I wasn’t able to attend class on Tuesday because I was ill, but I heard that the class visited the UCLA planetarium which has telescopes and a large star projector. I did not know that a planetarium existed on campus, so I was disappointed that I had to miss it. However, I made more progress on my kombucha fermentation. I wrapped up the second fermentation of my batch from last week, a strawberry black tea kombucha.

This week I started my first batch of kombucha. I was a bit overwhelmed to start because I was afraid to accidentally give myself food poisoning.

For our Hox Zodiac dinner project, Charles and I researched more about the Dragon and the Snake, our respective animals. Charles found that they each have a lucky flower, the hyacinth and the orchid, which we could arrange and incorporate into our dinner table set design. I also did some more research on the science behind our animals. The dragon was more difficult to research because it is a mythical animal, but I did find some more information about its biology.

On Tuesday, guest speaker Maryam Razi spoke about her contributions to the Hox Zodiac project, her work process, and saffron. It was interesting to see the inspirations behind the graphic design of the project, including the typeface that she designed that was inspired by the shape of animal bones. I loved seeing this process because I am also inspired by organic silhouettes in my own artwork.

On Tuesday, we started the class with something a bit unexpected. We all spent some quiet time writing down anything and everything that was in our minds on a sheet of paper. I am personally going through a very big transition in my life, and the past week has just been so chaotic and overwhelming.

On Tuesday, the class celebrated the Lunar New Year and the HOX Zodiac which is a project led by Professor Victoria Vesna. This project is similar to some of my research that I presented in one of my classes last quarter; I explored some ideas from writer and philosopher Baptiste Morizot about the relationship between us humans and other creatures on earth.

On Tuesday, the class learned about the complicated processes behind the production of a seemingly simple graphite pencil. From the mechanical engineering of the individual pencil parts to the molecules of the graphite, there is almost endless information one may research about the pencil. We also explored the importance and prevalence of hexagons in our ecosystems and the history behind it.

On Tuesday, we broke bread with each other. Everyone gathered around the table, excited to munch on some homemade bread baked with love and care. Whether it is feasting on focaccia bread that my friend brought to the Friendsgiving potluck or the quiet older coworker offering me her homemade tamales in the break room, sharing food feels like community to me.