This is my aesthetic gesture in response to my clients documentation. I wanted to play on this idea of safety and contrast it with fear. I incorporated the textures described from client and hid them inside the black box. Using a small opening in the side only just big enough for finger and strategically placed all the cushions inside at the one end as my client described how she liked to be surrounded by them. This opening where you could not see what was inside yet you had to put your fingers in it was to create this fear of the unknown but as you put your fingers inside, the hope was to recreate this sense of safety comfort and enclosure as your fingers immerse into the snug composition of the cushions inside. It makes you focus on the textures and tactility rather than the sight. I thought this seemed relevant to her ritual of sleeping because you sleep with your eyes closed and the ritual is focussed on the feeling rather than the sight.

I have gone to the fabric store and on a very low budget have tried to get a slight idea of the materials she descried to me to use in my aesthetic gesture. 

In response to after talking with my client I have decided the bedroom is definitely the most appropriate place for my design to take place. My main focus will be on the materiality of the design and capturing this sense of enclosure and safety. I want to somehow incorporate hard and soft line like I saw in her documentation.

My Client presented my with this image for her documentation of her homely ritual.

Describing the document:

 A photographic timeline of her movements during her time of sleep. Photos are layered which creates a sense of movement. The are hard lines and soft lines created due to the layering and where images overlap. The image is in black and white and is a very balanced image with the main subject matter being in the centre.

My interpretation of the document:

The homely ritual is 'obvious' in the sense that she is clearly sleeping. But what is not so clear is the emotions associate with the image. I naturally want to associated the word 'calm' with sleep yet the documentation she has given me is very unsettling.

My client described their documentation to me as simply sleeping positions. She said she just solely focussing on the sleeping action itself not the getting prepared to sleep aswell. She explained to me that she has absolutely crazy dreams. This made me think that her movements are a reflection of this. She also described to me that her favourite position to lay is with her forehead just placed on the edge of the cushion faced down whist her duvet is wrapped around her neck and she is surrounded by cushions.

Quality of the space:

Cosy, snug, restricted, tight.

Clients desired design:

A place of comfort and safety. 

Very tactile in surrounding.

enclosed and cosy.

Big cushions with different shades of grey, patterned and plain. 

Aesthetic/composition texture from their document:

Sharp and blury, geometic. Big and puffy, surrounded , safe. colour but also grey. 

My client described to me in depth the materiality of her bed. For me, my design for her sounded like it  needs to heavily incorporate a sense of tactility to create this idea of safety and comfort she is after.

This is the documentation I presented to my partner of my ritual. I thought it showed the beautiful organic shapes created by the light and I used watercolour to help translate the soft glow created.

A few more things to help portray the transformation in atmosphere to my partner.

My lights almost create a 'shrine-like' feel to my room. Which I then just like to admire and take in before turning the lights all back off before I fall asleep.

Documentation of the switch..where all the magic happens. There is an imprint of the switch on the right and then an ink print from my finger of the movement I make when switching on. I thought I related nicely to the change in atmosphere where before I switch the fairy lights on the room had more of an edge to it where hard lines are very visible much like the imprint on the right. The ink print on the compares nicely to the imprint because all hard lines are lost and there is a sense of rhythm, much like the shadows created on the wall by the fairy lights. 

My Chosen homely ritual was my routine of turning on all my fairy lights just before I go to bed and standing admiring the atmosphere it creates in my room.