Laura Trieschmann, a 2015 Summer Institute attendee, shares her awesome demo!
As many
know, smell is the sense most closely connected to memory. Smells are evocative
— a stranger can pass and draw our attention because she wears the same perfume
as Gramma, or we might feel disgusted smelling something associated with a
painful memory. We can capitalize on this smell-memory connection to generate
writing!
Materials:
·
small
plastic soufflé cups with lids (the kind restaurants use to package sauces or
dressings)
·
permanent
marker
·
cotton
balls
·
coffee
filters
·
cups/glasses
·
measuring
cup
·
water
·
a
variety of fragrant materials, such as:
·
anise
(black licorice) extract
·
coconut
extract
·
orange
extract
·
lemon
extract
·
liquid
smoke
·
pencil
shavings
·
jalapeno
·
mouthwash
·
hair
mousse
·
Germex
·
vanilla
extract
·
apple
cider vinegar
·
cough
drops
·
cilantro
·
coffee
·
herbal
tea
·
chai
·
dill
·
cocoa
·
sawdust
·
pine
·
eucalyptus
·
lavender
·
rosemary
·
Greek
seasoning
·
grass
·
cinnamon
·
onion
·
poultry
seasoning
·
dryer
sheets
·
perfumes
·
... and anything else with a
distinctive smell!
Set-Up
1. Assemble materials.
2. For non-liquid scents, you will
essentially make a tea:
a. Place a coffee filter in a
cup/glass.
b. Then, put the desired fragrant
material (an herb, for example) in the filter.
c. Measure 1/2 cup of water and pour
over the filter, submerging the fragrant material.
d. Allow to steep (like tea) for
12-24 hours.
e. Remove coffee filter and fragrant
material, leaving the scented water.
3. For liquid scents:
a. Soak a cotton ball in the liquid
(ex: water from step 2, extract, etc.)
4. Number the plastic soufflé cups
and corresponding lids so you can create a key for which cup contains each
smell. Be sure to keep notes as you go!
5. Place one scented cotton ball in
each labeled soufflé cup and seal with the corresponding labeled lid.
