At first, I was considering designing something like a cup of tea that never gets cold or a levitating shelf, just after visiting Lilly’s apartment and seeing that she drank lots of tea and needed space for her books. However, over the week I realized through our discussions and her interactions with others that Lilly is an empath and can quickly become wrapped up in emotions of others around her and this can be a problem that affects her anywhere, not just in her apartment. Because of this, I began to think of a way she could somehow escape her empathic powers when they got to the point of being overwhelming or hindering.
Lilly has previously told me she was an empath, but after watching this affect her in class and in big groups of friends I decided to look deeper into what empaths are. Through reading Psychology Today and Dr. Judith Orloff’s blog, I discovered that empaths are very sensitive to emotions of those around them and can pick up on subtle energies that others give out very easily.
My object proposal is a piece of jewelry, such as a ring, that captures the moods and feelings of those around you and then allows you to later “play them back” or experience them when you wish. This device is designed for empaths in emotional overwhelming moments so they can take a step back from the emotions around them and then feel the emotions they collected from others at a later time when they’re more relaxed and calm.
Nothing like this magical device currently exists, the closest inventions I could think of were obviously a mood ring because it gives a reading on your mood, but ultimately a mood ring serves a different purpose of my “un-mood” ring. The second closest thing I could think of that exists is journaling, because it allows for detachment and later reflection. However, journaling and staying in the moment with a big group of friends is almost nearly impossible because it’s hard to write privately and emotionally when you’re in a crowded space or busy situation.
The materials I would use for my ring would be sterling silver because it’s a very durable mix of 92.5 % silver mixed with 7.5 % copper. The stone or stones of the ring would have to be magical, so I decided to look into crystals and their special qualities. Using a crystal catalog website I discovered a mix of stones that would be perfect for my piece of jewelry. The first stone I found that would work is black tourmaline, a gem that acts as a shield between your energy and others. Fluorite would also be a good stone for this mix because it absorbs other energies that people put out, so Lilly would be double protected from other’s energies. Lastly, Amethyst would be a strong crystal for the ring because it can aid in memory and connecting with the spiritual realm, which would help Lilly to be able to look back and go through the memories that the ring has collected over the day.
5 Why Questions:
1 why are you sometimes much quieter than others?
I get overwhelmed easily.
2 why do you feel easily overwhelmed?
Because I’m an empath. An empath absorbs the emotions of others around them.
3 why do you absorb others emotions?
It’s not by choice I just naturally pick up on them and can’t help it.
4 why does this affect you?
Sometimes it’s hard to focus on my own emotions or logic when I’m picking up on others around me.
5 why do you want to focus on only your emotions?
I like being an empath but in stressful situations, it would be nice to focus on my emotions first.
These questions helped me focus my idea and clarify just what I’m looking for the piece of jewelry to do. Knowing that Lilly gets easily overwhelmed in certain situations and that she would like to temporarily turn off her empathic abilities at times, I know that I want to create a device that will allow her to focus herself and prioritize her own emotions. I also know that I don’t want to overwhelm her with the device, so I will aim to make it a small simple object that can be easily portable and won’t add any extra stress into her life, that’s why I decided on jewelry instead of a magical clunky box or jar to carry around that would serve the same purpose.
sketches:
16 mm diameter
Final comprehensive sketch:
After presenting my comprehensive sketch in class I still needed to figure out the measurements for each component of the ring so I looked up typical “diamonds” sizes in rings and settles on 3 mm of each crystal and set in a few of the average ring sizes. I put this in the bottom of my final advertisment as a “white fine print” often seen in ads in magazines.
Final Advertisement:
Links:
https://drjudithorloff.com/top-10-traits-of-an-empath/
https://www.bluenile.com/education/metal/silver
https://www.energymuse.com/about-gemstones
https://www.energymuse.com/blacktourmaline-meaning
https://www.energymuse.com/fluorite-meaning
https://hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com/dream-recall-crystals/
