Bromley meet up.
For the last session at the moment with the school we visited the other pop-up in Bromley by Bow
The group travelled across London and really enjoyed the whole experience, they arrived looking quite excited.
I had brought a few of the groups activities but we set up the speaker and lentils and they all seemed really connected to it, it was very hard to get them to not play with it!!!
The other groups seemed intrigued by it as well and after Treehouse had finished everyone had a go and i felt mean turning if off at the end. Again people had started to look for other things to put on the speaker to see what would happen.
One member wasn't impressed that i hadn't set up the microphone and kaosspad!!
It was a great sharing and everyone seemed to enjoy the pop-up space.
I had a little time to chat to the group and the staff and was really surprised at the impact of the sessions, people were asking me if i was coming back next Tuesday which was amazing as at first people were not always aware of what had happened the week before it really helped me to see how the sensory stimulus had been really important and the wildness and playfulness that we had explored together was really valued.
The previous day i had run a session in the pop-up space with 30 year 2 children exploring musical instrument making and story making and it had been great to take the children out of the school environment and into an unknown space that was a bit wild and very playful and run a session. I think the very nature of the pop-up was that it was a place were anything could happen and this made it a very interesting place.
I think the open approach to this Bromley pop-up was very brave but also had created something unique.
Something that would not have existed and something which will leave lasting memories and have an impact on everyone who used it.
In schools and institutions it is very difficult to create playful spaces, it can be very difficult for the staff to feel playful in some places as rooms have multi function, there is a set timetable and outcomes are checked and recorded constantly.
As i said in a previous entry i am used to turning up somewhere working for 6 weeks and disappearing, i don't have to deal with long term discipline, i have outcomes but they are very different to curriculum's, and i am left to my own devices to achieve the outcome.
The pop-up at Bromley was a way for everyone to have that disconnection, it was a great way to create playfulness and wildness. I can appreciate that is was a difficult project to lead and develop, as its hard for people to design something with that much freedom, it is hard to get the initial concept accross. But i think it succeeded in creating a new space, a creative space, one that won't always be there, a transient space that can be a place to hold peoples ideas, to build new communities and new experiences.
And i feel that because of the very nature of the pop-up that the end celebration was what it was all about. It wasn't there a few weeks ago, when it appeared it had no rules or limits, it could be used in many ways, its transience made it playful, and by being there it asked the question 'how can you use me?' which then opens up doorways and possibilities.
So at the end it was great hearing about the different things that had happened from creative sessions with the school to watching films in it by covering it in black out material. And by the end it had a value to lots of people and it was a place of possibilities.
And by being this it was unique.
I think it is a great model for other work in that by creating a new space with possibilities and playfulness a community can start to fill it with their ideas, some which will work and some which will not, and as it it transient the ideas wont be set in stone they can be wild and daring and then at the end people can reveal what they have been up to and then it can disappear, but it will leave behind the concept of playfulness and possibilities. Its not what you do its that you had the chance to do it with a playful mind.
To think outside the box it helps to be able to be outside the box!!!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Treehouse week 5 returning to past stimulus
Returning to past stimulus
As a freelance artist i am used to turning up at a school and doing a project for 6 weeks and then disappearing. I can bring exciting things to interact with each week and this is great. But it is important to see how much of the positive reaction the group show is to do with the things i bring or just that i am 'fresh meat' as some schools have kindly phrased it in the past!!
So i brought back things from the different weeks to see if the interaction would be sustained and to check if the group would be able to be self sustaining in the interactions and play.
So this week i brought the speaker and the keyboard back, the microphone and sfx, the magnets, the hula hoops and i did bring one new thing as i couldn't stop myself.
I brought in a Launchpad which is a device with 64 led lit squares on it and you can place a piece of music or a sound effect in each square. People can press individual squares or a can trigger an entire row.
We began by picking sounds from a library and then placing them on the squares people could then get the concept and start playing with composing using the Launchpad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuV7L4bRkuo this video shows a more advanced player but the concept is the same.
The group again waited patiently for their turn to choose sounds and then to play with them. I have a very large sample library so we a wide mixture of sounds were chosen dubstep basslines, arabic and indian percussion, japanese flutes and trancey synths.
Each person found ways to find their own sounds and reacted differently to their sounds. Some with light hearted surprise and fun, others with a strong sensory connection.
One member was really into the bass and again this made him really present and made it much easier to connect and share his experience.
I had specifically brought this activity for one member who was not there for the session and was really happy that everyone else seemed to engage with it so well. again it can be quite conceptual that the sound is in this square but everyone seemed to get it.
While people were playing i then setup the speaker, the mic, the magnets and then just let people explore and play.
The group seemed to connect with everything, especially the speaker and lentils!! And we could then watch, play and have fun.
People were again mixing the activities which was great.
You can record your voice into the Launchpad, and then play it back through the kaoss pad and then you could connect that to the speaker. We didn't have time to set it up but you could combine alot of the activities into one complex system where you could input your voice or choose sounds, manipulate them visually and physically using the kaosspad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39n4wow8fWE (very silly video but shows kaosspad ability) and then have that sound go into a large speaker with something on it, or even create a platform with a big sub bass speaker in it so you are standing on the vibration.
People did play with the magnets for a while and i began taking out the hula hoops but ran out of time.
The session was great as it showed that people had really got the concepts of the different things i had brought in and also felt comfortable to play with them and to want to share them with other people.
Also over the weeks people had been able to stay focused for longer periods, it felt like that the group had really enjoyed the sessions, and that i had found things which really triggered their creativity and playfulness and by doing this we could play together more and share experiences more. And that the group were able to deal with different sensory experinces each week, without too much leading and direction they could play with them and not be overwhelmed as they controlled the experience.
As a freelance artist i am used to turning up at a school and doing a project for 6 weeks and then disappearing. I can bring exciting things to interact with each week and this is great. But it is important to see how much of the positive reaction the group show is to do with the things i bring or just that i am 'fresh meat' as some schools have kindly phrased it in the past!!
So i brought back things from the different weeks to see if the interaction would be sustained and to check if the group would be able to be self sustaining in the interactions and play.
So this week i brought the speaker and the keyboard back, the microphone and sfx, the magnets, the hula hoops and i did bring one new thing as i couldn't stop myself.
I brought in a Launchpad which is a device with 64 led lit squares on it and you can place a piece of music or a sound effect in each square. People can press individual squares or a can trigger an entire row.
We began by picking sounds from a library and then placing them on the squares people could then get the concept and start playing with composing using the Launchpad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuV7L4bRkuo this video shows a more advanced player but the concept is the same.
The group again waited patiently for their turn to choose sounds and then to play with them. I have a very large sample library so we a wide mixture of sounds were chosen dubstep basslines, arabic and indian percussion, japanese flutes and trancey synths.
Each person found ways to find their own sounds and reacted differently to their sounds. Some with light hearted surprise and fun, others with a strong sensory connection.
One member was really into the bass and again this made him really present and made it much easier to connect and share his experience.
I had specifically brought this activity for one member who was not there for the session and was really happy that everyone else seemed to engage with it so well. again it can be quite conceptual that the sound is in this square but everyone seemed to get it.
While people were playing i then setup the speaker, the mic, the magnets and then just let people explore and play.
The group seemed to connect with everything, especially the speaker and lentils!! And we could then watch, play and have fun.
People were again mixing the activities which was great.
You can record your voice into the Launchpad, and then play it back through the kaoss pad and then you could connect that to the speaker. We didn't have time to set it up but you could combine alot of the activities into one complex system where you could input your voice or choose sounds, manipulate them visually and physically using the kaosspad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39n4wow8fWE (very silly video but shows kaosspad ability) and then have that sound go into a large speaker with something on it, or even create a platform with a big sub bass speaker in it so you are standing on the vibration.
People did play with the magnets for a while and i began taking out the hula hoops but ran out of time.
The session was great as it showed that people had really got the concepts of the different things i had brought in and also felt comfortable to play with them and to want to share them with other people.
Also over the weeks people had been able to stay focused for longer periods, it felt like that the group had really enjoyed the sessions, and that i had found things which really triggered their creativity and playfulness and by doing this we could play together more and share experiences more. And that the group were able to deal with different sensory experinces each week, without too much leading and direction they could play with them and not be overwhelmed as they controlled the experience.
Treehouse week 4 Sound and Vibrations
Sound, vision and vibration
This week we explored sound, vibration & sound linked with visuals.
I brought in 3 new things and also the microphone and fx from a previous week and the polystyrene blocks.
We first explored a programme called izotope iris which is a spectral synthesizer.
You can choose a sound from a large bank, consisting of music notes and sound effects, and then this is shown visually on the screen.
You can then select which part of the sound you want to hear.
I brought a large touchscreen so that the group could draw with their fingers and a mini keyboard that played the selected sounds.
Everyone seemed to get the concept and they all patiently took turns choosing sounds and then manipulating them by drawing on the screen. It is quite a difficult concept but everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Some people really like picking the sound effects and really listened to them and seemed to visualize the sounds and had a strong connection with just the unaffected sounds. Others really enjoyed drawing shapes and seeing how that changed the sound, they all liked how strange and wondrous the sounds could become. We played with this for 20 minutes and then i left it with a staff member to operate the file system and people continued to explore it for the whole session. I was great that everyone seemed to understand that what they drew was changing the sound.
I then set up a keyboard which was connected to a large speaker. The speaker was place on the table next to the keyboard so when you played a note you could see and feel the speaker cone vibrating.
We first just looked and felt the cone. This immediately had an affect on everyone, the connection of sound and vibration was really strong and vivid.
We then explored putting things on the speaker to see how what happened. We put red lentils on it and they buzzed around differently depending on the frequency of the keybaord note, higher frequency made them move quickly but without them jumping, and lower frequencies made them jump and leap in the air.
One member of the group quickly found out that the lentils jump higher if you turned the speaker up really loud.
Everyone seemed to get different things from this experiment, some loved the sensation of the speaker, and really enjoyed placing their hand inside the vibrating lentils, some liked to see how the different notes did different things and some loved the noise, the bass and the wildness of firing lentils all over their classroom.
I really enjoyed how something as simple as a keyboard could become more fascinating by physically showing what was happening to the air when a sound is made.
We then mixed up cornflour and water and placed it on clingfilm on top of the speaker. This made the cornflour leap around in a very strange way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zoTKXXNQIU and as the intensity increased it began to take a life of its own.
Some people were intrigued by it and others just wanted to touch it and feels it move. A few members were really focused and present with the mixture of senses, having things to touch seemed very important to them and the stimulus really brought them into the session. And by having strong sensory stimulus it became easier to interact with them and to share their experience. They didn't feel so distant in their existence, it became much easier to connect and share and also they had control over the intensity of the experience. They chose how loud, when to play, when to touch etc.
We then started to explore what other things did in the speaker, one member started collecting things from round the classroom to see what would happen when the jumped. This could have been explored for alot longer with more materials, and also with more sounds, even using a microphone so people could have seen the effect their voice had on the speaker. This would have been great to boost vocalising and self advocacy for quieter members.
So we had explored computer synthesis with a visual/tactile interface, and physical sound making and made it into a tactile visual activity i then thought it would be good to see what a simple instrument would be like to play.
I have a deep love for instruments and i like to play all kinds of them as they all have different characters and different physical interactions. I brought in 2 cellos for the group to explore. Cellos are usually kept away from non musicians as they are in the classical family where usually you have to play them properly and play other peoples music (usually dead peoples music!!).
But they are wonderful instruments as you wrap your entire body around it and then as you bow them they really resonate and you can really feel that through your body.
The group were very excited by them, and they all quite patiently waited to have a turn. Bowing is quite difficult but everyone seemed to get it very quickly maybe because of the physical feedback. Some people were intrigued with just playing a note and feeling it, others were almost play acting being a classical cellist and were very dramatic and fluid in their playing style, others wanted to play more notes and extend their technique but they all seemed to really connect with them.
At the end of the session there were people playing with the spectral synth, people playing the cellos and also using the microphone.
I had brought the polystyrene cubes back from the week before and as soon as they became visible one member became very feverish in her construction of cubic constructions, they were different from the week before more regular shaped but again the focus was really strong and the enjoyment and satisfaction at the end of building was very apparent.
The week was a great success in lots of ways, i think i really showed how mixing senses is really important for young people, the group had played with the synth before on its own but by adding the physical feedback it became more intriguing and easier to sustain and play with. It also showed that even with very new technology about that an 'old' physical instrument is still valid, and can sustain playfulness and focus.
I embrace technology alot but i think that its easy to forget that instruments are technology from the past, someone thought up and created the cello and refined it, and it can offer alot of stimulus that an ipad cant, and that physical stimulus is vitally important for young people especially with autism as it is a way to bring them into the room, it is a way to vie with their inner world and offers moments when you can share in the present and this connection is gratifying for both parties.
The microphone and sfx was also here for the session and it always has an attraction, people are comforted by their voice and again by amplifying it and having physical control over it it makes people very present and also allows them a space to be playful with their voice. It is much more acceptable to be silly and playful over a microphone and people will watch and respond to it as a performance. Mics are amazing and deeply under used by schools. They can have profound effects on people and can really help balance a group that can be dominated by louder personalities.
This week we explored sound, vibration & sound linked with visuals.
I brought in 3 new things and also the microphone and fx from a previous week and the polystyrene blocks.
We first explored a programme called izotope iris which is a spectral synthesizer.
You can choose a sound from a large bank, consisting of music notes and sound effects, and then this is shown visually on the screen.
You can then select which part of the sound you want to hear.
I brought a large touchscreen so that the group could draw with their fingers and a mini keyboard that played the selected sounds.
Everyone seemed to get the concept and they all patiently took turns choosing sounds and then manipulating them by drawing on the screen. It is quite a difficult concept but everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Some people really like picking the sound effects and really listened to them and seemed to visualize the sounds and had a strong connection with just the unaffected sounds. Others really enjoyed drawing shapes and seeing how that changed the sound, they all liked how strange and wondrous the sounds could become. We played with this for 20 minutes and then i left it with a staff member to operate the file system and people continued to explore it for the whole session. I was great that everyone seemed to understand that what they drew was changing the sound.
I then set up a keyboard which was connected to a large speaker. The speaker was place on the table next to the keyboard so when you played a note you could see and feel the speaker cone vibrating.
We first just looked and felt the cone. This immediately had an affect on everyone, the connection of sound and vibration was really strong and vivid.
We then explored putting things on the speaker to see how what happened. We put red lentils on it and they buzzed around differently depending on the frequency of the keybaord note, higher frequency made them move quickly but without them jumping, and lower frequencies made them jump and leap in the air.
One member of the group quickly found out that the lentils jump higher if you turned the speaker up really loud.
Everyone seemed to get different things from this experiment, some loved the sensation of the speaker, and really enjoyed placing their hand inside the vibrating lentils, some liked to see how the different notes did different things and some loved the noise, the bass and the wildness of firing lentils all over their classroom.
I really enjoyed how something as simple as a keyboard could become more fascinating by physically showing what was happening to the air when a sound is made.
We then mixed up cornflour and water and placed it on clingfilm on top of the speaker. This made the cornflour leap around in a very strange way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zoTKXXNQIU and as the intensity increased it began to take a life of its own.
Some people were intrigued by it and others just wanted to touch it and feels it move. A few members were really focused and present with the mixture of senses, having things to touch seemed very important to them and the stimulus really brought them into the session. And by having strong sensory stimulus it became easier to interact with them and to share their experience. They didn't feel so distant in their existence, it became much easier to connect and share and also they had control over the intensity of the experience. They chose how loud, when to play, when to touch etc.
We then started to explore what other things did in the speaker, one member started collecting things from round the classroom to see what would happen when the jumped. This could have been explored for alot longer with more materials, and also with more sounds, even using a microphone so people could have seen the effect their voice had on the speaker. This would have been great to boost vocalising and self advocacy for quieter members.
So we had explored computer synthesis with a visual/tactile interface, and physical sound making and made it into a tactile visual activity i then thought it would be good to see what a simple instrument would be like to play.
I have a deep love for instruments and i like to play all kinds of them as they all have different characters and different physical interactions. I brought in 2 cellos for the group to explore. Cellos are usually kept away from non musicians as they are in the classical family where usually you have to play them properly and play other peoples music (usually dead peoples music!!).
But they are wonderful instruments as you wrap your entire body around it and then as you bow them they really resonate and you can really feel that through your body.
The group were very excited by them, and they all quite patiently waited to have a turn. Bowing is quite difficult but everyone seemed to get it very quickly maybe because of the physical feedback. Some people were intrigued with just playing a note and feeling it, others were almost play acting being a classical cellist and were very dramatic and fluid in their playing style, others wanted to play more notes and extend their technique but they all seemed to really connect with them.
At the end of the session there were people playing with the spectral synth, people playing the cellos and also using the microphone.
I had brought the polystyrene cubes back from the week before and as soon as they became visible one member became very feverish in her construction of cubic constructions, they were different from the week before more regular shaped but again the focus was really strong and the enjoyment and satisfaction at the end of building was very apparent.
The week was a great success in lots of ways, i think i really showed how mixing senses is really important for young people, the group had played with the synth before on its own but by adding the physical feedback it became more intriguing and easier to sustain and play with. It also showed that even with very new technology about that an 'old' physical instrument is still valid, and can sustain playfulness and focus.
I embrace technology alot but i think that its easy to forget that instruments are technology from the past, someone thought up and created the cello and refined it, and it can offer alot of stimulus that an ipad cant, and that physical stimulus is vitally important for young people especially with autism as it is a way to bring them into the room, it is a way to vie with their inner world and offers moments when you can share in the present and this connection is gratifying for both parties.
The microphone and sfx was also here for the session and it always has an attraction, people are comforted by their voice and again by amplifying it and having physical control over it it makes people very present and also allows them a space to be playful with their voice. It is much more acceptable to be silly and playful over a microphone and people will watch and respond to it as a performance. Mics are amazing and deeply under used by schools. They can have profound effects on people and can really help balance a group that can be dominated by louder personalities.
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