References

BrainyQuote. (2011). Art Quotations. Retrieved October 22, 2011, from BrainyQuote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/art.html

Crepeau E. ( 2003 ). Analyzing occupation and activity: A way of thinking about occupational performance. In Crepeau E., Cohn E, & Schell B (Eds.), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy ( 10th ed., pp.189-198). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

Humanics ErgoSystems, Inc. (2008). What is Ergonomics? Retrieved October 28, 2011, from Humanics Ergonomics: http://www.humanics-es.com/def-erg.htm

Pablo Picasso. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pablopicas162882.html

QuotationsPage.com. (2010). Quotation Details. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from The Quotations Page: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/34774.html

Linking to others blogs

To Rachel Thomas:

Hi Rachel,

I love how you have shown pictures of the environment you are working in really helped set the scene. I also like how you included the Eriksons life stages within your post as it relates well to your story. Maybe explaining ergonomics in your own words at the beggining as well as the quote would have been helpful but other than that i have really enjoyed your blog, good work :)

To Merryn:

This is awesome Merryn i love the use of the Ray Charles quote it is perfect for describing your 'need' for the activity and links in really well. I think your blog is great, maybe you could put up a video or a recording of one of your jam sessions? it would be awesome to here and make for an exciting blog!!

:)

To Heath:

Hi Heath,

really interesting blog, can tell you are very passionate about rugby which makes your blog easy to read. Bet you would have had an enjoyable Sunday night watching the All Blacks win eh! Maybe you could go a bit further with how having your dad at your games makes you feel? But other than that really good work on your blog :)

To Rachael:

Hi Rachael,
Your blog is very enjoyable to read, i had never heard of french knitting before but you make it sound very interesting and a great way to fill in any spare time. Perhaps linking this post to a story would have been interesting but other than that your blog is really good and such an easy read :)
good work

My Need for Art

22^nd October

Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987) once stated that “Art is what you can get away with.” (QuotationsPage.com, 2010). I feel that this relates hugely to my need for art as to me this quote means there are no rules, you can do whatever you like and no one can tell you it is wrong or right. Art meets my needs especially at the moment as it is assessment time, so along with that come essays, referencing and word limits, all so structured with set rules about how things need to be done if you want to pass.

The other day I started doing some paintings for my dad’s new house as I felt that I had earned well deserved break from all of my assessments. Although dad did have a few things he said he would like included he left the rest up to me, no rules. I spent almost a whole day painting old canvases white as my dad had been given them for Christmas and didn’t like the original paintings. This took us so long that by the time I had finished that it was time for me to come back to Dunedin which was quite gutting. Since being back in Dunedin though I have spent a lot of time sketching up ideas that I can play with when I get back to working on the canvases.

My need for art is more than having something I can do that has no rules, it allows me to relax my entire mind from assessments and all the other things going on this time of year. With art I can express my individuality and as Oscar Wilde states Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. With art I am able to spend time doing my own thing without having to talk to anyone it allows me to have my much needed ‘me time’.

I think one of my biggest needs for Art is the feeling of accomplishment, I love completing a painting or drawing and being satisfied with the end product. With this will usually give my paintings away to family and friends as I feel I no longer have a need for it and I want it to hopefully be appreciated by others.

I feel that painting and drawing is a way for me to be entertained when I am by myself. It gives me something to do instead of wasting time blobbed out in front of the television or Facebook and gives me the opportunity to create things and end up with a finished product and gives me a huge sense of satisfaction.

I can’t wait until all these exams are over and I can get back to those paintings for my dad, by then I am sure a will have plenty ideas of what to paint.


References:

BrainyQuote. (2011). Art Quotations. Retrieved October 22, 2011, from BrainyQuote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/art.html

QuotationsPage.com. (2010). Quotation Details. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from The Quotations Page: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/34774.html

Practical considerations

12^th October

Practical considerations are things that need to be taken into account before you will be able to do the activity such as equipment, space, and time. Painting has many practical considerations that need to be done before you can get creating, this reminds me of a story.... J

A few weeks ago some friends and I decided we were going to go to the England vs. Romania game in the brand new stadium. We thought that if we were gunna go we were to make a day of it and get dressed up for the occasion. So Tui and I went in search of something to wear for when we support the mighty Romanians. We searched around for a while but had no luck, in the end we decided to get white t-shirts and paint them just how we wanted. At the time we thought this idea was brill, until we got home and realised we needed more paint and bigger brushes, my small ones just weren’t gunna cut it. So we went out brought some new paints and borrowed some larger brushes of my flatmate and got to creating our master pieces.

This story shows how before you do an activity you need to take into account the practical considerations. When painting there are many practical considerations that need to be thought of such as do you have enough paints? and do you have the right colours? You also need to make sure you have all the right tools like paint brushes, canvases, paper and space to do the painting. Painting was a practical activity for me to do as I had almost everything already all I needed to get were a few more paints that were running low. It was a good choice for me as I always seem to be able to find time for painting and drawing especially around exam timeJ.

Affordances: tua rua

26^th September

Affordances as described by Crepeau (2003) are. "A quality of an object, or an environment, that allows an individual to perform an action” here we are going to break affordances into another three categories to look at my activity painting in more depth. The three areas will be spirituality, aesthetics and history, but first a story... J

On Sunday it was such a good day all I wanted to do was sit out in the sun and soak up some rays. I felt a bit guilty not doing any school work so figured it would be the perfect opportunity to get some drawing in. So I found my sketch pad, pencils, eraser, sunscreen and sunnies before making a cosy wee pozzy out the front of the flat. I set up my music as usual and got to it. I spent a good few hours out there and lucky for me the sunscreen worked a treat. I did quite a few sketches of birds and feathers as well as having a bit of a play with charcoal which I found very difficult to use. While drawing I began to think about how I choose what I am going to draw as that can always take some time and I suppose this leads nicely into aesthetics as you want what you are drawing to be something nice to look at.

Aesthetics: when looking at aesthetics in regards to painting can see how it relates enormously as it is concerned with beauty and being able to express it. When painting I am always concerned about aesthetics and checking if things look good. I always think about what I am going to draw before I do it and think of what I want my finished product to look like. Thinking about aesthetics when painting I need to consider many things such as texture colour and size and try and make each element fit together to make something beautiful.

Spirituality: When looking at painting under spirituality I am looking at the feelings I get from this activity and how it connects me with the universe. I find this hard to explain but I found a quote which has a perfect explanation of how painting and drawing makes me feel...

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” - Pablo Picasso

With this in mind art to me is a way to forget everything else that is going on and relax. With art it brings me happiness and allows me to connect with others. Art connects me significantly to my family as me and my brother often draw together and dad always has projects for me to do (like helping him paint murals in his classroom). I recently painted a picture for my boyfriend’s koro. He asked me to paint a mountain which was very special to him as he had spent many years living close to it. This was a huge honour to me because I know how much this mountain means to him and I had been told the story of the ‘Mountain of tears’ many times. By doing this I felt that I had created a connection for him to have with the land that he had left. He explained to me that he plans to pass the painting down through the generations.

History: This links nicely with my story above as with art you are able to tell stories and in koro’s case link back to your own or others history. Painting has been around for a very long time and has evolved so much. I have been doing paintings and drawings for almost forever I suppose I learnt from my dad as he has always had a love for art.

References:

Crepeau E. ( 2003 ). Analyzing occupation and activity: A way of thinking about occupational performance. In Crepeau E., Cohn E, & Schell B (Eds.), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy ( 10th ed., pp.189-198). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

Pablo Picasso. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 22, 2011, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/pablopicas162882.html

Affordances: numero uno

8^th September:

Affordances can be described as the outcome of an activity, or what the activity itself leads to. Affordances can be split into categories which allow us to break our activity down and look at it more specifically. A few that we are going to look at closely in this blog are communication properties, action properties and moral properties.

On Saturday night after a long day of missioning around trying to get the cheapest veggies and trekking up Baldwin street for ‘fun’, I decided a bit of relaxing painting was in need. I decided I would paint my drawers as they were looking a bit dull. So I got everything set up in my room, paint newspaper and music of course and began to paint... After about two hours my flatmate came into my room to tell me that tea was ready, she saw what I was up to and this lead to conversation...

Communicating properties:  When we were looking at the painting together we began to talk. She gave me compliments on what I had done and asked questions about why I was painting what I was. I explained to her what I had planned to do and we had a laugh as the finished product was nothing like I had first intended. As we continued to talk she mentioned how she used to love doing art at school and showed me some of her work. I found this really interesting as I had no idea that she enjoyed or even did art. By this I was able to see how people can connect through art.

Moral Properties: When looking at moral properties in regards to painting we are looking at the positives and negatives of the activity. A positive is art bringing people together and allowing them to talk and have opinions about it. It can open up many conversations and allow them to connect like I said earlier. Another Pro with this activity is how it can make people feel, I have been asked to paint pictures for people of things that are meaningful to them, these are always my favourites.   Art is never wrong or right so I see this as a positive aspect, it means there are no restrictions. Some negatives about art I have found since doing my activity would be the time it takes, it’s always so hard to limit myself to two hours, especially if I feel like I’m on a roll.

Action Properties: When looking at action properties we are looking at the connection painting and drawing makes with other activities. For example before you can paint you need to make sure you have pains, brushes and a surface to paint on, this can lead to searching, rummaging or shopping to buy fresh equipment. Before painting we need to set up our environment and get all the preparation done to make sure we have all we need. Once the painting or drawing is complete it has the purpose of being looked at and hopefully enjoyed by others. One last task that always comes with a good session of painting is the cleaning up, never my favourite but needs to be done.

What I have been up to...

So as Rachel Thomas requested here are some photos to give you all a wee glimpse of what I have been getting up to since starting Participation in Occupation 2. Hopefully this makes my blog a little more interesting :) feel free to criticize and give ideas of other things to draw and paint, I always seem to be stuck for ideas.