Community Garden - Birdhouses/Feeders

Progress on our community garden projects are going great! We have gathered all materials and finished construction on the birdhouse and our feeders. Kyle and I were about to get some scrap plywood from Lowes for only 27 cents!! This was a great success because we are trying to aviod buying materials and using as many recycled items as possible. :) The plastic bottles we are using for the bird feeders are also recycled. We dug through the bins at Arts West and gathered some extras to use. The wooden spoons for the feeders have been primed and painted with the matching blue pain that is located in the community garden fence.. so everything will match! The birdhouse is primed and will be painted by moi sometime this week. We haven't decided as a group what is going to be on the birdhouse yet, but it will probably be some kind of abstract pattern because we only have 2 different colors. Installation will happen on Sunday and everyone should have their projects up by Monday! Now we just have to wait for the wildlife to come enjoy their re-vamped place!!

Here are a few links to some early ideas I had for feeders/birdhouses:

http://www.freewoodpuzzles.com/birdfeeder.html
http://www.runnerduck.com/hexbirdfeeder.htm (ambitious, but still very cool!)
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/greenacres/wildones/handbk/wo26bird.html (cool because you can choose what type of bird you want to attract)

Sacred object at arts west!

Yesterday (April 13) I brought Jeorge to all my classes with me :) On Mondays and Wednesdays, i'm in arts west all day. I have ceramics in the morning and painting in the afternoon. I didnt get too many weird looks because Jeorge is just a stuffed animal.. i think if my sacred object were a rusty can or like Natalie's big bowl with moss in it, people around me would have been more confused. Some people did ask me why i had him and when i explained it they thought the project was really cool. He basically just sat on the table while i was glazing or painting. He was a perfect little buddy to have with me in class :)

Wasteland

After talking with Samantha, I thought I knew the basic idea of what to expect when I sat down to watch this documentary... But it was so much better than i expected.

Not only was the artwork beautiful, every other aspect of this project was equally as beautiful. The filming, the ideas and intent behind this project, the people who Vic befriended, the whole experience behind this artwork was a beautiful process to watch.

I think i was the ideal audience for viewing this documentary. I am an artist with total appreciation for what Vic has done. But i also had NO IDEA that there are people who live their entire lives being "pickers". I had no idea how HUGE the landfill in Rio De Janeiro was. The video definitely raised awareness within me and the 2 friends who i watched it with.

I thought the resulting pieces of artwork that came out of this project were stunning, but i found myself more interested in the process behind his work and the people who he impacted. I really wish i could do something like this within my lifetime. Vics work is really an inspiration to me and the documentary was very touching to watch. My favorite part was when Vic took Tiaõ to the auction and you got to see the pure joy and shock on his face when he realized how much money his portrait sold for. I would love to be able to affect someones life in that way. I would definitely recommend this movie to others :)

Here are before and after pictures of my favorite portrait: Magna

Pregress Report on Our MAP!

In the past week, we have:
•Walked the entire tree walk using the map pamphlet that was provided to us
•Discovered that the map definitely needs and update. There were trees that had moved and other trees that were mission all together. Some trees had the signs for the tree walk, but they weren't anywhere on the map!
•As we walked, we took note of all these changes and put together a rough draft of the updated tree walk
•We have been researching all of the trees little by little and putting together an information spreadsheet to later post on the internet
•We made final decisions about the layout, shape, key and coloring of our map
•Each group member has a portion that they are working on while doing the group research

Here is a rough draft picture of our idea:

Mapping Project Cont.

Today in class, my mapping group got together and went on the Elon tree walk! We are focusing our map on the tree walk so we wanted to check it out and see how up-to-date and accurate it is. We found that some of the trees had been moved to other locations while others were missing all together. It was also good to see for ourselves so we could pick up on patterns like how many of the trees Elon has and where on campus they are located in terms of student traffic and visibility from the main roads. Our next step is to further research the types of native and non-native trees included in the tree walk.

Japan Research

For my spring break I went on a cruise so it was hard to stay up-to-date with the events going on in Japan. I didn’t have internet access at all, but there were TVs on the ship with somewhat reliable connection. :)

When I got home I was able to do further research online:

MAR. 20

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-20/world/japan.nuclear.food_1_iodine-fukushima-prefecture-spinach?_s=PM:WORLD

A lot of what I tried to notice about this research is how much the information changed over the course of a week. This article is talking about how they are starting to find traces of radioactive material in the water and some foods, but that the amounts aren’t posing any health threats. How much will this change during the week?

MAR. 21

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-21/world/japan.quake.tsunami.funeral_1_young-friends-tsunami-rikuzentakata?_s=PM:WORLD

I almost didn’t post this article because its so sad and I got pretty emotional reading it. I think its really important to think about the individuals who lost their lives due to this natural disaster. Its easy to think about it as one large sum... 10,000 people dead. But who were those people? Each of them was an individual with a family and friends and hobbies and goals. Take a moment to reflect on this crisis. Maybe even put yourself in the shoes of a mother who lost a son, a soccer player who lost a teammate, a sibling who lost a brother. If 10,000 people are dead, think about the number of people who are affected by those deaths...

MAR. 23

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-23/us/colorado.oregon.radiation_1_radioactive-material-amounts-of-radioactive-iodine-radioactive-particles?_s=PM:US

Radiation particles travel 5000 miles to the west coast of the U.S.

MAR. 24

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-24/world/japan.nuclear.reactors_1_nuclear-plant-fuel-pool-fuel-rods/2?_s=PM:WORLD

This is another article that is hard for me to read. The whole time I was reading it I kept thinking about these men that are working in the nuclear plant to try and fix this mess. They are basically committing suicide to try and save their country. They are being exposed to high amounts of radiation everyday and risking their own health to better Japan. I kept thinking about their families and if it were my husband or my father that was going in to work at the plant everyday. There is no way I would let them do it. Everyday they leave their houses and their families have no idea if they will be coming home. I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like.

MAR. 26

http://gu.com/p/2nyqb (i tried to post this video directly to the blog, but i couldn't figure out how, so here is the link... its worth checking out.. some of the best... worst? amateur footage I've found of the devastation..

MAR. 27

Linda Weintraub

At first, the packet from Linda Weintraub’s book was a little daunting to pick up and start reading because it was so big! However, once I started reading it, it was quite interesting. I really liked that way she organized her thoughts into smaller sections instead of one huge body of writing. I’m not a huge reader and this made reading the packet a lot more enjoyable and easy to follow.

Brandon Ballengee is one of the artists that Weintraub talks about and I thought his ideas of “love motels” for bugs were so cute! I’m not in the insect group for the community garden project, but I think they should look into Ballengee’s work for some inspiration.

At Linda’s lecture, she talked about many more interesting artists. She started with Spencer Tunick who photographed 600 naked humans on top of glaciers in Switzerland. These glaciers are being radically affected by global warming – hence the humans being naked without freezing to death. I thought this was a very interesting and unique way to convey the message of global warming awareness.

Linda talked about the Austrian Art Collective who created the giant pick bunny rabbit that is made up entirely of biodegradable materials. The group is focusing in decay and how the environment naturally recycles itself. They question the idea of  “appealing” with the cute pink bunny, and “repulsive” with the process of letting it decompose and be eaten by the creatures around it.

My two favorite projects Linda talked about were the “Disembodied Cusine” project and the “Repainted Painted Trees” project. It’s funny to me that these were my favorites because the first was the most in-depth and complicated one she discussed and the second is the simplest project she discussed. The “Disembodied Cusine” project is exploring the idea of creating edible meat without the environmental effects of animal waste. The team of scientists collect muscle cells from animals and literally grow their own steaks! The part that really blew my mind was when she said they are trying to figure out a way to exercise the meat cells so that they become muscular instead of just floppy meat. If this research ever goes into effect, the meat industry is going to drastically change! So many farmers would be out of work and the population of livestock would decrease immensely. Pretty crazy to think about.

The “Repainted Painted Trees” project was done by a woman names Shai Zakai. She lives in an area inhabited heavily by trees. One day, she noticed men from the city walking around her house painting bright orange “X’s” on the trees they wanted to be chopped down. After the men left, Zakai went out and painted over the “X’s” to make it look like regular bark again. Sure enough, the workers didn’t cut down the trees! I loved this project because its so simble and beautiful and anyone could do something like this. It’s a breath of fresh air when people stand up to the government about things like this. Its also a reminder that everyone can leave their mark and help the environment in little ways as well as big ways. 

Dinner with Jeorge

The week before spring break was a very hectic and stressful one for me. I had a lot of deadlines to meet and work to get done in order to take a week long break. Most of my meals were very quick stops at my apartment or food that I got on campus. The dinner that I had with my sacred object was a night when I brought home chic-fil-a from campus. Although it wasn’t as intimate and special as I had hoped, we still had a nice time together, Neither of my roommates were home, so I was able to focus on Jeorge. He loved his nuggets...

“Art Can Heal the Earth”

While researching Patricia Johanson, I came across the quote that I used to title this blog post. This is an idea that Johanson tried to stick to when creating her artwork and it really resonates with me as well. Johanson focuses a lot of her work on landscape and the environment around her. When creating an installation, Johanson  considers the entire environment around her – especially the ecosystem. Her installations provide a livable habitat for many different species in the area. Oftentimes targeting endangered species.

One aspect to Johansons work that I love is that she reaches out to the surrounding community with her projects. I think that getting the community involved makes this type of art so much more personal and effective. I think we can use her as inspiration when trying to re-vamp the Elon community garden. Getting campus involvement, focusing on creating an ecological-friendly space in a somewhat urban area, and keeping in mind the needs of the plant, insect, and animal community are all ideas that our Eco-Art class share with Patricia Johanson’s work. 

 Fair Park Lagoon - Dallas, Texas

Favorite Maps

After looking through the handout of maps, i picked my 2 favorites. The first one was the map of the air routes. I think this map was very appealing me me aesthetically. I liked it because you cant tell what it's a map of (or that it's a map at all) by just looking at it. I like how all the different straight and curved lines come together heavily in some place and in other places, only a single line passes through.
The other map i liked was the one called "A dogs idea of an ideal country estate". This is such a fun, silly map and i really like the imagination that went into creating it. I think doing a map like this for Elon would be hilarious and would be so well received by the Elon students. We could poke fun about Elon traditions, locations, stereotypes, etc. Oftentimes, a less traditional approach can be the most successful!

A Few Hikus for Jorge:

Grumpy gorilla
Surveying brush and grassland
Where'd you leave your fruit?

Coat shimmering brown
Furrowed brow, deep thoughts swelling
King of all the apes

Say it isn't so!
Gorillas - gone forever??
End poaching today!

:]

Interesting/Inspiring Eco Artists and Projects

The book i was looking through is called "Ecotopia". It was filled with many different environmental artists and descriptions of their work. The individual projects were very interesting to read about but i really liked learning about the intentions and ideas that the artists had behind the projects.

Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla have collaborated together on several different environmental projects. I very much liked their mindset behind their work, which was to "fuse art and activism". They talked about the importance of creating artwork that is "in the public sphere" and getting the surrounding community involved. From reading my other blog posts, you can see that community involvement is also very important to me. Much of their artwork and environmental events "rely on audience involvement" and that is something that i would love to see our Eco Art class work towards. Its the best and most positive way to get everyone involved, raise the most awareness and have fun!

Another artists that caught my eye is Doug Aitken. In particular, his piece which is entitled "Plateau". He uses FedEx boxes to create an entire city of birdhouses. I think what draws me to a project like this is the use of materials that would have normally been disposed of to create a work of art. The created bird city is huge and each structure is unique and very patiently created. The aesthetic seems clustered and loud. This could be fixed by painting solid colors onto the colors, but i think it is important for the viewer to see and recognize the FedEx logo. Some other brands that Aitken has used are IBM, Macintosh and Coca-Cola.

The other book i searched through was called "Beyond green toward a sustainable art". Many of the artists and projects in this book were fascinating, but i was particularly interested in one called "Free Soil". Many different people from many different backgrounds formed this group together in 2004. The main belief of the group is that "art can be a catalyst for social awareness and change". I agree with this statement very strongly and i think our EcoArt class could benefit from adopting this idea and applying it to our projects. Aside from the art perspective, the "Free Soil" team also raises very important questions about living sustainably in terms of the foods we buy and eat. Some of those questions include "Do you know about the people who grow the produce you are buying and eating?", "Do you know how long this produse has been off the tree/vine/etc.?", "Do you know how much CO2 is produced to get this piece of produce to you?". Those are just a few examples, and we can think about many aspects of our life in this way. I know i have mentioned in previous posts about the disconnect that occurs with people and their recycling after they drop it off in recycling bins. Asking questions like these, finding the answers and spreading the word is one of the most important important ways to positively impact your community awareness.

Thinking more about "This I Believe" statement

My statement was talking about recycling and using recycled materials to create works of art. I believe that i already take part in reusing materials and recycling, but there are always ways to push an idea further. I live in an apartment now, so its a little more difficult to reach some of my environmental goals, but i would love to save and reuse rainwater. When i have a house of my own i plan on using rain buckets to collect water to reuse. I would also love to get a hybrid car one day. They are very expensive, but the environmental benefits of driving a low carbon dioxide emitting vehicle are numerous! One very important way to enact my beliefs about recycling is to gain more and more information and knowledge. Many people recycle and they think that's how they care for the environment. Not many people actually know where their recycling goes. We have this detachment from our trash or our recycling as soon as it leaves on the truck, but how do we know if it is actually being used the way we want it to be? It is so important to research your local recycling centers and make sure they are being used correctly, or used at all. Most of these ideas are more like long term goals. One change i have made right now was switching from bottled water to a Britta water filter. I fill up a reusable nalgene to bring to class instead of taking plastic water bottles. if everyone did this, water bottling companies would go out of business and there would be SO much less plastic bottles in the recycling. It saves tons of money and the planet! Another way i can be more ecologically mindful while at Elon, is by taking advantage of the Bio Bus. It comes to my apartment complex and i use it almost everyday. Its pretty sad though, because aside from certain busy times of the day, the bus is almost always empty! Its such a great option for students and i wish there was a way to promote Bio Bus use more. Maybe that's something we could do in this class. Sometimes they have competitions at the gym where you clock all the time you spend there for a week and the person with the most hours wins a prize. We could have the same thing with the Bio Bus. :)

3 sketches of my sacred object

Lodge Installation

I worked with Natalie on this day and we got our inspiration mostly from Andy Goldsworthy. A lot of his pieces show a shifting color change using leaves or rocks, etc. We decided to work in the parking lot -- right at the entrance. The line of leaves represents a crossing over from the man made world into the natural world. the leaves are held together with pine needles that we weaved through them. Instead of making a straight line, we decided to let the line form itself where the leaves wanted to naturally fall. As we saw at the end of our class, artwork like this is always temporary. After a truck drove across, it was hard to tell that the line had been there at all :)

More thoughts.. Independent research

During my research, I ran into a lot of projects that collaborated ecological artists with the surrounding community. This is something i am very much interested in. I think its so important and effective to step outside of the artists bubble or the environmentalists bubble and reach out to other people who may not know what they could do to give back to the earth. Aside from raising environmental awareness, group activities and projects really help to bond the community in a special way. I would love to do a collaborative project with Elon elementary school or maybe even with students at Elon University. Maybe having a recycling competition and using the materials to make things, or something along those lines. Its definitely an idea to further brainstorm.

Thoughts on EcoArt independent research

The first web page i looked at was the Eco Art Space blog. Its basically an archive of lots of different eco art exhibitions and projects that have been done over the recent years. One that caught my attention was done in September of 2010 and it was called Eco Art Fest. Lots of environmental artists came together and created different art pieces all along the Schuylkill river in Philadelphia. The purpose is to celebrate the environmental life along the river and to bring the community together. This project touches close to home for me because in my home town (Durham, NC) we have Eno Festival. The Eno river runs through Durham, and every summer we have a festival to honor the river and the wildlife of the river. All forms of art -- including lots of environmental art -- are represented at the festival, and its such a wonderful tradition and bond that the Durham community holds. I would love to do projects in this class that are similar to one of these examples. I wonder if the Haw river has a day to honor it?

Meet Jorge!

My "sacred object" is this monkey stuffed animal that i found in the forest. I decided to name him Jorge. Since last week, he has had a bath -- which he desperately needed!! When i found him, his fur was all wet and muddy. He still smells a little bit like earth despite his first bath. Jorge sits on the corner of the bar in our apartment, so anytime i'm in the kitchen or the living room, i see him. A lot of people have asked about him too (since he is one of the first things you see when you come in). Jorge is slowly becoming a fixture of our apartment and since i cleaned him up and cleared a place for him, i am getting more attached to him too. I'm glad hes not out in the woods anymore!

This I Believe...

My Hometown is a very liberal place. I grew up surrounded by earthy-crunchy hippies, gay and lesbian couples, organic foods and care for the environment. This, I believe, is why I think recycling is so important. At first, I never questioned the importance of recycling. To me, it was just another chore to do around the house. As I grew older I started to wonder why we recycled. My mother is a surgical nurse and she would come home with loads of unused hospital materials to donate to The Scrap Exchange. The Scrap Exchange is a nonprofit “reuse center” where people of all ages come together to create artwork out of materials that would have been thrown away. Not only does it promote recycling and creativity, it also raises environmental awareness about what we can do to help.

This organization is one that I grew up with. I was only allowed to go as a reward for doing something good and tons of my friends had their birthday parties at The Scrap Exchange, too. I always felt so special when I went with my mom to drop off all the materials from the hospital. It really made me feel important and like I was making a difference. Today, I don’t make as many deliveries with my mom but, I do use The Scrap Exchange in a different way; for ART! I believe in homemade Halloween costumes. I believe in making egg carton caterpillars with the kids I nanny for. I believe in turning toilet paper rolls into spyglasses or megaphones! I believe in making something beautiful out of something ordinary. One mans trash is another mans treasure, right?