Month: November 2015

Library Bulbs

Marije Stryker 

 

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Library Bulbs consists of 45 narcissus bulbs planted throughout the  University of Guelph library. The bulbs were planted on November 22, 2015, watered weekly, and began to flower on December 12th, filling the library floors with white and yellow blooms and a faint but characteristically narcissus-like scent.

This project was inspired by the children’s book The Lupin Lady, in which Miss Rumphius -a retired librarian- scatters lupin seeds throughout Maine simply to make the world a more beautiful place. This process of planting flowers in public areas is reenacted in Library Bulbs. It was carried out in the style of guerrilla gardening- without permission, but with the intention of creating a more enjoyable environment for students studying in the library.

 

Planting the bulbs and watering with Outdoor School

 

The Results

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Portable Observatory Kit – Kelly Zantingh

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The Portable Observatory Kit consists of a re-purposed tent, backpack, blanket, night sky guide book, headlamp, telescope and binoculars. Anyone who is interested in night time exploration for purposes of feild research, creating bonds with other aficionados or leisure is welcome to participate in the project. It may be rented for a period of 1 – 5 days at a time, and activities such as photographing your experience or documenting what you see in the sky through drawings or notes are encouraged.

A portable observatory will be beneficial for those who do not have access to professional facilities or anyone who wants an intimate viewing experience, with the option to take it wherever you wish to explore. It would also be useful for those who live in urban areas, as it may be transported to locations with less light pollution.

 

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot

celeste-boursier-mougenotA living musical exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will set 70 zebra finches loose in an aviary, and the only perches are the strings of 14 electric guitars and bass guitars.

When the birds land, they create music that’s played through amplifiers stationed around the aviary.

French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot calls it living music, inspired by a thought from his childhood.

“Looking through the window, my feeling was that I want to make music from these birds on the wire, and 30 years later I did this,” he said.

Visitors will be escorted in to the exhibition room 25 at a time and asked to walk calmly through the installation. They are also part of the musical creation, as the birds react to their presence.

Curator Marie-Eve Beaupré said this is a highly unusual undertaking for a museum.

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Every morning, a clean-up crew tidies the room, and the birds get regular visits from a veterinarian to make sure they stay healthy.

This is the 19th time Boursier-Mougenot has created this installation. It’s travelled to New York, Paris, Milan, and  it’s making its Canadian premiere in Montreal.

The finches hail from a breeder in Thetford Mines. They’ll go back home once the exhibition closes on March 27.

A note for the musically savvy: The instruments in the installation are ten white Gibson Les Paul guitars and four black Gibson Thunderbird basses.

text via the CBC http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/birds-guitars-exhibit-montreal-fine-arts-1.3331646

Interview from the Peabody Essex Museum and view of installation:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn93J2axD_k

 

 

Moss Interventions

 

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I’m one one of those people who really appreciates moss, and will stop to look at it closer while on walks and hikes. I decided to show the class how to grow their own moss for gardening purposes, or moss graffiti and interventions. First you need to collect some things:

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  • 3 cups of moss (just moss – not whatever it was sticking to before)
  • 2 cups of water or beer
  • 2 cups of buttermilk (or plain yogurt)
  • 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar
  • Corn syrup
  • Blend until smooth, add more corn syrup to make thicker if too thin (otherwise it will drip)

Then we headed to the Rutherford Conservatory on campus to spread out our concoction, for little moss interventions. The best place to put moss is on bark, concrete, rick or rock so that it can have something to grab onto.

In this post I have also included some interesting facts about moss that I shared with the class, as well as some important tips for growing your own moss. Continue reading, and enjoy !

Continue reading “Moss Interventions” →

Dymaxion Sleep: Adrian Blackwell and Jane Hutton

02-Dymaxion_Sleep.jpgDymaxion Sleep (curled up)

Dymaxion Sleep (curled up)  is a structure of nets suspended above a field of aromatic plants. Inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion World Map, the unfolded icosahedron has rolled up to form a secret shaded enclosure. Mint, lemon geranium, lavender, and fennel mimic the structure’s topography and define scented regions upon which to lie. If Fuller’s map reconfigured standard representations of the world by refusing to define orientation, Dymaxion Sleep sets up surfaces on which to relax in different configurations: curled up, stretched out, or piled upon friends.

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Dymaxion Sleep takes its name from the title of a 1943 Time magazine article which describes Fuller’s regimen of polyphasic sleep – thirty minutes asleep, followed by six waking hours – a reconfiguration he used to dynamically maximize his body’s productivity. Our Dymaxion Sleep subverts Fuller’s focus on efficiency and work and instead maximizes the garden as a space for pleasure and dreams.

Collaborator
Walter Blackwell
Carole Courtois & Dany Fillion – Créations Fil Lion, Gene Mastrangeli

Architect: Jane Hutton & Adrian Blackwell

From Jardin de Metis

Lesbian National Parks and Services: A Force of Nature

Lesbian-Rangers.jpegSee the video on VIMEO

Lesbian National Parks and Services

Lesbian National Parks and Services was founded in 1997 to insert a lesbian presence into the landscape. In full uniform as Lesbian Rangers, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan patrol parklands, challenging the general public’s ideas of tourism, recreation, and the “natural” environment. Equipped with informative brochures and well-researched knowledge, they are a visible homosexual presence in spaces where concepts of history and biology exclude all but a very few. (from http://www.shawnadempseyandlorrimillan.net/#/alps/)

Lesbian National Parks and Services: A Force of Nature

(produced, written, directed, and performed by Dempsey and Millan.) This mock-u-mentary follows the intrepid Lesbian Rangers through Jr. Lesbian Ranger training camp, research missions, deep-sea rescue, and field work around the globe. Premiered at the Sydney (Australia) Gay/Lesbian Film Festival. 23 minutes. Video. 2002.

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From Finger in the Dyke

Handmade Paper with Leaves and Scrap Paper

Why do we need paper?

  • Map out routes (if you do not have a compass)
  • Record thoughts, ideas, findings
  • Newspaper, books, archives
  • Toilet paper
  • Letters to connect people
  • Knowledge, news, entertainment, art

Materials Required:

  • Deckle
  • Blender
  • Blotting paper (preferably without dye so that it will not bleed on the paper) or paper towels
  • A large plastic tub or small (depending on the size of paper you’re making)
  • Pitcher
  • Spoon
  • Sheet of screening material slightly larger than the frame
  • Drying pan/ rack
  • Water (any temperature)
  • Scrap paper (tickets, wrapping paper, tissue, mail, packing paper etc. but no newspaper)
  • Flower petals and leaves (no sticks or stems)

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  1. Tear up the paper and leaves into smaller pieces. Fill the blender half way, loosely with the torn paper. Add the torn leaves into the blender. Add as many leaves as you would like, the more leaves you use the less amount of paper area you will see. Fill your blender ¾ with water and start the blender to mix everything together. Stop the blender when the leaves have broken down into finer bits and when the paper has turned into pulp.2..JPG2. Fill the plastic tub a ¼ of the way with water. Assemble the two parts of the deckle together by having the frame with the screen facing upwards and the other frame with the foam strip facing down sitting on top of frame with the screen. The screen and foam strip should be sandwiched together between the two frames. Submerge the deckle into the tub with water. Once submerged, the water level should sit slightly above the frame with the screen. If the water is not above the screen pour some water in the tub until it is above. Have a partner hold down the deckle in the tub so it does not float when putting in the pulp.

DSCN5922.JPG3. Take a spoon and spoon some of the pulp into the center opening of the deckle on top of the screen. Spread it around evenly on the deckle. Add as much pulp as you desire, the more pulp you add the longer it will take for the paper to dry and the thicker it will be.

DSCN59324. When you are done with the pulp, slowly lift the deckle up, still sandwiched together, from the water and let it drain. You can choose to take the deckle to the sink to remove the excess water or turn the deckle slightly to its side and rest the deckle on the edge of your plastic tub. Now remove the top frame of your deckle and your paper pulp should be resting on the screen material of the other half your deckle. At this point, you can choose to add flat leaves or petals on the surface of the paper pulp if you want some decoration. Continue reading “Handmade Paper with Leaves and Scrap Paper” →