Stone Soup

Marcia Brown’s Stone Soup is a classic for all ages. While considered a children’s book it is still a fun exercise for adults, especially aspiring and professional designers. Dr. James Housefield, a professor of design at UC Davis and many other accreditations that would require a whole other blog, understands this importance and includes it in his curriculum. The emphasis of play coalesces into an activity of teamwork and creativity. Like the book, something is created from virtually nothing. Unlike the book, the design exercise focuses on the employment of recycled materials into a three-dimensional sculpture for lack of a better word. I was lucky enough to participate in this exercise in Dr. Housefield’s class twice, once last year as a student and again this year as a mentor to the students.

I found this year very enjoyable as I was able to watch my group confront design problems and solve them. They implemented the tools of ordinarily discarded “rubbish” into specific roles and worked towards a common goal. The aspect of play induced creativity that may be ordinarily hard to find with a group of people you barely know, but by the end they were working as a singular design team.

They constructed a humanoid figure complete with personality and style. Paper arms and legs attached to a box torso with ribbon hair became an identity of the group as all their personalities poured into the creation reflected back onto the audience. I am confident in their abilities in designers and found watching the design process as fulfilling as being apart of it. Stone Soup is a way of seeing the world and confronting obstacles that are to be overcome through unity and cooperation. This philosophy extends beyond just design and is a welcome refresher to the monotony of protocol.

Picture courtesy of Amanda Cheung