Happy Thanksgiving everybody, and if Dan 1.o reads this yes my family actually does celebrate American Thansgiving, who knew?
Ok, On to business, It’s wonderful how a little distance from campus can lower your stress. I wrote about three pages of my thesis paper today, after finding my Adbusters collection (“the art fart issue” is really good). I found what it was that what I needed to tie together my ideas. I’ve been having some difficulties, I’ve known what I’ve want to do for my main thesis idea for a while but not so much why. Well more specifically why my work is so abrasive, among other things. I’m not done no, but I’m alot closer, and later tonight I’m gonna print out/ look at all the other notes and things I’m written and tie the paper more together, when I’m a little more confident with it I’ll have a copy up here, but before that I’ll be sending it to Jason.
I’ve recently become very involved in making things by reusing plastic bags for my Art meets Ecology class. While doing this I realized several things, which have helped me alot.
1. I really like sewing.
2. I probably should have become a fibers orGFA, but I’m happy with where I am now, and as for GFA, I probably wouldn’t have found direction until now anyway.
3. The more ways of making, essentially the more skills you have the better off you are.
4. I can sell what I make, and show people how to make them themselves and still make money.
The last one may sound silly but, it’s a staple of DIY culture. Making things out of plastic bag fabric (plastic bags ironed to be almost a papery material) isn’t new, but I’ve been pushing it. To see what I’m doing with it you’ll have to wait till the book goes to print, hopfully by mid Deceber Let me assure you though, it will be cool, and you will be able to make it all yourself, or buy it if you don’t want to.
Oh and back to thesis this idea of re-use is prevelant through-out my work, just as my interest with sound, as such I’ve imbraced it. My room instrument idea, I don’t know if I’ve bloged about it yet, well I will here. I found that the peices of metal used in computers and other electronics inclosures (think inside old computer towers) make great tones when you hit them, really beautiful sounds, so I’m making a room sized hanging xylophone with them, in may include other discarded material. My insperations for this being, I collect lots of old junk beacuse i hate throwing things out, so I had a lot of broken computers, and the fact that comptuers are really a poorly designed idea, they don’t last long and are terribly inefficient use of materials for the length of time that they work, comercial models at least, those being just a few reasons. The web tid bit i found out about this is that most computer “recyling” programs, arn’t really that at all. (place link here when I find it again) Some companies that have computer recyling prgrams ship the computers to asia, where they are bashed and ripped apart my poorly paid workers, who are exposing themselves to hazardous cemicals, on top of this broekn CRT’s arn’t actually supposed to be shipped out of the county, but the goventment can’t check every cargo ship that comes and goes out of this country, as this lead paint fiasco is a testament too. So where was I going with this, oh yeah, I want my project to be a “cleaner” recycling program, as it is I scrounge old electronics fro parts, slowly desodering all that I can and then I’m leaft with lots of usful spare parts, beutiful empty PCB and lots of plastic and scrap metal. So I thought why not start asking for and let it be know that I’m looking for peoples old technology, as part of the project. I’ll take it off your hands, If you’re close enough I’ll come and pick it up. Probably early next semester I’ll organize a broken tech drop off day, where anyone who participates, gets to know that there old computers, printers, VCR’s, CRTs, old game consoles, etc, will be put to actual good use and wont harm anyone but me, who is doing this willingly. I was thinking as insentive I’d give away voucers for discounts on products and objects made from these meterials. The more you give me, the more you get off essentially. So yeah more on this idea as it developes.