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. . . Imaginative Play : DIY Game Workshops . . .
Scenes from Historic Games : Ancient Egypt : Hounds and Jackals. Students create and play test a takeaway game, based on an ancient story and racing game that intersects with their studies of ancient civilizations and culture.
Scenes from an ‘After School Games Club’ where students collaborated to create their own takeaway games to play with friends and family, inspired by Slumbering Dreams and fairy tales. All game elements were made from recycled watercolor artworks, made by the children.
Scenes from an ‘After School Games Club’ where students collaborated to create their own takeaway games to play with friends and family, inspired by Slumbering Dreams and fairy tales. All game elements were made from recycled watercolor artworks, made by the children.
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When I first began to explore biography work in connection to creating games, based on my reflections of playing with others throughout my life– I encountered the exceptional work of photographer Wendy Ewald. Two of her remarkable books, I Dreamed I had a Girl in My Pocket and Secret Games intrigued me. I gratefully had the opportunity to interview Wendy for Feminist Media Studies. I learned a lot from Wendy’s heartfelt work with children of all ages, which was inspiring for me in the creation of educational game workshops I uniquely instructed for Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls, Ravinia Elementary School, Louisa May Alcott Elementary and Middle Schools, Urban Prairie Waldorf School, and the Chicago Park District. In these creative DIY game making sessions, we explored fairytales, fables, folklore and poetry together, in which the children were engaged to share their own life experiences, as part of the game making process. It was a cathartic experience for them to tell their own stories from a world of their making–the imagined and the real. Some of their tales were of awe and wonder, some brought up fears and concerns, while others were reminiscent of cherished times with others. These examples reflect the empowering nature of games and play.
Please enjoy an excerpt from our interview:
”We are all dreaming, but in the morning when we open our eyes the dreams are all gone.
Last night I dreamed I had a girl in my pocket.”
–Koli Patel Hasmukh
(cited from pg. 28)
JF: Describe your process of working and insights you have you discovered about human nature?
WE: When I began, I divided my work into two streams: one when I was taking pictures and one when I was handing the camera over to others. I wanted to confuse people and make them think about whose picture is a picture – what role does a subject play, what role does a photographer play? I started mixing photographs without including an author to make that point. I would collaborate on the photo set up or I would give them a negative to work with. I would structure a conceptual idea for a project and ask people to interpret it, which is relevant to games because it was always like playing a game where there is no predetermined outcome. That’s what’s exciting and gives you layers of meaning.
I worked with institutions that connected me with their community. Adults are actors in some of the photographs, and by kids having the camera changes the power dynamic. I asked what they wanted to take pictures of, to hold and look through the camera. I showed them pictures and asked what they could see, what they liked or didn’t and then we started to understand each other. Learning how to use the camera is a bonding experience.
Developing the film was done together. In India, we built a darkroom. We built a building. We had an inauguration ceremony for it, planted a holy basil plant in front of it and said prayers. There was a lot that happened. I learned a lot about humanity and the main point over and over is how strong people are, how resilient and how great the human experience is, whether you have a lot or not very much does not change your creativity, intelligence, strengths, or originality. What people are able to handle is so much greater than I would’ve imagined and what they are able to do.