Apply my imagination: Finding inspiration from spoken word

Recently, I took part in a drawing workshop held by Alicia Monedero-Chaves, who worked for CSM Academic Support. The workshop is truly inspiring.

The workshop made the use of spoken words in Spanish to generate ideas when considering course and client briefs, and develop my creative practice.

During the workshop, Alicia asked us to focus on the sounds emanating from the words, using our senses and inner experiences to create our responses by drawing. To Alicia, poetry and word as sound, detached from meaning can be the starting point and source of inspiration. To me, I do not speak any spanish in my daily life, my drawings in this workshop are pure imagination.

Alicia started by reciting a Spanish poem in spanish—Cantares(Singings) by Antonio Machado, without told us who wrote this poem and what this poem stands for in the first hand. In fact, this poems is a illlustration of spanish people’s life during the Spanish Civil War in from 1936 to 1939.

Antonio Machado – Cantares

From the sound and candence, I guessed this poem convey meanings of self-reflection and turbulent life. The mood of poem is melochony to me. Therefore I drew two roughed-shape closing loop attach to one other. Generally, the pattern looks like a nullet hole, a bleeding wound.

For the second task, Alicia speaked about the word “camino”. From the sound of this word, I guess it means a colorful and complex process to the full stop. Also, Its a journey of returning. I illustrate my imagination with lines: some intertwind lines, and a house—it stand for the destination of the journey. I also made me to imagine the English words and Chinese word relate to it. For English word, I guess “confusion”, “aversion”, “desire”, “tension”, “curious” is associate with “Camino”. For Chinese, I guess “欲望” is associate with “Camino”. 欲望 pronounce as “yu wang” in Mandarin, and it stand for desire, temptation in English.

For the second task, Alicia speaked about the word “ciello”. To me, the cadence of this word is very smooth, natural, and fluid. Also, it sounds like wave current that is sharp and stimulating at the first sight and then quickly flattened. It imidiately made me think of stiletto—short knife that is very sharp and can deliver oneself to other state of realm quickly and without a hassle. The word has colors of grey and red. It can associate with “feeling”, “ideal”, “wind”, and “realm” in English and 锋芒 in Chinese， which sell as “feng mang” in mandarin, and stand for “sharp”, “thin end of wedge” in English.

What I learn from this process

An discovery of new culutre, can start with sound of language. The sound speak what meaning of word and sentence did not convey. As Alicia stated that the wound of Spanish civil war is eternal in many spanish people’s heart, it can be found from reciting “Cantares” but not “Singings” in English. The sound, the cadence, the tone, the speed, the volume, the language of speaker are rich sources of creativity, a bridge that communicate different culture. The workshop opens a new door of creativity to me.

Communicating to a range of audience usually means being inclusive. Being inclusive requires understanding the code of culture, and language plays an essential role in any culture. It makes me to question myself how can I apply the ideas from this workshop with my project and in future career?