Connecting Nature to My Future

When watching Andy Goldworthy’s movie on how he connected to nature I thought about how I would like to connect to nature. In Goldworthy’s movie “Rivers and Tides” he connects to nature by building great piece of art with nothing but the nature supplies found in the world. When I think of nature and how I would like to be connected I always dream of having a log cabin in the woods. Not only is the house in the woods it is made up of what the woods are too. It is not completely connecting with nature just to have a log cabin but it is nature but it is the process of building one and then connecting to the environment after, Living in a log cabin in the woods would make me sense me attached to the woods because the cabin looks like it belongs in the woods. It is hard to connect with nature with a brand new mansion built in the woods.

            So when it come down to make an art project like in Goldworthy’s movie it was easy to pick a log cabin to make. The sticks to build the log cabin were easy to find as well but to build it was another story. Well at least to build one that actually liked like a log cabin. The sticks are easy to come by even on this college campus, but it is Maine. It is unlike Massachusetts like where I am from, where it is hard enough to find woods. There are woods but it is not like Maine where everyone has a section of woods on their property. So it seems easy to stray away from being connected to environment. But I have Always dream of having a Cabin in the woods but to still be close to a city. Building this replica of a log cabin showed me all the hard work to make a full scale one. The thing that worked for me was making layer and layers of sticks for a foundation. But the trouble was getting it to stay up and look somewhat level all away around. My intent in building this log cabin was to create something that in the future I hope I could get to farther connect me to nature. What happen is along the way I connected to nature right way instead of just throwing sticks together to make this I really had to get to know each stick to see which stick was best for each position. This project was important to me because it made me think about how I wanted to connect to nature in my future. Not only did it connect me to nature now but helped open my eyes to how I can keep connecting to nature. What I got out of this project as a whole is even if I don’t get that Log Cabin I have dreamed about I can still find other ways to connect to nature. Just by making this model of a log cabin has made me closer to nature.

Art Project

Using natural materials, you can create many pieces of unique art. With a little thought and the processing of ideas I was able to come up with my idea of an art project just like in the movie “Rivers and Tides” by Andy Goldsworth. As hard as it was deciding what I wanted to do I figured that I could use the different seasons to incorporate into my project. The two seasons I decided to use were spring, because everything is so muddy, and winter because of the snow is still on the ground; you can truly see how the seasons are changingslowly.

As you can see from my picture there are mud tracks, which probably came from a car that either got stuck or had just parked there with the snow I made waves, by placing chunks of snow over the tire marks. I think that the two colors worked well together because one is dark while the other is pure white with little specs in it, which could be small rocks.

When I first began working on my piece it wasn’t working as well as I wanted it to because the water from the ground was absorbing into the snow and making it turn brown. I can’t forget to mention how muddy it was around the area where I was creating my project, I sunk into the mud a few times, having one shoe get caught and myself almost falling over. Luckily I didn’t and wasn’t covered in mud to bad by the end. I had to come up with plan B, it wasn’t hard, but I just decided to move the snow to where there wasn’t a lot of water; which ended working out one hundred times better.

Once I completed my project it was time for me to take a picture of my piece. I wasn’t sure what angle would look the best so I took several different pictures and decided I would choose the best one later on. I really enjoyed doing this project because you really had to use your mind and come up with something unique. I think that everyone should have to do this because people could come up with some really cool projects. I give credit to Andy because I don’t think I could come up with as many things as he does, I wouldn’t have the patients to do it either, I would just end up getting frustrated and wanting to give up. Overall my project came out well and I would love to do something like this again when spring has completely developed because I could incorporate flowers and rocks which I can’t find now because the snow and flowers haven’t sprouted. If I could give advice to anyone about doing this project it would be, not to rush into it and give yourself time to process the idea of what you want to do, so that if you don’t like what the outcome is the first time you have time to try something else.

Art/Writing assignment

I wanted to do something similar to the video we watched in class, only put a spring theme tied into it. My more serious thoughts was to write half of my name on snow using mud, and then write the other half of my name in mud using snow. This would give an artistic element to the picture and show contrast. The snow changing into mud would have been symbolic of winter changing into spring. It would show the snow struggling to hang on as it is being destroyed by the sun while being over taken and eaten up by the mud. Mother natures power of creation and devastation would be represented in this master piece that existed in my minds eye. How ever as I was procrastinating and pondering about the details of this epic picture/art master piece day light slipped into darkness. Due to the lack of natural lighting I am now not able to make this art work that would have been nothing less then a gift to God, and take a picture that would do it justice. I toyed with the thought of doing the project in the morning, and possibly staking out before sunrise as the artiest did in the movie. But with the angle of the sun being from the east it would have thrown every thing off and I concluded it just could not be done.

Since I know my self pretty well I had prepared for a predicament where I let myself procrastinate to long and not able to complete the assignment, such as this one. Being briefed on the final details of the art/writing assignment in class on Monday it was fresh in my mind as I walked back to my dorm room. I dropped off my school bag and books and what not and left my dorm room. I head outside and to the parking lot where my car was parked. I was going to my car because I need to go see my doctor because of a cold I could not seem to shake off with cold medicine and lots of fluids, I was afraid that I had not gotten rid of a case of mono I had earlier in the year. As I was on the around 3 ½ minute walk to my car I was still thinking about this art project. I had the great idea of stop by my family’s farm and where there would be all kinds of things for me to use to make a great art display that would be vary similar to the movie. As I reached my car I felt the urge to urinate which was not surprising do to the copious amounts of fluids I had recently been consuming in order to flush out my illness. So I stood next to my car and did as I do every single time I have ever urinated in the snow for as long as I can remember. I wrote my name in the snow. As I underlined my name a little bulb went off in my head. But I knew right away this was a bad light bulb and the idea for which it represented should never see light. This idea also amused me, and this amusement was enough to persuade me take out my phone and take a picture of the freshly signatured snow bank. Even though this picture is slightly crude, tasteless, and possibly offensive, I have still chosen to use it. I hope readers can over look this and find the same silent one release of breath half laugh that amused me.

I hear you're asking all around, if I am anywhere to be found...

            The openings in the wall practically called the cranes, and each seemed to find suitable placement, securing a union between stone and paper. Seeing as how paper is made primarily from wood (and other less interesting chemicals), the crane embodies multiple meaning to me. The Peace Crane, with respect to an environmentalist/ artistic perspective, represents a recycling of nature, through industrial labor, to reinvent a sheet of paper fashioned for ‘paper folding’. Except Crane construction involves more than what meets the eye.

            The stability of the stone wall offered a nice serenity of for the cranes, of which there are five; the dw polka dotted crane, the snow crane, the first love crane, the natural leader-berry crane, and perhaps most importantly the truth crane. Folding cranes serves as a therapeutic art form in and of itself, the precision of folds demands my attention and focus, while the simple method allows my mind to wonder. I often find thoughts scurrying through my imagination as I imagine a world that understands and appreciates a conscious awareness of the value of the life around us. I imagine tapping into the world’s potential and creating a world of informed, educated, able, and compassionate, existence, it is somewhere inside this thought that the peace crane gains life itself. Perhaps restored from the tree of which it came, a spark of hope ignites life and it’s within this magic that imagination flirts with reality to create hope.

            After capturing the cranes within the wall, I proceeded to move them to a nearby tree. Twigs in my curls, I maneuvered the cranes, each of which seemed to represent a lesson learned, or challenges I have faced within the last year. (For example the snow crane represented the ‘awfully chilly’ winds I have encountered within the area.) The only crane that I remained extremely cautious with, in regards to placement, was the truth crane. This crane was a more recent crane, the pattern of the once-paper- now –crane, the truth crane represents the one challenge I can foresee but have yet to ensure; I delicately tested the stability of the bark. Luckily only a few layers of mature, weathered bark fell to the ground, with the truth crane intricately placed. My quest for truth started long ago, but my active quest had forged actively toward what I had only before known as ‘life-long’ goals. The truth crane represents a quest for truth, a quest I intend to start with the same Buddhists who had taught me so many lessons already.

            Melting snow had left the grass swollen, but had not yet reached the tree, under which I lay trying to capture to scene with the snap of a frame. It always takes more than one frame to satisfy my curiosity. The wind blows, but I would not have noticed if the leader-berry crane has relocated, and a few others have turn as if to say ‘fare well’. After snapping what I believe to be a sufficient amount of photos I gather up the cranes, and brush off the traces of nature I know are not so sincerely appreciated by the janitors and head off to my class, satisfied and relieved.

            For my project I used paper, sunlight*, and natural resources! Luckily the tree provided shelter for the Peace Cranes and they were able to pull off the shoot (as in fashion shoot), with success. My purpose of using paper was to connect the industrialized world we live in, to the natural world that we come from, all of us, even the flashy printed-paper. (The clashes of nature versus man, versus man being a product of nature, much like the paper- under the “nature” of the capitalist-man.)

This unique project inspired creativity through deep symbolism and intimate personal expression, I feel as though there is something within symbolism that expresses things that words or even emotions may not employ. I believe that what worked the most, for me, was ‘going’ with an idea, or possibility, not restricting the idea or message of the work but just allowing the art to speak for itself; after all earth without art* is just eh.

AvidNakedFoot    (Yes, I blog, it’s nbd)   Alexandria Valente

Environmental Art Project

            In the movie “Rivers and Tides,” the artist Andy Goldsworth used solely nature to create beautiful works of art. It showed how incredibly meticulous he is when creating his work. It takes him a lot of time and thinking, but in the end he its all worth it, even if it won’t last forever. One of my favorite projects was when he collected many rocks on the beach to make a large egg. This took time and perseverance for him because his work collapsed on him many times. But he continued on from scratch each time and when he was finished it was cool to see it survive the high tide that covered it. What I really like about this is that none of the rocks he used to make this are perfect, because in nature there are always imperfections. The edges don’t have to be straight, it doesn’t have to have a perfect weight, and it doesn’t have to be the perfect size, but the work of art in the end comes out incredible.

             While watching this movie many ideas came across my mind. Mostly I was remembering the natural art masterpieces I created in my childhood: making snow angels and snow forts in the winter, burying my self in the sand at the beach and making sand castles in the summer, and also raking leaves and making scarecrows out of them in the fall. But for the spring I keep looking outside my window and seeing the snow melt and mud scattered everywhere. Soon the colors of spring will begin to appear, but for now were in mud season. I had no ideas coming to me. So I took a step back and thought about spring for a second and the first thing that came to my mind was baseball.

            I thought about it for a while and baseball describes me. Everything I do and just about every decision I make revolves around sports. The competition, the friends, and the fun of the game itself all make me feel comfortable. I’ve always loved to play baseball; whether it was a Little League Championship game or just a group of friends playing whiffle ball in the backyard, I just love to play. Then I thought about the field itself, no field is ever the same and no field has to be perfect, it’s natural. It’s going to be made up of grass, dirt, sand; you name it, as long as its flat you can play some baseball.

            When I picture a baseball field, it’s unique. Standing on the field I smell the cool breeze and the dirt bow up and into your nose, doesn’t sound great, but you get use to it. You hear people talking in the stands and the wind swishing through the trees in the outfield. The ground is soft, not like an indoor floor, every step is different and you feel grass, dirt, soil and rocks beneath your feet. Running up the base baths feels as if you’re running bare foot on the beach. It’s an incredible thing to be able to play a game you love outside in a setting that is one hundred percent natural materials. Baseball will always be a part of my life either playing the game or following my favorite team the Boston Red Sox.

Environmental Artwork

Samantha LaMonda
3/29/11
FYS-100
Essay #3

Artist Statement: Natural Artwork
"Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things." Edgar Degas

The art process for my project was largely confined to figuring out what I wanted to do. For days, I walked around not knowing what I could do. Ideas came and went as I analyzed the uniqueness and meaning for them. It wasn’t until I was rummaging through my backpack for a homework assignment that I realized precisely what I wanted to do for this project. I was looking through my bag when it occurred to me that it contained the following among other things: my laptop, my laptop charger cord, my phone, my iPod, and my camera. In one small backpack, I seemed to have fit five pieces of technology that I needed to use enough to carry it around on my back. My intent for this project was to express the apparent need for technology. I wanted to capture the idea that students can no longer go through one class without checking their phone; or the fact that facebook has over 600 million active users most of which check their facebook at least once a day. I’m not necessarily saying that technology is a bad thing, but rather emphasizing the change in priorities that have occurred within our society.
My original intent was for the tree to somehow resemble a person completely wired in – with a laptop, a phone, and an iPod. This would resemble the change of emphasis on nature and its beauty to the technological revolution. In turn, my art project came out more as the “priorities of life” growing out of a tree. I added in money and cords to express their importance. I feel like the necessities growing in the trees express the western society's mind-set that everything grows on trees – that resources won't be exhausted.
What particularly worked for me was to just nest on the idea of the project. I researched other environmental artwork, but the more I researched, the more I was convinced that I wanted to do something to symbolize the change in society – not only focusing on the beauty of the natural world. I just needed to think about it and put pieces together one at a time. For example, I knew I wanted to do something with trees because of their immense beauty they hold and I also kind of wanted to incorporate technology somehow. It all just kind of fell together in my mind, which is how most great art begins.
For this project I used a small bush outside of Stone Hall and my own iPod, laptop, laptop cord, phone, phone cord, and money. I placed these items in the tree so that they all rested easily. I then took a picture of it.
Overall, I am satisfied with the project – especially given the transition period of seasons and the lack of definite materials. I often think about society’s need for technology and how I love to leave everything at home and go for a walk in the woods. There is something about the loneliness or lack of connection from the rest of the world that completely satisfies me. It allows me to focus more on the beauty around me which is a characteristic that has been lost in the recent generations.

Environmental Art Project

                                                                                       

When I first saw this art project on the syllabus I was certain that it was not going to be any fun. But after watching the Movie on Andy Goldsworthy I saw how fun it can be working with nature. Goldsworthy woke up every morning without knowing what he was going to create and just used his imagination and resources that he was able to find in nature to create something beautiful, even if it only lasted a few hours and nobody else saw it.

Since there was still snow on the ground and having to use things found in nature to create this art; I knew I could make a snow fort, which is something I have done before and I had all the supplies I needed to do the job.  Although I did have to use a shovel I was able to create a well sized snow cave, which I myself could fit in. To create this I first had to shovel a bunch of snow in a pile, which was exhausting work, and now I realize how much energy Goldsworthy had to put in to carry all the rocks to make his egg shell. I then packed all the snow down by lying down on top of it, and then I would shovel a little more snow on top of it and repeatedly lay on the top of it. Finally I was able to start digging out the middle of the pile with my hands to create a space big enough for me to crawl in and lay down in.

Although I have done this before it was still very hard work. After watching the video Rivers and Tides what I got out of it was that we take for granted our homes and how we live. I have heard many stories of people getting lost in the woods and have to make a snow cave for shelter, as a matter of fact; two kids from Farmington had to do this when they got lost on the backside of Sugarloaf last year. It is these types of shelters that have saved many lives by using natural resources from the environment.

At first when I thought about this project I really had no idea what I could construct. After the movie I realized that I could create something that I have actually done for fun in the winters. Although it did take a lot of physical work to complete I was able to do it without the fort collapsing which would have been frustrating. My message through this project is that resources in nature can be used for many things and the one I displayed is the most important part of human nature which is survival.

Environmental Art Project

At first, the task of creating a piece of environmental art seemed daunting as I sat in the classroom brainstorming possible ideas. I realized what Goldsworthy meant about finding real inspiration working outdoors as soon as I took a breath of cool, fresh air and my eyes began scanning the scene. I found that actually walking around outside as I tossed ideas around in my mind; helped me to visualize the possibilities. When I saw a pile of broken twigs scattered around a patch of grass, an idea came to me. The broken twigs reminded me of the destruction that has occurred to our environment, and the cracking tar nearby that is now pretty ordinary to see; brought my idea together. I gathered some twigs and got to work spelling out the letters, reject. Cracked tar has always reminded me of the idea that nature seems to reject the changes humans force upon it. The idea that nature will always have the final say is a powerful one and proves to be true quite often. As I worked to construct the letters with twigs of varying sizes, the wind fought my efforts, which was only further proof of the extent of nature’s powerful grip. I discovered that the letters became a lot more stable after I stacked a few twigs to overlap the first layer. I also found it kind of ironic how the cracks in the tar ended up helping further stabilize my message, even as they symbolized rejection. The message behind my environmental piece of artwork was that nature shows rejection of human contributions in many forms. The example I used, cracked tar with the aid of broken twigs, is very common in many parts of the world. Something seen as often as tar can easily be overlooked, although taking a ride in a vehicle over the same tar causes much more notice. Once this connection is made, it’s easy to pick out a variety of instances when nature prevailed over human creations. As I am now apart of the result of some serious environmental abuse, I’ve seen that nature’s capabilities are hard to predict. It’s especially evident that if we continue to ignore the reality of the upcoming consequences of our environmental abuse, nature will retaliate back twice as hard. Joining the environment is something I really enjoy, because it clarifies my thoughts and brings me to a closer understanding of nature. Human beings have a lot in common with nature, including the idea of rejection. Our bodies subconsciously react to unwanted contact or occurrences, which isn’t very different from the message in my piece of art. As I spend more of my time exploring nature and all that it has to offer, I become closer to it and to myself. Being in nature is a wonderful experience for me because it helps me to forget about the many distractions in society today and clear my head. The more time I spend in nature, the more I see the relationship between the environment and human beings, and how intertwined they really are. This experience of creating a piece of environmental art was unique, hands-on and helped me to gain insights that aren’t possible in a classroom.

Art Project

When I was brainstorming for this project, I wanted to think of something creative that I could do with nature. I thought about Andy Goldworthy’s projects and how he did them for inspiration but I couldn’t come up with anything. Then, one morning I woke up and the idea came to me. I decided I was going to put footprints in the mud, and fill them with trash to convey the message of the harmful impact we are putting on our Earth.
To make the project, I went home because I don’t live far away and I knew there was a perfect spot where I could make my project. The materials I used were big boots and trash. I first started to collect the trash from things in my garbage at home and also things I found on the road. I then looked for the biggest boots I could find so I could make big footprints that would allow me to fill each one with a significant amount of trash. I stuck my boot in the mud and wiggled it around so I make the footprint a little deep to fit the trash in. I then fit the trash in by cutting some things and moving it around within the footprint so I could put many things in each one. One I had put the trash in, I formed the mud around each print to give it a more footprint look to it. It didn’t take long to make the project, probably around 30 minutes. I cut a lot of the trash so that way it could fit properly into the space. For example, I cut the milk bottle so that way it could appear like it is sticking out of the ground.
My project turned out how I had envisioned it. It did not take me multiple times to achieve the finished product. I fixed it as I went if there was anything I didn’t like. I believe I made the message clear that I wanted to. I want people to look at the picture and think about littering and the impact that we as humans are putting on the world we live on. I think it is important because it is an issue everyone is aware of. I wanted to bring attention to the issue so it got people thinking about their personal impact on the Earth.
Doing this project made me learn more about the deeper meaning behind art and how you can send a message without any words at all. I had fun making the project and to be honest, playing in the mud was pretty fun too.

Gretchen's Environmental Art Project

I spent a long time thinking about what materials I wanted to use for my project and what designs were already apparent in the world around me. I thought about what was happening out there in the natural world—snow melting, the earth showing a little more each day, dirty snow, chunks of ice, buds in trees, birds making nests, maple sap dripping, water starting to flow in the streams, the wind blowing. As I drove around, I looked around me. I saw logging trucks with big stacks of logs, the butt-ends round circles piled on top of one another. That’s the same pattern I saw in stone walls—round, or nearly-round, chunks of rock piled on top of one another. So, I started thinking about circles. I also thought of things poking up through the snow that have been buried since last fall when the snow began to fall. That drew my mind to vertical patterns. Then I began to just concentrate on what things appealed to me—I like leaves, and am especially drawn to the leaves of beech trees and oak trees that stay on the trees late into the winter. I had an idea that I would take some beech tree leaves and lay them out on the pristine white top of the snow, and then sprinkle dirt on them—dirt from the piled up, ugly snow banks, and then take the leaves away, leaving a white leaf-print. To me that would draw attention to making art of what we think of as ugly at this time of year.  I also thought about taking maple syrup and making designs with it on the snow, but, I reasoned, that would be wasting perfectly good maple syrup. In the end, I decided on something entirely different. I thought about liquid. This is the time of year when we have a lot of liquid. I also thought of cows (since we did the brainstorming in class I had cows and milk on my mind). I decided to make some edible art—a bowl of oatmeal with a moat of milk and a lake of maple syrup in it. It was fun to make, and even better to eat. The milk is whole, raw, unpasteurized milk that I buy for $4 a gallon at the organic dairy farm a mile from my house. I love walking into the warm, steamy, rich manure-smelling barn once a week, waving to Mark Turner, the farmer, who comes away from the milking for a moment to fill my milk jug from the huge silver bulk tank in the milk house. When I go into the barn, the cows, some black and white, some big-eyed Brown Swiss, look at me with interest. The syrup comes from the trees around my house, which you all helped tap earlier this month. The oatmeal comes from oats grown in Maine and purchased at the Better Living Center in Farmington. So, I made some edible art. Eating well and eating locally is important to me; so is eating beautiful food. The idea of a moat of milk and a lake of maple syrup in a bowl oatmeal felt abundant to me.  (532 words).

Environmental Art Project

For my environmental art project, inspired by Goldsworthy, I chose to make a construction that had a greater symbolic meaning and used only what nature had to offer. To create my construction I found a flat, snow-covered area, and then collected several pinecones and pine needles I had come across earlier in the day. I created a square area of pine needles in the snow, and then surrounded it by large pinecones. I then placed a smaller pinecone in the center of the green needles.

The materials I chose were easily found around campus. To me the pinecones symbolized a strong and unique individual that also works well with others. They fit together well, making an excellent way to create a wall. The pine needles symbolized a safe zone to me, they are soft and lay flat, and that is where I decided to put the small pinecone, on the needles in the protection of the walls that surrounded it. My intent was to create a structure that had a symbolic meaning, and I believe I succeeded with that. I created a piece of art that promotes peace and security in a life that can sometimes get cold and become a slippery slope.

What worked is the idea of interlocking the pinecones and making them connect. I think these interlocking pinecones are most symbolic parts to my project. I came into a few struggles along the way, but it only made me concentrate more on what I was trying to say through my piece of art. I was originally going to create the construction on a sheet of ice, but whenever the wind would blow, it was destroyed. There were several times I chased all my materials around the campus as they blew away. It was an abnormally windy day, so I found myself having to adapt to my surroundings. I decided to place it in the snow because there I could press the pine cones into the snow a bit to help them be more secure. I believe the message I was trying to create from the little pinecone being protected by the bigger pinecones was clearly made in my picture.

At first, I was a bit hesitant about this project, because I am in no way a great artist, but now I am glad I had the opportunity. Every step, from collecting my materials, finding a spot where it was not too windy to create my construction, and then taking a picture of the final product was a learning experience. This project made me pay attention to resources I never really pay attention to on campus and helped me to connect with nature. I also learned that when I wear my Birkenstock sandals in mud season, I should watch out for giant mud puddles that are around campus. Overall, I think my message in the piece is clear, although people could interpret it differently, I was able to express my feelings and ideas using nothing but my natural resources.

Environmental Art Project

For this art project I decided that I was going to make a drum set out of easy materials since I'm not much of an artist. At first I was going to perform what I would call a "nature drum solo" but at last second decided that probably would've ended up being an embarrassment more than anything else. The material I used to create my drum set was quite simple: sticks. I found many sticks that had fallen off of the trees out front of my dorm and decided to gather up as many as I could. I originally was going to create my drum set outside but after multiple times of the wind destroying my creation, I took the sticks inside and created my art project in the lounge of Purington.

The drum set wasn't too hard to construct. I had Bryan help me somewhat put it together because I wanted another person to tell me their opinion on what I can do to make it better as well as what looks right and what doesn't. My intent for the project along with the outcome were about the same, other than the fact that I wanted it to be put together outside of course.

There are many reasons as to why I decided to construct a drum set for this project. When I was in 6th grade, I began playing drums and shortly thereafter joined a heavy metal band that wanted to write songs and maybe perform at concerts that took place in our hometown's skate park. From 6th grade all the way through 11th grade, I played drums non-stop and thought that what I wanted to do with my life was try and tour the world with my band like all of the other bands I was listening to at the time were doing. As the years went on I got better, my band's slightly improved, and I had thoughts of maybe going to Berklee College of Music to further my musical knowledge. A message over Myspace from my favorite band, however, would change my outlook on playing music for a living forever. In the message they said, "We make about $13 a day and still live with our parents, so you really have to be dedicated to music to wan to live this lifestyle," and after I read that message I made the decision that music wasn't for me anymore.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that music was my biggest passion, because it wasn't. Music has been running in my family for generations, and playing the drums seemed like the first thing I was actually really good at. People always gave me praise for my drumming skills, but in the end I made a personal decision that I couldn't make a steady career for myself by doing this, especially if I wanted to have a family in the future. I gave this drum set that I created with sticks the title "nothing lasts forever" because although when I see it it floods me with memories of all the old concerts I performed in and how good I could've been, playing music was not going to last forever with me, just like this art piece wasn't going to last much longer after I had finished it. I thank my art piece for bringing back such fond memories, but it's time for me to continue to move on, as I have left that part of my life behind me forever.

Environmental Art Project

When I watched the movie “Tides and Rivers” by Goldsworth many art projects came into mind. Because we needed to do a project similar to Goldsworth my mind instantly connected with different projects that I could do. Goldsworth used different pieces of nature to design a pure natural art.

When Goldsworth was on the beach building with rocks he made an egg shape. A few times he failed at making the design due to the lack of balance. I quickly thought about how I live on the beach and I’ve played with beach rocks since I was young. Off Portland harbor there is an island called Peaks Island. Many times when I’ve biked around the whole island, I see rocks stacked on top of each other. Another place that does this is in my hometown, Cape Elizabeth, the beach, Pond Cove. Many times when you’re driving down Shore Road, when you pass Pond Cove you’ll see people outside on the rocks trying to master the rock balancing structure. I wanted to go home so I could try this for myself but I never ended up being able to make it there. I didn’t have any ideas really for Farmington, Maine.

On Sunday, I was still out of luck. I wanted to make a unique piece of art but I couldn’t think of any ideas. All of the snow was filled with dirt and wasn’t nice and clean like it used to be. Everything was muddy and there was so much dirt left over from the plows when we had heavy storms. I didn’t know how I could make a nice looking art project.

I took my camera, put on my boots and went outside. Reid and I walked outside of Scott Hall and started looking around. The first thing that caught our eye was where everyone smokes there was a million cigarettes on the ground where the snow had melted. It was disgusting. There was a disposal station for them around seven feet away and the people smoking couldn’t even walk seven more feet to dispose of them correctly? I thought about doing some of the project using the half butts of the cigarettes but I couldn’t think of picking them up. We kept walking down the hill as if we were headed towards the Prescott Parking lot. When we were walking there, there was a ton of trash up on the hill. It gave off a bad vibe of Farmington. If I saw this a year ago today on accepted students day I honestly might rethink what I was doing, it was that gross. I thought that this would be a good art project using something to do with the trash. I found a twisted twig that looked “artsy” and reminded me of the movie “Rivers and Tides” and the shapes Goldsworth used. The twig was on the same hill as all of the trash so it made some sense. As I looked down from the hill while I was picking up the trash, I saw in a dirt parking lot, lots of potholes with muddy water filling them. This made so much sense. It is mud season, why not incorporate the season into the project as well!

The pothole puddle was a circle shape so I aligned the trash with the outside rim in the water. It was perfect size for the stick to be placed across the whole circle. It made the “anti-shape”, or a no symbol. For example the “anti-smoking” sign. In this case I thought that it would be a no littering sign, and I think that the project worked out well. I used nature and trash to show that littering is not okay, in a unique way. After I was done with the project I threw away the trash in the correct place for it then put the twisted twig back on the hill where I found it. This project, I think, was a really different way to connect with nature in a different perspective than I ever would have thought to do. I enjoyed it a lot!

"Tides and Rivers"

In the movie “Rivers and Tides” by Andy Goldsworthy he showed many different beautiful landscapes around his home in Germany. I live in Cape Elizabeth, Maine and we have a beach called Pond Cove were people stack rocks on top of each other with using different balancing technique. These sculptures end up staying up for hours, days, weeks, and even months. Whenever I drive past them they are fun to look at but I never think anything of it, being art, or having people do this for a living. In the movie Andy Goldsworthy does many different pieces of nature to make advanced art in nature. Goldsworthy in the film shows many different artworks that he has made. On three of them (the egg rock piece, the thorns and sticks hanging from the trees, and the ice and rock sculptures’) he failed and the sculptures’ broke. He seemed upset about it, as everyone in the right mine would, but something differently was the fact that he got up and tried to build it again. I would never be able to have the patients to put all that effort into my work then to see get ruined by “too big of a stone” or “the wind”. His ideas for making the different pieces were so thoughtful. The lamb hair on the rocks because they are the ones owning the land for example not having trees be able to grow there, and putting the hair on the fence of rocks. I never would have thought of this on my own, it looked to unique, and time consuming. I loved the movie “Rivers and Tides” and the earthy-ness of it.

Rivers and Tides

I really enjoyed watching the movie River and Tides in class. I had never seen the movie before so it caught my attention. I really liked the different pieces of work that he completed, my favorite was the one with the sticks in the water that looked like a beaver hole I believe he called it the acorn hole but I could be wrong on the name. Each piece was very unique I couldn’t imagine coming up with some of the ideas that he comes with its hard enough for us to come up with a simple idea for our project. Some of his pieces did look the same but they were always in different locations and sometimes with different materials. I would not have the patients that he does to put together his creation every time it falls over. I give him credit for what he does but I wonder if behind the scenes his more help then we have seen on the movie. And I also wonder how long it takes him to complete one of his projects because we only get to see little piece of what he gets to do. I would like to see other pieces of work that he has done.

Assignments

Unbowed: A Memoir

Wangari Maathai

 Chapters 7-12

            The memoir thus far has provided substantial as a model for the strength and courage embodied by Wangari Maathai. Her constant ambition through hard struggles such as those she found when criticizing students challenged her teaching abilities, to the struggles of her personal life such as her marriage with Mwangi. For my response I would like to focus on the personal difficulties Maathai faced in order to express my interpretation of her devotion to her beliefs.

            Page 139 reads, “When we go through profound experiences, they change us. We risk our relationships with friends and family. They may not like the direction we have taken or may feel threatened or judged by our decisions. They may wonder what happened to the person they thought they once knew.” This quote serves significance importance to me because I can strongly relate to a series of personal reflection within my beliefs and how it has affected my relationships. Her voyage from Kenya to Kansas back to life in Kenya, presents an immense transition in the cultural norms, beliefs, and values she has been exposed to. This passage also illustrates Maathai’s deep consciousness of her determination to succeed. Her devotion to the movement is deeply rooted within Maathai’s character, so she is able to examine her relationships and recognize the importance of her influence in the movement.

            A second quote, located on page 143 reads, “I recalled words a friend had told me, the philosophy of her faith. “Life is a journey and a struggle,” she had said. “We cannot control it, but we can make the best out of any situation.” I was indeed in quite a situation. It was up to me to make the best of it.” I admire her confidence in her beliefs because it takes strength to make a difference, one who is weak of heart is sure to be defeated more easily than one who has a conscious awareness with their purpose. Through her beliefs she was able to dedicate herself to the Greenbelt Movement, and by distinguishing what relationships and ambitions were worth the struggle she managed to succeed. Her voice did not quiver when she was handed a challenge, instead she decided not to back down and because of her decision and dedication she was able to carry out her dreams.

The Story of Stuff

            In the short informational film, coproduced by Free Range Studios and the Tides Foundation, Annie Leonard speaks of a process of “stuff” production. She explains the cycle as extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal. Leonard, who has spend more than ten years traveling in order to “track” our “stuff” and how it comes to be our stuff, as well as where it goes when we dispose of it. I believe this is a very interesting quest, many people do not know nor care where their stuff comes from or where it goes, but with the increasing environmental problems more eyes are being opened by the troubles that lay ahead.

            The capitalist structure of our consumption patterns illustrate that our rate of disposal and waste is higher than it has been in recorded history, that fact alone should alert our attention. But rather we buy, literally buy, into this bottomless consumerism, renown for its immense waste! Due to this issue there have been many changes thrust upon the global community, shifting norms such as society, culture, environment, economic markets, and bumping into many limits. These limits offer a warning as to the consequences of such foolhardy, yet corporations continue to buy our elections as well as define the culture of a nation once greatly known for its embodiment of variety.             Seems to me there is a rather large problem in a nation where the overall wealth is held by the top 1% while the others struggle to get by economically, culturally, and most importantly environmentally. If 51 out of 100 of the globes largest economies are held by corporations and the other 49 are held by governments, the world is literally a political and economic scramble, a race to exploit all the resources in order to construct a global culture based on consumerism, valuing resources that are quickly becoming exterminated by the competition. This vicious trap benefits the few and takes down with it the many. Any environmentalist, anthropologist, or economist will tell you that the shifts being seen globally, with respect to each field, have had and continue to have a monumental impact on the people. The fact that since watching, “The Story of Stuff”, the state of Maine’s water has been privatized by Nestle, each moment we spend denying the truth is another second our fate is sealed more tightly. The point is distraction are vast and many, but truths such as the environment are very real and unless the problem is taken more seriously and recognized globally, shams and scandals and faults shall be of little importance when the finite planet responds harshly to our exploitations.

            With 2,000 trees a minute being cut down in the ‘name of the economy’, 8,000 people lose a chance to have fresh air in their systems. Yes each tree produces enough oxygen for a family of four to breath for 4 lifetimes. But rather than ensure the breath of an entire family the corporations, hence the markets, “demand” a trade for 48,000$ a minute. Deforestation has claimed 80% of the global forestry, that’s a lot of minutes, or as in the capitalist America, lots of money. Capital defines capitalism, hence their similarity, therefore the system cares more about money than trees, or our air supply. This decrease causes an increase in pollution, consequently as a result of the lack of filtration that occurs as a natural part of our global system. When we refer to the global system in regards to the global market a rather large portion of what it means to be human is subtracted from the equation, seen as irrelevant. This is a dangerous culture to create, or engage in, because the planet provides our source of being, our insurance of life, which is designed to be plentiful, but at out level of exploitation it shall be bare before we see our grandchildren.

            The global economic market does not take into account the kilo-energy consumed during trade and therefore does not take into account a huge factor of the living system that is our home. This wasted energy of our planet alongside the waste we produce (while using kilo-energy) drains the planet of its natural energy, and when exploited at current rates it is destine to run out before it may continue to produce.  In my opinion Annie Leonard did a fantastic job summarizing the problems and outlining possible solutions while all the while promoting conscious awareness of the situation and mindfulness of our roles within the structure. This problem is not one that shall just “go away”, but it calls for the communal effort of the global ‘human’ race in order to revert the damages that have and are currently being done. It is our job as citizens to remain informed and active in protecting and defending the world we love.

           

Response to Presentation by Dr. Helida Oyieke :

I found the presentation very interesting and frightening. I have paid close attention to figures and statistics regarding environmental, political, economic, and global statistics, because of this I have heard some alarming and scary figures since entering into college. I have heard of devastation through famine, or disease, drought and war, figures declaring that 2 billion of the world’s increasing 6.9 billion people to survive the devastations currently being created, by 2025. But when Dr. Helida Oyieke said that the conditions of agriculture was a part of the Millennium Development Goals and that this priority had been recognized in the early years following the millennium, and that this was to have been corrected by 2015, my jaw dropped. Its extremely scary to see what is happening all over the world with exploitation of resources including labor, while we vigorously sterilize the landscape as a means to produce a profit.

A powerful source of hope relieved some worry when Dr. Oyieke spoke of the caring attitudes of the women and their increasing involvement in protecting the planet. After the presentation I found myself mesmerized by the idea of “feminism”, having grown up with four sisters I am fascinated that when women get involved in a movement they must gain a definition. I began to ponder what would be the ‘male’ persona of feminism, maninism? With different responsibilities and (as stated by Dr. Oyieke) different fiscal incentives. I believe that it is important that people who recognize the ‘man-made’ disruptions to our global systems it is easy to see that humans are directly associated with the causes of much of the current global problems. (I say man-made because I believe that women-made is not politically correct, or is it considering maninism isn’t).

If one is to look at all the issues facing the globe today it is likely to result in an immense headache, but if we identify the issues, use our creativity to suggest solutions to problems (rather than create more problems) I believe it is possible to correct the enormous damage that has already been done. But without identifying the problem and abolishing it, the problem will constantly exist. I scribbled down a quote by Dr. Oyieke that I would like to address, the quote reads, “Not fighting to take authority, fighting for what we have to offer as beings”. Although I see her point in offering our selves as beings with a purpose, I would suggest that this not be referred to as fighting. In my opinion after much discussion and studying of nonviolence, I believe that the solution to many of our current problems is not to “fight” but to portray, or offer our abilities as humans while maintaining a respect for the roles of each part of the machine that is the world.

My question was: What does ‘A Sante Sana’ in Swahili, translate to in English?

Alexandria Valente      AvidNakedFoot, yup :)

Rivers and Tides

This movie was very cool to see how much time and process Andy Goldsworth puts into creating his magnificent art. The movie shows how he travels the world for his art. One scene shows Goldsworth working on stacking rocks into the shape of an egg. This is one thing he is famous for and the scene shows how much time he puts in, because its so difficult to do on the first try. When something isn't perfect he persists through the struggle to make it a masterpiece that he is proud of. Also he has to take into consideration the time of day, because throughout the day the sun is located in so many spots in the sky throughout the day, and everything has to be perfect.
I really liked his icicle structure he created. He created a shape by connecting pieces of ice together. This was not easy by any means and the final product won't last very long, but when complete it is a picture that sticks in your head. Andy Goldsworth does a tremendous job of using nature to create magnificent artwork. It was very cool to watch him go through the process to making his product. I'm still struggling with ideas for my project, but Andy Goldsworth definitely got me thinking a little bit.

Maple Syrup Field Trip

My Wednesday morning started out earlier than usual but the field trip to Professor Legler's house to collect sap from the maple trees and getting to be with my classmates outside of class was amazing. I haven't been out to collect sap buckets since I was about 9 years old, so getting to do that again, and relive the excitement of getting to see how much sap we could collect.
Getting to see the chickens and listening to the rooster just made the experience even more influential. It was a beautiful morning, my favorite kind of morning, because I could walk on top of the snow, and listen to the crunching sound coming from below my feet without falling all the way through to the earth.
The writing assignment was a very simple task, but I actually found it very challenging. Trying to describe a taste which you are so accustom to is not easy. However, after all that hard work, the delicious vanilla ice cream with maple syrup definitely made everything worth it!

Goldsworthy Movie

I really enjoyed the video we watched in class about Andy Goldsworthy. The way he connected with nature, and felt as if he was one with the earth inspired me. He made a connection and thought so deeply about nature and his role in the world. His art was amazing to see, I’d never seen anything like it. I did not even know that someone could make a living out of creating environmental art.

His wiggle pattern he used throughout the entire movie inspired me the most. No matter where he was or what he had to work with he could find a way to incorporate this art into nature. He did it with the icicles, the rock wall, and in several other places. The egg shaped statues he is famous for were also very beautiful. The time and effort goes into a project like that has got to be draining.

A few times throughout the movie it showed Goldsworthy’s failed attempts at creating his art. I began to be frustrated for him, and the fact that he just kept right on trying amazed me. I think that really says something about him and the peace he is at with nature. Goldsworthy’s words were so wise and he was an inspiration to me. My first reaction was to go to the beach and make a giant wiggle mark to symbolize the flow of life. Andy Goldsworthy inspired me and I cannot wait to see what I come up with for my environmental art project.

Rivers & Tides

In the movie Rivers and Tides, it starred Andy Goldsworthy and his amazing artistic abilities. All of his work is done in the natural world using natural materials that he gets from the outdoors. Andy clearly has a passion for his work and it shows in the movie. He attempted the same sculpture many times after it had fallen and he never seems to get too discouraged. When looking at images of his work, you can notice he works a lot with holes and circles. He explains that a bit by saying, "The underlying tension of a lot of my art is to try and look through the surface appearance of things. Inevitably, one way of getting beneath the surface is to introduce a hole, a window into what lies below." Many of his works feature that “window” that he mentions. I love looking at his work because it is unlike art that I usually see. It is natural art made entirely from things found in the natural world and I like that aspect of this work. His passion for his projects is really shown in the movie and when he explains his work and why he loves it, you can tell he puts his heart and soul into every project. Another beautiful aspect of some of his projects is the vibrant color used. It really draws the attention of whoever is viewing it. Overall, I enjoyed learning about him and his work.

"Rivers and Tides" -Andy Goldsworthy

Although I have seen "Rivers and Tides" before, in an art class, it was still very interesting seeing the Goldsworthy working in his element. I think his work is fascinating and it helps create more of an understanding between humans and the environment, something that could use more of our attention. As Goldsworthy creates a piece, he works to get a feel for the place, the natural parts of those environments, and to learn how they interact together. I think his methods of thinking and working in the environment are wonderful because they are literally teaching him as he works with the materials. Goldsworthy's actual pieces trigger a dialogue that is intriguing, beautiful, and encourages a new type of thinking. I thought it was particularly interesting that Goldsworthy spent so many years in art schools, both learning and teaching, and in the end discovered he was only fulfilled when doing his art in actual outdoor environments. That's significant to me because it supports the idea that human and non-humans are intertwined and therefore greatly impact one another. It's also refreshing to see an artist of such success to have good values and practices, and show an example of someone living for the simple things.

Dr. Helida Oyieke

Question: What are some of the first-hand experiences and impacts on the environment you have witnessed in Kenya that drove your desire to help conserve the environment?

Presentation-"Women in Development and Environment: African Perspectives"

I was definitely excited to hear Dr. Helida Oyieke, from Kenya, give her experiences and comments about women in development and environment. During her presentation, she showed a slide show first, highlighting the actual location of Kenya. She followed with images of the Tana River, which has become silted due to the development in the area. She explained how those in the area are suffering from drought, deforestation, and the management of waste. It was interesting to hear Dr. Oyieke's experiences in environmental conservation and how many of the results of development in the environment impacts women negatively. Dr. Oyieke also explained how those problems triggered many women to form groups in Kenya and other countries to help the environment. A new vocabulary word to me, sustainable development, means the guidelines and policies to help the people to make sustainable decisions. Dr. Oyieke also explained that her experiences has proven that sustainable development has been difficult to reach for many countries. A main highlighting point to Dr. Oyieke's presentation was that development is directly intertwined with the environment and there is a partnership between human and non-humans. One of my favorite parts of the presentation was the quote one woman made about life being a circle. This makes it easier to examine exactly what role the woman plays in nurturing the circle. I also found it interesting that Dr. Oyieke's experience was that women had more interest in environmental conservation groups because they considered the future. Dr. Oyieke's many contributions to environmental conservation and activism are inspiring and it's also awesome that she stands up for women in Kenya, where equality remains unaccomplished.

Rivers and Tides

The first thing that caught my attention in the movie, Rivers and Tides, was how much work Andy Goldsworthy puts into his art. The start of the movie shows him putting icicles together to form a zigzagging shape that resembles a river. By the time he finishes this, which he has been working on for a long time, the sun rises and starts to melt it away. The beautiful design he made doesn’t even last for a day before it is destroyed. This is also true with many of the other things he created, such as; the rock egg which fell over a few times before he was done, the circular whirlpool object made of drift wood, and also the spider web looking object made of sticks and thorns. I myself would not have the patients to create such designs from nature, for them to only be destroyed within a few hours. I would also have a lot of anger built up inside me if my art kept falling over before I finished completing it, like what happened to him with the stone egg.

I think it is very interesting how he only made his art with his hands and natural objects from nature. He used sticks to put the leaves together to float down the river, and he just used manual labor to drag all the stones to where he made his egg shaped statue. Goldsworthy didn’t use any form of industrial supplies to create his masterpieces and he even found ways to add color, by using crushed rocks to create a red tint into the stream.

Dr. Oiyeke's Presentation

I attended Dr. Helda Oyieke presentation on Thursday night, this presentation was about Women In Development and Environment in the African perspective. Her presentation was about many different topics from Africa. She covered everything from environmental concerns, to sustainable development in which different women looked at. Then another was talking about creating awareness for people and how they can help out their community. I really enjoyed listening to her talk about the environmental issues that people are still facing today. She did say that they have gotten better but it’s not the best it could be if people were more cautious about how they discarded things. The image that she showed us for this topic was a picture of the River Tana, which is silted, dirty, and the water volume has gone down a lot. The river is brown it looks like mud to me, you couldn’t pay me to drink that water but for people in Kenya that may be all they have. Its sad that people have to drink this water we have to think how grateful we are to have fresh running water in so many places. The other thing that I liked was when people were asking questions and someone asked a something about the contraceptive within education and if it has helped. Oyieke said that yes education has brought a lot of changes in the reproductive system, but for women if the men want children they have to have them. So its pretty the men run much the women. Overall I thought this presentation was very interesting.

Dr. Oyieke's Presentation

I found Dr. Oyieke’s presentation very interesting. I did not know what to expect out of her presentation entitled Women in Development and Environment: African Perspective, but I ended up really enjoying it. Her presentation was all about the political, social, and environmental changes that are happening in Africa, specifically Kenya. The part I enjoyed the most about her presentation was the perspective that she shared her story from. She had gone through all of these changes and experiences personally; but she had also gone around the world doing research to better her understanding.

The part of the presentation that caught my interest was the quote she had about how development and environment are a partnership; the two have to give each other space to grow and rejuvenate, but also need to take what the other has to offer. The part that I thought related the most to the memoir Unbowed that we have recently read in class was the part about the Tana River. She said that it used to have clean water for drinking and swimming, but she showed us a picture of it today and it is full of silt and the water level had gone down. You could see that Dr. Oyieke was pained by sharing this, because it is her home that is changing so rapidly from a healthy environment to a place that is being traditionally developed and therefore destroying the environment. Dr. Oyieke was inspiring and definitely gave a very influential and well-done presentation.

Dr. Oyieke's Presentation

I attended Dr. Oyieke's presentation on Thursday at 6:30. I wasn't sure what to expect when I entered the presentation, but I made sure that I entered the room with an open mind. Our teacher, Gretchen, began by giving Dr. Oyieke a brief introduction, and then the presentation took off. She quoted notable women throughout history on what they thought about environmental protection as well as women's roles in keeping the environment healthy. She also began stating many reasons as to why both men and women participate in jobs that help save the environment. For men, they needed money to help feed their family or provide a better life. For women, they wanted their children to have a better future than what they had been through, so clearly there was a huge difference between these two reasonings.
I truly enjoyed everything that Dr. Oyieke had to say and I really liked hearing about her homeland of Kenya. People from Africa always seem to fascinate me with the experiences they've been through and how their styles of living are so much different from the lives us American's live. The few pictures that she had to show of her homeland showed a beautiful land full of many environmental opportunities. One day, I would like to go visit Africa to get a firsthand look at these lands and really experience for myself the struggles these peoples deal with every single day. Who knows, maybe if I ever made it over there I would volunteer some time to help with some environmentally friendly opportunities going on within those lands. I think that'd be an awesome thing to participate in, but who knows if I'll ever make it over there. I'm very thankful to have seen Dr. Oyieke's presentation and hear what she had to say. She was a very well educated woman who could seriously help change the future of our planet with her words of wisdom. Well, at least, I have faith in her doing so.

Dr. Oyieke's Presentation

I went to Dr. Helidaa Oyieke presentation on thursday March 17. The title was "Women in Development and Environment: African Perspectives". Dr. Oyieke first started off the presentation with information about Kenya. I thought that it was very interesting considering I really know nothing about Kenya, except for the fact that they come to run "The Beach to Beacon" in my town every August. She said that Kenya is three times the size of Maine and that they have 42 ethnic groups there! Being from Maine and living here my whole life this sounded very different from anything that I've seen. One story that Dr. Oyieke told that intrigued me was about the Tana River. She talked about how when she was younger she would go swimming in the water, and that it was so clear. She had a picture of it now and it looked very dirty, the water volume has gone down, there are dumps off the streams, and now people cant use the water. She also talked a lot about the difference in sexes. In the novel Unbowed by Wangari Maathai she talks about how her husband left because in reality she was more successful than him. Dr. Oyieke said that the women just want the men to appreciate what they do, they don't want to take over their power, they just want to be noticed and now pushed to the side. I thought that from what Dr. Oyieke said in her presentation, and the novel Unbowed many things are differently. Non the less I thought that Dr. Oyieke was very interesting, and I liked hearing some of her story.

Dr. Oyieke's Presentation

I went to the presentation about Women in Development and Environment by Dr. Oiyeke on Thursday night. I like how Dr. Oiyeke stated her presentation by showing where Kenya is located in Africa, and also talking about the wildlife of Keya, which included elephants, frogs and cheetahs. She then went on to show us a picture of the Tana River and how it is very brown. She then compares it to what it was like when she was growing up and how it was much cleaner and had a higher water level. This sets the scene of how the environment of Kenya has got worse due to changing into a capitalist country. Now that Kenya is becoming more of a capitalist country there are becoming problems in the environment and the main problem is deforestation. This is why many women are joining forces with many environmental movements such as the Green Belt Movement to help start planting more trees. One subject that Dr. Oiyeke focuses on is the roles of woman and men. She starts by saying men are more worried about making money while women are more focused on creating a better environment, education, and overall life for their children. I see this as a lot like the United States during the early 1900’s, where men worked and women stayed at home. At about this same point the United States was becoming more industrialized. So I wonder, is Kenya on the same track in which the United States was roughly 100 years ago?

Dr. Oyieke's Presentation

Dr. Oyieke’s presentation was very informative and she seemed like a really nice woman. It was really nice of her to come to Farmington to speak to us and it was cool listening to somebody talk about things we had been discussing in class and reading about in Unbowed. I liked how she started out explaining where Kenya is and the type of wildlife there such as elephants, frogs, cheetahs, and impalas. She then proceeded to talk about the Tana River. The Tana River is now full of silt due to projects upstream which makes the water undrinkable. I found that very interesting when she brought that up because I feel everybody in the world should have clean drinking water. It amazes me how so many people in the world don’t have even clean water to drink and that is a problem. Dr. Oyieke also talked about the roles and responsibilities of men and women and also the different views on environment between men and women. She also mentioned the definition for a sustainable development, which she said is “that which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” I found that interesting because with the way we are currently treating our Earth, it may be harder for our future generations to meet their needs. I liked how at the end of her presentation she made everyone say “asante sana” which I then learned means “thank you”.

I would like to know more about the economical education in Kenya now?

Question for Dr. Oyieke

I want to know more about Kenya, and their families rolls. If you know about Unbowed was any part of you experience like Wangari Maathai's?