Metaphorical Fashion Part 3+4 - Transformation @APR Project 2/3

 Transforming our Jackets into their fullest expression:

How does our first image inspire the second? What is the goal of your defense mechanism and how do we show clearly the way it protects you? What do you wish your jacket could turn into?

Process for Today:

1. Start with similar colors and textures as your jacket, and with light sketch lines if needed - decide how you want to show the full effect of the protective jacket in the second half (or 2/3) of the paper with your model on it. Make sure you designate a space to write a description of your Jacket and its function as you claim space.

2. Just like the previous session - think about the shapes and structures required to show us what you are trying to communicate. Most of us will tend to go smaller and less extreme - what happens if you dial your idea up by 25%? 50%? What if there was no such thing as too crazy or too big, within the boundary of the page? How do you move through the discomfort that might come up to make something loud, that may mean a lot for you?

3. Once you have a sense of where the main shapes are going - GLUE EVERYTHING DOWN. We don't want to lose any of the important shapes you are making!

4. Reorganize the space for the students coming in after you, who will be doing the same thing. Make sure your name is somewhere on the paper!

My Mock Up:

*Focus on the paper structure part today - for the next session drawing tools will be available for finishing touches and writing about our jacket purpose/protection style.

Process for final session on this project:

1. Before we jump into finishing our piece - take 5 minutes to write down on your planning paper: 

a. What does your Jacket transform into?

and

b. how does it protect you?

Once you have those questions answered, you can sketch them into the place on your piece designated for that. If there are other necessarily drawn components, please sketch everything out in pencil first to make sure you like it - then proceed with more permanent markers or pencils. How can we treat the writing part as an important component to the finished artwork?

2. If there are any unfinished portions, or things you discovered you need to add to make your vision more complete - this is your time! If you missed an earlier session during this project, this is your time to cover lost ground!

3. Reset the space!

4. Depending on how much work needs to be done, there may be some time for reflection - If not, we will start the following week with one.

My finished Mock Up with everything in place:

Metaphorical Fashion Part 2/4 - Fashion Illustration @APR Project 2/3

What do our defense mechanisms look like as Outerwear?

What could some of these looks represent or transform into to protect us?

Process for Today:

1. Using a body cut out (available in the center of the desks) or freestyling your own - create a light pencil outline of a figure that will receive your ideas. Create this figure in the first 1/3 to 1/2 of your page, so we have space to show what your outerwear transforms into, as well as a space to document your thought process (will happen in our following 2 sessions).

2. Start to cut and rip and layer pieces of paper on top of your body shape, thinking about/referring back to your notes - how you might create a garment that protects you in the unique way your specific defense mechanisms show up. Be thinking about what kind of structures need to be in place for the final transformation to make sense - something that feels sharp and aggressive, that turns into a spike ball around you may be composed of puffy curves with prickly edges etc. How can all of your choices come very clearly from you and the inspirations you are being supported by?

3. Once you have a clear sense of where your garment is headed, or at least the major shapes - GLUE IT ALL DOWN. We don't want to run out of time and lose any of the shapes you have made!

4. Make sure your name is on this piece, and start to reorganize the space for the next group of students.

My Mock Up:

Other Design Style Reference:

Notice how shapes and textures are more important/impactful then anatomical correctness. How can we think about the shape and feeling we are trying to create, rather then proving we are good at drawing?

 

Metaphorical Fashion Part 1/4 - Brainstorming @APR Project 2/3

What are defense mechanisms? Why do we have them? What do they look like?

Fight

When your fight response becomes activated, your instinct is to cope with the perceived threat aggressively. This response physically affects your body - signs of being in “fight” mode include:

Intense feelings of anger

Urge to physically lash out

Wanting to yell or raise your voice

Hypervigilance or feeling “jumpy”

Feeling easily agitated

*Someone who goes into a fight response might find themselves frequently getting into physical fights or verbal altercations.

Flight

A flight response triggers the urge to run away from the threat to try and save yourself. Similar to "fight" mode, a flight response can lead to a rush of adrenaline and increased heart rate as your body prepares to "run" away. Common signs of a flight response include:

The urge to flee a situation

Fidgeting or having trouble being still

Feeling trapped or as if the room is closing in on you

Avoiding perceived or real threats

Panicking

*For people who often engage in a flight response, this can look like physically leaving stressful situations. For example, during an interpersonal conflict, someone in "flight" mode might walk away from the conversation instead of engaging and trying to fix the problem.

Freeze
While flight and fight are both active stress responses that increase the biological activity in your body, freezing is your body’s way of shutting down. Like an animal might “play dead” while being hunted, people turn to “freeze” when it feels like fighting or fleeing isn’t an option. The freeze response affects your body by causing the following symptoms:

Dissociation, or feeling detached from yourself and your environment

Holding your breath

Feeling emotionally numb or confused

Having trouble speaking or becoming non-verbal

Not being able to take action or make a decision

Lacking focus or having trouble concentrating

Fainting Goats

Fawn

When it feels safer to be submissive and obedient than fight or flee, people may turn to the fawn stress response. Most similar to the freeze response, "fawning" causes someone to please and appease the needs of someone else, instead of prioritizing their own well-being. Other signs that a fawn response has been activated include:

Zingela Z, Stroud L, Cronje J, Fink M, van Wyk S. The psychological and subjective experience of catatonia: a qualitative study. BMC Psychology. 2022;10(1). doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00885-7

Having a hard time saying “no”

Being a people-pleaser

Pretending to agree with someone

Doing what you’re told no matter what

Putting others’ needs before your own

Not being able to set boundaries

What defense mechanisms are these plants or animals using?

 

Brainstorm Session

Write down any thoughts that come up while we talk as a group, you will need these later!

1. What are some of the ways you respond when encountering stressful situations?

 

+ What feels like a stressful situation to you? 

+ Do you have a way you often protect yourself from feelings of stress, anger, fear, shame? 

+ Does it change depending on the circumstances? What dictates the change?

2. What would protecting yourself look like if it was something you could wear, like a jacket? 

+ Based on what you've noticed about how you respond to stress, are there shapes or animal/plant details that felt related to those responses?

+ How do you imagine your fight/flight/freeze/fawn response might feel or look like to other people?

+ If you were to design a protective jacket - what would it need to include, and what might it turn into when fully engaged in protecting you?

Write down/sketch anything you can think of related to these questions and our conversation - just dump your brain onto the page, there is no right or wrong here. Next session we will return to these notes to decide what our individual Metaphorical Jacket themes will be. 

Put your name on this paper!