Response to Final Projects

In this Art and Ecology Summer course, we were lucky enough to be blessed by students of all disciplines. As a result, all of the final projects presented a unique and interesting perspective on the theme. One of the readings in our packet emphasized the importance of diversity when creating a sustainable system, and I can't think of a better example than all of the ideas that came from the different students. While each project varied in content, they all tied together in a unexpected, yet functional way.

How do we bring more awareness to the community about local food and sustainability? Maybe it is to create a sign pointing in the direction of farmer's markets within walking distance. My classmate, Meredith, creatively designed a method of wayfinding in order for the quest for fresh food to become easy and accessible. I appreciated her use of legitimate signage juxtaposed with the infinite possibilities of art. And maybe on this quest in search of a healthier choice, eyes will be open to new ideas and observations. 

Teresa cleverly designed a zine in which readers may unexpectedly find themselves more in line with their environment. She uses native plants to reiterate our relationship to the city we live in. She also made a point to distribute the zine in unexpected places. Almost to insinuate that you can find beauty in the most unlikely of places. Jennifer also capitalized on this concept. She wanted to show how gardens don't have to be deliberate and don't have to disrupt the flow of our natural world. She created "matchbox gardens" to invite people to see planting as an opportunity rather than a large endeavor. 

Keenan, on the other hand, used his knowledge of design and architecture to create a model for a "toolbox". After a series of surveys, he discovered why people may or may not garden at home, he designed a prototype garden box along with a data collection to make it easier and more attractive to people who want to have a successful in-home garden. 

Then, there was Iktemal. She brought a whole new perspective into the study. Not only did she reach out to kids in her community and cultural background, but she related growth and nature to a situation very close to her. Seeing the native Palestinian flowers hung next to the apartheid wall was extremely moving. 

I was thoroughly impressed with all of the completed projects, which throughout the process helped me complete mine. Stay tuned for an update on the "Infinity Garden."

Zine

Here is the finished version of my zine for your viewing pleasure.  Look for a copy in your neighborhood--I plan to deposit them in surprising spots all over town!

Urban Infiltration Intervention

Urban Garden Toolbox

What can I do? The question follows me as I turn and face the world. A world where human actions increasingly alter ecosystems, the climate, and the environment without fully understanding the consequences and the disharmony of these alterations. How can anything I do change the course of this overpopulated, quarreling, economically addicted, and technologically religious human force hurtling further into discord with the movement of the planet? Especially in the Western world, where individualism runs so thick through our veins?

These questions prompt me into action. Inch by inch, what can I do?

Inch by inch. I can grow food. Right here, right now. I can grow foods of many varieties, learn the trials of the Earth, the water, the sun, and share with others what I’ve learned. By daring to do, I can experiment, succeed, revise, and grow with the sprouting seedlings. There, something in my control, something manageable.

Inch by inch. I can grow connections. It bears underscoring the fantastic abilities this age offers, interconnecting billions of people across the planet, across nations, states, cities, communities. Individually, we build many marvelous monuments. Communally, grow exponentially in creative adaptive capacity. Synergy. Using the technology we build as a sharply honed tool, we can tap into this immense creative energy. I can grow connections, and through them, share with others what I’ve learned, and learn and adapt from others through what they share.

Inch by inch. I becomes we. We, the People. But more than just our human-sphere. We, the Land. The Land Community. We change the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. We become what the Greeks called kosmopolites, “citizens of the world.” We can grow our own roots into the Earth, share with it what we have learned, and by accepting our citizenship, learn a great deal from the Land Community.

Inch by inch. We build a Toolbox. With our own hands, with our own inspiration, our own processes, we assemble an adaptive, evolving, and stacking movement towards land citizenship. Through the direct, unconverted, and un-interpreted experience of making a home for living members from the Land Community, caring for them, and taking sustenance from them, we build connections with the essence of our Earth, with each other, with ourselves. We begin to assemble knowledge, we begin to expand awareness, understanding. We begin to balance our disharmony.

“Inch by inch—

Little snail

Creeps up and up Mt. Fuji.”

~ Kobayashi Issa

Rendering: Residential scale

Rendering: Walmart parking lot

Rendering: Civic Plaza

Outer and Inner molds used for the Papercrete 

Outer mold perspective

Measurements for the wooden version (still under way!)

Papecrete garden toolbox prototype

See related posts:

Toolbox, Project Update 2.0 

Toolbox, Project Update 1.0

Urban Gardening Survey

Flowers of Palestine

Wanted to post some prints from the book "Flowers of Palestine" for everyone to see, which were a collection from the 19th century book "Wild flowers of Palestine". Here is also a great article on the indigenous flowers/plants in Palestine. I am intrigued by places, spaces, and time. Most of all, human interaction...

"Palestinian flowers reflect the country itself: its ancientness/antiquity, its gentleness...."