Recap

This is the graph I made to represent the recap of topics we covered this quarter. I want to point out that sustainability was the major connection throughout each topic we covered/discussed (as highlighted with the circle). I found myself genuinely interested in sustainable alternatives to the technologies we have today and looking for answers to how we could replace commonly used yet harmful objects with efficient and usable sustainable versions. The topics covered throughout class are boxed and have connecting subtopics attached to them with arrows. 

 

On the topic of sustainability, I want to start with pencils. The numbers regarding the amount of wood cut each year is astonishing to me and incredibly unnecessary in my opinion. With the amount of left over/ recycled paper we produce every year, it is an obvious solution to transition to paper wrapped pencils. This is already a product but I hope to see it become a more common alternative to wooden pencils. In terms of bread, seeing how simple and quick it is to make my own bread made me realize how much better it would be to just make my own bread at home. The plastic wrap around bread sold at the markets are non-biodegradable and harmful to the planet. Scoby is an organism that I had no idea existed prior to this class. The thought that it could infinitely reproduce and make anything from Kombucha to Biodegradable materials is insane to me. With more research, scoby clothing should be more widely used and accepted in the fashion industry, advocating for a more sustainable earth. Fungi (specifically mycelium) showed me that  there are plenty of viable alternatives to toxic and harmful ones such as resin. While they serve different purposes, the fact that sculptures can be made from something completely natural is exciting for the art community adding a more organic material to the mix as an alternative when creating sculpture. Kelp and Algae taught me about natural pigment and dyes that can be used as alternatives to harmful materials like oil paints, water colors, and inks. With just the things nature provides to us we can create our own colors and inks as a replacement to ones made artificially with coal and oil, etc. 

 

All in all, this class has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities in the world of sustainability that I had hardly considered in the past. For that, I am grateful.