Toolbox, Project Update 2.0

Today I poured the papercrete mold for the first prototype of the toolbox! The process was long and grueling, and complications with the mixture ratios set me back a bit. After the testing two of the different mixture ratios, I decided to go with the following recipe, encouraged by the good results from test mold #2:

• 55% wet paper pulp
• 20% clay (earthenware)
• 15% Portland cement
• 10% dry sand
  
  

  

  Test mold #2

Paper shredding and pulping—the first step—turned out to take up the most time. I used my paper shredder to munch up about three days of Albuquerque Journal newspapers, and then put this chaotic jumble into a five gallon bucket and filled it with enough water to cover the paper to blend it with a mixing bit.

With the paper, I learned that a longer soaking time kept the paper from just spinning around and clumping up around the drill bit, and this is where most of the delays came from. Blending with the mixer drill bit resulted in this very soggy paper pulp, which needed staining off of its excess water.

At the same time the paper soaked away, I got my very dried out clay soaking as well. (If you were using new earthenware clay, soaking wouldn’t be needed.)

Next up, measuring and mixing! Because of the volume the mold needed, I ended up using two five gallon buckets. The actual volume of the mold was a little less than 1 cubic foot. After some number crunching, I marked off the percentages on the side of the buckets. Then I added all the ingredients, layering them for easy measuring.

What followed was a frenzied shoveling/mixing/drilling rampage. I was so covered in clay and cement I dared not touch the camera, but here is the completed pour after I filled the mold. I had some warping issues with the side panels, which is why it bears a resemblance to a fortress with all the blocks.

Not too shabby! My biggest concern is the drying time, but I feel confident that it will be able to survive the drive to campus on Thursday. The Portland cement will be cured by then (it's already setting up nicely), and the rest of the moisture will soon follow.

Exciting stuff!

Front lawn = world of opportunity

After World War II, when the soldiers came home and the economy stabilized and then boomed an interesting thing happened, the American dream was revamped to include a single family home with a pristine front lawn.  This lawn was used as a buffer from the street, a subject of pride in the lush grass, and a sign of wealth based on the size.  Although this trend started over 50 years ago it is still as strong today.

In areas of the southwest where water is scarce the public has become aware of xeriscaping.  They pull up their grass and irrigation systems to fill in the space with water wise plants and lots and lots of gravel.    This does solve the issue of having water guzzling grass from curb to threshold but it doesn't give a usable space.

Edible Estates is a concept started by Fritz Haeg in 2006.  He has proposed that the front yard be used as a productive garden using site specific plants.  The first project was installed in Salina, Kansas and was an innovative move.  Since then Haeg has been embraced by people in the Art, Landscape Architecture, Sustainability fields as well as Foodies and environmentalists.  It started out as an unknown project but now 16 yards and many countries later, Fritz is being bombarded with people offering up their yards to him.  The volunteers needed for these projects flood in are distributed over many days of installation.

Not only are the people who live in these homes benefiting from the lower water bill and year round fresh produce, but also a sense of community.  These front yard gardens are a talking stick that bring people together and give them the opportunity to educate and inform about the project and it's benefits.
Edible Estates has started a conversation and transformation.  People are taking this concept and running with it.  Even without Haeg's help or designs, homeowners are tearing up the grass and making a front yard that truly gives back to the resident and the community.

Toolbox, Project Update 1.0

This is really just a brief snapshot of today's events :) Yesterday I poured two test molds of the "papercrete" mix, each using different recipes.

Mold #1 uses 65% wet paper pulp, 20% damp earth (with high clay content), and 10% Portland cement.
Mold #2 uses about 55% wet paper pulp, 20% damp earth (with a higher sand content), 15% Portland cement, and 10% dry sand.

Mold #1 has been drying for over 30 hours and is still not entirely dried. Hear's hoping it'll hurry up! Next time I think I'll drain the paper pulp a bit more try and to speed things up. I'll post some pictures of both of them soon, when they have cured a bit longer.

Today, I've been modeling, measuring, procuring, and cutting various plywoods and blocks for a scaled Toolbox mold.

Hooray for SketchUp! 

It's been a tedious process, but worth the time to get the right shape. Next up will be assembling the outer and inner molds, mixing up a large batch up papercrete, and pouring! Can't wait to upload some pics!

Cheers all :)

The Urban Food Revolution seems to be a somewhat isolated occurrence.  The same people visit community gardens and participate in farmers markets.  I would love to reach a more diverse audience.  The way that we feed cities must be taken into account in Albuquerque.  I see a growing change such as the East Central Ministries.  People in a city could elicit change by refusing to eat “empty” food.  The reality is that empty food is cheap and fast.  Why can’t real food be more affordable?    Through community involvement we could teach families how to make whole foods from scratch and to grow food in their own gardens. I hope that guerilla gardening can take more root.  There is endless open ground in Albuquerque that could be used for community gardening.  Maybe people in Albuquerque should take it upon themselves to plant in these areas.  The city of Albuquerque should try to fund a nonexpensive way to gather food and resources within city limits. I like the idea of small mobile units that move around Albuquerque bringing education and functional resources to an area. Nils Norman created a mobile library/greenhouse and the Geocruiser.  The Geocruiser was equipped with solar array, and a worm composter.  It reminds me of the mobile libraries which would go into neighborhoods giving out books where access to books was limited.

Nils Norman, Geocruiser, 2001

Nils Norman, The Gerard Winstanley Radical Gardening Space Reclamation Mobile Field Center and Weather Station Prototype (NYC Chapter), 1999

The issue of space is always something that I think about whether it is the audience to be reached or the site to be explored.  I feel that land art is a viable art form to express ideas and bring about change.  The natural world must be cultivated into our everyday lives.  I don’t understand how we separate nature from ourselves as something out there.  We are immersed in the natural world, it is all around us and part of us whether we see it or not.  We breathe, hopefully we drink water and we have the ability to feel the solid earth beneath us.  I guess as human beings we feel that nature is something outside us.  We can start to make little discreet changes in our lives by eating better, planting small gardens, and appreciating nature in unnatural spaces. I feel that the 10 Chronologies is an attempt to define what Environmental art is.  Art has the power to promote change.  Hopefully, art can bring about change in the way people consume food and talk about the Earth.

The thing about Environmental art which I find daunting is the lack of funding.  It is hard to sell an idea.  I can see how grant writing is very important for an artist trying to model farming and gardening.  Environmental art seem to be more of a collaboration.  The farm by the freeway helped to challenge the concepts of community art.  I like the idea behind this project to bring about change.  I feel this is another example of how a community can acquire a abandoned space in which to beautify the space, plant a community garden and get volunteers to teach and facilitate workshops. I like the way  Bonnie Ora Sherk's work  incorporates children into the project.  I think that children naturally want to feel part of a community. 

Bonnie Ora Sherk, Crossroads Community, 1974-1980

Sprouting update

Sprouting workshop with kids update! the sprouts are growing fast and beautifully! The kids are loving it and continue to wake up every morning anticipating the sprouts. They are intrigued and fascinated by the growth of these remarkable seeds, knowing they have been watering and watching them sprout. Here are the images! some of them are already edible. Alfalfa, Lentils, and Wheatgrass :)

By the Way...

Here's the blueprint I developed for my zine, just to give you guys a sneak peek into what it'll look like when it's done.  The final version, of course, will have images in all of the blank boxes, & it will include a half-dozen or so pages of instructional diagrams that people can use to identify a few of the most common edible & medicinal plants that can be found around the city.



 There it is!  I hope to have a rough draft with images ready to bring to class by Monday so you guys can give me some input.