Eco Art

Went to a goat yoga class today. Thought I should share it with you all. 

We have been doing some research in terms of the wheels/tires we will use for our storage bench. We are looking at both the environmental affects, durability, and ability of the tires/wheels to work in the mud. After seeing the tires (from a tricycle) that we had planned to use, does anyone have any input? Peter thinks that the current tires will be perfectly fine and we had planned not to buy any of our materials, but if we can't use these wheels we will have to buy bigger, more durable tires. However, this will effect the height of our bench and therefore, may delay our progress.

I am still incredibly impressed with the wood shop machines that Maria, Peter, and I worked with. I did not realize 1) the beautiful wood that was underneath the old, weathered wood we found in the garden and 2) the extent of our/the machines' ability to restore this wood. I am impressed by how well the layers underneath were preserved, which makes me hopeful about how durable our bench will be out in the garden. I know we have so far to go and it is not going to be very easy, but I cannot wait to see the finished project. Showing everyone the picture of the wood before sitting in the garden in the same place it had sat for years and comparing that to the beautiful wood we have now will be very satisfying.

I spent this past weekend at a photography conference in Philadelphia. The theme of the weekend was "Uncertain Times." I attended a panel by Byron Wolfe and Matt Klett about their most recent project, Drowned River . They spent several weeks documenting Glen Canyon and the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam. During their trip, they rephotographed sites shot by Eliot Porter back in 1963. I kept coming back to this idea of rephotography. While not specifically eco-art, their photographs demonstrate the change in environments over time. In Drowned River , they illustrate the negative impact the dam has had on the water. Specifically, the canyon that Porter photographed is now underwater. I am interested to hear how you all think eco-artists can engage with photography in their work. You can check out more of their work here: http://www.klettandwolfe.com/

Over the Feb break, i went to Everglades National Park for a sea kayaking trip with W&L Outing Club. The trip let us embraced and appreciate the true wilderness and we learned to survive on an isolated island. Over the trip, we followed the "Leave no waste" rule from permaculture, which i think is really interesting. We used biodegradable dish washing liquid and other environmentally friendly products when we were on the island and we picked up all the trashes (from us and from other people who left trash and didn't pick them up after) Human leaves footprint wherever they go. What we can do to make our footprints sustainable is to be conscious about the waste we are making and recycle them. It is the same in permaculture design. When we try to build things and make progresses, we have to be conscious of our actions. We had campfire every night and everyone sit in a circle (and we burn the burnable trash such as orange peels and tissues to leave no waste). We also use...