Over the Summer we were asked to find inspiration which we could bring to the new Practice Unit- the first of third year. I found this difficult to start. The initial thought of third year for me has always been that all my work must be perfect for that year- so finding inspiration was the first struggle, especially since my summer consisted of work! I soon got over the fear and just started to take photographs of everything I liked. My Mam and her boyfriend got a tropical fish tank over the Summer, which I enjoyed helping tend to, and take photos of:
When it came to starting a sketchbook I was inspired by the colour, movement, and forms which were in the fish tanks I looked at (I went to a couple of aquariums, too):
Initially, I wanted to use this theme for children's wear again- a context I enjoyed working with last year. However, then I REALLY struggled with a concept. Having prided myself last year on introducing original, interesting concepts to my units, the thoughts of fish and children felt really over-done and uninspiring- which my tutor agreed with in the first tutorial (3/10/13). Queue another panic as I was convinced after this tutorial that I was going to fail my degree. I took a couple of days off and threw out my timetable (to help relax and not let organisation ruin the exploration this unit should include).
I tried to think of other contexts which weren't young women's fashion, or children- which has been a good context for me because of all of the children in my family. Also in my family, is the matriarchal figure of my Nanna Sheila, who has suffered with Alzheimer's and Dementia for 5 years. Much like the young children of the family, she requires constant care, has difficulty with language and needs stimulants to keep occupied, unfortunately, much like other families, I don't feel the service she receives has included enough stimulants. In the nursing home she lives in, they specialise in Dementia care:
The interior decor is uninspiring, but not old fashioned per say, and includes a lot of memorabilia in the hallways such as records, old movie posters, and "Then and Now" columns from the Hartlepool Mail on the walls to jog the memory of those who look at them. Sufferers like my Nanna pay no attention to visual objects, and when they do it is often described by them as distorted versions of what they actually are (e.g feet are often small dogs, hand bags are stroked like cuddly toys). However, despite difficulties with reasoning and language, a lot of patients still have all of their senses fully working.
As a textiles designer, two senses I can work with the best are vision and touch.
Fish tanks are often placed in the lounge areas of nursing homes because they have a calming effect. I want to use my tropical fish inspiration to design and create sense-stimulating materials for the context of Dementia patients and their care-givers. Possible outcomes of this are: wall paper and soft furnishings, toys, puzzles, clothes and homewares.
I will focus on colour, movement, texture and pattern throughout the project. I would also like to showcase my branding skills in this unit, as I feel it is professional and something I do well- I am keen to feature branding and contextualising abilities in my portfolio more.
Concept Proposal board for "Fish Therapy" (working title):
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