DRISHYA SUMMER CAMP
Target group: 16 years
KNOW THYSELF
Introduction to familiarity with objects that are around us in the present environment moving towards those that might represent “closed beings”
A box/a bottle
Objectives for:
CHILDREN
They recognize what feelings lie inside.
They use different mediums to express themselves.
They see similarity/familiarity between living organisms (which are always growing, transforming, creating oneself, developing) and non-living inorganic objects (which are fixed, rigid, static, no-emotions, no brain, no heart) and living connecting with non-living in different ways, both transforming each other.
MYSELF
To understand how much and how to give direction so that they find the way themselves by thinking, questioning, reflecting, doing.
To be able to help them extract/ recognize and let out their voices through different medium.
You teach best, what you most need to learn - Richard Bach
Exercise:
Look at different objects (10 minutes)
-Children look/observe different objects around them
-They touch and feel the objects
Choose between a bottle and a box.
-Now I give two objects to choose from which are different from each other yet same in essence in terms of representing confined or being boxed in/bottled up, letting some things out, keeping some things inside (the objects are a bottle and a box)
-Children consider the object as themselves. (consider the box as YOU)
What would a box (YOU) contain, hide, reveal? (20minutes) (Reflecting)
-They do this in words, they either make a mind-map, do it in columns, or they write a small paragraph.
How would you want this box (YOU) to look like? (30 minutes) (Re-creating/Transforming)
-Children create boxes/bottles by using the material provided (paper, colors, glue, paper with text, beads etc.)
What would you fill this box with and what would you want to leave out of the
Box/bottle? They can return to contain, hide, reveal aspects but in a new way that they are projecting. (45mins)
-Children make a visualization of what they would want to occupy the box with and what would they choose to leave out of the box. (paper, crayons, paints, inks)
Children put up what they have made and draw on the board and talk about it in the end (30 minutes)
I understand their expressions keeping these four parameters in my mind – what aspects fit into the different quadrants?
Thinking Intuition
Sensation feeling
OUTCOME
Identify present feelings and associate through box (using motifs, symbols, textures, lines etc.)
Identify future hopes, wishes, and dreams by a visual by choosing what they want to keep inside and outside the box/bottle
DAY TWO
DAY THREEDAY TWO
ASSUMPTIONS
-Children may find talking to a tree/plant funny
-They may not take it seriously
-Some may become emotional
-Some may or may not feel comfortable with talking to a tree or with the feelings and emotions to think about or talk about
-Some may like only sketching but not the thinking part
-Some may not be able to retain interest in the activity
-Some may be very active in doing activity
-They may or may not know how to capture texture
-Some may be quicker than the others
- Some may have short-attention span
-Some may talk/discuss more than the others
OBJECTIVES
CHILDREN
-Give them space to observe/imagine a plant/tree and being close to them.
-To recognize their own feeling (about themselves) by connecting with tree/plant
-Get them to observe and capture textures and patterns in nature
-To know what they hope, what are their fears, what challenges they face so that it can be worked upon.
MYSELF
-Get rid of confusion from assumptions, to know how many assumptions are there
-To help the children recognize their strengths and weaknesses (so that they can be worked on further in later activities)
-Bring them to see patterns and texture in nature; it can be connected to textiles later
-To know what works in this activity and what does not work and why
Go out and find a plant or a tree that you feel close to (30 minutes)
-Children carry their sketchbooks with them; they draw the plant/tree they feel close to. Or they may draw just a part of plant.
-Observe textures, patterns, motifs and try to capture them.
What is the SIMILARITY and DIFFERENCE between the PLANT and YOU? (30 minutes)
-Talk to the plant/tree. Have a conversation with it. They need to listen, imagine what the plant is telling them.
-Children may draw or write about this (they would do what they don’t feel comfortable about). The observations, thoughts are not to be about the physical look (about eyes, nose, mouth etc) but about connecting through feelings, emotions and touch.
-They come back and talk about it (15 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Now they think of that plant as themselves. (45 minutes)
-Is there a name they might give the plant/tree – will the name signify something?
-Give them words like hope, fear, dream, challenge and get them to make a visual of themselves considering themselves as the plant/tree.
-Would they want to be the same tree? Or they would want to transform the tree(themselves) into some other kind of tree?
Or
They make a collage using papers of different textures. They may paint or draw on different textured papers and compose.
They display their visuals and everyone discusses, share, reflect on the discoveries. They write about what they found new about themselves. (30 minutes)
OUTCOMES
Experience closeness with a plant/tree and hence nature itself in an urban context
A set of sketches of trees representing themselves.
A different perspective of themselves by associating oneself with a plant/tree
A set of textures and patterns
Their hopes, dreams, fears, challenges, how they see themselves in future.
JUST HAVE FUN!!!
I gathered large variety of clothes from Srishti crowd. These are the clothes that have not been used by people either because they don’t fit into them anymore of they have lost attachment with these clothes.
-I displayed these clothes in front children at Drishya. I chose different variety from salwar-kameez, printed pajamas, illustrated t-shirts, to western funky clothes. I told children to choose that they would want to wear. I thought they may choose only salwar kameez but most of the girls chose western clothes and boys chose T-Shirts with illustrations.
-after choosing the clothes they had to embroider a pouch (for girls), a wallet (for boys) that they would want to carry with their chosen clothes. This involved stitching simple pouch first then embroidering onto it.
OBJECTIVE
-to know what kind of clothes they are open to
-how/what they would want to embroider on pouch/purse for themselves
-to let them start embroider from what they know already
-I will get an idea how much know about stitches and ways of using them
OUTCOME
-a piece of embroidery that matches their chosen clothes
-their wish to dress themselves in a certain type of clothing
DAY FOUR
LETS PLAY!!
Play a game
-divide children in 4 small groups (each group will be given graph paper)
-game: one person draws one line and the other person continues the line by adding one more line to it. Each child draws one line each, after doing 2-3 rounds like this, the last line should meet the first line.
-a pattern will be formed
Play individually
-now each child will draw individually and see how many new patterns come out
Share with the other groups
-now all the groups share the patterns they have come up with
-each person chooses 10 motifs to embroider (they can choose designs from any group)
-they start embroidering (they can use only running stitch)
OBJECTIVE
-to show children the possibilities to come up with motifs through different techniques
-to explore simple running stitch, how one kind of stitch can be used to do varied motifs
-to get them started with stitching, to free their hands
OUTCOME
-a technique to explore geometric designs (it can be used to do mandala designs also)
-versatility of running stitch
DAY FIVE-SIX
You are one of the four elements (fire, earth, water, air
-choose the element and think why they are that element (5mins)
-get together in groups according to the element chosen and make a mind map of that element considering in mind (touch, smell, sight, use, function) (15 mins)
-from the mind-map, choose the key words that suit your personality
Draw individually
-after choosing the key words(that show a certain emotion like anger, calm, bored etc.) that suit their personality they draw five small sketches using only wavy lines
-the drawing should be a representation of them. (30 mins)
Give the feel to the word for what it means
-After one round of drawing, there will be refinement round. From their five sketches they choose one that they would want to embroider and refine the sketch for it. (15mins)
-the sketch should give the feel of the word
-once the sketch is finalized they can start embroidery
OBJECTIVE
-to get them recognize the feelings that different elements and their images of the same provide
-let them free themselves to draw through only wavy lines
-for stitching: get them to explore combination of different stitches
OUTCOME
-a set of visuals using only simple lines
-embroidered piece that shows a certain feeling
-connecting visual and key-words
DAY SEVEN-EIGHT
(for elder group)
collect waste paper and create paper snoflakes
-explore paper snowflakes cut cutting paper in palnned and unplanned way
transformation
-children translate the design from paper onto fabric through embroidery
see forms
-see forms that emege in designs, and work with them
