Container and Contained
The language of materials
“In the late 70s as a young art educator, then knowing nothing about Wilfred Bion or therapy, I thought about the terms “container and contained.” I thought of it straightforwardly. I have noticed the relationship between the materials that were displayed on the studio shelves, or at table centers and the different containers holding them; there was a distinct presence to pencils collected into a cardboard box as opposed to those put forward in a metal one.”*
As you might notice, there is a subtle variance between suggesting twigs presented in a natural-based material (such as a straw basket) versus an industrial plastic container. Each presentation conveyed a separate meaning to me, and I sensed that it also affects the creators. It profoundly affected me as an artist.
I began noticing the depth, shape, and even sound the container creates as a tiny hand, picks something from it. I felt it had an impact on the creators’ concentration. Thus, boxes, vessels, became an essential feature of the way materials are displayed in my studio.
I want to suggest an exercise in cultivating material observation: In the post, there are images of several boxes with sketching pencils.
Where would your hands prefer to search? Why? Can you put into words your feelings regarding each container? What relationships do you sense between the different containers and pencils? What senses do you use when making a choice?
Write down your associations.
Now look around your studio with fresh eyes and examine the relationships between the boxes and the materials they contain.
Any changes needed?
Then you can observe your clients vis-à-vis the way you present pencils now: Does anything need to be changed? Perhaps you need to create another presentation type?
Pay attention over the next few weeks what clients who need pencils choose. Could you have guessed who would choose what?
You are welcome to share your observations with images here or on our Facebook group
*The cited text is from my new book The Good Enough Studio Art Therapy Through the Prism of Space, Matter, and Action
My least favorite container is the white ceramic one. The narrow neck feels constricting and the thickness and opacity seem to guard the pencils from being removed. The transparency of the glass jar brings me closer to the pencils and offers a way to see them, even the shorter pencils that can be lost in an opaque container. I’m drawn to the square metal container but not sure why, except that the pattern on the outside is both stimulating and calming. But the metallic sound of pencils being dropped into this one is jarring. Putting a felt pad in the bottom of this container could satisfy that issue for me. That said, I find the wooden box appealing for the containment and organization it offers, as well as the natural material of wood with the tactile feel and sound-dampening quality it has. Finding the pencil I want without risking being poked by the sharpened points of pencils is a plus. And so is having the eraser and sharpener right there as well. I suppose it suits my OCD tendencies. When drawing alone I would choose the wooden box, but for group work, a vertical transparent container placed in the middle of a work table offers everyone a chance to access and find the pencil they want to use.
Thank you, Cheri,
You were doing deep research.
I wonder if you will look around your studio differently now.
🙂
If I had to be picky – if I had to go for what is most pleasing to my senses – I would reach for the metal box. Not because the clanging sound is pleasing (it isn’t), but because the shape allows the pencils to arrange themselves into a bouquet, where each one can be seen. Both the ceramic and glass containers have narrower necks that seem to restrict the pencils. Also, and here I’m being very picky, I would probably prefer glass or a ceramic container, if the glass was thicker or the ceramic one was, I don’t know, less ‘glassy’, more rough. The weight of the thicker glass, in an open shape, or the texture of the ceramic container would do a lot to change how I feel about them. And, between the wooden box and the metal container… I would choose the metal container again, because its shape allows me to gently sort through the pencils with my fingers without a sound, and that act in itself would add to the joy of the process. But then again, if I could have a similar design in wood, I would choose that instead. Shape and texture count for a lot – the right wooden spoon makes cooking better and a mug with a shape you love makes the coffee taste better.
Thank you, Suzanne, for your thoughtful way of thinking!
It conveys how richly one might consider one pencil vessel. 🙂
Thank you, Suzanne, for your deep elaboration and for sharing how you think. I can identify with it.