STUDIO AIR SKETCHBOOK Jade Layton 2018 Tutor #14: David
ABOUT THE HEART CHAKRA The heart chakra, also known as Anahata, is associated with compassion, beauty and love. It is located at the centre of the chest and when open, you will feel a sense of connection and appreciation to the energy around you. When our heart chakra is blocked we might find it challenging relating to others around us. It can also effect our ability to love, appreciate beauty and form deep connections, causing us to feel closed, sad, withdrawn, or jealous. Restoring this blockage is important as it will allow us take back control of our wellbeing. In order to overcome this blockage we must practice self love / self acceptance, forgiveness (to heal wounds) and express gratitude so we can allow ourselves to be grateful for the things that make our life more positive.
WHY I CHOSE THIS CHAKRA I was originally drawn to this chakra because of colour. Ever since I was young I have always felt a strong connection to the colour green. I am not sure if it was because of my love for nature or because I wanted to be different to all of my classmates who liked pink and blue, but once my mum told me why she named me Jade and that it is a green gemstone, I grew an even stronger attachment. I find it very interesting that one of the heart chakra healing stones is a Jade. For the rest of the semester I am going to wear the Jade necklace that my mum gave to me and see how it makes me feel.
MY PERSONAL BLOCKAGE A personal challenge of mine is my dependence on family. As much as I love living at home while studying, I feel as though I need to go out and experience the world on my own. I do not like doing things or going anywhere by myself and I feel as though it is restricting my ability to grow. To overcome this problem, I think that I need to try and be more independent by moving out of home (flying away from the nest) or doing some travelling on my own. I find that when I am feeling down or experiencing conflict with someone, I tend to shut down and put up a walls. Living on the beach I always turn to nature and the ocean to help me relax and open up. Although I like being surrounded by people and enjoy the energy a crowd brings, I would like my work this semester to be focused around overcoming my blockages and targeting independence.
ADOBE COLOUR PALETTE
HEART CHAKRA
expressive object: ALGORITHMIC SKETCHES
DRIFTWOOD PAVILION
SYSTEM PROCESS ANALYSIS - SEA CORAL ABOUT SEA CORAL Coral reefs are formed when free pieces of coral larvae attach themselves to a hard surface like rocks. The “corals then secrete skeletons from the underside of their skin” in which are made from calcium carbonate1. The algae that live inside the corals’ tissue provides the necessary nutience and energy to grow. Each species of coral grows at its own rate (on average 5 - 30mm per year) and also depends on the surrounding conditions. Rate of growth can be effected by the water temperatre, turbulence, salinity (need salt water to survive) and how much food is readily available1. Coaral reefs thrive in warm, shallow waters as they are exposed to large amounts of sunlight. However they are also able to grow at depths of up to 91 meters. Although only covering 1% of the ocean floor, they have the “highest diversity of any ecosystem on the planet, being home to more than 25% of marine life1.”
HARD & SOFT CORALS “Hard corals grow in colonies and are the architects of coral reefs1.” They consist of species such as maze/brain coral, elkhorn coral, etc. and come in a range of different shapes. Depending on the location, some form pointed shapes while others form round, flowing shapes. In wavy and rough watered areas, the corals form a flatter shape, whereas in sheltered areas where the water is calm, the same species will grow “more intricate shaped with delicate branching patterns1”. Soft corals, for example sea fingers, sea whips and anemone are usually bendy, soft and do not have a rigid skeleton. These types of coral have swaying bodies that move with the flow of surrounding waters and provide habbitat for fish, snails, etc. Due to soft corals always being in dager to being eaten, they have evolved to produce a toxic chemical that makes them poisonous to those who eat them.
DIFFERENT SPECIES STAGHORN CORAL (yellow/brown) - Have antler-like branches that grow in a dense and tangled formation2. ELKHORN CORAL (yellow/brown) - Branches are flat and broad resembling the antlers of a moose. The surface is covered with tiny round cups2. LETTUCE CORAL (yellow/gray/purple) - Hemispherical with thick, flat leave-like plates which have many ridges. They also have cups on the upper and underside of each ‘leaf’2. GROOVE BRAIN/MAZE CORAL (yellow/brown/gray) - Consists of walls and valleys in which form round bolders with deep, interconnected channels2. COMMON BRAIN/MAZE CORAL (green/yellow/blue) - Have long valleys with ridges that have no top groove. Resembles a worm2. STARLET CORAL (golden brown) - Forms rounded boulders in which are covered in round, pitted holes2. There are hundreds of coral species out in the ocean, these are only a small number of the most common species.
ALL IMAGES SOURCED FROM: www.pintrest.com.au
MODELS FOR VARIATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY Coral Reef Alliance, ‘Coral Reefs 101’ (revised August 2017) <https://coral.org/coral-reefs-101/> [12 March 2018]
1
Florida Museum, ‘Coral Species Profile’ (revised June 2013) <https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/southflorida/habitats/corals/species-profiles/> [12 March 2018]
2