WS:8 TAKE TWO (finally...)

Call to action:

Find your human identity. Connect yourself to history and community through your interests.

Topic:

I want to show people why I am so interested about how history has effected my current life and how my human identity comes into play. My example for the audience is my experience with homebrewing (and the process: hop harvest) and how I used that experience to contextualize myself within human history. To do this, my audience will be urged to ask themselves questions; WHO, what, when, where, why AM I?

What Interests you about your topic:

Well, the hops idea was brought to me-- I didn't go to it. This summer I participated in a collective that my friends and I organized. The idea is that we would pool our money and do projects that we wanted to do, facilitating our own learning. We did many projects such as canning food, making wine, planting garlic, and harvesting hops.

I felt almost sublime, doing these little projects. Okay, maybe sublime is a little bit over exaggerated, but it felt good. So I asked myself, why does it feel good? At first, I thought that it was the fact that I was connecting myself with the earth, which is definitely important, but maybe not a universal value.

What about the DIY culture? The idea that making things yourself is suddenly better than buying it at the store. Now, even people that aren't biased toward making (like my roommate), place value in doing things yourself.

I kept asking myself why, why, why do I care and why should other people care? I took apart my experience with the TSA project and I mapped the history behind it with the timeline. These projects also made me feel good.

Now, I'm not exactly a history buff, in fact, I don't really even like history. All those dates and memorization, not exactly my thing. But I loved making that timeline and I was sincerely interested and amazed. I was amazed to find out how prohibition of alcohol led up to the popularity of homebrewing and, ultimately, my experience with hop harvesting. So, again, why do I care?

I care because my timeline connected me and my current human experience with the past. Why do I care about the past? Because it has effected my human Identity. The attitudes, thoughts, fears, emotions, and actions of past humans has shaped who I am today. I saw that direct connection when I made my timeline.

Caring about people who have shaped who you are, there's a word for that: Community. Here are some words others say about community:

"With our society moving at a faster and more detached manner due to technology, busy schedules and the frequency at which we change jobs, homes and locations, it makes it harder and harder to feel any sense of community." Source.

"Usually community refers to a group of people living in a common geographical location. This group of people obeys some social norms and some common value among themselves. As such, there are so many communities the world over, separated by languages, cultures, or geographical locations. However, they are related to each other in some way or other, thus making entire world a one, single community.

In a community people live by associating with one another. The feeling of association is a common human feeling. This helps in establishing peace and harmony within a community. Without a feeling of association there will be chaos and disharmony in the society or community. Hence, this point plays an important role in making a lively and vibrant community." -Ajanta Bhattacharyya

List all the possible variables associated with your topic:

(Since I'm so far along, I'm listing the important aspects)

People

Community

History

Fun

Learning

The experience

Human Identity

What sources will you gather data from:

The internet, personal experience, my (homebrew expert) friends, my women's studies prof, family friends, my community.

What solutions exist to solve issues or problems related to your topic:

Community can kind of be a loaded word, so I need to be sure to define exactly what I mean. Even so, there are lots of studies that have to do with community and human identity. But, really, I have already solved the problem. I have already felt that deep connection to my community of humans through both my study on my learning process (hop TSA) and the history behind my experience (timeline).

The additional problems I have is getting people to care. I am making the assumption that people care about people and that may be a bit optimistic. I think I am going to stick with optimism though. I am also making the assumption that, as humans, we need human connection, so I need to fins some good sources on that as well.

What solutions do you propose and how can you motivate your audience to consider the solutions:

I hope that my audience is moved by my experience. Im not sure how to ensure that. I don't want to appear selfish, like it's all about me. Really, it's all about humans. I want to stress the idea of people and their unique identities and community.

The handmade look and hands on approach to format is important to say, "this project is more than me and my experience." I also want to make paper dolls of some people from my community to stress humanity and individuality.

I want to make an installation in a gallery (probably faked with a model or photoshop, but it's the idea that counts). I want to make invitations to a gallery event to get people to come together and interact. Though, so far, my timeline and tsa are somewhat large, I also want to make smaller, precious objects that people will take away with them; they are something tangible, which emphasizes human touch and connection.

Audience:

What is their age?

Where do they live?

What mode of transportation do they use?

Where do they shop for groceries?

What do they do in their spare time?

What is their socio-economic status?

Everyone is my audience. I suppose to do research and ask questions you need time, so the socio-econ status needs to allow that.

Where and How can the audience be reached?

I want to send out an invitation (see my basic sketches). On the invitation there would be a link to a website where you can invite more people; Just enter their address and I'll send an invite. The website will be really basic (ie google).

What are the desired goals or results of the project?

To get people to think differently and to consider their human community and its history in a world where it's easy to isolate yourself from others.

Form:

TSA, Timeline, mapping my immediate community, invite website, playing cards, mobiles, invitation wheel. All in a gallery space where people can convene.

Distribution:

Invitation, internet presence, word of mouth. But I want to keep it people-centric.

320 WS pg 8

A lot of life has happened this term and I'm behind in 320 infoD. Here is a compilation of some of the things I was supposed to turn in:

W/S pg 8

Call to action:

Connect yourself with what you consume!

Topic:

My personal exploration with what I consume (hops through homebrew beer) can inform others on how to make this sacred connection that seems to be lost in our modern world. Mostly, I want people to think, at the very least, about what they put in their bodies.

What Interests you about your topic:

Well, the hops idea was brought to me-- I didn't go to it. This summer I participated in a collective that my friends and I organized. The idea is that we would pool our money and do projects that we wanted to do, facilitating our own learning. We did many projects such as canning food, making wine, planting garlic, and harvesting hops.

I felt almost sublime, doing these little projects. Okay, maybe sublime is a little bit over exaggerated, but it felt good. This knowledge of harvesting and preserving used to be so common, but it got lost. Maybe it isn't necessary for me to know that I can steam juice grapes and pasteurize them in my own kitchen, but it is necessary to know to make a connection to the earth. Maybe, if everyone connected to the earth in some small way, we would care more about stopping what we do to destroy it.

And, Im not just a big hippie or nature freak or whatever you want to call it; I live in a big city, in a crappy apartment and I buy my food from the store. I dont live in a self sustaining commune. I am interested in this topic because I believe in it.

List all the possible variables associated with your topic:

(Since I'm so far along, I'm listing the important aspects)

People

The earth

History

Fun

Learning

The experience

Food

What sources will you gather data from:

The internet, personal experience, my (homebrew expert) friends, people who want to educate others about food (ie people's food co-op).

What solutions exist to solve issues or problems related to your topic:

Food education is not a new idea, people have been trying to do it for a long time. The DIY culture and the overwhelming knowledge of the internet are helpful for facilitating this idea of educating yourself.

What solutions do you propose and how can you motivate your audience to consider the solutions:

Mt solution is to show, by my own experience, that educating yourself about what you consume is necessary. I am definitely having trouble with the motivation part. Money, as we know, is a big motivator, but it isn't what's important for my project. I want people to want to learn.

Angles that could motivate: Learning is fun. I learned, so you can too. Learning benefits you as a person.

Audience:

What is their age? Everyone, specifically, adults.

Where do they live: Anywhere, specifically, the portland area.

What mode of transportation do they use? Anything, bikes, cars, public trans, walking, skating.

Where do they shop for groceries? Anywhere

What do they do in their spare time? Anything

What is their socio-economic status? They have to be able to read. Having a personal computer helps, but libraries have those.

I want my audience to be as wide as possible. People who are affluent, shop at whole foods, and own a prius may be more receptive to my call to action, but anyone can learn. I want everyone to learn.

Finding Experts

I need to know about where to look for human identity sources! I asked my Womens Studies professor for help.

"Hey Sally!

I know you said you're slow to answer email, but this kinda of has a long explanation.

I was wondering if you knew of any good sources that talk specifically about the influence of community on human identity. I know that sounds broad, but let me give you a quick rundown of my project (for my design class) and what I'm trying to achieve.

My project focuses on my experience with homebrewing, specifically harvesting hops this summer. In one piece, I map how hops have moved into my consciousness. In the other piece, I show how the Prohibition (of alcohol in america) has led to the popularity of homebrewing (and, thus, helped hops come into my consciousness). With my final pieces I want to show how my exploration with homebrewing and hops have connected me to my community and history and contextualized myself within the human timeline.

I want to encourage people (by my example) to connect themselves to history and community through their own interests.

I think that community is important when developing your own identity as a human, but I don't know where to look to find sources to back myself up. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks so much,

Jasmine Silver

(455U, gender in education)"

Term Long Project

Im collecting information from my community experts on community!! Here's the first email I sent them:

"Hey everyone,

I feel somewhat disconnected from our collective now that I am distracted by school, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about you all.

I am doing a project (for my design class) that is about my interest in growing, making, preserving, harvesting, and generally doing things myself instead of buying it at the store (which, of course, has been facilitated by you all).

My project focuses on my experience with homebrewing, specifically harvesting hops this summer. In one piece, I map how hops have moved into my consciousness. In the other piece, I show how the Prohibition (of alcohol in america) has led to the popularity of homebrewing (and, thus, helped hops come into my consciousness). With my final pieces I want to show how my exploration with homebrewing and hops have connected me to my community and history. I want to stress the importance of people and community.

You are people who are part of my community, so I want to hear from you! If you would write me a little something about why you want to be apart of "a group of folks dedicated to community, economic independence, health (individual and community), sustainability, an openness to bartering, and eventually opening a storefront retail cooperative," that would be really helpful!

Why are you interested in learning about food? How did you come to this interest? Who in your life has taught you about the importance of community? What community mean to you? Write whatever you want- I wana know about you!

THANKS!!!

Jasmine"

learning by doing

Okay, so today I did my first screen test to see what the best time to expose the screen would be. 10 to 12 minutes is good for my light box. That is about normal I think.

I was worried that the lights weren't bright enough.

BAD Idea Alert: If you dont have a dark room, dont dry your emulsion-ed screen in a black plastic bag-- it makes the emulsion dry unevenly and crinkly.

Solution: dry screen in an old hard suitcase. Results to come.

Light Box.

Old suitcase to dry screens in.

Some totems

I made this today

all because i didnt want to clean my room...

two totems

So here are the first two friendship totems. They are the story of our relationship; the silly things we do, from my perspective.

I had a hard time picking what friends to make into totems. Im not going to let you know what totem is what, but I still couldnt decide. Im probably going to end up making a lot of them. Ha ha.

Part of the reason for this project is that I have had a hard time feeling connected to people lately. I want to emphasize the connections I DO have with people. These totems are physical proof that Im not alone.

cristina cano

im going to make an album cover for my friend cristina cano.

i want to put type onto a piece of toast for her.

thats all i got so far.

This is no longer a school blog/ask the internet

I am starting this blog again because there are things I need to get out of my brain. I half-complete projects all the time, and I feel like at least there should be an archive of my process.

I also frequently have questions for the internet and I want this to be a place where I can post the answers.

Today, for example, I was wondering about totem poles. Im not quite sure what prompted my totem pole thoughts, but I suddenly felt the urge to know about them. Here is what the internet said:

The totem carvings tell a story, revealed only if one knows the meaning assigned to various animals, fish, birds and designs and where they are placed on the pole. There were a number of reasons why a particular figure or design was chosen by a clan. The connection between the clan and the various figures carved into the pole may have been as a result a special gift from the animal, fish or bird spirits. Or, there may have been a recent encounter with that figure. Some clans claimed to be descended from certain totem figures.

The meaning of many totem poles is lost with time. Even some of today's totem polescan not be understood except from one person - it's owner. Understanding the symbolism and stories hidden within the totem pole is more than a simple exercise in learning the attributed meanings of the figures. It is possible to know the meaning assigned a figure by the people of the Northwest, but it is not always possible to know its significance to the over-all story.

Totem figures are not Gods. Totems are not worshiped like religious icons nor used as a talisman. They were never used to ward off evil spirits and claims of bizarre, magical "totemism" practices are fiction. A totem pole may be compared to the symbolism portrayed in the Great Seal of the United States or a Coat of Arms. These national emblems are roughly equivalent to the meaning bound up in a totem pole except they identified clans not an entire nation. 

Totem poles are carved today by both native and non-native people. They have become a highly valued art form and a symbol of pride and tradition for the people of the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.manataka.org/page30.html

I want to make a zine. I have also been wondering about my personal connection to people. My friends, family, acquaintances. I think that it is really interesting that the meaning of totem poles cannot be known for sure because the overall story is important. I like the idea of mapping my own connections with people by making/telling totem pole stories.

One of the things I find interesting about the connection between two people is the unimportant secrets they have together. The secrets are just everyday things that happen- things that people dont think are important enough to tell. They dont necessarily need to be kept secret, but they are never told anyway. I dont have any good examples right now. Just unspoken actions that are seemingly unimportant.

Goals: I want to learn to draw my own totem poles. I want my totem poles to tell a story.

Ideas: What part of the story should I tell? Should it be all inclusive, or super specific? Can music be involved? Can i take all the people i know and make a totem pole that tells the story of us?

PUBLISHED-sort of

http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/modest-mouse-announce-u-s-tour

REfined- Mini Narratives

How She Met She 

Sixth and College

It seems so long ago that I lived in a dorm, but really it was just one year ago. I was a freshman. Silly. Scared. Anxious. So anxious. Every day I had a series of debilitating panic attacks. I knew no one, but a few girls that lived on my floor. And even then, I just knew their faces. I knew next to nothing about them- maybe their name. 

It was the first week of school. The university was trying to promote its super fun activities. They had a couple bands play one night. All the girls on my floor seemed so excited. Inside I wanted to scream. Scream so loud I would end up at home. But that wasn't going to happen. Portland was a long way away. So I went to the outdoor concert and tried to seem happy. I tried to seem together. 

The concert was fun, I guess. I didn't know who was playing. It wasn't rap. It wasn't too extreme in any musical direction, so it was nice for everyone. I noticed one of the girls had slipped away.  I would never want to be left out, myself, so I searched for her, just with my eyes. Smoking a cigarette in the designated area is where I spotted her. Sitting on the railing. Skate shoes. Jeans. A sort of college uniform. 

Hey man.

Hey.

How's it going.

Alright.

How are you.

Alright.

How could I say, "Oh you know just crippled with anxiety, how are you dear?" I couldn't. At the same time I couldn't stand the typical talk of majors and home towns, dreams and aspirations, but I would. And we did. For a little while. I don't remember who was the first to open up. I don't remember if it was blunt or gradual. But it happened. 

Everyone judges me for smoking here.

I don't.

Do you want a drag?

I don't smoke, but all my friends back home do. It's your choice, you know.

Yeah.

Im in the college of art and architecture.

Im in the college of art and architecture.

Im from Portland. 

Im from Seattle.

Im homesick.

Me too. Oh my god, me too.

And there it was. Two west coast girls missing the west coast. It was a strong bond to have in that small Idaho city of Moscow.

My Little Friend, Anxiety 

516 SW College

Everyone feels anxious from time to time. Everyone feels anxious from time to time. Everyone feels anxious from time to time. Everyone feels anxious from time to time. Everyone feels anxious from time to time. About 5% of U.S. adults experience generalized anxiety disorder at some point during their lifetime, and about 3% have it in any given year. 3% have it in any given year. 3% have it in any given year. Affects their body. Worrying is excessive. Worrying is excessive. Worrying is excessive. Everyone feels anxious from time to time. Anxiety is a normal human emotion. Anxiety is a normal human emotion. Anxiety is a normal human emotion. Feelings of terror that strike without warning. Fear and terror. Feeling a loss of control. Extremely anxious and fearful. All-overs, angst, ants in pants, apprehension, botheration, butterflies, care, cold sweat, concern, creeps, disquiet, disquietude, distress, doubt, downer, drag, dread, fidgets, flap, foreboding, fretfulness, fuss, goose bumps, heebie-jeebies, jitters, jumps, misery, misgiving, mistrust, nail-biting, needles, nervousness, panic, pins and needles, restlessness, shakes, shivers, solicitude, suffering, suspense, sweat, trouble, uncertainty, unease, uneasiness, watchfulness, willies, worriment. Everyone feels anxious from time to time. Anxiety is a normal human emotion.

(source webmd.org and dictionary.com)

Home Sweet Home

South Park Blocks

About halfway through my semester in Idaho I decided that I would finish out the term and then go home to Portland. Home was such a loaded word for me. Full of love and joy and happiness. My expectation of home was so great. 

When I came back to Portland I moved back in with my dad. Of course, I was so excited for home, home, home, that when I arrived I was devastated by reality. All the progress I had made, emotionally, was destroyed. I was scared again. Scared for what could come next.

Now I live Downtown, in the heart of PSU. And it's finally home. Really home. Home with all the comforts. I still have my bad days, but now I have a home.

Close But Far

Ninth and Montgomery

Close

All night

Movies

Couches

Laughing

Exploring the wilderness-

of fake plants.

Does that reflect?

I suppose

Im leaving

Im preoccupied

I cant

You wont.

Was far

Now close

But I still cant,

If you still wont. 

Two Unrealistic Fears

Ninth from Mill to Market

As I approach the streetcar I fear it will ring its bell at me. It makes me feel so guilty. 

I like to be efficient when walking around town. If there are no cars, I cross even when the signal says not to walk. I stop, I look, I listen, and I fear I will be pulled over for jaywalking. 

Inside Joke

Tenth and Main

In the summer a group of old people sit outside their decorative, but worn, apartment building. They smoke and talk and tan. It's really sweet. They remind me of the mother's story in Requiem for a Dream. I think about it every time I pass that building.

The Dog And The Bell

Tenth and Yamhill

A psychologist rang a bell and then gave the dog it's food everyday for a while. They dog would salivate and eat it's food. One day the psychologist rang the bell, but did not give the dog it's food. The dog salivated without smell or sight of the food. The dog salivated to the sound of the bell. The End.  

Uncomfortable Unemployment

Tenth and Stark

"Could you sign that one for me."

"Hi, how are you guys doing tonight?"

"Seven dollars before five, nine dollars after, and six dollars for students, seniors, and teachers."

"No, we don't validate parking, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, let me take you back. So we have six screens, which I think is pretty substantial for the space we have here. They are all digital projection. Here we are, this is one of our mid-size theaters, we range from 38-62 seats in each theater. There are cocktail tables in the back and the front, then there's the more regular theater seating in the middle- kind of like first class. We have trays, so even if there is no room to get a table you can still eat while you watch. We have a full bar and restaurant menu, as well as espresso and concession items."

"We can actually help you inside."

"Let me check for you, hold on."

"There are about six minutes of previews"

"Have a good night."

Emily

1022 SW Stark

I miss you like bananas miss their peel. 

-Emily

I miss you like I miss a water buffalo in a drought. 

-Jasmine

Routine Narrative

Routine: Walking to Stumptown and The Ace to brainstorm. 

Start 351pm

Getting ready to leave, I'm always running late- I noticed the clock and I would like so say that I left that very moment, but really I had to grab a few more things before I was out the door. 

Immediately outside my door I look across the street. It's the fire station. I can see a big screen TV through the window. Someone is watching TV.

I turn towards sixth street and I am briefly serenaded by the music next door- the PSU outdoor center. It's a garage filled with outdoor equipment. They are always playing loud music, but it's ok because it's usually good music.

As I turn onto sixth I am walking toward the Ondine dorm. It seems like there are always really young kids outside that dorm. Even though they are probably not more than a year younger than me, it seems so long ago when I lived in a dorm. But I was one of those "kids." I always have memories of the university of idaho when I walk past that dorm. 

Along my entire walk I notice the bikes. I have my mom's old mountain bike. I'm kind of self conscious about it because everyone in Portland is all about bikes. So I compare my bike to all the other bikes along my way. It's kind of like window shopping. 

As I walk down sixth I notice all the sounds. I don't really like to walk with my ipod because I like to listen to the sounds of the world. Ha. But it's true. On my left there is the sound of bikes and cars passing. In front and behind me I can hear clicking heals, trudging boots, and swishing clothes. 

I walk past the nicest McDonalds ever and then I get annoyed because I have to unnecessarily cross the street because of construction.  I'm big on walking efficiently, but the construction make me walk inefficiently. 

I am also annoyed by the drizzly rain that makes my hair extra frizzy. 

One of the reasons I walk to Stumptown is because I've had some anxiety problems and one of the solutions is to get out of my house. So as I am walking I can actually feel my chest  loosen as the anxiety disappears.

I turn up toward Broadway and I notice the beautiful old PSU buildings. The upper walkways play with the light. I love the shadows that they cast. 

I love this area, from my house to the park blocks. It is the area where I run into people I know. It feels really busy during school. Everyone is making progress, it seems. I like the way that feels. 

I walk up through campus (from broadway to park), under the walkways. Its a brief escape from the rain. 

In the park blocks. I pass the view, where my old friend Kristy lives. We had a falling out, so it kind of hurts to be reminded of her. We live so close.

I can feel the cobble stones beneath my feet. It reminds me that I have poorly made shoes.

I have several unreasonable anxieties. One of them is that whenever I walk across the street car tracks I worry that it will ring its bell at me. So when I walk through the park blocks and across the tracks, I half hope I will see the street car (so I wouldn't have to walk the whole way), but I half hope I wont (so it wont ring its bell at me). It is a ridiculous internal conflict that I have all the time. 

I also have a semi-irrational fear about being ticketed for jay walking. In the park blocks I go exactly to the white striped crosswalk. It brings to mind the scenario I often play out in my head while walking. A lot of the time I cross the street before the signal portrays the walk signal, but I cross from corner to corner and I look both ways. My friend once told me that he got stopped for jay walking, which probably triggered my irrational fear of getting ticketed for jay walking. In my head I plan out what I would say to the cop that stopped me. I would want to be condescending  and say something like "Well my mother taught me to stop, look, and listen before crossing from corner to corner." But in reality I would be super polite.

As I keep walking I pass the art museum. I love the art museum, for the most part, but I really don't like one of the out door sculptures. It is out front and really colorful  in a cartoony way. It reminds me of colorful bacon. I think that it makes the museum look stupid because the sculpture is not visually pleasing- in my opinion. 

After I pass the museum, I often look to my right- over the Schnitz- to look at the Hilton peeking out over the top. I can see the Hilton from many places around Portland. I love the Hilton sign. Its neon lights makes it look old-ish, like the typography of old hollywood or something. 

407p

At the end of the park blocks I turn up to tenth. There is an old apartment building that reminds me of the movie Requiem for a Dream because during the summer a group of old people sit outside smoking cigarettes, like the Mother and her friends in the movie. I haven't seen them out there in a long time, though, because of the weather.

I hear the street car and I hope it doesn't ring its bell at me. A wave of anxiety comes over me.

Taylor and Tenth

Outside the Central Library smells like cigarettes. There are trees out front, but no grass at the base of the trees. I always wonder why they city doesn't plant some. It would make the library look so much better. Maybe it gets ruined too quickly by the sidewalk traffic. Maybe they city doesn't want homeless people sleeping there. That would be a sad reason in my opinion. I notice the dirty bikes. There are always dirty bikes in front of the library. It makes me feel less self conscious about my own bike.

I hear the max bell. It signals some anxiety because there are many times when I've had to run for the max. The bell means I'm too late.

I hear yelling. It is a woman. She looks homeless. She is screaming at the top of her lungs. It makes me a little uncomfortable. But what makes me the most uncomfortable is that I can't do anything about it. I feel annoyed by her yelling, but also guilty for feeling annoyed. The woman probably cant do anything about her situation.

Jake's restaurant smells so good at all hours of the day. It's such a contrast to the smell of the transient filled central library area, but they are so close in vicinity. I wonder if that is morally wrong.

413p

I notice my bag with computer in tow is becoming a burden to my shoulder. I can see pita pit, so I'm almost there. 

10th and Stark

I used to love this street corner. But now when I walk by it I feel a pang of pain. I used to work at the Living Room Theaters. I loved that place and a worked really hard, going above and beyond my job description to make it look nice. Business-wise they are a little unorganized, but that allowed me to have more freedom to help them get organized. One day I was fired. I was fired because someone told the owner that they heard me say that I let my friends in to see free movie all the time. Which isn't true. Either someone made it up, or the owner just needed a reason to fire me and he made it up. There was no discussion, I was just fired. No solid reason, no closure. I try not to see me reflection in the theater's glassy windows.

I built my whole Portland world around my job there. Now it hurts to even walk by it. 

I turn away from LRT toward The Ace Hotel and Stumptown coffee- my destination for brainstorming. As I walk inside the taint of the theater memories and anxiety disappear. It smells like roasting coffee and the lighting is dim. It's such a comforting environment. I cant wait to sit and think for a while.

416p