ME – HERE - NOW in Windhoek

ME – HERE - NOW

PARTY Workshop at the Department of Visual Arts, University of Namibia

24.11. – 27.11.2017

Teacher: Anu Kylmänen

Facilitator: Virpi Nurmela

Documentation: Marja Ylioinas, Anu Kylmänen, Virpi Nurmela

It was beautiful and warm morning in Windhoek. We had huge plastic bags full of wool and other materials when we were waiting for a taxi on the street. I was a little nervous about how to get young people excited about the upcoming workshop and that they would benefit from the workshop in the future. We arrived well in advance to prepare the workspace ready. Accordingly, the schedule, materials and everything all needed were ready waiting for the students to arrive. 

The workshop was outdoors. We had long table and everyone had a lot of space for artistic work. First, we opened the workshop with introductions of the leaders and participants as well as PARTY project. Everyone wrote their own names in a piece a tape and stacked it to their clothes. Then we continued with more specific project presentation: distributing the PARTY brochures and showing the PARTY consent form video. Virpi went through the consent form step-by-step elaborating what each part means, so that everyone could understand what they were given permission for. All the students decided to sign PARTY consent forms which we then collected. Although we had a common English language, it was not that understandable. There are dozens of different languages ​​spoken in the area, so English is not a pure mother tongue for any of us. This should be taken into account in all workshops.

In my own work, I am used to a certain kind of efficiency and schedule. It was time to learn how to understand the text and the matter.

We wanted to bring new ideas, how to use their own ideas and memories when starting the design process. Find ways to create new ideas without money and the internet. This way of thinking allows working in all conditions, benefiting from the surrounding nature. The idea was successful. The mood boards images are used very often in both us and here's ready-made internet images. Maria Caley says, that it is a quick-paced way, but your personal handwriting is not visible, I agree. I would also like to add this way of working in my own work in Finland.

We started with calming down with meditation exercise. Our focusing was the attention inside and starting with the feelings from inside and with immediate steps stemming from there before the logical mind takes over, i.e. giving word for your inner feeling, color for your feeling and word for your inner feeling.  Then we continued from moving from persons feeling’s to open the eyes for the material lying everywhere around us by asking them to amend their moodboard with material from nature. Next day we used the meditation for remembering one significant detail from the childhood for the inspiration for the next phase of felting. I want to use different methods, that students got different style to start design process. Students likes a lot a both style. Failing should be considered as an integral part of learning process to push the students out of their comfort zone and try something new.

the next few days together: Introduction of the workshop goals, content, method (Participatory design), outcomes. Working this workshop goes or if we must change something.

 

The goal of the three-day course was to guide vet felting and needle felting techniques. I distributes an educational package of wool and felting in English, which includes demonstrating pictures. It was not enough; teacher must show every movement and tell very clearly what happens and how technique goes. Pictures must be bigger, informative and very clear.

First, I gave an introduction to the wool as material and then a list of necessary ingredients for making a sumptuous piece of felt. Making felt is messy. Before we started, we covered the surface of the table with one big piece of plastic. This movement I want show, how we respect our workshop pace.During the work we sang Finnish Christmas songs and Namibian popular songs. That was very relaxing and fun moment . Photographing the products and participants at the end of the day. We closed the day with a discussion with participants to sense if any changes are needed for the following day.

We got feedback many ways. Etc. Student written feedback on following questions: What is your opinion of the process of the workshop? Your opinion of the material and technique? How did your original chosen feeling evolve during the process? We discuss whit Maria Caley that every university student must can write about own process. We want, that students thinking more what happens their own process. Each student reflects on their own design process, also writing that the process's reflection would not be left to the level of discussion. We got many interesting attention, what happens student’s process and how their designer mind grow. 

Final day we had presentations of the art works from first moodboard to final product. Elaborate on the process: What can be seen in first moodboard? Tell about the drawing, about the detail from your childhood – item, place, atmosphere, what is special about your memory? Can you see the elements of the moodboard in your final art work? Others may comment what they see in the moodboard and how the moodboard elements can be found in the final work. Marja video filming on the presentations. Filming goes well, bud was little nervous situation for everybody. 

Maria Caley, the local teacher, was enthusiastic about the methods and exercises used and commented “I’m so gonna use these methods.” The use of material available around us as source of inspiration was also worth special mention to be used in future too instead of the pictures from magazines and Pinterest only. The course was organized as the semester was practically ended, but there were still 7 students taking part in it, which was a good number in these circumstances.

Reflections and Conclusions

The theme of the workshop was selected to stand out from the previous PARTY workshops which concentrated often to the future and dreams of the participants. Due to the nature of the designers work their very often have to keep their focus on future. We decided to take a different approach and to concentrate on the person itself, the current place or situtation and the current moment of the participants. Accordingly, we named the workshop ME-HERE-NOW.

The life of a student in Namibia seems similar to the students in Finland; time pressure, unfinished works that should have been returned, lack of funds and resources, dreams, fatigue, attempts to get the courses done quickly etc. The beginning succeeded perfectly when we gathered to calm down, concentrate only on this moment and to one’s own inner state of being and feeling. A comment from one student was that she haven’t had time for a long time to pay any attention to herself, body or feelings. Accordingly, the exercise functioned and calmed down the participants.

The Toolbook was an excellent tool for designing the workshop. A Finnish teacher may not be able to take into account all things when he has worked in his own culture. The Toolbook have been made with different actors (youth, ngos, communities) and in different locations (Namibia and South Africa). The Toolbook gave me the confidence to plan and work as a teacher in the workshop.

The most beautiful moments in the teacher have been to discover the joy of new learning. It has also been a rewarding development of its own as a teacher. How do you teach your skills to another when a common language is missing?  Is it better to talk a bit than too much. How to build trust in a different culture? By being honest, you own yourself and trust on your own professional skills. We thoroughly got ready for the workshop and it was worth it. I would like to develop a teaching package, for example, by adding pictures to illustrate the process and add to the section where we wonder how the product could be commercialized or what products could be made in the future.

This month was very inspiring, thought-provoking journey and a professionally instructive time.

Anu Kylmänen

University Teacher

Clothin Design  

Faculty of Art and Design

University of Lapland