Meet-up #3

Activity: Singing to Connect to Your Inner Self

Bailey’s meet-up was completely unique - she recorded a podcast which we all tuned into together. The recording explores how singing can help us connect to ourselves, remove inhibition and kindle new energy to channel into creative work.

You will need:

• Ideally you’ll be in a private room where you can feel free to sing and experiment without feeling self-conscious. • You’ll need to be comfortable lying down in your space, ideally on a yoga mat or similar – if you don’t have one, a comfortable carpeted area or blankets can also work well. It’s also good to have a couple of cushions and blankets on hand in case you need more support to get comfortable. • Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing. • Have a glass of water or a cup of tea on hand, and maybe a notepad and pen for jotting down thoughts. • You’ll be listening to guided exercises and music so if you can, listen to the session via a speaker or in-ear headphones to get the best quality audio.

When you’re ready, scan this QR code:

Jasper

Twitter: @iOvrThoughtThis Bandcamp: treasurer.bandcamp.com

The question I came and leave with:

How can I build a system and a place to release my music?

How would you sum up your Makers Marathon in 3 words?

Inspiration, Discovery, Acceptance.

How would you define making?

Making for me walks the line between producing and creating. It’s about turning thoughts and feelings into experiences.

What have you learned from this process?

That it’s more than structure and accountability I need to make. I need community and inspiration as well as space within myself and my life. Making is something I need to make and protect time for.

Tell us about something you’ve made.

One of my favourite things to make was the playdough. I’d played with it as a child but never considered that it might not have to be a complicated chemical covered mess. That it might just be a bit of oil, flour, salt and colouring. It’s empowering to learn things like that because now having playdough isn’t an unchangeable factor of the environment. I can just make some. “I found that having permission to take time and create a maker's environment really helped a lot. Permission to cut paper into strips, to scrunch foil, to tear boxes. Permission to make a mess, to buy paints, to take time. Perhaps it’s a little like a fire. The parts to make it are all around us but we need to arrange things specially and provide a little spark which we protect and feed to stay alight. You can make with anything but to start you need something easy, the space to do it and a tiny, imperceivable little spark.”

- Jasper

Activity: Metaphors and Lyrics

Jasper often uses metaphors in songwriting as a way to put complex feelings into words. Instead of being limited by our current paradigm of expression, metaphor allows us to call in a different ‘world’ of reference, and thereby a whole bunch of linked images and descriptions.

His workshop explores applying metaphor to a challenge, feeling or thought in your life, and developing into a song ‘hook’.

You will need:

• A notebook and pen

Step 1: A short story of feeling

Take your notebook and do some stream-of-consciousness writing about a challenge, feeling or thought you’d like to explore. The idea is not to write something perfect but to generate content to use later in the workshop.

Step 2: Taking Stock

Look back over what you’ve written and highlight anything that stands out. Note them down on a fresh page of your notebook.

Step 3: Finding Metaphors

For each of these snippets of text, note down objects, images or situations that share characteristics with your story. When you find ones that feel like they connect, expand on them. How can you enrich that metaphor?

Step 4: Lyric Writing

When writing metaphors into song lyrics, it can be useful to try and start with the ‘hook’ - a line or phrase which you can sing or say that captures the core of what the song is about.

To give an example, Jasper wrote a song about letting go of someone he loved. The hook in the song is “So just keep me sedated, I don’t want to feel a thing”. It stems from using an operation, something that would hurt now but ultimately be good, as a metaphor for his experience.

Tingyu

Website: tingyuwang.wixsite.com/home

The question I came with:

How can we unleash our animalistic nature using the language of art?

The question I leave with:

How can I free myself in my style of writing?

Activity: Cosplay Party

Tingyu introduced us all to the concept of Cosplay - a costume makeover where you get to dress up as your favourite anime or cartoon character. Here are some ideas for you to host your own Cosplay party...

How would you sum up your Makers Marathon in 3 words?

Enthusiastic, collaborative and encouraging.

How would you define making?

Making is all about keeping your creativity going. We are not machines but mindful souls with a lot of imagination. Making is a way to link a community of creative makers and share meaningful thoughts without the necessity of productivity. We need making in order to free our hands, hearts and minds.

What have you learned from this process?

I gained a lot of peer support while elsewhere I only gain peer pressure. The makers’ community is very warm and responsive. There is never a lack of new ideas. I have learnt about the personal meaning of keeping being a maker for life. Living one’s life is just like being an artist. I believe that everyone is an artist when it comes to the creation of one’s life.

Tell us about something you’ve made.

I did a great deal of drawing and illustration work. I made a dozen of badges during a workshop held by Meera which I enjoyed a lot. I wrote a song called Fortune Cookie, lol.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to connect with their inner maker?

Do some meditation away from all the tablets, take a deep breath and connect with the space first!

Gather your friends

It could be for a special occasion or just your average night in with friends - make it memorable by introducing Cosplay.

Decide on your character

Anything goes with Cosplay. You might already have an idea of someone you’ve always wanted to dress up as. If not, a good place to start is by thinking about some of your favourite fictional characters growing up. Who would you like to pretend to be for a while? Our party brought together the Cat in the Hat, Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls, Lois Lane, Homer Simpson in a Moo Moo, Daidouji Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura, Karaba the Sorceress and Pusheen the Cat.

Design and make your costume

There are lots of youtube tutorials on Cosplay costume DIY. The more elaborate, the better! Our costumes used things like an umbrella, a swimming hat, loo rolls and pipe cleaners.

Celebrate your characters

A fun way to start the party can be to draw anime portraits of your characters. What are the features you want to celebrate most of all? What is their catchphrase?

Hold a Talent Show

We don’t get enough moments in life to celebrate ourselves. Why not introduce a talent show segment to your party to give everyone a chance to shine? It could be a performance or a party trick. Ours included a dance routine, rollerskating in a circle, juggling and rapping the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Melise

Instagram: @melise_irenn

The question I came with:

How might I craft my way into a soul-full life?

The question I leave with:

How might I practice soul-full living daily?

How would you sum up your Makers Marathon in 3 words?

Homing - Interconnectedness - Agility.

How would you define making?

I am drawn to the roots of the word ‘create’: To bring into existence. To shape something where before there was nothing. This seduces me in making - the process of creation itself. It is my way of making sense of and experiencing the world. From this place, I can follow what lights me up inside; I can honor my curiosity and explore concepts rooted in philosophy, neuroscience, physics or psychology; I can use woodwork today, chemistry tomorrow, printmaking the day after. I value this freedom. Through making, I can explore life in all it has to offer.

What have you learned from this process?

I have learnt that I can maintain intentionality through chaos. I have learnt that in my self exploration, I can dive deep and swim wide. I have learnt to trust myself. I have found that making connects me with something greater than myself and that I can practice spirituality through it. One possible answer to my learning question is a simple and complex one. To craft my way into a soul-full life, I shall practice soul-full living daily. What is soul-full today might not be the same tomorrow. I have learned that it is a practice, a commitment; not a recipe or a mythical place for me to reach.

Bioplastic Mushrooms

Tell us about something you’ve made.

During the process, I experimented with bioplastics - materials produced from renewable sources such as algae, starch or gelatin. Besides the desire to consider the environmental impact of the things I make, I was drawn to the aesthetics of the material - it’s translucency and interaction with light; its versatility - how it can be brittle or flexible. More prominently, I was drawn to the accessibility of bioplastics - being able to source ingredients from my local grocery store and transform them in my kitchen. I am highly seduced by this DIY ethos.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to connect with their inner maker?

‘What you pay attention to grows’ as the saying goes. Notice your creative hope. Listen to it. Nourish it. Then use it to drive intentional action. Be willing to embrace the beginner mindset, be eager to give anything a go without judgement or attachment to the finished product. Notice what lights you up then keep showing up for it.

Activity: Lo-fi Printmaking

The Maker’s Marathon was hosted online, which introduced a real constraint to planning our meetups: how could we design sessions so that everyone had the materials to take part?

Melise designed a genius lo-fi printmaking session, which can be picked up by anyone, anywhere, for less than £5.

A little bit of background

A print is an impression made by any method involving transfer from one surface to another.

Monotypes, the type of print explored in this activity, make unique images.

Monotypes are great because they’re…

• a hybrid between drawing & printing • the most painterly of printing techniques: you can create gestural and textural marks • spontaneous and full of chance • versatile: they combine printmaking, painting, drawing, decoupage, collage...

You will need:

Printmaking station • Newspaper to protect your working area • 1 plastic document wallet • Masking tape • A piece of cardboard or plastic for a palette

Printmaking tools • Acrylic paint • 1 Kitchen sponge • 1 Dishcloth

Paper • Lots of sheets of standard printer paper for test prints • Nice quality paper for final prints Other materials • Magazines • Cardboard • Anything you might use to make a mark - leaves, flowers and small branches, bubble wrap, wine cork, a pencil, plastic ruler, tip of brush, plastic carrier bag, an old toothbrush… • Prit stick • Scissors • Brushes