Reflection on my Better Lives Project
Welcome back!
In my third blog I want to reflect on my finished project and the sustainability theme which dominates in the outcomes.
I can say that I am very proud of myself as this pandemic did not stop me from learning new things and reaching my creative goals.
Not only I created a sustainable costume for dance, but also, with the help of my dad, succeeded in recording a video which forms the character of the witch (you can find the concepts of the character analysed in the previous blog post).
At very beginning of the Better Lives project, before the Covid19 outbreak in Europe, I had set myself a goal to make a costume by recycling rubbish I dispose everyday. This has helped me see that sustainability is not a limitation but a source of inspiration. For the final outcome I wanted to shoot a video of two dancers performing in my costumes after the Easter holiday. I have planned to collaborate with a film maker and a makeup artist from our University. However, as we all know, the world has changed dramatically.
Because of the pandemic I had to leave London and come back to Lithuania where I live with my family. I remember being upset that I will not be able to make a video as desired, however I did not give up on my idea that easily. With the help and support of my dad, I have managed to create a video at the end. And not a bad one either, we even filmed a part of the clip using a drone!
Because I couldn’t collaborate with other artists at this time this time I became the performer, makeup artist, stylist, music producer, animator and the editor. To be honest with you – this was the first time of such artistic multitasking for me!
For the robe I used old white bed-clothes. Adornments were made from plastic and paper rubbish. All other accessories such as animal skull, a feather and a piece of fur were found in the wild forest. The handbag was made of old mesh decorated with various mosses, lichens, tree mushrooms, fallen pieces of tree bark. I was wearing a white eye shadow across my eyes, eyebrows and lips.
The video was filmed in a swampy forest. You can see my foot sinking in the mud and the long white sheets getting muddy. I think that this location was really beneficial for my witch character because of its mystical daunting atmosphere.
All in all, I am extremely happy making this project come to life. It has inspired me to develop more sustainable creative practices and to be brave. I have certainly proved myself I can do so much more than I think! However, as much as I am proud of the outcome I am even more happy that the creative process of this Better lives project helped to develop a better bond with my dad. After all, being surrounded by supportive people at these difficult times is what really matters.
10th May 2020 @ 12:08 pm
It was very interesting reading through many different blog posts that other students wrote. Everyone had different and thoughtful reflections of the Better Lives unit. The most interesting was to look at the project outcomes. The one that caught my attention the most was the reflection on Better Lives Project by Beatrice Bredikyte. I think she really engaged with the Better Lives themes on her project and also showed how even with the pandemic she was able to stay creative and come up with an excellent project.
I was very impressed by the costume itself and that she used recycled materials or waste in order to create it. It can be seen that Beatrice really paid attention to details when creating her costume but also related it to the sustainability theme of the Better Lives unit. She said that “sustainability is not a limitation but a source of inspiration” and I completely agree with that. I think seeing sustainability that way can help us create excellent projects and come up with new ideas which would also benefit our planet. This unit has taught us that it is extremely important when working on any project and collaborating with others to always keep in mind the three Better Lives themes.
Reading Beatrices post, I was thinking that she showed a great example of how even when we face a problem and it seems like we can not do what we planned before, there is always a solution. At the beginning she planned to shoot a film with other students but when she could not do that anymore she solved it by doing the video herself with the help of her family. I really liked that she also worked on. creating her own interesting makeup. The idea of shooting the short film in the forest connected really well with the sustainability theme. I was thinking that she showed appreciation for the nature by not only creating a costume from sustainable materials but also choosing a forest to shoot her video. Beatrice’s project was executed really well and the Better Lives theme was present throughout. It would have been interesting to read more about the reasons behind choosing this witch character. In my opinion, it is very important that we have the possibility to look at other students’ outcomes since then it helps to reflect on your own outcome.