Back to The Path

I've been severely digressing from my chosen path of late. But Tipping Point woke me up and made me realise that my passion still lies in children's education. The book is about "small things that make a big difference". Part of the book is about the making of Sesame Street. It's been a revelation. It's all about how children learn and what filmmakers did to find out this process and respond to it. Blue's Clues achieved and even higher success rate of teaching children by paying very close attention to their viewing patterns etc and developing a technique to improve "stickiness" (meaning information that is remembered or 'sticks in the mind'.
I've done my dissertation on Production Design in Cinema, spent three months researching Autism to which the only solution is education. Connect them, perhaps by designing a TV Show Pilot that educates about disability. - Must think about this one! It sounds good except for two huge hurdles. Both came from a particular tutor during my last design brief presentation whose name shall remain unspoken. He has been overtly critical towards everything I've ever done...and not in a positive way....'cause there is a difference) Anyway, apparently I'd have to find a consulting psychologist and the ethics committee at Goldsmiths that apparently has to evaluate projects like these. (For goodness' sake it's a theoretical design project, not a live one that goes into production tomorrow...grumble...burocratism has hindered so many worthy projects. Since the dawn of time there's always been The 'BUT' people whose narrow mind, lack of imagination and negative attitude stopped free thinkers to get on with it!)
Bullying is a major problem and often it is due to lack of education about empathy, understanding and tolerance. Growing up in Hungary, I've not experienced this, neither my Polish friends. What is it that Eastern European schools teach or perhaps how? that discourages such behaviour. What is it in British culture or education that seems to encourage it? There must be a major difference somewhere. No doubt, it's partly a sociological problem to which many very clever people are trying to find answers right now. - Lack of Empathy is the prevalent sign of Autism. Which brings me back to my original thought process and project direction, the "Autistic Society'.
Why did I digress from this? Because it's too difficult, because I got stuck and true to my style I allowed myself to divert to something more immediately satisfying. When my mentor mentioned Biomimicry, I fell in love with the idea and abandoned 'ship'. But it seems I jumped too early, as it's not sinking just yet. I have to write a 5000 words project brief, which might give me some clarity and design ideas. Biomimicry as fascinating it is, will have to wait, until this designer 'sailed the first ship into port'.

Shapes of Water!

I am completely smitten by these water 'sculptures'. Stop motion photography with an exactly timed, strong back flash creates these wonderful shapes. I am truly inspired by them. Here are some more and prints are available to buy. Liquid Sculptures I have outlined the shape to get a better feel for it.



I begun to envision "Blown Glass Lamp Shades and Chandelliers. Though it might wonder into Chihuly teritory a bit. None the less I started designing them anyway.

Quirky Plants

I am collecting plants with unusual mechanical elements. Please add a comment to this blog with your ideas. it would help me a lot! Thanks!



Charles Darwin called the Venus Flytrap"Researchers have found tensile strength is behind the plant's speedy clampdown on a hapless insect. Once trigger hairs are tripped by the prey, the plant bends its rubbery leaves into a convex shape, like a tennis ball or soft contact lens that has been flipped inside-out. The leaves instantly turn to a concave, as if the tennis ball is popped back to normal. The edges come together, trapping the insect inside. - Engineers hope to someday mimic the flytrap's ability in order to move tiny artificial devices that depend on minute movements of liquids or gases". Source



"The leaves of Mimosa have the capability to display thigmonasty (touch-induced movement). In the sensitive plant, the leaves respond to being touched, shaken, heated or rapidly cooled. The speed of the response depends on the magnitude of the stimulus. Hitting the leaf hard with the flick of a finger will cause the leaf to close in the blink of an eye whereas a gentle touch or modest heat source applied to leaflets at the tip of a leaf will result in a slower response and the propagation of the stimulus along the leaf can be observed." (text from linked site) Watch Mimosa Clip



"Insects are attracted to the colorful leaf rosettes of the Pitcher Plant that resemble flowers; the red lip of the "pitcher" is particularly attractive as a landing zone. Red veins that lead downward are baited with nectar. Following this lure, prey reach the curve of the tube, which is lined with fine hairs, all pointing downward. The animal falls into the pitcher, which contains rain, dew, and a digestive enzyme that soon dissolves the victim. The leaves are modified into pitchers. The inner surface is covered with downward-pointing hairs, which make it difficult for insects to escape." Source



"Ferns are one of the earliest types of plants in existence, dating back to before dinosaurs roamed the earth. The Victorians were fanatical about these quirky plants. They built special greenhouses, called ferneries, to collect them in, and the Pteridomania was invented to describe this hobby." - I was inspired by the shape of the leaf and the round flowers, creating this really interesting configuration. Source

Green Peas in a Steel Pod

Biomicry is the imitation of a natural phenomenon's or environment's efficiency and survival mechanisms. The term so far seem to has been only applied to products and manufacturing processes, but I feel that it also has the scope to cover social issues, such as collective 'Autism' (under this term I mean deficits in communication and social interaction. Industrialisation, two world wars and the consequent alienation that followed, caused people to become increasingly reliant on themselves rather than social groups. Separating from nature seems to have resulted in separation from each other. How can we get closer and re-learn to cooperate again? Perhaps Social-Biomimicry can help. Read full article, go to Somewhere Else Magazine

Finding the path

So far of what I could see all good design made connections. See the "light-watch" thing (previous entry) The problem: world time zones - Create a handy tool; Take the idea of an ancient sundial combine it with a wristwatch and a touch of contemporary design aesthetic and voila. Lovely! So what I was looking for is the Missing IngredienT. The "MIT" (and invented a new terminology for it instead :o) it is far simpler than say "je ne sais quoi" For this we managed to find a new route. Basically take the fact that the entire world suffers from a kind of "autism" ie;lack of cooperation and some severe lack of awareness of eachother's needs. A usefull intervetion could be found in Mother Nature. Matilda said to look up "Biomimicry" Splendid. My scuba diving past might also come in handy 'cause I do know a bit about marinelife and it's symbiotic relationships. So my MIT is there somewhere.
Matilda recommends reading Biomimicry : innovation inspired by nature / Janine M. Benyus Sadly there are only two copies in the library and little hope of getting one soon. Amazon however has it used for over £18! (...must be very good) "Santa please can I please have it for Christmas?!"
So it's all good so far. Remember Morphius in Matrix said "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." I say "First you gotta find the path." I think we may have found it today.