Assignment: As Confucius said “True wisdom is knowing what you don’t know” and Socrates said “Wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.” This assignment is asking for the story of your personal search for information, as well as what you are learning about the topic in terms of what do you know vs what don’t you know.
- What do you know?
- Explain what you already know about your essential question. Explain why the topic is important to you, and what is motivating your inquiry.
- How can I use the past to move forward? This topic is important to me because I have always been passionate about both the past and making things. I want to learn how I can bring this passion to the present and market what I create.
- What understandings and experiences are you bringing with you as you start this research process?
- As I start this project I’m bringing with me a large amount of experience with old objects and reworking old technologies and products
- How have any outside sources informed your understanding of your essential question?
- Learning about things such as kintsugi inspire my essential question and what is possible when using the past
- Seeing other fashion companies selling modified old clothing
- Explain what you already know about your essential question. Explain why the topic is important to you, and what is motivating your inquiry.
- What don’t you know?
- Why is it important for you to find out more about this question. Tell what you want to know about your essential question?
- I want to learn how I can perfect the essential question and discover my personal style of reworking things
- What are the areas of inquiry that you think need to be explored?
- I want to explore reworking various objects
- I want to explore cataloging the process of my creations
- I want to explore marketing the objects I create
- What are the other questions that are lurking just beneath the surface of your guiding essential question?
- What are the ways the past can be incorporated into my designs?
- What is the market for my reworked objects?
- How can I transform something old into something modern?
- Why is it important for you to find out more about this question. Tell what you want to know about your essential question?
Emmett, there is lots to think about here as your project provides a powerful intersection between art, function, materials, and intention of design. It might be interesting to think about whether there is some unifying idea that you already have about this work and, if not, to be on the lookout for it. The notion of kintsugi is also interesting as this process restores, but also brings attention in a new way to the points of breakage. Much of what is designed today has key parts hidden from us, it might be interesting to think about how in this work you might also help to reveal what is hidden.