S P E C I A L  T O P I C S : B I O T E C H + D E S I G N

Tuesday

On Tuesday, my partner Sue Bin and I had a class where we were given time to work independently on our final project. We were both excited to continue our research on how noise pollution affects the human brain, specifically focusing on noise pollution that we cannot hear.

This week, I finally got to taste my kombucha, and it was delicious! The apple cinnamon kombucha ended up tasting like apple cider that you would drink on Thanksgiving, and the mixed berry flavor tasted like Fanta. The only complaint I have is that the tea taste was not very strong, and I think this is because I used green tea instead of black tea when brewing it. The kombucha was definitely missing that nice sense of bitterness that I would have preferred.

During the first class of this week, we worked in our individual groups to continue working on our projects. For our final project about bread, I have been continuing to do research on rice bread and rice grains, specifically on the fermentation process of rice bread when it bakes, or lack thereof (rice does not have any gluten, which is an essential component of how regular wheat bread ferment). 

During the first class of this week, we worked in our individual groups to continue working on our projects. For our final project about bread, I have been continuing to do research on rice bread and rice grains, specifically on the fermentation process of rice bread when it bakes, or lack thereof (rice does not have any gluten, which is an essential component of how regular wheat bread ferment). 

During week 7, we were given time to work on our project Tuesday. For the final project, I have been researching the grain: wheat. During this week I looked further into the science of fermentation in bread. I found that fermentation is an anaerobic biological process that converts sugars and starches into simpler substances. In baking, it causes yeast and bacteria to convert sugars into carbon dioxide, among other things.

During the first half of class, we explored how new research in mushrooms could change the world as we know it. Scientists turned artists, and artists turned scientists are helming the movement on sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. While leather is a byproduct of the beef industry, plastic leather is produced to meet the unrealistic scale at which fashion suppliers manufacture their products. MycoWorks is a California-based company that has been developing a type of mushroom leather that needs very little post-processing.

The lecture on microscopy that the class received from a researcher at the UCLA facility provided a deeper understanding of the technology and its evolution. The lecturer introduced the earliest version of a microscope, which could only magnify something by 20 or 30 times. Today, however, we have small cameras that are capable of achieving the same level of magnification. The huge microscopes that the class saw in the previous session were capable of observing structures on an atomic level, which is several orders of magnitude smaller than the width of a hair.

2023 is the year of the rabbit. I am not personally very familiar with Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated. Beyond sitting around a table with loved ones and googling our corresponding zodiac animal, I haven't thought of it. This class was much more about the sharing of culture and the breaking of bread. Perhaps tying well into our previous class where we baked and shared bread with one another. We began the class by watching recordings of a talk hosted by several artists discussing a book they had all participated in creating featuring recipes from their own cultures.

We had the privilege of exploring a research facility at UCLA. The long journey between the Broad Art Center and the more science-oriented south campus served to highlight how segregated art and science are at our school. I have taken a few classes on the south side of campus, being interested in biology. It felt like the other students and faculty had preconceived ideas about my ability and effort in the classes as an art major. Similarly, I've observed a sense of superiority from students on the north campus. Maybe if the campus wasn't so segregated, this art vs.

Drawing an image of graphite using graphite felt a little romantic. You form a relationship with the objects you use regularly, even more so when an object supports your livelihood. Sketching out the molecular structure and creation of the pencil was almost like it was revealing its story to me. It was an exercise in mindfulness, not dissimilar to the meditation we practiced later in class. The sketching became a way to acknowledge how resource and labor-intensive it is to create something that is taken for granted.

TUESDAY 2/14:

On Thursday, Alexia and I dedicated several hours to refining the story and aesthetic of our book. We  established the key elements of the storyboard and made decisions regarding some of the pages and written content. The story will follow a little boy and a cowboy as they venture into the wilderness and explore the complexities of the stars and grief. We are also in the process of resolving plot gaps and concluding the story to start illustration and editing.

On Tuesday, Iman Person. and Prof. Gimzewski led the class to show our proposal for the final projects. They provided useful feedback and suggestions to us.

On Tuesday, Week 6, everyone gave a presentation about their projects. We were the second group to present and received great feedback from Iman Person. Prof. Gimzewski was obsessing over time; even after giving a ten-minute presentation, he made us stand in front of the classroom for an additional three minutes, saying, “you still have three minutes, stand there until someone has a question.” We were asked one question in those three minutes and then stood there in silence. Prof.

Matthew and I spent a few hours during/after class on Thursday finalizing and developing the visual aesthetic of our book. We also created the main parts of the storyboard and decided on some pages and some of the writing. We are now filling in plot holes and finishing the story to begin full illustration and editing. We definitely want to speak with Santiago more before finalizing our story. Honestly, we were hoping to speak with him sooner and get more of his input before developing this far, but hopefully soon.  I'll attach images of our sketches and notes very soon!!