Introduction

Smell comes from something that is physical and it is seen, but ‘smelling’ happens from within. It is an individual experience. The evocative sensation of smell is a valuable experience in itself, but allowing a smell to be consciously absorbed is when one may truly understand the power and significance of a scent. Through the aromas created in three candles and three oil reed diffusers, this project will question how the sense of smell can awaken emotions and memories to help form a sense of place in the spaces entered. 

Literature Review

The signals that an odor carries travel through the brain to areas where we process emotions and form memories. These regions are a part of the limbic system, specifically the amygdala and hippocampus (Walsh). An experiment to observe how people feel when they experience certain scents found that people associated smells of cumin and basil oils with disgusted, irritated, or unpleasantly surprised feelings; jasmine, mandarin, and vanilla oils with feelings of happiness, well-being, and pleasantly surprised feelings; mandarin oils with feelings that were energetic, invigorated, and clean; and vanilla with feelings similar to nostalgia, relaxed, and reassured (Porcherot). Following the research, this project uses essential oils to create fragrances for an audience to smell and observe the emotions and memories that they feel or see. 

The final creative work for this project is a series of candles and diffusers. While there are no specific pieces of art that inspired this project, the innovation by the artist Louis Comfort Tiffany of repurposing glass and other raw materials inspired the approach to designing the final work (Bravic). Similar to how he uses broken glass to make mosaics, this project uses yarn to make wooden reeds become a decorative element for the diffusers.

Methods

The completion of the project deliverables was primarily through a series of trial and error. To begin, tutorials found on YouTube were the foundation, but as the process continued it became more beneficial to experiment until the desired outcome was achieved. The scents used were informed by the contents found through literature reviews on scents that commonly evoke a specific emotion. The candles were made by combining essential oils with candle wax and dyes then poured into molds, and the diffusers were made with essential oils mixed in an almond oil base. Using color through dyes, yarn, and dried flowers, decorations were made for each to display the fragrances. 

Audience & Impact

Completing this project allowed me not only to learn more about a topic of interest but also to apply it and visually articulate a research question for an audience to explore. This project is for people who enjoy fragrances and physical experiences with art. As a result of this project, an audience of varying interests and backgrounds united by their sense of smell will gain an understanding of how scent can be used to create connected atmospheres. Not only our eyes have to tell us where we are. Consciously using fragrances as well as consciously smelling can provide a sense of place and awareness of yourself and what is around you. How we feel and what we see in our minds may be different for each person, but our unique perceptions calling on our individual experiences are what create our own place in the spaces we enter. 

References

Bravic, Lucija. “Louis Comfort Tiffany: Biography & Artworks.” Artland Magazine, 23 Feb. 2023, magazine.artland.com/louis-comfort-tiffany-american-glass-art-innovator/. 

Porcherot, Christelle, et al. “How do you feel when you smell this? optimization of a verbal measurement of odor-elicited emotions.” Food Quality and Preference, vol. 21, no. 8, 2010, pp. 938–947, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2010.03.012. 

The University of Queensland. “The Limbic System.” Uq.edu.au, The University of Queensland, 24 Jan. 2019, qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-anatomy/limbic-system.

Walsh, Colleen. “How Scent, Emotion, and Memory Are Intertwined - and Exploited.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 27 Feb. 2020, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/02/how-scent-emotion-and-memory-are-intertwined-and-exploited/. 

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Heather, Harold, and arts scholars peers for the feedback and ideas that helped me complete my project.