using light as a material.

Page 29 from book:

This quote is at the top of this page ‘WHEN PEOPLE USUALLY TALK ABOUT CLIMATE - IN THE MEDIA OR GREEN CAMPAIGNS - THE TONE IS USUALLY VERY SCIENTIFIC, QUITE ANGRY OF SIMPLY ILL-INFORMED, WHICH MAKES IT VERY HARD TO FEEL MOVED’. This is exactly why I want to create pieces of work that move people, art and creative expression is something that all humans can connect to. Our connection to the natural world is not scientific, political, serious or anything todo with the media, it is NATURAL and with the right information, everyone should feel moved knowing what is happening to their own planet.

Photo 4:

The quote speaks for itself.

Page 32 from book:

‘TAKING ITS CUE FROM YOUNG ACTIVISTS, THE WIDER CREATIVE CULTURE IS MOBILISING IN THE FACE OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS, RECOGNISING THE ROLE OF ART, VISUALISATION AND EXPERIMENTATION IN FACILITATING CONVERSATION ABOUT THE WORLDS PROBLEMS’ - Okay, so I’ve not thought about this before.. triggering conversation and how conversation = connection.

Photo’s 4, 5 & Page 32 from book:

‘Makeshift’ - a fashion collection exploring how ‘one persons trash is another’s treasure’ . i have been thinking about ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ a lot lately and how ‘Recycle’ seems to be the go to when the first two parts of the cycle are the most effective and important. I am currently collecting scrap card, paper and other materials from my home recycling bin to up cycle and would love to reuse materials for this project and future projects.

Page 61 from book:

‘Purchasing Power’ - a fashion collection exploring the ‘power of purchase’. This highlights fast fashion, fast food, fast consumerism. We control what is made and consumed and turned to waste by what we purchase, supply and demand..!

Photo 6:

‘Wild Child’ - a fashion collection connecting children to nature. This collection makes me think of freedom, creative expression, what it means to be wild, how WE ARE WILD.. we are a part of the wild life that we are destroying! I love this project, it brings us closer to our environment which is what i’d like to do too.

Page 124 from book:

‘XR HAS HARNESSED COLOUR AS A POWERFUL TOOL TO CREATE A SHARED EXPERIENCE THAT COMMUNICATES LIFE AND HOPE IN THE FACE OF AN URGNT, ERE-DEFINING EXISTENTIAL THREAT’ - This has got me thinking about colour, i’ll be exploring colour in a very deep way for this project, I always do. I try to link colour to emotion, I like colour to express and trigger feelings and thoughts.

Photos 7, 8, 9 page 161 from book:

‘Colour is the most important communication tool; colour informs, calls attention conveys a message and brings instant comprehension’ - the page caption, it speaks for itself. I don’t entirely agree that colour is the MOST important communication tool though, this takes away from colour blind people and black and white creations..

‘Adobe, Pantone color institute and top ocean conversation organisations have come together to announce a new range of uniquely developed ‘Glowing’ coral colors to inspire ocean conservation and climate action.’ - I love how such big corporations are getting on board with how the climate crisis is an emergency and the colours are beautiful, this has inspired me to want to inspire others with my work. Not only could I trigger thought, emotion and conservation, but i can inspire people to make changes.

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