Trees.

Little plants, and growing soil.

For a mere $1, you too can be the owner of a starter pot from Target. Buzzy Seeds has a slew of seeds. Looking on their website, you can even grow grass in little square shaped pots. I must say that I got pretty excited picking out petunias, oregano and sunflowers(my favorite) from the dollar bin a Target. I am hoping I can parlay these little seedlings into a window box come spring(if it does.)



The most interesting part for me was growing the soil. Yes, I got to grow soil! The dirt is compacted into these little pellets and when I poured water on them, they expanded. It was really fun to watch.



The asylum flower has already started to sprout, so I am hopeful.

Thanks to Leslie K. Brown for the tip on the dollar plants!

Growing Flowers in Ceramic Eggs.

So my roommate and I are trying to grow Snap Dragons and Impatiens in these little ceramic eggs. Egg Plants! It reminds me of those shrunken dinosaurs you put into water and they enlarge, or mixing baking soda and vinegar in the paper mache volcano everyone made for some science project. As I carefully hit away the ceramic on the top and applied a generous amount of water, my roommate and I stood in somewhat skeptical awe, we thought, "will something really grow out of this?"
My sister's herbs made by Chia Pet didn't fair so well. I fear that this kind of gimmicky stuff rarely yields anything to write home about(however, blogging about it, different story). These little "grow your owns" seem to take the reality out of gardening. Even if gardening means growing herbs in old coke bottles(my method). It further implores the idea that gardening is not feasible in a city, or city dwelling cannot be integrated with nature.
But who can say, maybe we will yield a bounty of snap dragons and impatiens!

Gore Accepts Nobel Prize

Today, Al Gore accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to combat Global Warming. Gore's speech was another plea that we realize the damage we have done, and continue to do, and finally decide to become active.

An excerpt from his speech:

"But unlike most other forms of pollution, CO2 is invisible, tasteless, and odorless — which has helped keep the truth about what it is doing to our climate out of sight and out of mind. Moreover, the catastrophe now threatening us is unprecedented — and we often confuse the unprecedented with the improbable.

We also find it hard to imagine making the massive changes that are now necessary to solve the crisis. And when large truths are genuinely inconvenient, whole societies can, at least for a time, ignore them. Yet as George Orwell reminds us: “Sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield.”

For more information here are some good websites:

EPA on Climate Change
Step It Up 2007
Bill McKibben
Natural Resources Defense Council
Al Gore
Stop Global Warming

Drawing from New Ideas.

The New York Times did an animation on the advancements in Alternative Energy over the past year. It's pretty awesome.

Also, here is a video explaining how engineers and scientist are trying to figure out how to harness wave energy. One of the engineers described it as, "it's kind of like the shaking flashlight, except a little more complicated."

Ode to Eric Carle.

So at my semi-new apartment building, in the warmer months, people had placed their geraniums outside. Since I have one I thought I'd leave it downstairs, and let it hang out with some of it's own. However, as the weather turned colder, it had to come back inside.
Yesterday as I was watering it I saw some rather large holes it the leaves...

"It's infested!!!" My mind reeled, thinking of the closest place to go get insect spray. As I began furiously ripping the holy leaves, there it was...the very hungry caterpillar. The culprit had been hanging around living in it's own Garden of Eden. Well my Eden really. See exhibit A.



I screamed and bolted into the kitchen. The starkness of it's buggy exterior frightened me. My roommate poked her head out to see what the commotion was all about and I told her, well more screamed, "THERE IS A CATERPILLAR IN MY PLANT!"

"Oh," she said, "is that all?"

Well...yes...and no. The caterpillar chose a potted plant. A transportable bit of land and flora stuffed in a container made of terracotta. How do you explain to a caterpillar that this isn't really part of nature? Your instincts, a gift of evolution, have failed you because this, this is my plant! So with enough food for a week and a "good luck" I sent it packing.
However... I had placed the plant outside so that it might grow more, you know, cause it's outside. The gated mulch outside of my apartment building had a better nature vibe than my window sill. So I wanted it exposed to "nature" and that is what I got.

Godspeed caterpillar. How you make it to the flying stage of your development.

...And It's Back!

Oh dear adoring public! I know it's been a while, but my unplanned hiatus has been restful and I am now ready to start this thing back up again. Even without the prodding from a weekly crit.

So this 'first' post is dedicated to marketing Grounding Work, a symposium at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, which was created by teacher/friend/mentor and fellow artist Margot Kelley.



This is a two day symposium, "exploring the intersection of art and environmental concerns." So clear your calendars and register for what promises to be an environmentally enlightening weekend!