Blob Tree

The Blob Tree is a visual tool designed to allow individuals to express themselves and their emotions in a non-verbal way through the use of human figures known as Blobs who are genderless, ageless, and culture-less.[1]

Blob Tree
Original poster
ArtistIan Long and Pip Wilson
Year2008
MediumDigital Art

The original Blob Tree was created in the early 1980s[2] by Pip Wilson and Ian Long as a way of communicating with young people and adults who found reading difficult.[3]

The Blob Tree collection consists of a set of illustrations of blob figures in various poses and expressions, each representing a different emotion or feeling.[4] These illustrations are intended to be used as prompts for individuals to identify and express their own emotions, or as a way to start a conversation about emotions and feelings.[5]

The Blob Tree has been adopted by professionals in a variety of fields, including counselling, therapy, education, and youth work, and in a variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, community centers, and prisons.[6] The tool's success came from its simplicity and universality where the blob figures were easily recognizable and relatable, making it easy for individuals to connect with the illustrations and express their own emotions.[7]

Inventors

The Blob Tree was created by Ian Long and Pip Wilson. Recognising the need for a non-verbal, universally accessible tool for emotional expression and communication, they developed the Blob Tree as a way to bridge language and cultural barriers and make emotional expression more accessible to people of different ages and backgrounds.[8]

Pip Wilson

Pip Wilson, born in 1939, was an author and British psychologist[9] with specialism in the field of practical training and the development of emotional intelligence.[10] The intentions for the art according to Wilson was that they can "help facilitate and stimulate meaningful discussions about difficult issues or situations. Individuals or groups can start discussions by identifying themselves, or others, with an individual or group of blobs whose actions or feelings represent their own."[11] Wilson died on the 22nd September 2023 after several years of struggling with his health. In a BBC 'pause for thought', he was mentioned as always saying to everyone "You are a beautiful human being", which inspired much of the Blob Tree content.[12]

Ian Long

Ian Chales Long, born in Birmingham in 1965 to Sidney and Doreen Long, is an author and artist and worked for 17 years as a primary school teacher.[13] Long's contribution to the Blob Tree originated in discussion with Wilson who shared his ideas for a non-verbal image to help with emotional expression. Wilson being a psychologist gave ideas to Long who would illustrate the ideas and turn them into usable pictures.

Over time, Long began to produce more Blob Tree content on his own, inspired by Wilson's first ideas. Through growing fame, the Blob Tree moved away from just visual tools and began to involve conferences and training workshops ran by Ian Long at the request of schools and countries most popularly in the United Kingdom, and Czechia.[14]

When Wilson died, Long was left to continue work on the Blob Tree, which by this time also involved daily inspirational quote images posted on social media,[15] and a new project called the 'Visual Bible' illustrating each verse of the Bible into Blob format.[16]

Bibliography

Their most notable works include:

1. The Big Book of Blob Trees (2017).[17] This book features 70 different Blob trees that can be used as prompts to explore feelings.

2. Blob Life (2012).[18] This book looks at the journey of life which we all take from birth through to death and beyond. It covers many of the aspects of life using key aspects - birthdays, families, death, driving, shopping, holidays, school, home etc.

References
  1. "Medium," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  2. Official website Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  3. "Merah Putih," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  4. "Telegraf Ukraine," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  5. "HK01," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  6. "Lynn School," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  7. Poikonen, Leena (2011). USING BLOB TOOLS TO EXPRESS FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: Experiences from five Finnish Occupational Therapists (PDF) (BSc). Jamk University of Applied Sciences.
  8. "Medan Tribun News," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  9. "Patrioty Ukraine," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  10. "Flooxer Now!," Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  11. "Blob Tree," Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  12. "Pause For Thought - Cole Morton: "You're beautiful" - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  13. "Ian Long". Greenbelt. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  14. "Facebook - Blob Training in Hull". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  15. "Facebook - The Blob Tree". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  16. "Facebook - Visual Bible". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  17. Wilson, Pip; Long, Ian (17 April 2018). The Big Book of Blob Trees. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-11337-3.
  18. Long, Ian; Wilson, Pip (25 July 2012). Blob Life. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-291-00314-7.
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