Stone Soup

The creative process.

This whole experience was very interesting and fun.  One idea led into another, which led into another. It was like an endless dot-to-dot game.  Even though our creation was a person, there was always something more we could add to make our creation better than it already is.

In the book Stone Soup, the end product was supposed to be a soup.  With this activity, there was no set end product, and I was amazed at the results everyone had.  My group ended up making a person/scarecrow, someone we decided to name Emo. Even though we had so many materials to work with, we actually didn't have t utilize all our materials. One thing I will say was quite a bummer on our part was the fact that a few of us though we were going to be doing something 'artsy,' like spread paint onto a canvas and go crazy. Instead, we ended up doing something more hands-on--which was a total pleasant surprise!  So I think the group did a WONDERFUL job with what we thought we were gonna do, and what we actually ended up doing.

When I think about the process that we went through, it makes me think about sustainability.  Sustainability is still a vague term for me, but this whole process of using what we had, very inexpensive, everyday items to create something new reminded me of the sustainability idea.  It also made me think that design isn't a one-man thing.  It took a collective effort to create Emo. I'm not saying that it takes two or more persons to be a design, but rather, design can become a group thing.  A designer can work on his/her own, but s/he should realize that there are other options available also. It is good to engage with fellows designers, and mix ideas, to see what one can create as a group sometimes.  Coming together does not need to happen all the time, but it's an experiencing worth having.