Creative Studio, Blog 7: Struggles along the way!!!!
I knew it was going to be difficult when commencing onto my Masters degree this is because of my dyslexia and on the first day I was aware that my Disability Student Allowance (DSA) had not come through, which meant I would not have my dyslexic support in place. I thought this would be sorted over the next few weeks, but this was not the case and on week 11 of teaching I was still waiting for my DSA to come through. This has caused me unnecessary stress, anxiety and has affected my written work in terms of grammar, spelling, sentence and paragraph, structure and interpreting briefs; worrying about my support also impacted my creative flow. Whilst on the BA (Hons) degree my dyslexic support was vital to me, I was able to keep up with my written work and keep on track, not having this support in the beginning of my Masters impacted my mental health and was becoming overwhelming. Not knowing when I am going to get the support I need to be able to complete my work to the highest standard and be on parr with my peers was stressful. Luckily, the tutors on my course were understanding and supportive, which took the pressure off me; I applied for extensions on my work, which has helped lessened the stress that I have been put under.
This was effecting my creative flow but now my dyslexic tutor has been approved my mind seemed to be freed up and I am beginning to get my creative flow back. With my mind back into creatively thinking, I decided to pick up my camera and started taking images; these images where inspired by accepting a delivery of medical equipment and putting these away. I looked at how my sisters wardrobes are not just used for clothing but also used as storage for medical equipment. I went in to my living room picked up my camera and headed straight back in to my sister room, I took images with the wardrobes door open and showed the medical equipment my sister needs for daily life and and the ‘normal’ everyday items that everybody needs, such as, clothes, shoes etc.
The images above where taken in Katie’s bedroom, I wanted to show that Katie’s bedroom is used for more than one purpose, not just wardrobes full of clothing but also full of medication, feeds, syringes, pads and more. Also not just coats at back of the door but slings for hoist, when Katie’s room was built for her, you are told they only allow enough room for a bed, wardrobes, and bathroom, they do not allow room for her equipment such as pads, medication, feeds, wheelchairs and much more that Katie needs to live her daily life.
Not only did I take images of her bedroom, the next day I had planned to go out to my local park to take images, this is something I had been planning to do, I wanted to look into not just using the objects that were around me in an home setting but moving this to the outdoor setting and using organic materials to bring my project to life and have a deeper meaning. Whilst walking around the park taking images, I noticed a theme in the images I were taking, this was that in ever image that I had been taken they was one thing that was not classed as the normal such as, when you think of a tree trunk it should be straight not curvy, a leaf should have straight edge not spiky one. Things like these stood out and I was trying to connect to disability through these images I was taking. I was taking images the whole time I had Katie in my mind. Like nature not everything in life is the same I.e not ever person is going to be able to do the same things in life, i.e play football, play a guitar, sing, dance, walk, talk, etc., or even look the same. Everybody is unique in their own way and that does not mean they is good and bad in these difference, it just means that your we’re born differently and do everyday life differently to other people, this is not a bad or terrible thing. The biggest misconception of people with such as server disability as my sister is that they should feel sorry for them, because it must be awful to be her but that’s not true. If you look at it from her point of view she knows no different this is her what you call ‘normal’ she never been any different. Just because someone or something is different does not make that/them any less important in life or does it actually mean that different is the everyday ‘normal’ because what is ‘normal’ everyone is different In their own way and that does not make them any less of a person.
On the BA (Hons) Photography final year I had to do my project in the home environment and could not take in to the outdoor environment due to the Covid19 restrictions and this is some thing I wanted to explore this time around. I wanted to use what I already done but add the outdoors elements to bring the project together, I will continue looking to do this and doing this in exiting different ways.
Siobhan :)
21/10/21