Integrating traditional craftsmanship with the writer’s personal heritage, this project aims to shift from a specialised skill-set approach to a more diversified one. It embraces global perspectives and fosters an open space for investigation while encouraging alternative study methods, blending intuitive exploration with therapeutic techniques, academic research, and personal insights.
The project offers a comprehensive perspective that encompasses the individual, the educator, and the researcher. By combining familiar materials with unfamiliar practices, it aims to cultivate new skills and bridge the gap between the past, present, and future, proposing organisational structures, layouts, and material presentation techniques inspired by an open studio approach rooted in art therapy. It emphasises circularity and waste reduction by incorporating eco-friendly materials, repurposing existing products, and reinventing old ones.
Ultimately, the project seeks to create conditions that nurture curiosity, experiences, and collaboration. It encourages decision making based on reflection and creative journeys, setting our own guidelines rather than conforming to existing ones, and reconstructing ideas that may shape the future.
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT II
CONTENTS II - III
PART I GROUNDWORK
1.1 Inner workings
1.2 Why, what, how, what for
1.3 Objectives
1.4 Crafting heritage
1.5 State of the art
1.6 Methodologies
1.7 Research topics
1.8 Drivers & Trends
1.9 Project positioning
PART II ANALYZING INHERITANCE
2.1 Interview
2.2 Ancestry analysis
2.3 Clustering of photos
2.4 Mapping of tableware
2.5 Implementation of artificial intelligence
PART III SCAFFOLDING PROCESSESS
3.1 Creativity
3.2 Education
3.3 Playability
3.4 Open studio
3.5 Studio Organisation
PART IV MATERIALSATION
4.1 The design objective
4.2 Characterization Cmf | Sensorial qualities
4.3 Output
4.4 Processes Experimentation | Learnings
4.5 Circularity
PART V LOOKING FORWARD
5.1 Dinnerplans
5.2 Business plans
5.3 conclusion
5.4 About
Types of data
Quotations
Term definitions
Introspective notes
Ancestry analysis
Clustering of photos
Mapping of tableware
Material experimentation
studio organization
Material table setup
Glossary
quotes from various sources
Introspective reflections, notes, and questions
1.1 INNER WORKINGS
1.2 Why, what, how, what for 1.3 Objectives
1.4 Crafting heritage
1.5 State of the art
1.6 Methodologies
1.7 Research topics
1.8 Drivers & Trends
1.9 Project positioning
From a rich multicultural upbringing to varied educational backgrounds, including a PGCE in art, a bachelor’s degree in humanities, a Graduate Certificate in Visual Communication, and a Practical Engineer qualification, as well as professional experiences in the fashion industry, graphic design, and art education, my interdisciplinary practice runs deeper than I care to acknowledge.
Admittedly, I don't consider myself an expert at anything or exceptional in any particular area. Nevertheless, I do consider myself pretty good at all the temporary endeavors I undertake, as they retain my interest until I grasp their inner workings. Focusing my time primarily on a single pursuit has always been my idea of a nightmare.
My lack of focus, or perhaps my selective focus, had destructive effects during my school years. Schools tend to assess students based on a strict checklist: you either have what it takes, or you don't. It's either a bright future or nothing at all.
Only in recent years I came to an understanding that my abilities as low or high as they may be, can only flourish in settings that were not provided in the modern educational system and the working environment.
The recent global and tecnological changes have resulted in my person-
al agenda to finally align with future educational approaches and needs, responding to the increasing demand for a more flexible and experimental perspective. This project is not just personal, but a plea for an all-encompassing and adaptable educational structure that can cater to the diverse needs and learning preferences of students.
Based on my own interdisciplinary practice and conviction that humanity can change anything and everything, I believe the status quo is more a function of ingrained beliefs that no longer hold true than of limitations in resources and materials.
The evolution of human potential is closely linked to the environment's role in supporting such growth. We have an immense range of skills and talents, but challenges emerge when an environment only recognizes a narrow set of skills. The key question is how to foster these diverse skills and talents within their specific domains, or how to expand the domains in which they are valued.
My approach taken in this study is more open-ended than definitive, as i rely on the development outcomes of the intuitive unguided explorations in the project, that ironically act as the only predetermined plan of action.
The project acknowledges that it may not have the capability to single-handedly alter the prevailing narrative. However, it aims to play a part within a wider framework of efforts and systems that promote open-mindedness and collaboration, ultimately creating a positive impact on the world.
What, why how, what for WHAT
An intuitive cross-disciplinary study, Aiming at creating the ultimate environment for practice, it suggests organisation, layout, and material presentation practices, drawing from an open studio approach derived from art therapy.
An interactive table with a variety of materials, inviting hands-on exploration and play. The project acknowledges the transformative nature of material narratives and emphasizes the importance of engaging in dialogue to better understand how our own narratives can change and evolve, creating items that serve practical functions while cultivating a sense of community, uniting individuals around a communal table by focusing on tableware as a unifying element.
Introducing materials in a new way through multisensory experiences and unique modes of engagement.
Promoting a culture that fosters curiosity and genuine self-expression.
Facilitating waste reduction and promoting circularity.
Developing a flexible practice tailored to meet the specific needs of its users.
Establishing an inclusive environment that embraces individuals with diverse neurotypes, languages, and physical abilities.
Encouraging organic exploration, discovery, and collaboration.
Nurturing inquisitive individuals capable of independent thinking, questioning, active listening, and meaningful dialogue.
Expanding the familiar scope of knowled ge.
WHAT FOR
Multidisciplinary thinking can facilitate the process of redefining the world we live in and fostering long-lasting, sustainable values from a circular perspective by breaking down existing narratives and generating fresh interpretations.
OBJECTIVES:
- Embracing diverse perspectives and employing multidisciplinary approaches
- Leveraging a wide range of skills
- Harnessing material hybridization
- Conducting open-ended research
- Encouraging intuitive discovery
- Nurturing flexibility of ideas
- Rethinking waste management
- Advocating for circularity
AGNOTOLOGY
A missing term to describe the cultural production of ignorance (and its study).1
1 Porter, T. (2009, June). Robert N. Proctor;, Londa Schiebinger (Editors). Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance. viii + 298 pp., tables, figs., index. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2008. $65 (cloth). Isis, 100(2), 445–446. https://doi.org/10.1086/605278
Objectives
Having spent some time away from my cell phone, I realized my dependence on it was due to a fear of forgetting. With the constant overload of information, it has become nearly impossible to function without some form of electronic device to keep things in order.
“Never forget” is a phrase I have often heard growing up in Israel. The idea of history repeating itself was always viewed as the least desirable outcome, making it imperative to remember the past to ensure future survival.
With a continuously evolving collection of memories, from heirlooms passed down to souvenirs acquired along the way, their ongoing conservation can become quite taxing. Even so, these components contribute to the overall narrative. They provide a framework for creating an identity and an understanding of where we fall on the spectrum between content creators and political megalomaniacs.
As far as I can tell, both individuals and communities develop their stories based on accumulating “smaller” ones. Collections of
personal experiences, generational traumas, miscellaneous items from past relationships, previous clothing sizes, and the ashes of our grandmothers, all culminating in assessing our progress and considering how far we have come despite it all.
Development; the steady growth of something so that it becomes more advanced, stronger, etc 1(Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary).
As a result of these stories, our success, or lack thereof, is often determined.
Generally speaking, the goal of development is legitimising actions that contribute to the greater good. However, the lack of certainty in the future has primarily disintegrated the historical conditions that gave rise to the development perspective. With the past as a source for society’s reliance, its maintenance of outdated ideas continuously brings us down.
Knowledge serves as a means of directing attention; it highlights one reality, eradicating al others. In a society that considers the Louvre a cultural epicentre, it is no surprise that our stories remain almost as well preserved as the Mona Lisa.
“When humans perform a prescribed burn, the goal is to remove that layer of decay in a controlled manner, allowing the other, healthy parts of the ecosystem to thrive” 2 (National Geographic, The Ecological Benefits of Fire).
1 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. (n.d.). https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries. com/definition/english/development
2 The Ecological Benefits of Fire. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ecological-benefits-fire/
Everyday life is structured around repetitive patterns involving a series of actions and behaviours (brushing our teeth, sleeping, eating).. From a circular standpoint, it becomes apparent that everything is connected and that if there is a linear progression that does not reverse, something is wrong.
“Ezio Manzini3 - refers to ‘cosmopolitan localism’sharing knowledge and adapting it to local contexts. I think that massive change is inevitable. And we have the choice between massive change that we kick off, where we actively decide which things we really care about, and which we can let go. Or we run into change that is imposed upon us, and this would be a disaster”.
It often seems that the elements used to construct our surroundings have gradually lost their initial appeal. They are no longer what they used to be, but unlike our own inevitable loss of appeal and promise, they can be reinvented completely.
The current consumption and waste disposal require approximately 1.75 planets, and by 2030, two. It is imperative that terms such as “throwing away”, “new”, and “old” be reconsidered. Taking into account the fact that when an item reaches its proper lifecycle, it usually becomes obsolete, rather than dissipating or disappearing, but is instead taking up space in landfills. It is my primary objective to reconsider the approach to materials as perceptions, relevance, and narratives continue to evolve. Whenever established principles are lacking or distorted, it is essential to liberate the imagination from conventional thinking and to find a balance between continuity
3 Manzini, E., & M’Rithaa, M. K. (2016, September). Distributed Systems And Cosmopolitan Localism: An Emerging Design Scenario For Resilient Societies. Sustainable Development, 24(5), 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1628
and disruption.
Predeterminations might provide certain answers or assurance, but they are also where all possibilities come to die while the past lives on. Through circularity, there is a continual level of confidence and security in the face of constant change, high risk, and destruction. Using our collective past to spur our progress rather than obstruct it. Removing the historical dumping ground of our past from the present will allow us to move forward with a blank slate.
As we blindly enter uncharted territory, our future will not be determined by the past or measured by its values but rather by the decisions we make in the present. And In the end our future actions will determine the value of things, and our new stories will establish relevance.
“ They remind us every day that despite our best intentions, we do not live in a world where there is perfect identity between objects and things, but one in which objects as well as the categories, meanings, relations, functions, boundaries, and forms of imagination that we thread through them —are being constantly undermined, displaced, and undone by the aimless but relentless rebellion of things. They remind us that we live in a world in which the identity between objects and things is always fragile and breaks down over time" 4 (Fernando Domínguez Rubio. 2020).
4 Fernando Domínguez Rubio. (2020). Still life: ecologies of the modern imagination at the art museum. Chicago, Illinois; London: The University Of Chicago Press.
Choosing the Crafting Heritage pathway presented a conflict for me, as I have always been drawn and inspired by crafts’ intimate nature, backstories and hand-made methods. The fact that I grew up in multiple places and have a family history of continuous movement has challenged me to find a direction that feels appropriate. My goal is to create a mesh that feels organic from my own perspective .
Considering my own heritage and the concept of a singular skill craft, I realize I am unable to relate to the idea since coming from generations of immigrants, the value of a multidisciplinary skill set has become more logical and valuable.
A logic that extends its relevance beyond geographical boundaries due to modern technology, multicultural communities can now form based on shared interests rather than proximity. Providing a fertile ground for the combination of cultures and knowledge to create creative endeavours and a wide range of skills.
“But design values and history is taught through a canon; that accepted pantheon of work by predominantly European and American male designers that sets the basis for what is deemed “good” or “bad.” The authority of the canon has undermined the work produced by non-Western cultures and those from poorer backgrounds so that Ghanaian textiles, for example, get cast as craft rather than design. Classifying traditional craft as different from modern design deems the histories and practices of design from many cultures inferior. We should aim to eliminate the false distinctions between craft and design, in order to recognize all culturally important forms of making. Design thinking rhetoric is similarly exclusive: to frame design thinking as a progressive narrative of global salvation ignores alternative ways of knowing”.1
1 R / D. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.readingdesign.org/decolonizing-design
Graphical outcomes for table matter
State of the art
In a world of continuous change where some things lose significance and others gain, a world becoming scarce of materials we knew and abundant in ones unfamiliar. Where conceptions of waste and purpose are entangled. As indisputable facts become fluid and the remaining truths are mere fragments stored in clouds. Factual memories and single craft specialties are replaced by adaptability and a multidisciplinary skill set. Awarding creativity, collaboration, and technological know-how. Considering the potential consequences of destructive outcomes and unfulfilled individuals in today’s society, the issue of facilitating curiosity and flexibility of mind may be the most important one.
Through the course of this project, I became overwhelmed by the number of current suggestions for dealing with the subject. Future education is a new approach that consists of a variety of frameworks designed to assist facilitators in developing workshops that are primarily based on scenario building and are adapted to the scenario. By placing students in imaginative environments encourages imaginative thinking and problem-solving.
Today, it is much more obvious that most of our problems; climate change, poverty, obesity and chronic disease, or modern terrorism—cannot be solved simply with more resources and greater control. That is because they are the result of complex adaptive systems that are often the result of the tools used to solve problems in the past, such as endlessly increasing productivity and attempts to control things. This is where second-order cybernetics comes into play—the cybernetics of self-adaptive complex systems, where the observer is also part of the system itself. As Kevin Slavin says in Design as Participation,
“You’re Not Stuck In Traffic—You Are Traffic.”1
1 Zuckerman, E., & Gessen, M. (2019). Unreality and Social Corrosion: Masha Gessen and Ethan Zuckerman in Conversation. Journal of Design and Science, 6. https://doi.org/10.21428/7808da6b.9ee0ae50
Nona Orbach1 is a multidisciplinary artist, therapist, blogger, lecturer, and facilitator of workshops for art therapists in Israel and around the world.
1 N. (2024, February 23). Homepage- newNona Orbach. Nona Orbach. https://nonaorbach.com/
During the workshop1 attendees were taught to make their own bio-plastic materials from ingredients commonly found in kitchen cupboards. This plastic was then used as the binding resin for other natural ingredients – twigs, sawdust, coffee grounds etc – combining them to produce a bio-composite materia.
1 Council, M. (n.d.). Bio-plastic workshop at the Design Museum. https://www.materialscouncil.com/ bio-plastic-workshop-at-the-design-museum/
It is not a place for testing ideas intended to be implemented, nor a public consultation forum, but rather a place where, in response to the complex fusion of politics and technology shaping today’s social realities, speculative forms of material culture can be used to provoke new ideas and collective imagining about the kinds of worlds people wish to live in. 1
Arabeschi di Latte 1is a design studio founded by Francesca Sarti in Italy in 2001 and since 2013 is based in London. The studio was born from experimentation with design concepts, reflecting on the cultural value of conviviality and shared memories and traditions.
1 Arabeschi di Latte. (n.d.). Arabeschi Di Latte. https://arabeschidilatte.org/#:~:text=Arabeschi%20di%20Latte%20is%20a,and%20shared%20memories%20and%20traditions.
Introducing Experiential and Participatory Futures at the BBC 1
1 Candy, S. (n.d.). Introducing Experiential and Participatory Futures at the BBC. https://futuryst. blogspot.com/2020/10/experiential-futures-at-the-bbc. html
Fondazione Reggio1 Children is a research centre that promotes projects in the educational field and at the same time redefines the very concept of research.
1 Our research. (n.d.). Fondazione Reggio Children. https://www.frchildren.org/en/research
QWhole new worlds are imagined by writers, film-makers, and artists. Could this approach be integrated into design education so design schools could become a source of alternative ideas and counter narratives, materialised through design, that provoke thought and further imagining about the kind of worlds people wish to live in rather than prescribing any one particular future or communicating a vision of how things will, or should be?
A design education like this would probably no longer be organised around disciplines but instead, maybe different ways of seeing the world. Its students and faculty would study, experiment with, and deepen understanding of the mechanics of unreality — utopias, dystopias and heterotopias; what ifs and as ifs; hypotheses, thought experiments and reductio ad absurdum; counterfactuals and uchronia, and so on. Synthesising ideas from political science, anthropology, sociology, history, economics and philosophy into new worldviews made tangible through an expanded form of design practice. 1
1 A Larger Reality R / D. (n.d.). R / D. https:// www.readingdesign.org/a-larger-reality
QScenario thinking is a tool for motivating people to challenge the status quo, or get better at doing so, by asking “What if?” Asking “What if?” in a disciplined way allows you to rehearse the possibilities of tomorrow, and then to take action today empowered by those provocations and insights. What if we are about to experience a revolutionary change that will bring new challenges for nonprofits? Or enter a risk-averse world of few gains, yet few losses? What if we experience a renaissance of social innovation? And, importantly, what if the future brings new and unforeseen opportunities or challenges for your organization? Will you be ready to act?
A joint venture between ActKnowledge and the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Comprehensive Community Initiatives, defines a THEORY OF CHANGE AS: “an innovative tool to design and evaluate social change initiatives. By creating a blueprint of the building blocks required to achieve a social change initiative’s long-term goal, such as improving a neighborhood’s literacy levels or academic achievement, a theory of change offers a clear roadmap to achieve your results, identifying the preconditions, pathways, and interventions necessary for an initiative’s success''.1
1 Kibbe, B. K., & Scearce, D. S. (2020, December 14). Rehearsing the Future: An Introduction to * Developing and Using Scenarios. https://doi.org/10.15868/socialsector.37868
Methodologies
A holistic, qualitative research approach that combines bottom-up, constructivist explorations with A/r/tography. A/r/tography blends the qualities of an artist, researcher, and educator. Unlike traditional research, which focuses on specific questions, a/r/tographic inquiry emphasizes the process.
A/R/TOGRAPHY
Since its conception, a/r/tography has been described as an interdisciplinary, dynamic, and emergent practice, blending visual, narrative, performative, poetic, and other modes of inquiry with qualitative methodologies such as ethnography, auto-ethnography, autobiography, and participatory or educational action research. 1
1 LeBlanc, N., & Irwin, R. A/r/tography. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Retrieved 17 Jan. 2022, from https://oxfordre.com/education/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-393.
Research topics, frameworks & references
The Open Studio Approach to Art Therapy: A Systematic Scoping Review 1
1 1 Finkel, D., & Or, M. B. (2020, October 20). The Open Studio Approach to Art Therapy: A Systematic Scoping Review. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.568042
Expression Semiology is a new science. Its study is based on heretofore-ignored phenomena, the knowledge of which is capable of changing the way the Trace is considered 1
1 Formulation ; Arno Stern & Academie du Jeudi Official Website. (n.d.). Arno Stern & Academie Du Jeudi Official Website. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://arnostern.com/formulation/
1 Kizel, A. (2021, February 28). the facilitator as liberator and enabler: ethical responsibility in communities of philosophical inquiry. Childhood & Philosophy, 17, 01–20. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2021.53450
Making Art: A Qualitative Study of Personal and Group Transformation in a Community Arts Studio 1
A key finding of the study was that art making provided participants the opportunity to build new identities and roles, and that through engagement in mutually meaningful activity, in this case making art, a community of artists developed. Art was also seen as a bridge creating access to the larger community.
1 Howells, V., & Zelnik, T. (2009). Making art: A qualitative study of personal and group transformation in a community arts studio. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 32(3), 215–222. https://doi.org/10.2975/32.3.2009.215.222
Aesthetic Empathy in Teaching Art to Children: The Work of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis in Terezin 1
This article examines the teaching approach of art educa- tor Friedl Dicker-Brandeis as a historical antecedent to the art therapy profession. Dicker-Brandeis’s philosophy and her spe- cific methods of teaching art to children in the Terezin concen- tration camp in Czechoslovakia between 1942 and1944 are described. The influence of the Bauhaus philosophy and teach- ers such as Itten, Klee, and Kandinsky can betraced through Dicker-Brandeis’s pedagogy, with an aesthetic grounded in empathy. Aesthetic empathy was the doctrine that informed Dicker-Brandeis’s art education and later, in the Terezin con- centration camp, her art teaching. This legacy is part of the history of art therapy and may contribute to shaping future theory and practice.
1 Wix, L. (2009, January). Aesthetic Empathy in Teaching Art to Children: The Work of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis in Terezin. Art Therapy, 26(4), 152–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2009.10129612
Chatteur, F., Carvalho, L., & Dong, A. (2010, January 1). Embedding Pedagogical Principles and Theories into Design Patterns. BRILL eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789460910623_012
1 Valente, M. (2017, February 17). Knowledge as Explanations. ResearchGate. https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/313799121_Knowledge_as_Explanations
1 Chu, J. H., & Mazalek, A. (2019, January 2). Embodied Engagement with Narrative: A Design Framework for Presenting Cultural Heritage Artifacts. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 3(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/ mti3010001
1 Boling, E., & Smith, K. M. (n.d.). Artifacts as Tools in the Design Process. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266251198_Artifacts_as_Tools_in_the_Design_Process
1 Oishi, S., & Schimmack, U. (2010). Residential mobility, well-being, and mortality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 980–994. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019389
1 Johannessen, L. K., Keitsch, M. M., & Pettersen, I. N. (2019). Speculative and Critical Design Features, Methods, and Practices. Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design, 1(1), 1623–1632. https:// doi.org/10.1017/dsi.2019.168
Drivers & Trends
Trend Analysis
Guilty
conscience
Assuming responsibility for our planet and ensuring sustainability by working in harmony with nature through educational programs, incorporating eco-friendly materials, repurposing existing products, and reinventing old ones.
Radical fluidity
In an age of constant information flow, as the world becomes more globalized and mass media becomes more prevalent, attention spans are dropping, and change is happening faster. The dying arts of this era are reincarnated through crossbreeding, and crafts are hybridized through physical and abstract explorations.
Technology
Technology has become an essential tool for facilitating the exchange of information and providing quick communication as global needs and interests become increasingly interconnected.
Crossbreeding
As a result of modern technology, social communication has spread beyond geographical boundaries, resulting in multicultural communities forming based on common interests. The synthesis of cultures and knowledge provides fertile ground for new thinking and
approaches to the preservation of craft heritage.
Territorial vagabond
Pluralism shifts localism ideas, while nomadic concepts become more relevant. Physical existence loses significance as we become citizens of the world. Comfort and multi-purpose functionality are key. Environmentally conscious, everything can be repurposed. Nonchalant, earthy colours and rough edges.
Sentimental minimalism
Reconnecting with our past, looking for a balance between modem consumerism and self-expression
We curate significant objects, discarding the rest. focus on simple, flowing and calming objects, family heirlooms and timeless colours.
Mourncore
With an unsettling present and a dooming future, darkness and helplessness are heightened using ambiguous, disruptive, or extreme colours and objects; this facilitates the entry of fantasy into reality.
Project positioning
The theory is if you take the blue pill you continue living in your illusional state. If you take the red pill, you see the true reality that sits under the surface of your illusion. It’s a binary choice. You can be in a reality they want you to believe, or you can choose to go into a much less comfortable reality.1
1 Zuckerman, E., & Gessen, M. (2019). Unreality and Social Corrosion: Masha Gessen and Ethan Zuckerman in Conversation. Journal of Design and Science, 6. https://doi.org/10.21428/7808da6b.9ee0ae50
ANALYZING INHERITANCE
2.1 Interview
2.2 Ancestry analysis
2.3 Clustering of photos
2.4 Mapping of tableware
2.5 Implementation of AI
2.1 Interview
An interview with a historian and educator
With: Yuval Lederman & Moshe Lidor
Over the span of approximately 40 years, he has dedicated himself to lecturing and educating on the subjects of history and national heritage. As a teacher, his liberal left-wing approach was complemented by his coverage of less liberal topics, leaving a lasting impression on me and many of his students. I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions, our conversation took place over the phone as he resides in Israel.
What are the reasons for the great importance placed on history and National heritage?
It is accepted among historians and educators that one must study and research the past in order to belong to a particular group. In the 19th and 20th centuries, and especially with the rise of nationalism, every nation researched and collected its origins and characteristics in order to increase and establish what it has in common. Naturally, the events chosen were selective, those that contributed to formation, compared to casual events that did not contribute to it. Belonging based on “common history” and other elements such as language and territory, led to the creation of nations based on nationality: France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Spain and more...
From this, it is understood that belonging consists of a historical collection of facts, myths, practices, religious beliefs, and interests. War may develop between different nationalities when two or more nations differ in their view of “justice” (quarrels over territories, resources, and interests).
Also on a personal level, “man is a social creature” and tends to belong to a group that gives him security, assistance and an acceptable explanation for “who I am”, “where I came from” and how I am similar to my people and how I am different from the others... when a rivalry develops against another people/group, the individual tends to identify automatically with the members of his group and will even go
to war to protect the members of the nation.
What
are your thoughts about relying on history to create identity and belonging?
Unfortunately, the formation of collective identity and belonging tends to see the historical facts gathered by it as correct and just, and any attempt to show empathy or a certain justice in the position of another people as weakness or even “treason” (let’s say a leftist who claims that there is a certain justice in the Palestinian position may be considered a traitor because he challenges our justice ...)
From what I have written so far, it seems that history does not necessarily search for the truth, but to selectively collect events that fit the national narrative. That is, not everything that happened and also an accepted interpretation of the selected events. In the history of the last hundred years, especially in Europe, “nationalism” is seen as a positive thing of belonging and pride... “Nationalism”, on the other hand, is seen as embracing our truth in an extreme manner (Nazism, for example) to the point of radicalization and rejection of anyone who does not belong...
Another problem is religion... Religious people have explanations that are hard to argue with: “Why our country?” Because God has determined... the problem is that there are Muslims who think differently due to their faith... It is common to say that “those who do not
learn from history will be forced to relive it” for example those who do not learn what happened in Nazi Germany with the rise of Hitler, will not be alert to such dangers in other countries and other times... but here too there is a human phenomenon that different people can “extract from an event Establishes different and even opposite lessons: In the wake of the Holocaust, there are those who want us to be righteous and not do what they did to us” and there are those whose lesson is that everyone is anti-Semitic and “he who kills you will be killed”...
Are you pessimistic?
What do you think, for example, of a future that does not focus on the past but on the present, building shared and unifying futures?
I am not discouraged but neither am I optimistic, after two world wars and a holocaust, I hope that humanity will know how to stop catastrophes before they happen. For this we need leadership, good will and education, a lot of education!
Take John Lennon’s “Imagine”... a world without all the known troubles “a life of peace”, apparently seems to be the embodiment of heaven... nothing to die for, no possessions, no religions... always when I brought it up and in the beginning There was enthusiasm for the idea... Later, after the fantasy discussion, the students mostly came to the conclusion that it is a meaninglesss world without be-
longing, without a single pride, without motivation…
Look at “friendships on Facebook” for example, we enjoy sharing an idea and a conversation with someone, but will we build a community together? What do humans have in common?
Communism also started as a wonderful idea to bring equality between people and ended as a “killing machine” worse than Nazism because they killed their own people…
When I was a hippie in the sixties we sang: “I’ll be fine, you’ll be fine, everything will be fine”... Kant the philosopher also invented the “categorical imperative” according to which man is a rational creature and therefore if everyone thinks before doing something: do I want that to be the rule? He will come to a personal conclusion whether to do the act or not... for example a thief will ask himself: would I want my mother to be robbed? And he would give up the robbery (of course, it didn’t happen...).
The “European Union” is a wonderful example of an attempt (yet not failed) by statesmen to lower the national component and create a European-wide cooperation without borders, without tariffs, help from strong countries to the weak and more... At the moment it is a bit disappointing partly because of immigration...
All religions and all philosophers and all great ideologies have asked questions about the world, society and the future...
Some think that “the Messiah” will make order, some think that “there is nothing to be done” the world is governed by interests that outweigh ideologies and values: “the wonderful” USA supports democracies as the best form of government for its citizens... it itself collaborated with dictators in South America against democracies and wronged the citizens…
What can i as an individual or art as a cultural field do to contribute?
We must maintain optimism because optimists believe in the ability to change... Change is usually not end-to-end but in small, regular portions...
To develop the ability to look at the world with empathy, to see the pain and justice of the other. De Bono has a thinking tool called “MaHA” “What does the other think” in which people are asked to step into the shoes of those who think differently from them... also in clothing, history, foods... and then he sees and experiences a little of the other thinking...
Art by its nature gives expression to the beautiful, aesthetic, different, realistic or imaginary and brings out the sensitive and thoughtful in people.
I think that as an artist and art promoter you have to believe, and it’s not difficult... that you have the ability to influence the “good and empathic” direction in the limited space of your environment or your responsibility...
Experimental graphics for table matter
There is a psychological theorist named Daryl Bem who has a theory called “Exotic Becomes Erotic” that I think is one of the more fascinating psychological theories. He basically posits that there’s a threshold at which if something is exotic to you — unfamiliar, but not too unfamiliar that you are afraid of it — you become incredibly curious and maybe even develop some form of arousal towards it. But if it goes too far beyond the threshold of the familiar, you become terrified of it.1
1 Wheeler, L. (2021, August 11). Creative Director and Teacher Forest Young on Designing a More Inclusive Future - Keekee360 Design. Keekee360 Design. https://keekee360design.com/ blog/creative-director-and-teacher-forest-young-on-designing-a-more-inclusive-future/
Q"... Under the shiny new assemblages promised, even if they are achieved, nothing will have fundamentally changed without engagement with the past, and with the present as shaped by that past . Narratives of rupture, whether catastrophic or utopian, serve one key purpose. They keep us tied to the basic structures of the present moment, and rob us of agency to uproot them.
The specificity of catastropheas-rupture is that by claiming we are in an in-between period, it both suggests that the basic structures are shifting already and that we must fall back on what we have and know simply in order to survive.
No infinite possibility here: instead ‘everything is changing’ and ‘now is not the time to change things.’
One rupture is met by another: by promising a rupture that will fix everything – some new technology or other – techno-utopianism also suggests at the same time that ‘everything will change’ and that ‘we are already doing the right thing to bring about that change’. Both reject any possibility of engaging with History and Politics, instead they suggest that all we need to do is hold on, push a little further, keep going a little longer, and we will reach some state of rest or at least reset. But this is not the case, it is only a narrative trick, to maintain a sense of breathless movement while remaining unable to consider action that might tackle the problems we face at a more fundamental political level. 1
1 Williams, R. (2022, December 4). Narratives of Rupture .(Catastrophe/Utopia/Singularity) — Against Catastrophe. A gainst Catastrophe https:// againstcatastrophe.net/energydispatchblog/williams
INHERITANCE
: the act of inheriting property : the reception of genetic qualities by transmission from parent to offspring : the acquisition of a possession, condition, or trait from past generations heritageproperty that descends to an heir1
1 inheritance. (2024). Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/inheritance
Ancestry analysis
The first phase of this research explored heritage within a multicultural society through the perspective of semi-nomadic upbringing in England, South Africa, and Israel, and diverse family ancestry; Morocco, Egypt, Yemen, Poland, Ukraine, Romania and Italy.
Taking ancestry records
Taken from the family album
material exploration | mapping | clustering | reading | writing
Extensive research across a variety of media including cultural mapping, archive clustering, artificial intelligence, written information, CMF board, trend analysis, and material exploration.
Traditions
The Lineage Pride
Genealogy
The power of food
Investments
Bloodlines
Collections
Taken from the family album
Clustering of photos
Clusters of family photos collected through a specially developed platform
The ceremonial act of sitting at a table within a group is a glue that binds communities together.
1 Birtchnell, T., & Urry, J. (2012). Fabricating Futures and the Movement of Objects. Mobilities, 8(3), 388–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 17450101.2012.745697
AI generated parallel realities based on family photographs
AI generated parallel realities based on family photographs
Aproblem,sincethispreservationhasbeeninsstilledforgenerations as the most crucial for survival .
QAriella Azoulay makes a simple and profound claim. Every photograph bears the traces of the encounter between the photographer and the photographed, and neither party can ultimately control that inscription nor determine what happens to those traces. The photograph, she tells us, fixes nothing and belongs to no one. This untethering of photography from responsibility, at least in its traditional sense, allows her to approach the ethics and politics specific to photography in a completely new way. Even or especially when it is a photograph of a crime or an injustice, a photograph is more than evidence. It imposes another sort of obligation on us, to address and readdress it in a way that challenges what it shows of our life together.1
1 Ubiquity. (n.d.). Leuven University Press. Retrieved May 14, 2024, from https://files.cargocollective. com/90778/Ubiquity_COnversation-with-Jacob-Lewis-Kyle-Perry.pdf
RMidterm presentation; A description of what can be expected from the project.
Multi-layered
Stackable
Buildable
Mixed
Not necessarily practical
Mostly paradoxical
Textures
Colours
Transparencies
Humorous
Deeply serious
Disgarded
Desired
Focusing on the now
And better futures
Unhinged
Deeply embedded
Sureal
Personal
Fragile
Indestructible
Synthetic
Organic
FRAGMENTATION
the action or process of breaking something into small parts or of being broken up in this way:1
1 fragmentation. (2024, May 8). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fragmentation
3.1 Creativity
3.2 Education
3.3 Playability
3.4 Open studio
3.5 Studio Organisation
"In the creative life, everything we do strengthens our sense of being alive. A person can observe a tree and see it in a creative way. A creative life does not need special skills" 1
1
Abram, Jan. The Language of Winnicott: A Dictionary of Winnicott's Use of Words. Karmac Books, 2007.
3.1 Creativity
Numerous definitions of creativity are offered in research studies, likely due to the complexity of the phenomenon and its wide range of manifestations. Creative expression is derived from the Latin language and means beget, give birth, make, create, in other words, a dynamic process that continues to grow and evolve. Creative processes are based on the ability to discover, through attempts that were previously unrelated, new connections that lead to new thinking schemes, new ideas, and new conclusions (Sasser 2008) 1 .
Creativity can also be defined as the ability to alter the perspective and examine a situation / problem / information from more than one perspective. Specifically, the ability to break free of our patterns of thinking and examine reality from a different vantage point. For adults, it is the capability to break free from “logical” patterns that have developed over the course of their lives on the one hand and to allow competing patterns that are in a superior position to be similarly accessible on the other (Ashley, & Oliver, 2010)2 .
This is reinforced by Baack and colleagues (2008)3, who assert that creative thinking relies on childlike perception, which is born out of innocence and is free from inhibitions, making it possible to look at situations in an innovative and refreshing way. Inventing and proposing a new and unique approach to a problem is an advantage for children because they are unfamiliar with the old and well-known solutions to a particular
1 Smith, R., Chen, J., & Yang, X.. (2008). the impact of advertising creativity on the hierarchy of effects. Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 47-61.
2 Ashley, C & Oliver, J (2010) CREATIVE LEADERS. Journal of Advertising, 39(1), 115-130. )
3 Baack, D. Wilson, R & Till. B (2008) creativity and memory effects Journal of Advertising, 37(4), 85-94.
problem. Additionally, various studies report that man starts his life as a highly creative individual, but at the age of eight or nine, he undermines this ability and sabotages it through bad habits.
As described by Jayanti (2010)4, creativity means creatively solving problems and creating products that are original, special and of high quality. A product can come from any field of human activity. Creativity increases the quality of solutions to life’s challenges.
Jayanti’s (2010) model distinguishes between two types of thinking: convergent and divergent thinking. Creative thinking involves divergent (branching) thinking as the primary activity. As this type of thinking is not directly determined by the information provided, it may work with different contents and at a variety of levels. In other words, it refers to the ability to express oneself fluently verbally and conceptually, as well as move between different categories of thought with flexibility, innovation, and reorganization. In Jayanti (2010), three elements are identified as defining creative thinking: Fluency - the ability to create many associations based upon a given stimulus. Having the ability to derive a variety of uses from a single object, including words, expressions, associations, and ideas. Originality - the ability to see things in a way that differs from the norm. This ability is evidenced in individual answers. Flexibility in thinking is the ability to change one’s perception of a problem in order to approach it in a different manner. The above-mentioned three components bring together both the quantitative side, which includes conceptual fluency and bringing up many associations to one stimulus, and the qualitative side, which includes originality and flexibility of thought.
Additionally, Baack and colleagues (2008)3 maintain that generating original ideas requires fluency in ideas as a prerequisite. According to his hypothesis, the number of general ideas (ideal fluency) increases, as does the number of original ideas. More indicates greater creativity, which results in more original responses.
4 Berg, J. Wrzesniewski, A & Dutton, J (2010).Perceiving and responding to challenges in job crafting at
adaptivity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, (31(2/3) 158).
Various theories that identify and explain creative thinking in a variety of cognitive and psychological contexts also illustrate its complexity. According to psychoanalytic theory, creativity is primarily the result of unconscious impulses (sexual and aggressive) within the individual. Using this approach, creativity is regarded as a primary thought process resulting from the original impulses (sexual and aggressive) that seek satisfaction. Essentially, this process involves diverting satisfaction from the original goals to distant goals relating to exploration of the world, knowledge acquisition, and artistic creation.
According to the Neo-Freudian theory5, which was developed from psychoanalysis, creativity is a function of flexible thought processes in which latent ideas are easily transformed into conscious ones (and the repressed primary process and conscious cognitive processes only limit creativity). In this approach, there are two stages involved in the creative process: During the first stage, inspiration occurs, followed by systematic organization and communication of conceptual ideas. It is argued by the perceptual-environmental theory that the key to enhancing creativity lies in a personality structure that is open to impressions from the surroundings.. According to Baack and colleagues (2008) 3, the perceptual reference to the environment has two characteristics: The auto-centric approach emphasizes the individual. In allocentric perception, references to the environment are used to facilitate the acceptance of impressions as they are, allowing for an openness to the reception of impressions. Despite the wide variety of theories regarding creativity, there are some elements that are shared by all theories, namely that creativity is viewed as a process of development. Children (ages 3-6) discover this process through their curiosity, which leads to investigation and knowledge (from the thesis on creativity and academic achievement).
memories from the family album
Qwith just a bit of hope, the idea that an appreciation for complexity coupled with the power of clear vision might help the world find a way through its current mess. It all has that surreal feeling of trying to reason with a bully in a schoolyard who is holding your lunchbox.
You say“Give me my lunchbox.”
They say, “I don’t have your lunchbox.” You say, “It’s in your right hand.” They say, “There’s nothing in my right hand.” Then you look around for witnesses because that’s the only way to validate what you’re experiencing. You want someone to whom you can say, “You can see, right, that he’s got my lunchbox in his left hand now?” But there’s nobody there. 1
In Claire Bishop’s article “Antagonism and Relationship Aesthetics’’, she refers extensively to the approach and attributes related to Nicola Borrio.
( Bourriauld, from the managers of the Palais de Tokyo The Parisian - Museum of Contemporary Art, published the book “ Relational Aesthetics “ in 1998. Bishop points out 1 that the Palais de Tokyo, which was originally a pavilion built in 1937 for an exhibition in Paris, was renovated for five million euros. The result was the preservation of the authentic, bare and unfinished appearance of the building itself, in contrast to the common museum structure, “the white box”.
The argument of Burio, who was the director of the museum, was that in order to present the “art of relationships”, a space must be created that is different from the usual space, that is more like a laboratory or a studio.
Bishop quotes (ibid.), Burio claims that the art of the 1990s is characterized by a theoretical horizon arising from “human interaction and its social context.”
He summarizes the new approach in one sentence:
“It is more urgent to invent possible relationships with our neighbours in the present than to bet on a better tomorrow”.
In his opinion, the main characteristics of the “art of relationships” are the social context, the creation of dialogue and action with the viewers, and dealing with issues of interest to the community (neighbours) here and now instead of philosophizing about the future.2
2 Bishop, C. (n.d.). Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics. CUNY Academic Works. https:// academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_pubs/96/2
QMost tools employed for cognition are bound by rules and codes. When in the art mode, one may unbind them, disassemble any idea or event in terms of logic and illogic, practicality and absurdity, to then rearticulate it and add for whatever purpose.” Yet, artistic methodologies are absent from current curricula, they are excluded because the exploration of the unknown is considered esoteric, elitist or mythical, and, inherently, as use-less.1
1 *Barjonet, L., Delaunay, F., Boutet, D., & Leyrissoux, C. (2019, December). Convergence dans un dispositif de coordination et d’intégration. Actualités Pharmaceutiques, 58(591), 35–37. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.actpha.2019.10.009
QCharles and Ray Eames used to say, “Toys are not really as innocent as they look. Toys and games are the prelude to serious ideas.”1
Typically, "play" is perceived as a leisure activity or one suitable for young children for learning or recreation. Therefore, play is considered unsuitable for complex materials that need to be taught in a formal, achievement-focused manner. Consequently, there has been a clear decline in the use of play in most schools worldwide, from early childhood (more) to high school (less and less).
In recent years, play has gained pedagogical recognition, emphasising its advantages for learning at all ages and its adaptation to the changing reality. Play occurs in a protected environment with adherence to rules, allowing players to take risks without fear. The enjoyment of play releases adrenaline and dopamine in the brain, enhancing the sense of enjoyment and influencing motivation at any age. Since play allows freedom to take risks and make mistakes, it impacts the willingness to initiate and improvise. Each individual can assume different roles, offer different solutions, and thereby express their skills and uniqueness.
During play, one can imagine reality and think unconventionally. Students are less concerned with the passage of time and the effort invested. The engagement and dialogue that develop improve understanding and the ability to argue according to the rules of the game. Students ask questions freely and even integrate the learned material as part of the competitive desire to achieve personal or group success. The element of luck in play also gives struggling students an advantage over excelling students, unlike in a regular classroom where the excelling student always has the upper hand.
1In the past twenty years, numerous studies have highlighted the positive impact of play in various fields: in the emotional field (Schiller, 2010): development of interpersonal communication and empathy; in the social field (2Goleman, 2006): development of interpersonal communication; in the motor field (Karbach, 2013): creation of cognitive and neural connec-
1 National Scientific Council on Developing Child (2007). The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.
2 Goleman, D. (2006). Social Intelligence. Random House Large Print Publishing. http://books.google.ie/books?id=PQZqPXcgHdoC&dq=Goleman,+D.+(2006).+Social+Intelligence:+The+new+science+of+human+relationships.+New+York:+Bantam+Dell&hl=&cd=1&source=gbs_api
tions in the brain; in the linguistic field (Leisman, 2012): the same; in the cognitive field (Shonkoff, 2010): development of imagination, creativity, and inventiveness; in the health field (Bassuk, 2013): significant contribution to mood and reduction of anxiety and depression.
Harvard University released a manifesto called "Pedagogy of Play," 3 which includes recommendations and guidelines on how to deepen the use of play while reducing the fear of "non-seriousness" and creating a school mindset that recognizes play as an important and legitimate way of teaching and learning.
Despite all the advantages listed, some researchers oppose play as a concept and prefer to see it as suitable for younger ages or as a break between "serious" activities.
It is important to note that as early as 1938, Johan Huizinga published a book called "Homo Ludens," emphasizing the importance of play in various cultures and ages.
Mardell, B., Ryan, J., Krechevsky, M., Baker, M., Schulz, S., & Constant, Y. L. (2023). A Pedagogy of Play.
QInvitational Education as a concept originated with William Watson Purkey in the late 60’s and explicated an approach to teaching and learning that focused on enhancing the self-concept of learners.
Creating invitational classrooms is based on his conception of invitational theory developed as a model of professional practice.
“Purkey used the word invitational to mean offering something valuable and summoning cordially.
An invitation is an intentional and caring act of communication designed to offer something beneficial for consideration” A basic premise of invitational theory is that “everyone and everything adds to, or subtracts from, human existence”1
1 Haigh, M. (2011). Invitational Education: Theory, Research and Practice. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 35(2), 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2011.554115
Open studio
QThe open studio process emphasizes artistic creation, and it provides the necessary space and conditions for it. Facilitators do not supervise or moderate the artmaking process, which allows for profound engagement and sufficient time for the creative process to take place. Sessions are deliberately longer than typical sessions to ensure adequate engagement. The organization and nature of the space are crucial to establishing a welcoming and enabling atmosphere.1
1 Finkel, D., & Or, M. B. (2020, October 20). The Open Studio Approach to Art Therapy: A Systematic Scoping Review. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.568042
Open Studio as Part of Art Therapy
In The Open Studio Approach to Art Therapy: A Systematic Scoping Review, Finkel and Bat Or relate to common principles that guide and explain the open studio approach.
These include “(a) the central role of art and artmaking in the healing process; (b) the studio as an enabling space; (c) the importance of individual expression within the group or community space; and (d) the role of the facilitator as enabling and encouraging creative processes1 (Danielle Finkel, Michal Bat Or).
As art therapy has become more widespread, so too has the choice of the open studio approach become a favored practice of many art therapists. In an open studio, materials and tools are logically organized on open shelves according to the criteria of the studio facilitator. This organization supports the work done in the studio and allows the creator to choose their own materials, method, and content of creation freely. The studio facilitator provides a space that encourages authentic expression, where time is perceived differently - marked by empathy, permission, silence for reflection, and acceptance. In this space, the creators can collect, gather, come and go, and work in a favored place. Here, diverse approaches to materials and creation are visible, with processes as varied as the participants themselves. "The goal in the open studio is not to create beautiful things but to stimulate the ability to live a full creative life" 2 (Orbach, The Good Enough Studio, p. 15).
The studio hosts a variety of languages: authentic body language, material language, and cognitive languages like psychology and art history. These elements collectively reveal the transformative processes that occur in the studio, influencing and being influenced by one another. The open studio acts as a laboratory. Its safe space fosters the creation of metaphors through material and actions, developing this ability. Metaphors, which transfer features from one field to another, create something new and which are a natural human skill for arranging and abstracting reality.
1 Finkel, Danielle & Bat Or Michal. The Open Studio Approach to Art Therapy: A Systematic Scoping Review, 2020. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.568042/full
2 Orbach, Nona. The Good Enough Studio: Art Therapy through the Prism of Space, Matter, and Action. Independently published 2020.
The creator engages in dialogues through various modes of expression, connecting matter, emotion, and intellect, learning about their inner world, and projecting it outward.
The studio offers cognitive tools to expand emotion, imagination, and creativity, allowing rich and deep responses. The facilitator and creators experiment with processes, linking the physical and abstract to create reality. Connections between objects, materials, ideas, and their verbal expressions serve as communication and link actions with their cognitive or emotional outcomes. For example, repeatedly tapping paint on paper with a tiny brush might express punctuality, perfectionism, or obsession. The facilitator interprets these expressions, finding meanings and emotional adaptations for the benefit of the creators.
An organized studio space represents an ongoing experience of permission. This emotional experience provides significant rewards when we act and create. It is an experience of acceptance and confirmation, making us feel loved and present in the eyes of others. It is a judgment-free experience that does not demand change or adjustment of the work but allows us to be ourselves naturally. Permission reflects individual potential and resonates with hidden wishes and hopes. Feelings of empowerment, well-being, self-acceptance, and reduced perfectionism and anxiety emerge from such acceptance. Compassion and tenderness towards others also develop, internalized as an encouraging inner voice reflecting one's maximum strengths and abilities. Development and deep transformative moments arise thanks to permission.
The open studio’s organization and material offerings inherently permit learning from materials, allowing oneself to observe, wonder, and develop. This permission forms the basis of inspiration.
In "The Book of Permission"3 Orbach writes: "The essence of permission is the experience of connection, characterized by acceptance, permission, and belonging. A question arises: Am I allowed to be myself? The invitation of the open studio empowers and the sense of insecurity is transformed into a sense of belonging, anxiety is eased and a relationship of giving and receiving will close a circle" 3(p. 16). Orbach writes in "The Good Enough Studio"2 about the permission to choose within the organized space of the open studio, providing a place for transformation, recovery, and empowerment. This tangible therapeutic
space enables and encourages self-awareness of the creator's personal and social abilities. The studio facilitator understands the qualities of each material, the accompanying tools, and their effects on the body and cognitive processes. She conceptualizes complexity using psychological and artistic concepts, mediating emotional meaning for the creator.
She understands the creator's personal process, mediates techniques and knowledge from art history, and, with the organization of space and presentation of materials, addresses how to develop emotional processes supporting various aspects of work: technical, social, cognitive, and emotional.
The open studio encourages personal choice and responsibility, allowing creators to experience autonomy. This position, alongside permission, fosters a sense of belonging and value from the act itself. The process encourages investment and authentic action, leading to mutual relations and cooperation, creating a small society, a model of democracy.
Materials in the studio are usually divided into four categories:
1. Dry linear materials: pencils, pastel chalks, oil chalks, charcoal
2. Wet materials: gouache, acrylic, oil, ink
3. 3D materials: plasticine, cardboard, bulk parts (recycled and natural materials)
Choosing from these materials expresses the body's communication with objects, tools, and materials. Most choices are meaningful and not accidental. There are constant inter-relationships between materials and emotions, with materials depending on the creator's actions, followed by awareness and insight, aided by the studio facilitator.
The open studio is the ideal environment for nurturing the creator's spiritual core. The creative process mixes materials, thoughts, feelings, and movements to create a new order. This spiritual core contains the essence of the creator's being and transforms through actions, images, thoughts, and feelings expressed in the material, gaining new cognitive, spiritual, and mental meaning. Materials define the rules, as each has unique qualities and limits. The creator's actions and choices reflect their spiritual core. "The hand has the ability to dream and its own hypothesis. It helps us understand the material in its deepest existential state".4 (Bachelard, Water and Dreams,
4
Bachelard, Gaston. Water and Dreams: An Essay on the Imagination of Matter, Dallas: Pegasus Foundation, 1983.
p 107). Every authentic encounter between material and person brings depth and meaning, supporting observation and transformation. Finkel and Bat Or’s four guiding principles1 of art-making, enabling space, enabling facilitator and individualistic expressions within the group can determine the healing success of the open studio approach. The organization of the studio is a non-verbal message that determines whether work will flow. If the space is well-organized, the therapeutic and educational processes will be relaxed and natural. If it is a group, reciprocal relationships of learning and support are formed, and the group naturally becomes a social group that learns and supports. The facilitators build the studios according to their therapeutic and educational worldview. This way, they express their professional identity, which develops and changes according to the needs of the studio and the creators. Through this dynamic process, the studio itself becomes an active partner in the therapeutic process. The studio is a good enough container where the creator operates in search of something that does not always have a name or a clearly defined goal. Sometimes, the exploration itself, in a state of permission and choice at a personal pace, constitutes the essence of the internal dialogue and an important part of the creation. “The role of the studio is to be present as a kind of womb to hold the facilitator, the creator, and the process, and therefore it functions as a co-therapist.” 2 (Orbach The Good Enough Studio, p118).
Shay Frogel (Frogel, 2017)1 in an article called “The Ethical Value of Aesthetic Education” (translated from Hebrew) writes about the aesthetic experience as creating a space between the given reality and the possible choices while looking at it from different perspectives and thus encouraging critical thinking: “The aesthetic experience helps free the individual to a personal but reflective experience, which encourages critical thinking in relation to oneself and to his surroundings. The aesthetic experience extracts the individual from the conditions of reality in which he is placed and places him in the position of observing different perspectives in relation to them. Attention, which is usually directed to the theoretical (cognition) or practical (doing) plane, is suspended, and the individual gains the experience of being between actual reality and reality. This is the space required for both critical thinking and a sense of existential satisfaction unique to man - known as pleasure.”
1 Frogel. (2017). Art education : aesthetics and ethics (By Lorand). Tel Aviv-Yafo (Israel)-place of publication. https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/ NNL_ALEPH990043770160205171/NLI
Studio tools
Paper
Clay Foil
Parchment
Candles
Rocks
Dried Lemon Peels
Dried Leaves
Apron
Coffee Blue Foam
2 Measuring Tapes
Ruler
String Textiles
Cement
Projector
Latex Gloves
Two Ipads
Bowls
Plates
Gypsum
Push Pins
Pack Of Thick Markers
Pack Of Thin Markers
Pack Of Colored Lourdes Black
Lourdes Size 100 Gouache Colors
Watercolours
Acrylic Colours
Vaseline
Cardboard
Plastic Bottles
Old Fabrics
Old Magazines
Pencils
Plasters
Hot Plate
Blender
Dehydrator
Canes For Painting
Brushes Clips
Adhesives: Stick Uhu
Large
Liquid Transparent
Uhu,
Slutape, Masking Tape, Glue Gun
3.5
Studio Organisation
It is only through constant contact with newly evolving techniques, with the discovery of new materials, and with new ways of putting things together, that the creative individual can learn to bring the design of objects into a living relationship with tradition and from that point to develop a new attitude towards design 1 .
1 Adrian Bowyer, initiator of the RepRap open source 3D printer project, 2011
stapler, clips, hooks. push pins Adhesives: glue stick/gun, tape / Scissors in different sizes Cutting Knife wires, wire rulers, Glue gun wires and players.
paper of various types, weights, textures, and colors.
Cardboard surfaces for work, presentation shelf.
Paper: of any type, 180 g, 240 g, cardboard surfaces from boxes collected for plasticine and Its applicator or to panda or gouache. Storage in drawers or Polygal bags
Plastic office cabinet for printer papers drafts transparencies. Copies etc...
Storage of works: Maintain a tidy workspace by assigning a folder or a shelf for each class. Use shelves for 3D, ensuring a consistent height all around.
Under the sink: cleaning materials, large glue, another box of clay, and plastic bags. Recycle bin. Above the sink: kettle, music player
Waste material made into powders
MAKER CULTURE
Maker culture emphasizes informal, networked, peer-led, and shared learning motivated by fun and self-fulfillment 1.- Maker culture encourages novel applications of technologies, and the exploration of intersections between traditionally separate domains and ways of working including metal-working, calligraphy, film making, and computer programming 2 .
1 Sharples, M., Mcandrew, P., Weller, M., & Gaved, M. (2013, September 1). Innovating Pedagogy 2013: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256475436_Innovating_Pedagogy_2013_Exploring_new_forms_of_teaching_learning_and_assessment_to_guide_educators_and_policy_makers
2 Maker culture. (2024, April 18). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture#cite_note-4
PART IV MATERIALISATION
4.1 The design objective
4.2 Characterization cmf | Sensorial qualities
4.3 output
4.4 Processes
Experimentation | learnings
4.5 circularity
MACGYVER verb
Mac· Gy· ver
MacGyvered; MacGyvering; MacGyvers
: to make, form, or repair (something) with what is conveniently on hand.1
v. To inexplicably overcome a perilous situation through the skillful use of random or otherwise unrelated objects.2
2 What Does 'MacGyver' Mean? | Slang Definition of MacGyver. (2023, May 9). https://www.merriam-webster.com/ wordplay/what-does-macgyver-mean-slang-definition
The development of experiential tableware as part of the studio’s tools for material exploration holds importance on several fronts; it sets the stage for the immersive aspect for providing an aesthetic attraction as well as a multisensory experience, which varies in color, texture, scent, and structure.
created from materials that are readily available, including flour, coffee, old lemons, candles, and recycled paper. These materials are combined with other natural ingredients, including beeswax, clay, and gypsum, to form durable yet endlessly recyclable objects.
4.2
Characterization
cmf | Sensorial qualities
The design aims to achieve
- A balance between aesthetic appeal and approachability.
- Combining durability and softness for an engaging sensory experience.
- An efficient and fast production process.
- Basic water repellent.
- Ability to repurpose the object into different forms and combine it with new material waste from workshops (endlessly recyclable).
Sensorial qualities
Since the ingredients are dependent upon what is available at the studio, every item differs in sensory quality.
Various shapes and sizes are available, from lightweight to heavy, flexible to rigid and smooth to rough surfaces. Spices such as cinnamon, lavender, and thyme may be added to enhance the sense of homeliness.
I attempt to maintain a unified appearance by maintaining a certain colour scheme.
Giaccardi and Karana introduced four experiential levels in everyday materials experiences: sensorial (i.e., how materials are sensed), interpretive (i.e., meanings evoked by materials), affective (i.e., emotions elicited by materials), and performative (i.e., actions elicited by materials).
Karana et al. developed a method and experiential characterisation toolkit as parts of a systematic approach to study materials experience through a lens of these four experiential levels.
With the advent of shape changing, smart , augmented , ageing , and living materials, there is an emerging design space in HCI to study the dynamic and temporal natures of experiences with materials. 1
1 Giaccardi, E., & Karana, E. (2015). Foundations of Materials Experience. https://doi.org/10.1145/2702123.2702337
Circular Resilient Reusable Functional DIY
Reliable, versatile and affordable functionality are key. Environmentally conscious, everything can be repurposed. Nonchalant, earthy colours and rough edges.
- Efficient And Fast Production Process - Water Repellent
- Ability To Repurpose The Object Into Different Forms + Combine It With New Material Waste From The dinners
Natural beesewax Natural oils Gelatin Clay
Recycled materials Paper pulp Flour Gypsum
Materials
Unrefined
Functional\Practical
INVENTORY
The product is made from 750 grams of non-changing variables (paper pulp+beeswax+gypsum) (recycled or new) and 250 grams of changing variables divided into125g of binding materials such as oils and gelatine/agar agar And 125g for the products structural integrity such as soil, flour, woodchips, tea, coffee.
The production process has been divided into three segments: pre-production, production, and post-production, which are applied to all tableware products.
Bringingusclosertoredefiningcommonperspectives on what constitutes waste and what remains valuable, reshapingcontemporaryconceptsofmaterialsas narrativescontinuetodevelop.
Later stages in experimentation
Experimentation
Recipe testing
Learnings
. Even the best note taker would have difficulty keeping track of the exact mix of materials on their third and fourth exploration cycles.
. Whenever possible, it is best if all of the components are crushed, cut, and mulled to the smallest size possible. Everything mixes better, and nothing sticks out during the molding process.
. As well as being useful for odor control, soap is also useful for bonding the material (glycerol).
Dehydrate and grind the general food waste found at the back of the refrigerator. Otherwise, mould is a possibility; it isn’t a definite science, but it can be frustrating.
. When using paper pulp, I found the best results, both visually and structurally, when you use papers of the same colour and type, e.g., receipts, cardboard, parchment paper, etc.
. It appears that most of the materials are at their best around the second lifecycle; I assume that this is due to the material mix.
. Dont believe anyone that tells you to use vinegar. the smell is terrible.
I have reduced my use of food waste to mostly black coffee and tea waste (be sure to dehydrate the collected waste as soon as possible, otherwise, we know what happens)... used as a colourant and material enhancement agent.
. It is best for the materials to dry when both sides are ventilated—i.e. to remove them from the mold when possible and allow them to dry on a wire net or something with holes. A wood base is the second best choice.
. Make a habit of mixing leftovers together. That’s where the magic happens...
QInstead of discussing “sustainability” as something to be “solved” in the context of a world where bigger is still better and more than enough is NOT too much, perhaps we should examine the values and the currencies of the fitness functions and consider whether they are suitable and appropriate for the systems in which we participate. Developing a sensibility and a culture of flourishing a term that has taken on especial significance since Elizabeth Anscombe’s 1958 essay — and embracing a diverse array of measures of “success” depend less on the accumulation of power and resources and more on diversity and the richness of experience. This is the paradigm shift that we need.1
1 *Ito, J. (2017, October 13). Resisting Reduction: A Manifesto. Journal of Design and Science. https://doi.org/10.21428/8f7503e4
GOAL AND SCOPE
The product, or “experiential tableware,” plays an essential role in the events meant to stimulate curiosity about different materials and waste perceptions. They are homemade and produced only as part of the dinners which are small and intimate. All the materials chosen for the production can be endlessly recycled and reproduced.
the objective is to create a cycle of materials that can be endlessly renewed and combined with other collected waste products.
ESTABLISHING A CIRCULAR STUDIO
By collecting materials for experimentation rather than specific purposes, even the most banal waste can become an exciting prospect.
You may be surprised by what you choose
Material collection corner [preferably a covered or hidden location].
REUSING MATERIALS
Materials include paper, plastic, textiles, technological waste, and metals.
Forward Thinking | Future Skills | Participatory | Play
goal
Organize a dinner party where friends and family are replaced with a diverse group of individuals and food is replaced with materials that are ready for exploration.
The setup features a compelling and versatile table that has been carefully designed to showcase a variety of diverse materials. It provides a space for engaging, hands-on exploration and play, with the goal of inspiring the development of new perspectives by empowering individuals to organize and rethink the materials in countless ways. Through interactive and enjoyable activities, the table fosters limitless creativity, enabling the formation of original interpretations and unique experiences.
Tableware serves as a bridge between traditional craftsmanship and personal expression, evolving towards a more diverse approach.
Dinner plannings
Experimental graphics for table matter
The concept of cultural evolution began with the father of evolution himself, Waring said. Charles Darwin understood that behaviors could evolve and be passed to offspring just as physical traits are, but scientists in his day believed that changes in behaviors were inherited. For example, if a mother had a trait that inclined her to teach a daughter to forage for food, she would pass on this inherited trait to her daughter. In turn, her daughter might be more likely to survive, and as a result, that trait would become more common in the population.
Waring and Wood argue in their new study, published June 2 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, that at some point in human history, culture began to wrest evolutionary control from our DNA. And now, they say, cultural change is allowing us to evolve in ways biological change alone could not. Here’s why: Culture is group-oriented, and people in those groups talk to, learn from and imitate one another. These group behaviors allow people to pass on adaptations they learned through culture faster than genes can transmit similar survival benefits. An individual can learn skills and information from a nearly unlimited number of people in a small amount of time and, in turn, spread that information to many others. survive. As ideas spread, cultures develop new traits.1
1 Duke, C. (2021, June 14). Humans might be making genetic evolution obsolete. livescience.com. https://www.livescience. com/culture-evolves-faster-than-genes.html
Dinner Guidelines
. Specially curated
. Examining waste from different perspectives.
No specific outcome or implementation is intended.
Anything can be anything.
. Each participant is autonomous and decides how their journey will unfold.
In this learning environment, every participant is an equal. The teacher is a student, and the students are teachers.
. Human potential is immeasurable and limitless.
Objectives:
Diverse perspectives and multidisciplinary approaches
Wide-ranging skills
Material hybridization
Unscripted research
Intuitive discovery
Flexibility of ideas
Reevaluating waste
Promoting circularity
Key skill development
- Identifying and solving problems
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Developing social awareness and sensitivity
- Adaptability and flexibility of ideas
- Practical Application of Knowledge
- Expanding the familiar scope of knowledge
- Critical and independent Thinking
Dinner plannings
An engaging table displaying a variety of materials encourages hands-on experimentation and play, facilitating the development of new interpretations.
Dinner plannings
* The event is not intended to replace the educational system or to provide participants with school subjects, but rather to serve as a first step in introducing a radical, different form of freedom.
Experimental graphics for table matter
Business plans
[ Presently ]
[ Aiming towards ]
Despite the inherent ambiguity of a project like this and the necessity of revisiting and refining its essence, purpose, and value proposition multiple times, I appreciated the venture of watching its development unfold. As I explored personal heritage, teapots and future suggestions from AI (to name a few) I found great fulfilment in the convergence of ideas that aligned with my personal evolution as well as with global education, environmental concerns, and diversity of thought. This journey has shown the interconnectedness of everything. There are no abrupt insights or beliefs; rather, we are a collection of interconnected elements, some more prominent than others.
The successful conclusion of this journey would be more accurately described as the establishment of a solid foundation for developing innovative materials approaches rather than merely concentrating on what exists today.
By building upon this foundation, I hope to inspire others with these ideas and continuously adapt my viewpoints to a constantly-changing environment.
With curiosity-driven and practice-led approaches, I regard my work as a multidisciplinary research. Moving between physical, digital, and cultural spaces for much of my life has led to a profound fascination with the interplay between the environment, behaviour, and culture.
Drawing from a variety of practices such as teaching, art, design, philosophical, and theoretical, my work is an ongoing exploration of open-ended trial and error aimed at breaking down preconceptions and developing alternate perspectives.
Emphasizing process rather than results, the research is documented on my website, as I monitor progress and changes over time and space. Making use of readily available, environmentally friendly, and anthropologically relevant materials.
