My group decided to base the mapping project off of a Children’s book store called “Books of Wonder”. We wanted to create something 3d, so we decided to create a baby mobile. We felt that a baby mobile would create a sense of youth as well as create a soothing thing to stare at. Along with this structure, we wanted to incorporate the location and age of books we found important throughout the store.
We decided early on that we wanted to broaden the idea of a map. We wanted to map our personal experience within the store. Running with the theme of “Memory”, we wanted to include elements from the store that we all found important in our childhoods. Isabella pointed out in critiques that it reminded her of an article we read in seminar. The map was a representation of “our” New York, not everyones.
Although we didn’t have much written/drawn planning, we discussed many ways of creating something. It was hard to communicate through drawings because everyone had their own interpretation of the final product. We also didn’t have much failed experimentation because we decided to take our time crafting each part of the map.
We also used the collaboration to show our ideas and research rather than physically sketching out ideas. Constantly updating the collaboration made sure that everyone in the project would see the finalizations in the project.
The top of the structure represents the naivety of the children reading these stories. As we gathered information about these stories, we started to notice a pattern of odd themes. Children’s books are not as innocent as they might seem. The clouds show the untouched, imaginative nature of children.
It was fun deciding what books to include because it really drew the group together. We are all from completely different places, yet we were drawn to the same books. The youthfulness of the crafting and projected created a fun and creating working environment.
The length of each books wire represents their age. The shorter wires are books published more recently. No matter the age, these books held the same level of importance in our childhoods.
Each book was made to represent a certain book. We painted the covers to show the darker themes within the books.
Reflection:
I was a little tentative when starting this group project. It is hard to work with people when you don’t necessarily know their skills and style. It was a bit hard to communicate at the beginning, but when we sat down together to create this project, it was a great experience. We worked together and created a system to get the project done efficiently.
Diving deeper into reflection (after critiques), I agree and disagree what some said. As I mentioned earlier, I think my group wanted to create something more personal that a standard map. I think we are in the process of gathering information on “our” New York. Working together to create something based on memories and new perspectives added a twist to our creation process.
If we had more money and resources we might have created a cleaner, more delicately crafted structure, but we had to split the work evenly. We sat together and created a system for getting the project done. We allowed each other to help within each other’s duties.
Although I was apprehensive at the beginning, planning a project that could be easily divided created a great working environment. It felt as if everyone had an equal chance to put in their personality and touch.
I created the books, Letizia painted the covers, Alec created the children, and Juri created the base. We all worked together to put the structure together. Everyone worked to get it done. 🙂
