Reflections so far

I want to reflect on how the project has gone so far, discussing the highs and lows and outlining space for improvement. As a whole I have enjoyed this project and am indeed happy in the direction it appears to be going in for exhibition. I wish I had been able to settle on a direction to take this project in a little sooner than I did but once the decision was made I have been happy with its progress. Therefore something I am keen to work on is my time management, being stricter with myself, spending less time thinking and more time doing.
I also fear that I perhaps spent a little too much time on this idea of editing. Spending too long deciding on appropriate rules and regulations. But now this stage of my project is complete, it has worked out far better than I was expecting, having built a dialogue of its own, away from the original story. A dialogue I am keen to interpret into my final piece, as explained below.
Still along this theme of time, I would have been greatly intrigued to play around with growing my own weeds and moss, if I had allowed more time. This is something I intend to pursue in the future.
As for my final outcome, that is yet to take its own path, in the next few days I intend to play with the preservation of my dandelions, experimenting with what forms of liquid will preserve and hold its shape, without destroying the beauty of their form.

I propose,

For the exhibition,

I have a proposal,

An idea of intent,

I want to preserve dandelion seed heads in glass jars, 

treating the dandelion as a symbol of a seed bomb of the city.

Playing with both the idea;

of preserving something others would rather take out with a 

quick swipe of the lawn mower

and

of containing it, treating it as a nemesis of the city,

containing it to prevent contamination.

I plan to present this in an array of glass jars

hanging from the ceiling

a garden in the sky

labeled of course,, but where the correct information should lie,

it will be replaced by whisperings of pollen  

a fever trying to escape,,

Problem
In deciding and discovering how best to proceed towards preserving 

Formaldehyde?

On the topic of preservation, an artist whom immediately springs to mind is Damien Hirst,

an artist whom both intrigues and sickens me.
Same as applies to my earlier post of Pickled and Preserved, Hirsts animal based artworks should on morals make my blood boil, his attitude towards life is foul, setting up greenhouses to gas butterflies, paying ridiculous amounts of money for someone to kill a shark, putting the whole life cycle of a fly in a box, in a gallery, inviting the viewer to watch it as it perishes.
And he does sicken me, incredibly, but I cannot help but be intrigued, perhaps even to the extent of being attracted.
But this is off topic,

 

I am looking for a way to preserve.

Damien Hirst uses formaldehyde solution.
Although I still don't understand how this enables his pieces to float?
This could be out of complete ignorance.
But as far as I can gather formaldehyde is a liquid solution.

But what am I to use?
I need some form of clear solution that preferably is denser than water, something that preferably could set? I shall try some vegetarian gelatine? Although not particularly accurate or honest,,

To Preserve

The idea I want to play with for exhibition 

is this idea of preserving the dandelion,

but how to preserve and present is the question in hand?

Do I want them free standing or preserved in something?

But besides the point 

there is also something magical in the collected seed, 

 their lightness of touch, allows an image of levitation, 

it could be the influx, the influx of plantation

(not a very good image, difficult to photograph)

Whatever decision is made, a key point must remain in the image of the preserved,

That is what we are currently striving for,,

Conclusive:: An Idea,,
An idea for the combination,
 I want these seeds heads to be preserved, a seed bomb, being contained,
almost in such a manor as the pickled and preserved images below,
but as for the labels, the labels of little mutterings of a pollen edit,,

How to preserve, is there some kind of liquid i could use to submerge them in without destroying their form?

Interaction

To bring it all together, the exhibition is looming ever closer,

Edit Update

I am currently still working on the edit of Pollen, I have complied a stricter edit, but for clarity and conclusion, I feel it needs to be off the whole book, a slow process but it is indeed almost complete.

My aim for this finished edit is still a little unknown,

I also have a growing collection of preserved dandelions
preserving the city's nemesis,
so to speak

Pollen Update
I have yet to complete the book, but I have seemingly come to the end of the relevant parts, 
From here on out, the story continues in the dream, although potentially has some of the most beautiful narrative, it is no longer the correct narrative.
So perhaps I shall stop here.

The wait is over, time to see what has been revealed. 

I have thirteen pages of pollen narrative,
ranging from densely worded to sparsely populated.
I am happy with the result of the narrative,
and the order is has chosen for itself. 

Thoughts on Exhibition

First some notes on artists whom use growth in their practice

An artist I have previously mentioned

Anna Garforth

Garforth uses moss amongst other things as an alternative process of typography.

The work above she constructed into a small derelict area that was about to be knocked down to be renovated into flats, but Garforth snuck in first to leave them a little message.

I like the use of the moss, and am intrigued as to how first she managed to construct it and secondly as to how she sourced the moss.

I was earlier intrigued by this prospect of growing my own moss, a seemingly relatively easy process, involving blending together beer and a little moss before spraying it onto the desired surface, but a lengthily one, taking up to two seasons to grow. 

Unfortunately time is currently not on my side,

Another artist of intrigue

Martin Azua

whom by leaving pots in certain areas, lets nature determine the final outcome for him.

The pots he creates are very porous white ceramic vases, therefore allowing for mosses and other organic growths to colonize upon the surface, letting natures natural patterns to take hold.

Once again absolutely beautiful results and an incredibly intriguing idea but a lengthily process.


 As for my exhibition
I want to play with the preservation of the dandelion, with the influx of an edit of Pollen.
Preserving that, that you assume to be a weed,  

"A Mancunian Paradise that nobody wanted"

PICKLED AND PRESERVED

I have a peculiar,

intrigue

for the pickled and preserved 

i.e. wet specimens

something I find to both be grotesque and strangely appealing.
I am indeed a vegan therefore by morals I should be completely opposed to this,
and morally I am

but unfortunately that does not condemn my appeal.
I think one of the main points of notice is the jars they are concealed within.
All these peculiar curiosities locked with glass jars,,,,

-----------------------

As for my own practice it is this idea of preserving,
preserving that which may not initially invite the idea of being preserved,
preserving something that is commonly a sign of disregard. 

POLLEN UPDATE

So now we have two edits, two different misinterpreted narratives, of opposite effect.

One is too edited,

One is not edited enough,

Lets spark some middle ground,

The under edited one gives too much away, too much text is involved, 

whereas,

The overly edited is missing out on any intrigue of the book

But how to design a rule for middle ground?

Okay lets try a stricter edit without specified rules but with a stricter heart.
but lets try no punctuation,,

Therefore every part of extracted text must link to the takeover,
not to the pure mention of nature,
it must link directly to the takeover through the pollen,

TRIFFIDS

The arrival of the Triffids,

After recommended in tutorials, that I branch out into other sci-fi/plant invasion literature,

With the initial recommendation of

"The Day of the Triffids"

by John Wyndham.

It was ordered and has now arrived.

I first began by watching the two part TV series, to get a feel for the story.

The story was intriguing, the plants are carnivorous, genetically modified by humans for our own gain,

but of course everything goes bottoms up and they escape.

But the moment that intrigues me most is when the Triffids begin to spore,

There is pollen everywhere, like a snowstorm of breeding, dangerous in intention, beautiful in image.

So let us begin the editing.
But what rules to apply?

RICHARD SOLOMON

Richard Solomon is an American Artist.

A self claimed "SeedSharmen", an environmental artist,
The above image is off his seed orbs, where he picks Goats Beard and encapsulates it in glass orbs,
I am intrigued as to how he does it;
He cuts the plant before it is ready to bloom, places it in water and then as it begins to open he places it inside the glass orb, allowing it to bloom once within.

It is a simple image but a beautiful delicate one.

I personally now have six dandelion seed heads bloomed and ready to go, but I am unsure of what purpose I want them for,,
I fear they are too literal, too obvious, far too basic.

One of my Dandelion Seeds Hatched

Fabulous,

But what to do with it now, 

I spoke to soon,

My seedling had a little accident, resulting, in loosing half his heart,

AND THE DEED WAS DONE

But this failure of a finale has been hair-sprayed in the hope of preservation. 

Further notes upon editing;;

okay so I intend to give myself a couple of different rules and regulations, to strictly follow in order to obtain a stricter narrative, to find a greater intrigue,,
My biggest problem currently is deciding which part of the text to use, I think for now I shall just start from the beginning, as with the 1st, this may change if a better plan follows,, 

RULE  NO.1

• to extract only the singular words that relate specifically to plant life,  hay fever included but only direct, no snorts or sneezes

But does John Barleycorn count?
I think Barleycorn should,
and what about Mother Earth? [Included]
But from what I am about to say Mother Earth doesn't comply with this,
So should not have been included,
RULE NO.1, should be every word analyzed alone
 

sidenotesidenote:

but Noons writes so fabulously,

"the morning coming on strong

in a mini-dress of orange"

I want to include it all.

And what about punctuation?

Okay we will allow punctuation, but only if it directly follows a word,

For example Flowers! or earth,

Maybe I should have included the sneeze, 

There is no narrative, the sneeze is the result of the invasion

and the invasion is by the hand of the plant,

but where to draw the line?

So I am up to page 38,
this is a long and tedious expedition,
especially as I feel it would work best with the book done as a whole
per different edit, building up in intensity as the narrative grows,
quite literally,,,
but in other news,,
after originally deciding this rule was dull,
missing out on all the interest,
Noons grotesque and dark writing style,.
It has indeed built something of far different intentions,
although the variety of words is limited, this allows for
something strangely powerful

Example;;
trees flowers hayfever, grass flower-girl, flowers. mud flowers! pollen sap. grow flowers . . . soil. grass earth, sneezing flowers flowers sneezing, flowers Petunia. Jasmine. Rosemary. Primrose. roots flowers flowers trees oak tree. floral petals. sneeze. hayfever, pollen. petals, Leaves oak tree. flowers flowers leaves tree, sneeze hayfever flower ,,,,,
and so it continues  

RUiNS AND REMEDIES

[[as promised]]

I began this project with an intrigue into ruins, after seeing 

a souvenir book of romantic views of Rome

in special collections.

It fascinated me that this large book of etchings of ruins was described as romantic,
not that i disagree,
but
it is a peculiar notion,,
how we see ruined and derelict buildings and sites,,
stories from our past in tatters,,
as romantic?

full circle
It appears my project has rotated the full circle, back to beginnings,,
our romantic ruins are locations where nature has started to reclaim the land, where plant life is grasping back what originally belonged to itself.
but
surely this plant life, is indeed the weeds we all love to hate

so therefore ruins are buildings of disrepair, forgotten places of our past, overtaken by weeds,
do you really deem that to be romantic?

Pollen and other Encounters

I need to find a way to edit my text,, a set of rules and regulations to apply to the edit,,

Does hay fever count as plant life? It is linked but is it necessary?

Should I use whole sentences or singular relevant words?

If I make the edits stricter,, Do I start a fresh or edit from the edits?

A rule book must be made,, encounters

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Profile
D.O.B. - 21/09/1991
I am currently a first year student on the (BA) Textiles in Practice course at Manchester School of Art, I am a keen creative and explorer intrigued by the conceptual and the world around us.

Qualifications
GCSE'S - 2A*s, 6A's, 2B's and a C
Completed a summer course in Textile Design in Central Saint Martins in 2009
A Levels:
AS - A in Applied Art and a B in Mathematics
A2 - A* in Art and Design and an A* in Textiles
Diploma in Foundation Studies - Art and Design

Past Job Experience
Experience in charity shop work, having volunteered in both Cancer Research UK and Oxfam,
-- where I was involved with sorting and labeling stock
Worked as a waitress in Radyr Golf Club from March 2008 till August 2011 
-- where I was involved with taking orders, serving, clearing and till trained
Volunteered to work at Leeds Festival August 2011
-- where I was involved with patrolling the camp sites, on hand to help anyone that need ed assistance

Interests
I have a keen interest in travel and exploring having completed my bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh award and working towards my gold. I have also been involved with projects that have taken me to Los Angeles to meet and learn about their youth clubs.

Dandelion seeds,

Dandelions and weeds,

If the city was to be taken over by plant life,

Would it be at the hand of the

Dandelion?

Weed Definition,

Verb,

 1 a wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants:

Looking around Manchester and a lot of the greenery that you see, is weeds, unwanted growth that has clung on to any surface available, attempting to re-claim the land that once belonged to them.

These weeds aren't welcomed, they are associated with sites that have grown into disrepair, sites where no-one is bothered about keeping the streets clean, where there is no-one on hand to pick these unwanted outsiders. Therefor weeds are surely related to abandoned spaces, when they are allowed to take hold, making the space there own, but isn't there something romantic in that?

((Full Circle))((Explantation of Romantic Spaces to Follow))

So if the city was to become derelict and abandoned would this be what would take hold? 

Would this be what would later come to be described as romantic?

At what point does a weed stop being a weed? Who is to determine whether the plant is wanted or unwanted?

 

 

 How to grow Danelions?

Encouraging the very weed everybody curses?

I have collected some seeds,,,,

Notes on Growth

I have been looking into growing within found objects and how to allow the plant to survive and flourish. The basics of the idea is that as long as your object has drainage holes in the bottom and space for the plant to grow from the top, then you should be able to grow something in anything.

I was originally fascinated by this idea of growing plants in water,,,

,,but that was in ignorance. As by purely submersing the roots in water is a means for drowning the plant. That is also why to grow a plant in some form of container or object it needs the drainage holes, to prevent from it being over-watered and the roots suffocating.

I still mean to explore this further, as I like this idea of growing outside of soil.

Next Point;;Growing within found objects

The artist/designer Anna Garforth plays with a number of sustainable design concepts, writing messages out of moss in public spaces and creating responses to the industrial world around us. In particular I am intrigued by her HeadGardener project that she created for Guerrilla Gardening.

 http://crosshatchling.co.uk/Headgardner.html

Where she has planted up recycled milk bottle cartons and put them up around the city. I like this fusion of the recycled object and the plant.

Another intrigue also in relation to Guerrilla Gardening and in response to the variety of things you can turn into a planter are these plastic toy dinosaurs, where they have been repainted, a whole cut out of the top and drainage holes added to the bottom.

 

http://www.theplaidpigeon.com/

This is a very crafty project but I like the appeal of how easy it in fact is to create your own planter out of almost anything you deem fit, as long as you apply the general runes of drainage

Final Point;;;

Hulme Community Garden Center

Within Hulme Community Garden Center, there are Community Gardens around the back and what really caught my eye was these planted up old boots. Many of them seemed to be planted up with succulents as with the dinosaurs above. I would assume as these plants are quite hardy they are more likely to survive in the peculiar environment of inside a miscellaneous object.

This growth of within the unnatural object is something i want to pursue.

Refresh/Reconsider/Reflect

My work seems to be going in a number of different directions,

I need to pull it back in,

I am unsure of where I want to take it for exhibition, I am playing with both the idea of making a response to an industrial city, playing with an urban garden, but being careful not to make it too commercial.

((wow i dreamt of string gardens last eve))

The string gardens are an increasingly popular trend amongst house owners at the moment, I need to be very cautious not to purely recreate this. Where is my response? What am I trying to say?

Then on the other hand, I have this inquiry into creating a new dialogue through the extraction of text from Pollen. This idea is working well, but once again I am not entirely sure where it is I want to take it and how i can entwine it with my other work.

Notes on Pollen:

I need to make the rules of extraction further, I am currently not editing out enough of the rest of the story, letting my personal love for the whole getting in the way of creating something new and exciting.

Also

perhaps look to other narratives involving the same theme,

The day of the Triffids by John Wyndham is on order as recommended.

So where does this leave me?

I have also been collecting, collecting different types of recycled jars and objects with the intention of growing from them, I am intrigued by the idea of creating some form of installation where the growth is kind of taking over. Taking back the city. What will Manchester be like in another 100 years?

But what I think is key here, is an understanding for narrowing down my materials. With the string gardens currently I am using any plant I can get hold of // is suitable for growing inside. As for the recycled materials, I am using anything I can get my hands on or that I find attractive. In both cases there is no reasoning or meaning behind each object. This needs to change.

If none of my materials mean anything to me, how am I supposed to convince the viewer that this is nothing more than an indoor garden.

So in conclusion, points to follow up//

I need to further the text extraction,
I need to explore more means of extraction.

I need to source my materials and find a direction within them,,