Hi Aileen and others who have joined in this conversation.
I have just completed my PhD researching young children using drawing to
support development of design ideas. I had one class to whom I taught the idea
that a design drawing is both a container for your ideas and that you take
those ideas on a journey across the page, and another parallel comparison
class who didn't get this input. One thing that came out really strongly
across the 15 months of the project was that from the point at which I
explained the purpose of design drawing using these metaphors, "my" class
became much stronger at developing ideas within conversation. So that the
drawing ebcame a discussion document between pairs or groups. they were saying
"what I'm going to do is..." and then draiwng it. Or looking at other
children's drawings & saying "what you could do is..." This was quite
spontaneous - I din't tell them or teach them to do that. What happened was
that they enriched each other's thinking & so their ideas were more creative,
but also they kicked out the wild & wacky non-starter ideas. The paralllel
class drew in near silence and then really began discussing & designing once
they had the materials in their hands. This meant that ideas were less
creative and if unusual, tended to be poor solutions to the problem given.
Once they had started cutting up materials, they couldn't re-image their
ideas, whereas "my" lot, who designed through drawing conversations could
re-image, abandon first ideas that went nowhere, copy & adapt good ideas from
others etc etc...
As next (post PhD stage) to this, I want to look at how children model ideas
through construction kits & see if same processes apply, and also to see if
parallels exist in drawing/ mark-making/ interaction of graphics & text &
multi-media text - anyone have any thing useful on any / all of this?
Gill Hope
>===== Original Message From The UK drawing research network mailing list
<[log in to unmask]> =====
>Aileen - this sounds fascinating! My research area is the development of
>children's symbolic languages - and their thinking as their early marks
>begin to be defined as 'drawing'; 'writing' ; 'mathematics' and so on.
>
>I'd be interested in learning more about your 'coversation' in June.
>Thanks a lot.
>Maulfry
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Aileen Stackhouse" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 3:55 PM
>Subject: Re: Drawing Dialogues
>
>
>> Hello Angela
>> I'm currently in the 3rd year of my practise-led PhD at Duncan of
>> Jordanstone College of Art ( a faculty of the University of Dundee).I use
>> drawing to research thinking which occurs during drawing. Part of my
>> research involves drawing while in conversation. From 1 June until 30 June
>> this year I will be creating a 30 Day Drawing for Conversation in
>> Centrespace at the Visual Research Centre(Dundee Contemporary Arts)as part
>> of my final submission. I will be in conversation for a set time once a
>> week using the drawing as a fulcrum. Conversational partners include a
>> practising artist, a philosopher, a visual anthropologist and a
>> curator.This project is still at the planning stage as it is focus for the
>> work I have done up till now. If you want to know more let me know. I can
>> also be reached at [log in to unmask]
>> Regards
>> Aileen Stackhouse
>> School of Fine Art
>> Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art
>> University of Dundee
>> Dundee DD1 4HN
>>
>>
>>
>> =======================================
>> Aileen Stackhouse
>> =======================================
>>
>>
Gill Hope
Senior Lecturer Design & Technology
Canterbury Christ Church University College
Canterbury
Kent
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