Memory book final piece - 

-lily of the valley- 

the final piece is an activity box / card set, with games targeted at people dealing with dementia. 

Flowery themes (lily of the valley and forget-me-nots) are representative of my strongest memories. 

The flowers also carry meanings connected with memory. 

The box also includes a two - sided poster which acts as a contents list, but was created mainly because I wanted a zine like printed outcome :) 

Looking at print inspirations for the final outcome. 

David Carson -

Streamlining the ideas-

After speaking to Sharon, she suggested that the first two ideas: remembering in colour and scents, although they're good ideas and  I could generate a lot of stuff with them, they would work much better together as they both revolve around the idea of connecting with your senses to remember.

Thinking about the two ideas in more of a general sense will make it easier for me to visualise the theme of senses in more of an abstract pattern and so I should be able to create a visually interesting piece of work.

With the third idea of losing words and trail of thought I am also lenient towards using pattern, this time more figurative as using type and maybe sound waves, so more structured, rectangular, blocky than the first idea (abstract and probably quite organic in the form). The one thing that stuck with me after the talk with Sharon is the fact that it doesn't have to be personal. I looked into my family's history after being convinced ( hearing from someone ) that my great grandmother struggled with dementia before passing away, only to find that it's not actually true. Not having to worry about making the subject personal to me I have more space to explore this idea further.

Special Collections - Artist books -

there was a variety of different subject matter for the books but also media.
the designs that I think worked the best, were the most successful, were the most simple ones where the spacious layout allowed the reader to really absorb the page and gave them time to ponder about the ideas.

however the books that I was most attracted to were the ones that featured the most colour, layers of texture and involved type or type inspired shapes.

For this project I'd like to explore risograph. I think it will suit the subject well as it is a medium that has become under appreciated when more advanced printing technology came out, however it has a somewhat transient quality - just like memory it can't be completely grasped.

http://www.creativebloq.com/print-design/three-colour-risograph-print-5128047/2 - a step by step of transforming a sketch into a risograph-print-ready image.

Polish poster art influences-

I've been drawn to 'RAW' styles of art for a while now at the same time being curious of the Polish art scene; especially from around 70's when this graphic voice has just peaked and Poland wasn't out of communism just yet.

A lot of it is quite dark, with figurative elements but verging on surrealism? There is an aspect of detachment - maybe from my point of view being born after the communist period and into a different political and economical atmosphere.

Style wise and technique wise there's a lot to gain and from now on I'd like to focus on printed outcomes- really paying attention to the paper I use but also having a go at mark making- back to expressive brush strokes but also etching, screen printing and risograph. I think all of those will link in well with the letterpress workshop and with the whole project of experimental book making.

Visualising scent -



Sensory Maps by Kate McLean
__________________________




interesting, interactive take on scents. I like the patterns that seem to have emerged from this project. The colours are all quite warm and seem natural, just like the shapes which are every organic.

George Shaw - 

Revisiting childhood spaces and capturing them the way he remembers: edited without some new signs and bus shelters. dealing with memories and nostalgia. 

the colour of the sky is what resonates well with my memories of my own childhood; as if I'm always remembering the times of summer or autumn evenings and sunny days coming to an end. 

memory in colour - 

exploring one of the ideas

artists' books-

EXPERIMENTAL BOOKS / MEMORY

-screen shot of my pinterest board- 

first thoughts for the brief:

- make it personal
- what memory means to you?
        \   jumbled up thoughts
         \ losing memory of home - moved a lot
          \ losing memory of words in both languages

_____ IDEA 1 _____

I've been interested in memory and thoughts for a while now. One of the things that took my interest in particular is how we see memories- THE COLOURS OF MEMORIES.

In movies memories are split into categories- happy, scary, sad
each comes with a colour:
HAPPY - warm (orange yellow tones)
SCARY- dark or very bright but cold (blacks, reds, electric blue tones)
SAD- cold colours, mostly shades of blue maybe grey


In real life when I look back on my own memories I tend to remember childhood in those orange, sepia tones- mostly because my memories are associated with summer- those are the ones I kept replaying over the years.

That is something I could research more into and maybe make that the focus of the project.
____  IDEA 2 ______

the past few months I have had a strong scent memory following me around of a Jo Malone perfume. It is quite a new experience for me as I never really associated much with scents or at least not to such a high degree.
Whenever I remember the scent it also triggers memories of working at Selfridges over christmas, and moving to Manchester, starting so many new things. It was a significant year and it's all projected into that scent now.

_____ IDEA 3 ______

The one idea with memory that really hits home is also very personal and something I would like to look into in more detail. Losing words and trail of thought.

It's something that I've been struggling with over the past few years and it's become more intense. I think design-wise it would be a very interesting and quite an open concept.

I'll also look into dementia - something my great grandma struggled with before she passed away and something my family is suspecting my grandpa might be falling into...