August 18, 2006
Shameless Psychological Development
Okay -- this is my first attempt as a self-appointed auxiliary member of the Sprinkle Brigade, Northeast Chapter. Lame, lame lame. Sprinkling is not as easy as it looks.
Lessons from the first foray into the medium.
1. Keep a supply of decorations on hand -- sprinkles are light weight and can be carried about upon one's person, freeing one to be spontaneous. I rushed right out to to get a supply for my already groaning purse, but made the mistake of going to Wild Harvest. Evidently sprinkles do not come in "organic", (should you chose to fill that gap, remember who gave you the idea) Instead, I purchased birthday cake candles in neon colors, a package of incense, multicolored fussili, and raspberry yogurt covered tiny pretzels. A good start. Other useful items could be tiny buttons and bows, sequins, stars, feathers ( best to stay away from black), Rainier cherries ( while they're still in season), or, more elaborately, a gingerbread man with a leash. Ideas are evolving.
2. Throw a latex glove or two in with those decorations, maybe a small bottle of hand sanitizer too. Your raw material will have more handling appeal.
3. If your project needs alot of arranging, as did this one (the gummy worms kept rolling off), be prepared to do your creating in the public eye. As I completed the work above (in front of a few disinterested passersby, which was uncomfortable enough), and snapped a shot, the third floor tenant, whom I have met twice, pulled up. I distracted him from the work at hand with my neigbborly chatter, as I walked him away from it. I noticed that I was hesistant to go back and tweek it when he went upstairs. Maybe if I were more punk and had spiky purple hair it would be different, but I look like a little old lady playing with dogshit. I could probably be taken into custody.
3. (This pertains to completing a project in a timely manner.) It's undoubtedly best to use the freshest raw material you can find, particularly if you have any notion of embedding. Strike while the iron is hot
4. If your raw material is oversolidified, or you are in a crowded area, simple sprinkles are a good choice -- quick, no embedding required.
5. People who own dogs have a much better shot at catching the raw material at a perfect time for creating
6. Remember each time you create a piece, you are also reminding a dog owner of his or her responsibilites to the community.
Safety consideration: Later, it did occur to me that using gummy worms or pickable uppable candy for decorations increases the possiblity that a child would find and eat it (I read somewhere that the mechanism for disgust and distaste doesn't kick in until about age 3). Best not to Sprinkle on the playground. Stick to sidewalks where small children are closely supervised lest they run into the street.
Analysis:
Erikson stage : Autonomy vs shame and doubt.
Unfortunately some parents see the attempt to assert power and independence as a personal threat. Threatened by the strong will of their child, many threaten back and attempt to punish and control the child who is trying to assert his independence. This negative censure is a particularly cruel punishment for the "self" in formation. If the child is constantly the "loser", he loses his sense of power and self-esteem. To avoid punishment the child may cease active exploration. Filled with SHAME AND DOUBT, the child becomes dependent on others to tell him what to do and when to do it.
Sound like anyone we know?
and from Gerard Keegan
"the anal stage (1-2 years). The second stage of personality development, where according to Freud, libido moves to our anus, or bottom. The anal stage is all about how strictly or liberally we were toilet trained, at a time we get pleasure from playing with our bowel movements. (I know it sounds ridiculous, but please read on!). An overly strict toilet training regime can give rise to an anal retentive personality. This is the adult who is obsessively neat, tidy, and organised. They can be stubborn and tight-fisted with their cash and possessions. This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to their faeces when toddlers, and their mum's then insisting that they get rid of it by placing them on the potty until they perform! Not as daft as it sounds. The anal expulsive, on the other hand, underwent a liberal toilet-training regime during the anal stage. In adulthood the anal expulsive is the person who wants to share things with you. They like giving things away. In essence they are 'sharing their s**t'!
As you can see, I'm reworking my anal stage and hoping to develop a little more anal expulsiveness -- er..r..r autonomy and self esteem -- in the process -- not that I was EVER anal retentive. MaMa, on the other hand....let's put it this way, --did not encourage the personality characteristics found in the expulsive.
That's obviously why I'm getting such a big kick out of this inane project -- just like a shameless two year old.
Honestly some of the things a reader has to put up with.
Photo note: Lacks necessary irony, because you can't tell the yellow things are gummy worms. Like those flies.
Addendum: A dear and close personal relative with whom I shared the Sprinkle Brigade link, told me that during the 2004 elections, tiny, toothpicked American flags emblazoned with Bush's photo , could be found on Manhattan dog doodie. Wonder why they stopped?
Posted by Dakota at August 18, 2006 07:58 PM