1) Reflect on our trip to the UN. What did you think of your visit? Which speaker did you find the most inspiring and/or interesting and why? What surprised you the most about the experience? What did it feel like to be inside the UN to hear these conversations?
I really admire the importance of these talks to young creative minds, and the fact that these people are not only fighting to protect the environment but they’re also working on spreading the message, and talking about their mission. The speaker I found the most interesting was Finn Harries, I’ve been following Finn for around seven years and it was truly inspiring to see him in that position. What’s inspiring for me is noticing how much he absorbed from the class and took what he learned seriously. I felt touched by the quote by Robert Swan that he cited “The greatest threats to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it” it’s quite provoking and therefore motivating. It was interesting to see this speech being given by someone that is one of us, students, and it’s motivating that we’re taking the same exact class the he took a few years ago. Like Harries said, we have the responsibility to rise to the challenges that are being put before us. We definitely learn a lot in the Sustainable Systems class, but it’s in our hands to choose to use and apply what we learned.
2) SYSTEMS MAP
3) Reflect on your process for the three Art + Science labs (kombucha, watercolor and natural dye). Post an image of all three projects in their completed form (your samples from each project’s process). Did your projects turn out as expected? What was it like to grown your own material (leather)? What vegetables/plants did you use as dye? What surprised you the most in the process of these projects? Which did you enjoy the most? Which was the most challenging? Will you continue to work with any of them in your future work?
The three projects, the kombucha leather, the natural dye and the watercolor were a really new experience for me, I’m really satisfied with the result of them, as they turned out as I expected. It felt amazing to be able to grow my own material, I’m willing to experiment trying make something out of my sheet of leather, it’s something about being 100% involved in all the steps of making a design/art piece that makes it interesting for me, the whole process becomes more personal and it’s totally different then buying new material to make something. What surprised me the most was how fast and easy the kombucha leather grew, it’s definitely the project I enjoyed the most, and I”,. I’d say the most challenging project was the natural dye one, it wasn’t hard, but I wasn’t familiarized with all the chemical substances involved in the process, although I think I had a successful outcome, I do think I could have better results.
Kombucha leather:
Watercolor (raspberries/yellow tulip):
Natural dye project (using raspberries) :
