Expressive Arts Week 3

Expressive Arts Blog Week 3

This week in expressive arts we were in the music studio. Last week I decided that the piece of music that that could be connect to my evocative object was a song by Ed Sheeran called Supermarket flowers. This was because it referenced angles in the shape of your mum and this is connected to my object as my teddy was given to my auntie by my gran who is not here anymore, then gave it to me. Before we came today we were tasked with bringing in two pieces of music one to do with our evocative object and one that is the complete opposite contrast.

Due to my piece of music being quite sad and emotional I decided that a contrasting piece would be something more up beat or that brought around more positive memories and feelings when I listen to it. I decided that it would be “Beauty and the Beast” by Angela Lansbury. I chose this because I love Disney and beauty and the beast in particular as it’s my favourite film. It is also close to my heart as I named my dog Belle after the princess, so the film brings around positive emotions of her. During this workshop we all went up to the front one at a time and played our two pieces of music and we could either then share why we picked them or let the rest of the class try and guess. I decided to just share and explain why the sad song makes me feel emotional and why the Disney one makes me feel happy.

While doing this sharing exercise we could see in peoples expressions and explanations of whether they liked the other piece of music and how each piece made them feel emotionally. I in particular felt it hard to keep m y emotions in while listening to the Ed Sheeran song as so many of the lyrics are so real in my experience of my gran passing and make me think of that really hard and sad time. I felt as though I was going to cry when explaining why I love and feel so strongly about the “Supermarket Flower” as it is so close to my heart. There is an importance for music to be taught in school for the benefits of creativity and the children getting to express themselves through varied learning. Fleming, M. (2012). This emphasises that children getting to express themselves through their music choices is an essential part of development.

We then watched a few videos that talked about how much of an impact music can have on a motion picture. They explained how films can make you feel different emotions or make you think differently about a character or situation depending on what type of music is played over the top of the video. I never realised before how much of an impact this is. I always knew that music and sound can change the feeling or a movie, but I never realised just how much and how it can change the theme of the film or moment. For next week we have to make a soundtrack to go along with a short animation and being into class.

References

  • Supermarket Flowers lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group
  • Fleming, M. (2012). The arts in education: an introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London: Routledge.

Expressive Arts Week 2

Expressive Arts Week 2

This week we were continuing the theme of evocative objects, but we were going to look at the music side of it. Trying to either find an already existing song that reminds you or has the same feel as your evocative object. The other option was to make a piece of music on garage band that you could relate to your object.

I decided this week that I was going to change my evocative object to another that I have that I feel brings more emotion than my ring. My new object I have chosen is a teddy which is a wee bunny in pyjamas lying on a pillow. This teddy was given from my gran to my Auntie Sheena when she was in hospital receiving chemo. I used to stay at my aunties house every Saturday night because they live in Mauchline so it was the only time in the week I would see them. And when I would stay I used to sleep with the teddy because I loved it and it made me think of how my auntie was better now. Then when my gran passed away my auntie Sheena asked me if it would be okay if she gave it back to gran so she could have it with her, but she then decided that my gran would of rather I had it, so she gave it to me. So, it now feels as though I always have a piece of my gran and my Auntie Sheena, who I am still very close to, with me in my room all the time. So, when I look at or think about my teddy I feel happy because it brings back so many memories, but it also brings back the time my auntie was ill and the fact my gran isn’t here anymore. I feel that in using this object I will be able to bring out a lot of emotions and memories that could be put into the arts.

This week I already had a song in mind that I would use. I decide on “supermarket Flowers” by Ed Sheeran. The lyrics in this song are very emotional and especially relate to loosing a very close family member in particular your mum but I can explain how these lyrics still relate to my object. The first lyrics that relate in particular are “Memories of a life that’s been loved” this is relatable as the teddy bring back these memories of my gran. The next and main part of the song says “you were an angel in the shape of my mum” this relates as my mum and my auntie both look so much like my gran, so she is the angel that is in the shape of my mum and auntie. Also, my Auntie is like my second mum, so she is also in the shape of my mum. The other reason I picked this song was because both my mum and auntie love this song and it makes them happy and cry because it reminds them of my gran. I feel that this task was insightful as it makes you realise how much a piece of music can relate to your life and how it can bring about so much emotion within you and bring back so many memories. This task has also made me feel so much more towards my object because it has made me think about it also and realise even more hoe irreplaceable it is. Fleming, M. (2012) explains how the importance of music in classes could be achieved by looking at emotions in pieces of music by saying that the central aim of all the arts being taught in schools is to develop creativity, imagination and bringing emotion to their work. This could be achieved by children describing how pieces of music can make them feel.

Reference

  • Fleming, M. (2012). The arts in education: an introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London: Routledge.
  • Supermarket Flowers lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group

Expressive Arts Week 1

Expressive Arts Week 1 Blog

This was the fist week in the expressive arts module, this module was an option module and I chose to take it over others due to the interest and love I have for some of the arts. The arts I love are visual art such as drawing and painting, but mainly dance. I have danced since I was 3 and I love going to my dance classes and exams right now I assist my teacher in taking the younger classes dance lessons and I am currently now training to be a qualified dance teacher.

As this was our first week it started off with an introduction to the course and then we as a class read WHAT MAKES AN OBJECT EVOCATIVE? From the book Evocative Objects by Sherry Turkle to get a feel for what we are going to be focusing on. Through the reading of this I realised the importance of everyone having evocative objects even if they don’t mean anything to someone else if they mean something to you and bring back an emotion or story. “The meaning of even such objects shifts with time, place, and differences among individuals.” (Turkle, 2007, p.307) It also explains that the object may become of an even greater importance over time due to the passing of relatives for example.

We then went around everyone in the class while sitting in a circle and everyone explained what their evocative object is and how it makes them feel. My object is my birthstone ring. I explained that my ring was a birthday present that I got for my 18th from my best friend and that I also got her the same ring for her birthday unintentionally, as our birthdays are so close. We never take them off, so it has become a kind of friendship charm and Goodluck token that we always have. I explained that when I think about my ring it makes me feel lucky to have such a close friend and that it makes me feel loved and close to her as we may not always be together, but we know the other always has a bit of the other with them. When everyone else was talking about their objects it made them feel emotional and it also made me feel emotional as people were talking about how much they loved the objects and why. Overall I feel that this activity was very useful as it brought out a lot of emotions that could be used when creating art as this can bring out a more reactive and personal feel to it.

Reference

  • Turkle, S. (2007) Evocative objects: things we think with. Mit Press.
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