Conscious Designing Inquiry Phase-II
‘Dimensions of Well-being’
Fall 2024- Spring 2025
Project aim-
To explore how we can creatively design and mindfully execute while making conscious choices that cater to the Well-being of all, in the process, bringing together diverse groups to explore Dimensions of Well-being on the creative platform of Arts.
Scope of project-
Interdisciplinary, Community involvement, Intergenerational, includes all types of Arts, aimed towards wellbeing of All
Possible activities-
,Cultural presentations, Exhibits, Talks, Art Workshops
Collaborations are open for events to happen in Spring-Summer 2025.
Events for Fall 2024-
Virtual meets on (mostly) second Sundays of the month.
Upcoming
10 November 3-4pm on zoom. (America Recycles day special)
8 December 3-4pm (Wrap up for the year with ‘Wellbeing for all’)
Themes will vary depending on Month and can revolve around C Designing- Wellbeing or ongoing Water talks. Interested members can submit a Registration form on this page to join the meets.
The project designer would like to work with individuals or groups interested in Inquiry into Materials in Designing (anything). Please contact here if you are interested.
Some queries to ponder on ‘DIMENSIONS OF WELL-BEING’ :
Wellness is a vague term which can be approached from several angles. isn’t it MULTI-DIMENSIONAL?
What does HOLISTIC WELL-BEING look like to you?
Does CREATIVITY Forster wellbeing
Are iINDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE HEALTH INTERCONNECTED?
Project phase-II resumes October 2024.
Stay tuned for more details to come soon.
The content below from Phase-I is archived for reference, some event links might not work.
Conscious Designing Inquiry Project
Conscious Designing project is a creative Inquiry into the Interconnectedness of all things, and how making concious choices can affect the wellbeing of us all. It aims to gather interdiciplinary groups on the creative platform of Arts.
Project opens from November ARD 2023
Formally starts from Jan 2024. Some intro talks here.
Activities can relate to ongoing talks on “Water’
Stay tuned on this page for more updates as they come.
Let’s explore how we can think Creatively and execute Consciously while having fun together!
Updates: As of June end the Phase-I of this project is over. Updates on Phase-II will be posted in September for events to take place in Fall 2024-Spring 2025. Stay tuned!
Contact here if you would like to get involved and join our monthly talks.
Some notes from the project designer-
Looking back at the first phase, it feels like a good learning curve.
This project, unlike others, was meant to be less structured and more open to be built upon by collaborative events, letting it take its own shape. In that sense it feels like a good success though some plans didnt work as we would have liked.
I purposefully avoided opening social media pages as it would affect my research and creative focus but that is also the reason why we failed to reach out to more audience and get more participation. Something to ponder on for the next phase.
Any success this far is a shared one with contributions from each collaborator and from all participants!
Though not very effective or of much impact, the phase-I seems to have laid a good foundation for the project to move ahead in more meaningful directions.
We are grateful to all the Collaborators, Guests, and participants of Phase-I of this project for their contributions. that helped give the project its shape.
Thanks to:-
Phil Nyman for Co-hosting and help with planning the events.
Abigail Padfield Narayan, Hannah Smith, Julie Nieset, Claire Sullivan, Vyom Mehta , for their collaborations
Dr Sowmya Anand, Mrs Linda Thiele, Naza Agassi, Nada Sweid, Alejandra Aguero, Savannah Donovan for their support and outreach for our programs.
Kiri Fagen-Ulmschneider, Sophia Beem, Mrs Pruski, Doris Lagos Kutz, Rachel Rasmussen, Dr Stake, Dr Visse, Mrs Manjula Tekal, Meera Bharati for being our valued guest and sharing their work and insights with us during virtual and in-person events.
Sayee for her support and advice, Seth Feldman, Phil Nyman, Kuldeepa VM for our inner-outer talks that gave Conscious Designing Inquiry project, its depth.
Content below is for archival purposes. All event are closed as of June end of 2024.
Updates on Next phase will be released in September. Stay tuned!
Updates: The Book reading event in June was graced by some valuable guests and we are thankful to them all. Also grateful to Phil Nyman for beingg our co-host and to everyone who attended the event and made it meaningful with their discussions and presence. Below are some snapshots.
Join us for the concluding events as we near the end of Phase- I of this project.
Book Reading event 9 June 2:30-4:00pm at Lincoln Square Mall.
Book talks, displays and activities will revolve around the theme of ‘Wellness for All’ To join or participate, submit the form here or email for enquiry.
We are Thankful to Phil Nyman for leading this event, to Hannah Smith for making available the space and to all the guest presenters for their time to make this event possible.
Book Reading concluding event at Lincoln Square Mall
Rachel Rasmussen talks about the Books to prisoners program.
Dr Stake and Dr Visse share themes from their Book 'A Paradigm of Care'
Phil NYman talks about some Books and puzzles related to wellness and Joy
C Designing Virtual exhibit
From 12 April- 30 April, Virtual meet 14 April 3:30-4:30pm
Please do send us your reviews here and join us for the exhibit virtual meet by registering here
Updates:
This exhibit is closed, find a few snapshots of virtual displays. Thank you for all your encouraging reviews, it will help us move forward in right direction! We are grateful to all the Guest perticipants and community members for sharing their art and talks with us!
This exhibit consists of 3 sections:
I- Collaborators- This include Artworks created by or representing Collaborators.
II- Community creative works - Includes
- The creative works of participants during project workshops and a few pieces from previous workshops that are in sync with the project ideas.
- Creative Upcycling, Refurbished Fabric creations by Champaign Mixed Clovers 4 H Club
- Youth projects done as part of community work or school projects, included here for their innovative thinking for use of sustainable materials.
III- Curator’s pick- Interdisciplinary Artworks/ Multimedia, that were inspiring and potentially be collaborative.
This section opens the week of 21 April to commemorate Earth Day 2024.
We are grateful to the following Collaborators for their support and partnerships in hosting project events.
Spurlock Museums of World Cultures
Students for Environmental Concerns
Phil Nyman, Julie Nieset, Vyom Mehta,
And Jona from Kunstmatrix.
It was a pleasure to be part of the many Ecology educational events for April- Earthday month. The highlight though was Sustainapalooza a big event hosted by SECS at the UIUC Quad 22 April. Some snapshots below. We are thankful to Claire Sullivan, Julie Nieset for including us in their activities.
Bubble notes made from up cycled school fliers for Teacher's appreciation week
virtual exhibit Collaborators, Guest and community entries
At the Sustainapalooza event with SECS
Tables at the Sustainapalooza hosted by SECS
Educational posters on Wetlands for an enrichment with students with Julie Nieset, wetland scientist, hosted by Urbana Park District
Some snapshots of our first event in the series-
Exploring Mosaic Crafts at Spurlock Museum’s family friendly Sunday event.
Thanks to Ms Abigail for all the efforts setting up and facilitating, and to Phil for leading the Puzzle making table.
Spring-Summer C Design events 2024
More details will be added as they come. Stay tuned!
Background of the project, in the PDF below. Audios of Virtual Talks, at the end of the page.
In-person events will follow the latest CDC guidelines and will be informed to all attendees signed up to meet.
Submit this form to join our meets.
24 March National crafts month (zoom meet)
31 March- ‘Mosaics with reused papers’ at Spurlock Museum of World Cultures 1:00-3:00pm
- Celebrate National Crafts month by joining Ascend Art 360 and Spurlock in making mosaics from recycled paper. Get creative as you craft images of the sun, animals, the ocean, or whatever inspires you. Event link here
14 April- Earthday-month special (virtual event)
22 April- Earth day event Sustainoplooza with SECs‘
4:00- 8:00pm. at The QuadWe will host interactive art activities at this event.
-Sustainapalooza will take place on April 22nd from 4-8pm on the Main Quad of the UIUC campus. This is a student run festival to celebrate earth day in our local community. There will be live music, food, vendors, RSOs, community groups, and an art show. More information will be shared soon, check out @uiuc_sslc on Instagram to stay updated.
24 May - Int. Bio-Diversity day- Month virtual meet 3-4pm
19 May- Nature Hike at Busey Woods with Julie Nieset 3-4:30pm
Come for a gentle walk through Busey Woods to explore how science and art can be woven together in developing a ‘Sense of Place’ to our land.2 June- Environmental day- Month virtual meet 3-4pm
9 June- Book talks at Lincoln Square Mall with Philip Nyman 2-4pm
at Lincoln Mall, Urbana. join us to explore Books around the topic- Inner-n- Outer environment. Including some Puzzle fun
Directions for conscious methods of Designing-
‘Conscious’ can be a vast and vague concept.
For the sake of tangible Designing work on this project, we will streamline its parameters as follows:-
Note- Although it might be challenging to adhere to these criterions we strongly encourage these be considered thoroughly.
Goal/ Intentions/ Purpose- Do you have a specific purpose (could be as simple as to enjoy the process). Will it be pro or against WELLBEING for all?
Functionality- Does your designing serve a function/ utility (Ex: product/ tool/ add meaning to life…) Durability- 1- of design 2- of Materials
Materials- First option- Is it possible to Reuse
If procuring new- is it Sustainable?. Sourced from ethical channels?
Ethical methods- Will it harm anything, anyone while its creation process, before, or after?
By products- created before after or during the process Approx carbon footprint
Emotions- what emotions would you like to build upon. What feelings would you like to generate through your Designs.
Acknowledgements:
As a Project designer I was fortunate to meet many interesting Designers/ Makers/ Naturalist/ Staff/ Friends/ who inspired and helped propel this project ahead.
I am Grateful to -
Phil and Sayee, my advisors and guides, for their encouragement and inspirations
Abigail Padfield Narayan (from Spurlock Museum), Hannah Smith (for Lincoln Square Mall) , Julie Nieset (Wetland Scientist) for leading our collaborative events
Claire Sullivan (from SECs), Vyom Mehta (VP CHS FBLA) , for their enthusiasm in participating as Youth collaborators
Though not directly part of the events, sincere thanks to
Naza Agassi (dancer), Savannah and David (from Urbana Park District), Mrs Thiele (4-H Leader) and Doris (4-H Mom) for their support and good wishes.
To Seth Feldman and Phil Nyman for our inner-outer talks that were partly responsible for giving the Concious Designing project, its depth.
Phil Nyman Cat Puzzle on the flier for puzzle day talks
Olympic cube from Spurlock Museum's collection presented by Abigail Padfield Narayan.
Vyom Mehta's samples for decorative puzzles
Julie Nieset 's presentation on Native plants and. their benefits
Kiri Fagen-Ulmschneider talks about Handloom weaving process and material and natural dyes
Naza Aassi talks about her dance piece- 'sea weed'
Chair Sullivan from SECs talks about their initiatives
Zeroish waste 'No worry Dolls'
Julie Nieset shares some local plants that spring in early Springtime
We are Thankful to all collaborators for co-hosting and supporting project events.
Group Event Collaborators:-
- Abigail Padfield Narayan- Spurlock Museums of World Cultures
- Phil Nyman- Puzzle Designer and Co-host C Designing virtual events
- Julie Nieset- Wetland Scientist
- Claire Sullivan- Students for Environmental Concerns
- Vyom Mehta- V P CHS FBLA
- Hannah Smith- Lincoln Square Mall
- Kuldeepa VM- Project designer Ascend Art360
Book Reading Event
The Book reading event on 9 June at Lincoln Square Mall was one of the concluding events of this Conscious Designing Inquiry project. Videos to come soon.
We are Thankful to all the guests and attendees for making this an inspiring meet.
Special Thanks to Phil Nyman for co-hosting the event, Hannah Smith to make the space available, and Vyom Mehta for the technical support in organizing this event.
We are grateful to all the Guests and Community presenters Making our ‘Wellness for All’ theme so enriching.
Presenters and their talks:
Rachel Rasmussen- on ‘Books to Prisoners’ program
Dr. Robert Stake and Dr Merel Visse on their book- ‘A Paradigm of Care’
Manjula Tekal- Aon her book- ‘Devayani'
Phil Nyman- on ideas of Joy with Books and Puzzles, Event Co-host,
Megan Miller- Remembering Dave Monk
Vyom Mehta- Experience of digital verses hard copy Books
Meera Bharati- on Books, Engineering and AI
Following audios are partial clips of the talks.
*Since they are excerpts, they might not have the continuity in conversations but videos (will follow soon) might help.
Virtual Exhibit- Earthday special
Virtual Exhibit- Earthday special meet
This meet dedicated to Earthday month was an extension of the Virtual exhibit while discussing the environmental works by various local groups.. Videos to come later.
We are thankful to
Mrs Thiele- Champaign Mixed Clovers 4H club
Ms Pruski- Centennial Highshool 4H Chargers club
Ms Julie Nieset- Wetland scientist
Ms Sophia Beem- media officer for SECS )Student for environmental concerns)
Mrs Doris Lagos Kutz- Entomology scientist.
Vyom Mehta- Meet Co-host, VP for 4H Club, Co-founder DECA local chapter.
Youth members Khushboo and Katherine.
February virtual meet
This meet highlighted the Special days of feb- Wetlands day (Water) and Valentine’s day (love) and their common factors. Videos to come soon.
Thankful to all the Guests:-
Claire Sullivan from SECs shared their environmental work.
Vyom Mehta recited the poem, ‘Love’s Philosophy’ by Percy Shelley
Julie Nieset shared some local plants that bloom in early Spring.
Naza Agassi spoke about her thoughts on similarities of Art and Water with a clip from her dance.
Phile Nyman spoke of Thales’ philosophy of Water'
‘Puzzle Day’ special
‘Puzzle Day’ special Designing meet on 28 January.
Thankful to our Guests-
Phil Nyman, a lead IT Infra specialist at U of I, Puzzle maker and collector.
Abigail Padfield Narayan, Manager of academic programs, Spurlock Museum
Vyom Mehta, a Hight schooler, VP of local 4-H Youth club
The talks explored various categories of Puzzles their designs, benefits and process of solving..
The video of this talk will be released soon.
Designing- Handloom weaving and Natural spaces
This first talks open our C Designing Inquiry project 2024
Guest speakers:
Kiri Fagen-Ulmschneider talks about her weaving process and Natural materials.
Kiri’s website here and Youtube channel here
Julie Nieset talks on the Wetland Ecology and designing while preserving natural areas.
Links to Weaver park Watchdogs, Petition to save the Natural wetland area here
The video of this talk will be released soon.
Thnakyou to our Guest speakers and to our friends Dr Sowmya Anand, Nazanine Agassi, Philip Nyman who joint us in making the talks interesting.
Introduction
As we start the C Designing Inquiry, sharing some thoughts, Questions, background about the project.
This audio can be read here