Interdisciplinary Design Residency
Foraging and fabricating at the intersection of light and shadow in the southern Peloponnese region of Greece.
Featured by Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design, here.
Abstract
During the summer of 2022, I was invited to participate in a creative residency in the southern Peloponnese region of Greece. It was hosted by The Periplus Project, an organization that aims to enable “the infiltration of design-thinking into all key sectors of society.” By tapping into and innovating around pre-existing potential and motivating local communities, Periplus’ objective is to encourage individuals to harness creativity as a tool to effect positive, intentional change.
The theme guiding the experience was Light — which I explored along with 11 other students hailing from Canada, China, Germany, Japan, London, Spain, and Singapore. We were fully immersed in the natural environment and the local culture, guided by the dichotomy of light and dark and how their unique qualities can be used to bring about a visual narrative that is experiential and immersive.
Methodology
As intended, we spent the week experimenting with light and shadow as tools for communication. We worked solo and collaboratively to develop objects, effects, and sounds using materials we found in the natural environment. The first few days were dedicated to familiarizing ourselves with the resources at hand and discovering unique ways to manipulate and reinvent them. We had access to power tools, but I opted to stick with my analog habits. I prefer to work with accessibility in mind when it comes to my design process as I felt the results would be more easily translatable if others wanted to replicate them.
About halfway through the week, our experimentation became more collaborative as we needed to prepare for the group performance at the culmination of the week. One important detail that we needed to align on was what we wanted to communicate. After being inspired by the role of women in Greek society, both historically and at present, we landed on our theme: the transcendent female experience. As we all identified as female and shared similar struggles across our different communities and cultures, we felt it relevant to acknowledge the common thread that united us all.
Each of us created a unique piece to be featured in the final performance. One of the objects I created was a spinning city that was ultimately used to situate the audience at the top of the show. It was fabricated using concrete and discarded tile I found in the olive grove. The final object sat on a pottery wheel so it could easily spin and create a more dynamic shadow. When I first cast light through it, we were in awe of how it clearly bore a resemblance to a local "city of towers" that had since been abandoned. When we realized we had something the community could identify and connect with, we knew it was important to include.
We each contributed through multiple creative disciplines, including sound. I ended up being our percussionist, which is not a natural role for me, but it was a fun challenge. I fabricated a maraca using papier-mâché made with flour and water. Using this mixture, I covered a blown balloon and let it dry overnight. Once dry, I popped the balloon and covered the frame with paint that I mixed from crushed bits of charred wood and water. It turned out to be a beautiful dark charcoal color with amazing texture.
To achieve the sound, I filled the maraca with seeds from the pods of a Carob tree along with discarded bits from our meals like olive pits and peach pits. This particular exploration led to one of my biggest takeaways from the workshop. I came to understand the ancient history of the Carob tree and how the seeds are ground up and used in chocolate and other baked goods. I tasted the skin of one of the pods and I could absolutely taste the chocolate flavor. I encouraged others to try it as well and they agreed, it was pretty good! I felt very inspired by the history of this native plant and hope to promote its use as a forgotten resource.
I created a second maraca that we ultimately did not use because the sound was too soft, but it became lovingly known as "the oven mitt" -- and rightfully so. The fabrication of this instrument started by cutting a mitten shape from a piece of cardboard after tracing my hand. I then attached a similarly shaped piece of mesh to the back – ensuring it was not flat against the cardboard so that a hand can easily go in and out. I hot glued the edge with my hand inside to ensure the space was large enough. I covered both sides with the seed pods from the local tree using hot glue. This form afforded you to shake the mitt in any way you wanted to and emit sound, regardless of whether you are right or left-handed. Although I layered many seed pods on this instrument, the sound just did not get to a volume that was effective enough to carry across the yard of the kindergarten.
There were other explorations I embarked upon that were useful as learning experiences but ultimately did not result in objects to be used during the performance. Most notably, I created a bird’s nest using dried grass, dirt, and clay from the olive grove. Using a bowl covered in a layer of mesh, I slowly added grass and other flora to it, followed by the mud mixture created by adding water to the dirt and clay. I then repeated these layers until the structure felt firm. I was hoping I would be able to cast light through it and create an interesting shadow, but it ended up being far too thick and heavy.
The first thing I created that also was not used started off by my crocheting a grid pattern with thin twine around the circumference of several rocks. Once completed, I hung each rock from a long stick. While balancing one end of the stick and holding the other, I was able to manipulate the swinging rocks to spin, swing, and hit each other. While the shadow and movement were generally interesting, they did not add to our narrative and therefore were not used.
As a designer, what helped me promote fresh thinking was the fact that each day was focused on a different location paired with a set of activities. We spent one day exploring the olive grove where I found a myriad of inspirations including unique rock and tree formations, snail shells, and dried botanicals as well as discarded tile and glassware. I became particularly intrigued by the act of identifying formations or objects that felt out of place in the natural environment. I was also inspired by the idea of capturing the curiosity that accompanies you when peering into holes in trees and rocks -- eager to discover something, you're met with light vs. dark experience. I loved seeing light cast through these crevices and noticing how it changed my perception depending on the angle at which I was viewing it. It is certainly reminiscent of how we often associate the dark with hiding some lingering danger when often it's not.
Results
The workshop culminated in a final performance and discussion with the local community that was held in the schoolyard of an old kindergarten in Kardamyli. I ended up pulling together a run-of-show document that morning which detailed the order in which we were performing along with notes about the sound, actors, light source, and more. This proved to be a valuable resource once we were on site in Kardamyli and running through the entire production. We were able to do this several times before the sun had finally set and it was time to go on.
After the performance, we had a cocktail hour to answer questions and share insight into what we made with the attendees from the town. One couple mentioned that they also had an olive grove and wanted to put on a similar workshop, with each day focused on a different activity -- cooking, metallurgy, pottery, etc.
I feel incredibly proud of what we accomplished, especially given the time constraints, and I will never forget my experience or the people that I shared it with. I hope to continue my relationship with Periplus and allow it to serve as a reminder of how important design thinking and creative exploration are for your own mental health and self expression, as well as for encouraging innovation and intentional futures.
