(I have placed this post alongside my PPP (below) because I feel they overlap. Perhaps repeating my PPP. I will merge them in the near future.)
I created this post in order to type out my response to the questions in the worksheet. I find it very helpful at this stage to be able to put my thoughts and ideas into words as they seem to be swimming loosely in my head. I realise that they may change over time but this is helping me to think through them.
My Practice led research:
My practice based research looks at the the human body as a home and the scientific evidence emerging to confirm why human interconnection with nature has a place at the heart of our psychological, physical and spiritual wellbeing. Drawing from research in the fields of Ecopsychology, Sensory processing, Mindfulness, Eco-art therapy, Ecology and Neuroscience, my art practice seeks to investigate Care and how re-establishing certain bonds can bring about a cyclical effect in which care for the health of our living planet feeds into Care/self-care that is fundamental to our own health. The inner landscape is our ‘permanent’ and most important dwelling place. A dwelling place that can often become inhospitable due to the many ‘noises’ caused by our modern age and it’s resulting lifestyle habits. Often we are our own worst enemies due to toxic psychological states that stem from a lifestyle that is not conducive to our physical and mental wellbeing. Statistics show an alarming rise in metal health issues, especially anxiety and depression, over the last 40 years. This can in part be the result of (or aggravated by) how our lifestyles has been influenced by the Industrial Revolution and over the last three to four decades, the Digital Revolution. Future generations will need more awareness and knowledge of the impact that our modern age have had on our biology and the skills to intentionally create lifestyles and environments that generate balance and health. Through my art practice I seek to reestablish a connection with nature through the 8 senses. Working mindfully with my senses and naturally sourced materials, I explore this interconnection and it’s effect on my own anxiety. I believe a new worldview that is perhaps more similar to that of our forbears, can help restore not only our living planet but also our-selves.
Due to rapid urbanization during the Industrial Revolution, people found themselves moving from farms to cities or towns where living conditions were often overcrowded. The construction of large factories and people working in confined spaces not only caused pollution to our environment but also (perhaps unknowingly) depriving themselves of some of our most vital human needs – our need for sensory-motor connection with nature and face to face community with people. The rapid development of the digital revolution has enhanced this problem by often creating further distance. Social media and email makes us feel that we are connected but in reality, we are ignorant of how much healthy and rich interaction is missed when we do not meet and engage in person. The digital revolution has also caused an continued disconnection with nature due to it’s tendency to keep us from having enough recreational time. Carefully calculated neuro-scientific methods that certain apps have used in it’s development, can often keep us engaged and over-stimulated. Some temperaments can suffer from digital addictions if they are more susceptible to it’s luring. There is a growing concern as our attention becomes used as currency. A physical disconnection with nature as well as other people (community) is my primary concern and although I feel that technology holds many positive possibilities to enrich our lives, I am concerned that many are struggling to maintain a balance that is conducive to our health and mental resilience in general.
My practice is therefore connected to the current critical debates revolving around Mental Health (in a digitised world), Ecology (the benefits of eco-human intraconnection) and Care (how the two fields mentioned can affect each other). It asks questions such as: How will our future generations cultivate lifestyles in a digitised world that help to maintain health and wellbeing in years to come? Although mental health is of specific concern when we look at the statistics, I believe that mental health ultimately affects our physical and spiritual health in the long run. It is therefore a critical concern and a topic I feel needs to be brought into the attention of the education system and health care facilitators.
I am specifically interested in the latest Mindfulness based practices and -research as well as Sensory processing research. I am specifically interested in how these can be brought together with an art practice and researched alongside my practice, using nature as both material and inspiration to emphasise previous research in these fields and perhaps bring about new findings and a holistic and therapeutic experience that promotes wellbeing.
Another consequence is a fast passed, performance driven western world view. My practice is concerned with how this has impacted (and is still impacting) mental-, relational-, spiritual- and physical health and what we can do to restore and maintain a balance. With the emphasis on the wonder found in nature, I aim to reconnect on a personal level with nature by foraging and processing natural earth pigments and working with clay. As I aim to find a visual language with which to inform and inspire others to reconnect and engage with nature on a sensory level.
I would also like to communicate the dimension of the influx of intrusive noises – thoughts and/or distractions (elaborated under methods) and how we can use mindfulness techniques together with self-knowledge about our unique sensory processing to relief stress and anxiety in our lives.
The slower rhythms of nature, being mindful and finding time for silence is imperative to our health in general and being intentional is key in our modern world with so many things specialised to grip our attention. I am interested in how the process of art making, specifically using naturally sourced art materials, can help relief stress and anxiety due to a sensory-motor approach. Through my artwork I hope to bring an awareness to the importance of restoring an embodied awareness of our interconnection with nature, with each other as oppose to the individualistic solo-self. With emphasis on the art-making process of art as experience (which will take priority over product ), I hope to inspire others to consider the art-making process (in and/or with nature) as a tool for grounding and restoring the soul and spirit in order to bring relief from the suffering that living in our times can cause and enter a more fulfilled and contented life.
Why might my research be required and relevant:
Perhaps this has been answered in the previous paragraph, so I might repeat myself here. We have drifted far from the lifestyles of our indigenous ancestors, who’s lives depended on their interconnection with nature and with their community. My work can potentially bring awareness to the health benefits of an interconnection with nature and creating with nature and in particular the engagement with the art making process on a sensory level. This is relevant, because we are living in a time when rising mental health issues worldwide are of growing concern and current critical debates around the topics of: digital overload, need for more meaningful content, managing and owning our own attention, what attention currency is and why it is important?
Not only is does the natural world need us to save it from effects of pollution and global warming but we also need the natural world to bring our own ‘inner landscape’ into balance by allowing it to bring us into it’s slower rhythms and into it’s silence and soothing sounds. We need this in order to hear the authentic inner voice that gets crowded out by the noise and distractions of our modern world.
I am considering to put together a workshop alongside my MA body of work which can be used in the future as a tool to expose groups of people to an embodied art experience in and with nature. This can create grounds for connecting to nature and others and re-constructing the self, leading to better mental health and a general sense of wellbeing.
My overarching concerns are:
Stress reduction through mindfulness and sensory processing knowledge.
Interconnection with nature and other human beings. By working with materials from nature with sensory-motor engagement that enhances the connection with the material (nature).
Our ecological footprint in terms of using sustainable and naturally sourced art materials.
Materiality and therapeutic value of processing and using natural earth pigment in paint-making.
Advocating for a balanced digital environment for children and adults by acknowledging the benefits of technology but at the same time making intentional effort to balance it with health promoting activities that involve the senses.
How do I capture my research (still need to elaborate on this):
Methodology notes (how?) YES
Contextual notes (who else does it?) YES
Theoretical notes (what is the work telling you?) YES
Analytical notes (Patterns and influences in the work) YES
Wider relevance (site, spaces, places) YES
Theoretical framework notes
Tangential research notes
Visual/practical based responses YES
visual research evaluation and analysis notes of my works and works of others YES
What other ways do I capture my research such as sound/movement etc. SOUND AND ANIMATION
Are there areas in this list that I can strengthen and how?
A little bit more of everything needed at this stage.
Do I need any technical help in order to achieve this?
Yes, I need to teach my self how to animate but I am quite literate with software and look forward to trying it. I have always been fascinated with bringing art alive with animation.
My methodologies include?
My own reflexive research notes regarding how I experience the making process and processing of natural pigments and working with soil and clay.
In the near future, giving a workshop to a small group to share my knowledge and experience with the emphasis on having a sensory and mindful experience with natural art materials aimed at stress reduction. This can be done with adults or children.
My methods are:
Foraging for natural earth pigments, botanically based pigment and clay and processing them into oil-paint or watercolour paint.
Preparing some surfaces with home made Kaolin clay ground to serve as a versatile surface for painting, drawing and scratching into.
Focusing on the figure in nature, I aim to emphasise the connection between figures and nature and figures with each other, while bringing in an layered element that represent intrusive thoughts, perhaps the shadow-side of our psyche and the distracting powers of technology, noise and busyness. For this dimension of the work, I am experimenting with soot from a candle flame on glass and then scratching into the surface various images and text. This has been one way of achieving a layer the symbolise this reality but I will be experimenting some more.
Working with clay helps me to experience the soil/pigment in another form and brings with it a rich sensory-motor experience that has an effect on my mood and ability to be mindful. I would like to focus on sculpting with clay as well as making vessels that can display natural foraged finds – curiosity cabinets, pots for keeping pigment and paint and sculptural plant pots. Items that help bring more of nature into our homes and sensory field.
Who else is working in this way?
The contextual field that can underpin my making…
I have a few artist that do similar work and will try to name a few here:
Living artists:
- Heidi Gustafson – Natural earth pigment researcher and collector
- Nancy Popanz – American artist working with natural pigment.
- Tilke Elkins – founder of The Wild Pigment Project – Artist and reseracher
- Emma Talbot – artist working on silk with themes, often relating to our relationship with nature.
- Leonora Carrington – Nature, the unseen world made visible.
Artists from the past:
- Louis Borgeois – Using art as a therapy and building a vast visual language to represent her psyche.
- Egon Shiele – For his painting technique combined with drawing – imperfection yet honest and immediate in nature.
- Henry De Toulouse lautrec – also for his ‘unfinished’ painterly style.
- Vincent van Gogh – combining nature and art as a form of therapy and expression that benefitted his psyche.
3 Key Theoretical texts:
- What painting is by James Elkins
- IntraConnected by Daniel J Siegel MD
- The self Delusion by Tom Oliver
- Peak Mind by Amishi Jha
- Trauma healing at the Clay field by Cornelia Elbrecht
- Art as Experience by John Denwey
- Vibrant Matter by Jane Bennet
Personal experience:
The entire process from foraging for pigment and botanical plants that produce ink, processed them into a pigment powder, the mulling and finally the application onto self-made kaolin clay ground is incredibly satisfying and bring with it a rich sensory experience, silence and a slow pace. I feel rested and revived after a day in the studio – even if I am only one step closer to my goal due to the slow process.
I enjoy the materiality of clay, it’s sensitivity to touch and it flowing, messy, imperfection that seems to loosen something rigid inside myself and in my approach to art making.
My relationship with charcoal has come a long way and it is a medium that I feel one with. I enjoy being as close to my art material as possible and charcoal, similar to clay allows this to happen. As I create and soften marks with my fingers and control masses of dark powder and carving into them with a kneaded rubber, I feel a sense of release, it feels like it can breath and come into a spacious place. Words fail to explain and therefore I look forward to capture my process in film and somehow bring this into or alongside the artwork itself. For it is in the process of making that the magic lies and everyone should get the opportunity to get a taste of that childlike satisfying play again, perhaps try if for themselves as I begin to plan an interactive exhibition environment what stimulate all the senses.
Am I aware of how I am affecting the research, what is my role and what are my experiences in the research?
The field of psychology fascinates me and I would like my research to shed some more light on how art-making and and interconnection with nature can serve us well in the times we live in. I feel that there is a great need to discover new methods for stress reduction.
My personal experiences during the course of this MA will help and the documentation of the experiments and practices could perhaps add to effective methods for stress reduction as well as reconnecting with nature, others and the authentic self.
What and how do my social, cultural and political values add to or affect my research?
I have always had a very strong empathetic predisposition and it has been both a strength and a weakness at times. My values are strongly inclined to ‘care’ and it is important to me on a personal level to know that my career is one that helps people in some form or another, especially if it can serve in relieving suffering, however great of small the impact. Having grown up and living in South Africa, there are also strong political values in terms of making a contribution towards care in settlements where help is limited or unaffordable. There are statistics that show alarming rise in mental health issues in South Africa caused by poverty, crime and abuse with very limited psychological and psychiatric help available. My research could possible contribute to this problem if it can make available a program or method that can easily and affordably be introduced to individuals that can benefit from the therapeutic and expressive elements of art-making that keeps mindfulness and sensory processing in mind. This can potentially offer a gentle, collaborative and practical solution.
Other considerations:
I have a desire to look at how I can direct my art towards storytelling in order to share methods and new perspectives. Whether that be in one artwork or in the combination of art in book-form or through short animations. This is something I will still explore and think about.