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Portable Herb Garden Diaries – Katie Cheung

The Portable Herb Garden Diaries is an artist multiple as well as a useable kit. The idea began during the transitioning of the season from fall to winter. Plants are known to not sprout outdoors in the soil during the cold weather thus I thought why not have a plant that is transportable and can be grown indoors all year around in pots. I also wanted the work to feel personalized and catered towards each participant that is in possession of this kit. As a result, all the materials required were included in the kit as a sense of motivation.

This kit includes a big plant pot, plant markers, soil, manure, peat moss, a marker, paper plant cups, a scoop, a spray bottle, a disposable camera, herb seed paper (chives, rosemary, oregano, parsley), terra cotta bases, a napkin, and instructions. The plantable seed paper was inspired by handmade paper and by submerging the seeds into the paper for planting it supports the growth of the plant. Brief instructions are included due to the project being open for creativity and interpretation by the participants. Participants are expected to follow the procedures to successfully sprout the herbs. The participants are expected to document the occurrences of the plants however, the content of the photos are to be determined by the participants. The disposable camera is to be returned to me within a specific time frame. Whether the camera is empty or contains the roll of film, that is the participants discretion. If the participants decide to return the camera back to me with the film intact I will develop it to reveal the content of the photos.

Portable Herb Garden Diaries was shrink wrapped with all the contents contained within the wrapper and all the multiples were presented on top of a shelf lined up. Once the herbs have been fully grown they are ready to be preserved or used in cooking. Each herb has a different taste and scent. Some are mild and some are peppery. The Portable Herb Garden Diaries is an ongoing project that is left open for creativity, interpretation, and for participants to help me complete.

December 7, 2015
Getting to Know Plants: A Plant Social

“Getting to know plants” is an event about human interaction with the botanical world. We curated plants from our surrounding community and created a space for people to have conversation and physical interaction with them. Our interest in the social lives of plants stemmed from a discussion in class. Diane Borsato encouraged a student to “get to know the moss”. We became increasingly aware of the way humans care for plants as objects, possessions, and decoration. This work challenges the conventions of interaction and our relationships with plants.

The gallery was curated with 13 plants of diverse kinds. They were situated on different objects such as cinder blocks, plinths, artificial turf and shelving at various heights. The height variation allowed visitors to interact with a plant at their own comfort level. Each individual was given a prompt card entering the space to either facilitate a conversation or physical contact.

caress a plant between your hand and cheek

draw a portrait of a plant and leave it for them

draw a portrait of a plant and leave it for them

talk to a plant about your relationship problems

December 6, 2015
121 days.

*images are available to view in a slideshow

December 6, 2015
Planting the Herb Garden

December 2, 2015
Spider Plant Dialogues: A Performance Piece
Statement

Spider Pant Dialogues is a performance workshop that encourages illogical social activities to inspire an intrinsic experience between plant and human.

Performers gathered at a rental home in suburban Guelph, Ontario to participate in this workshop. Everyone was given an envelope containing instructions, and was then told to select a dialogue partner from a large pile of spider plants in the kitchen. Performers were encouraged to seclude themselves with their plant and get comfortable by nesting in pillows or stretching out on the floor. They were allowed to reorganize couches, benches, and chairs in ways that offered a private experience.

The envelopes contain a marker, two name tags for each performer, and index cards that instruct participants to perform four tasks:
1. Read botanical facts to the plant
2. Position, groom, and name the plant
3. Practise soothing breathing exercises to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the plant
4. Partake in a casual conversation describing their surroundings and feelings to the plant
This work is influenced by John Baldessari’s 1972 performance Teaching a Plant the Alphabet. His piece is described as an exercise in futility, which to me can cause a sort of unexpected idyllic experience, especially when the work is related to plants or naturalism. I wanted to perform a direct response to Baldessari’s Teaching a Plant the Alphabet because he completed his performance as a response to Joseph Beuy’s 1965 performance How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare. These artworks are influential because they encourage viewers to consider logic, but to also to look past logic to gain a more innate understanding of the work.

At the end of the piece, I asked all performers to fill out a brief questionnaire about their affiliations with fine and conceptual art, their interest in plants, and what their thoughts were on this workshop. Overall I would say that this workshop was a success. I discovered that Spider Plant Dialogues was the first conceptual art experience for many participants. I am pleased to have hosted a performance piece with individuals of many backgrounds and fields of study. -M
December 2, 2015
THANK YOU – Andrew Mandaliti

This video piece, titled “THANK YOU”, was created based on the words and information I gathered while getting to know the workers at a landscape maintenance company. THANK YOU is an example of one message that a worker wanted to tell the world. As the video progresses the message is mowed into the grass then promptly mowed away. The piece gave workers a temporary platform to express their ideas and feelings – something not usually permitted to blue-collar labourers.

December 2, 2015
Spectroscope Workshop

A spectroscope is a device that is used to analyse light by separating its parts into a spectrum.

On November 18th, 2015 I hosted an in-class workshop where I taught our class to build and use spectroscopes out of cereal boxes.

The spectroscopes we built used a CD to defract the light once the device is aimed at a light source.

How to Build Your Own Spectroscope:

Materials required:

– 1 cereal box
– 1 CD
– 2 Index Cards (Can be replaced with 2 razor blades)
– 60 degree angle (printable angles can be found online)
– black tape
– scissors
– ruler

Your spectroscope will look something like this:

STEP ONE

– fold cereal box shut and tape the bottom edges so no light seeps in
– on the top left of the box measure roughly one-two inches and mark a line across the width of your box
– cut along the line and unfold the flaps that were created and cut the flaps off

STEP TWO
– use your 60 degree angle and line it up to the top corner of the box so the hypotenuse of the triangle angles toward the center of the box. Measure and draw a line 3 inches from the top corner of the box. You will have a 3 inch line starting at the top corner of your box, and the line will lead ROUGHLY toward the center of your cereal box.

-cut those lines

-flip the box over and do the same thing on the other side

STEP THREE

– cut a 1 inch high rectangle out on the opposite side of the slits. The rectangle should be the width of the box.

-Use your index cards or razor blades (sharp edges facing inward toward each other) to block out most of the rectangle you just cut out. Place them horizontally, closely together, leaving a 1mm gap between the cards. Tape the cards securely to the box.

STEP FOUR&FIVE

-Tape the box closed

-Slide the CD into the slot

STEP SIX

-Point the index card slit at a light and look into the square hole into the box at the bottom of the CD. You will see your bright white light bulb break up into its composing colours!

Here are some more photos from the spectroscope workshop:

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Here are the final products:

December 1, 2015
John Baldessari: Teaching a Plant the Alphabet

Leading Californian Conceptual artist John Baldessari is an American Collagist, Painter, and Photographer. He explores themes that question what art is and in the 1970’s, he abandoned painting to explore a diverse range of media. His work plays with humour and some of his later works are influenced by pop-art.

Baldessari’s 1972 work, “Teaching a Plant the Alphabet”, has been described as an “exercise in futility. An absurdist lesson in cognition and recognition.” In this video, he holds up a piece of paper with a letter of the alphabet to a common house plant. He repeats the letter aggressively and quickly (A-A-A-A-A) and after a few seconds he moves on to the next sequential letter in the alphabet.

This work may strike the viewer as illogical and foolish, but it can be explored past banal themes and irony. Baldessari performed this piece as a reaction to Joseph Beuy’s 1965 performance “How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare”. Both performances cause the viewer to feel a visceral understanding of their work. The logical education task performed in an illogical way results in a greater experience for the viewer.

Source 1

Source 2

December 1, 2015
Library Bulbs

Marije Stryker

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

November 30, 2015
Portable Observatory Kit – Kelly Zantingh

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.

November 30, 2015