My students and I were invited to create an installation at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education in fall 2013. Through this project, we explored space, time, and structure using ceramics and storytelling.  Through a social experiment grounded in generosity, listening, and conversation, we created a dialogue that explored similarities and differences between how youth and adults experience these concepts.

Prior to the installation, students interviewed peers and adults about their experiences in optimal space, time, and structure for FLOW – a concept described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process.

We created cups in our studio, and unique stories from these interviews were shared via data embedded in QR codes imprinted on each cup.  At the installation, adults participated in similar interviews, and each participant took one cup as an exchange for their contribution to the project.

We documented and shared all interviews on our project’s website, as well as process notes, visuals, and feedback on the project. During summer 2014, I recreated this project with my students at Interlochen Center for the Arts. The interviews completed for this project are all documented on the site.