I think it's coming together! Creating a community arts event answers the brief in a literal sense and also gives the BF an annual event to celebrate art, culture, food and community engagement. Everything looks so much better in the sunlight! For that reason alone, the summer is the ideal time for an event, perhaps tied in with the ending of the second permaculture course on Aug 17? It also opens up playing with the light and projections in the evening.

So, the worm seems to be the protagonist so far, and we could have fun playing with this character. I've noticed they have some cute names like lob worm! also looking at glow worms could be good for the evening, I'm thinking light installations in the woodland or lantern worm making workshops? The can is cool as a recycling reference too and could be interesting acoustically?

I think a tree house is a great way of involving the community in building something for the future. And the squirrel obstacle course is ace!

We should definitely link the inside with the outside  with sound, and maybe trees projected inside, and vice versa. I like the idea of making a bridge somehow. The river is great for boat building or floating our icon or objects further afield. Also, projections onto the water will look great, and maybe the bridge, or hanging banners or a piece of art down? I like the idea of a cocoon or web or some kind of habitat, or maybe even a giant nest? maybe we could make an inventory of all the animals, birds and insects there and give them all some function  or look at how they are connected and behave. I like the Adella Pollard's queen bee idea! I like the idea of animals prints, footprints, traces, the marks they make...

I am interested in how the process of decay and recycling is central to the BF. I would like to look more closely at the life cycle of an organism and its transformation. I really like fungi, visually, and want to look at it on a microscopic level and then maybe make large scale drawings or installations from projected images. Also slime mold, has potential, it can solve problems and create intricate networking systems, a bit like the BF.

There's loads of workshop potential, and  flax and food are great materials... 

I can't wait to get in there and start making! 

I remember Vinny saying he could collaborate also, may be worth talking to him, is his background graphic design? 

Here is the wonderful slime mold at work

Bjork's Biophillia - I'm not suggesting that Vinny makes work like this, but there is something about the sensory and spherical here that makes me think of the BF

Project Brief

Considering the only 'brief' we were given was 'make something for the future', thinking about each word in that phrase...

Make

Something

For

The

Future

.

a few more thoughts

 Vincent's plant specimens! Should we buy him a watering can for xmas?

 2nd floor space. Very cold and yellow!

Notes and ideas


Dried Flax -  
What did we think of this? As a material? As an educational tool? 

"Flax is grown both for its seeds and for its fibers. Various parts of the plant have been used to make fabric, dye, paper, medicines, fishing nets, hair gels, and soap. Flax seed is the source of linseed oil, which has uses as an edible oil, as a nutritional supplement and as an ingredient in many wood finishing products. It is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens." (Wikipedia)

The possibilities are endless! Potentially good workshop material?

Notes on worms

-Worms came out of the sea 5 million years ago!

-These are key stone to biospheric systems. 

-Tracking devices - GPS systems on worms..

-Worms know their own soils.

The forest

-Growing plants to be used in the kitchen

-Existing plants -e.g. nettles: to keep the forest protected... to be used in herbal tea...

-Trees... Fungi.. mushrooms - uses in the kitchen...

The Biosphere

-A self contained unit. A closed system.

-When we look from space we see the biosphere.

-Levels of worlds/ worlds within worlds - circular element - 

----every-single-thing-matters----

A city is too much of a huge system. The biosphere is looking back into nature/the basic organic systems.

-Resilience means being able to coil back.

-The city itself becomes more resilient.

BF Icon

-The  Biospheric Foundation needs an icon to make the project more known, similarly to URBAN Splash and the cow sculptures, now outside each of their buildings as a landmark. 

We could start thinking more small scale and BF related, eg... bees, worms, flowers, nuts, seeds, vegetables, mushrooms, plants, etc....

-Projection idea.. on river? What about animated wriggling worms? Could be a connection because of their evolutionary History.... ? 

Community Engagement

-Vincent's close links to the local councellors means that community engagement/workshops can be set up easily by the Biospheric Foundation and funding applications can be put in. 

-Thinking about exploring nature and getting people interested...

-Maybe a worm hunt for little kids? Like an easter egg hunt but with worms? /(fake worms)? Could we dye worms with food colouring? Find the blue worms!

-The worm charming idea -  thinking more along the lines of getting groups of kids/youths to come together for a common purpose. I like the idea of a competitive element. 

Music - raindances...... -

A raindance is something that I've done in my music workshops, where a group of us would sit around a table, closing our eyes, and pattering on the table with our fingertips. Listening only to each other we guided ourselves and the sounds to make thunderstorms.... this could go on for 10-15 mins and gradually die down again. Its a very therapeutic exercise and also very funny to take part in. I've been thinking about it a lot in relation to worm charming and what worms like, etc... 

-I've been thinking about some sort of Sporting Activity... 

e.g. maybe we could set up a relay track at the B.F, either upstairs or outside, getting the youths excited about not only competing with each other but working with each other...

Perhaps rather than a baton, using a carrot... for example?! Perhaps something that they grew in the garden that day.. etc... 

-Is anyone familiar with the artist Nora Fok? -She makes little creatures out of leaves/plant materials... very inspiring for a workshop idea...

Adela Pollard - photos of 'Sweeten my Life' - Queen bee community involved/ interactive performance:

http://www.axisweb.org/seCVPG.aspx?ArtistID=11933

here's another, 'Slug Infestation':

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Great ideas/thoughts everyone. 

Mel, I agree, something fun like a squirrel obstacle course would be very suited. 

The more fun and the more bizarre = the more enjoyable and the more memorable!

Nice ideas Beth. Linking inside and outside should be on the agenda! After all, the project is not only using the produce grown there but also working with local farmers to bring in arable crops... also its research focussed, so is reaching and connecting inside and outside... Tin can phone.... hmmm there's a thought!!!

Thoughts

Really great stuff so far, particularly in favour of:
 
Treehouse/tree sculpture in the forest garden, involving community members;

Figuring out/discovering/inventing alternative ways of advertising the BF to the community - projections/using the river  or forest garden to create some kind of sign/symbols etc? (not really sure what I mean by that!?)

I also think it would be great if we could try and form a connection between the inside and outside -
 so I don't know if we would be able to get round to working in the forest garden AND inside somewhere (I hope we will, we could always continue this?), but either way I think a connection between the outside and inside would form perhaps quite a powerful and related symbol or gesture, that would resonate quite loudly with the whole Biospheric Foundation ideology.....

Perhaps we could create an actual connection in the form of a sculpture, or perhaps we could do some sound recordings of the forest garden and play them inside, and vice versa?

I like the symbolism of the worm charming and the can of worms Estelle, I think that could link in somewhere, maybe we could make a giant tin can telephone that stretches over from the BF, right over the river!


Over all, I think it's a great idea to keep what we do in a very positive and 'for the future' kind of outlook

More photographs from the Biospheric Foundation site visit

not as sharp as yours Jayne but look how sunny it was!

Photos from Biospheric Foundation site visit

Notes/Thoughts from Biospheric Foundation visit 17/11/2011

THINGS i.e. IDEAS

Series of events/projects involving the community

(culminating in a large-scale event?)

pick out one idea from a 'lottery' (The Babylon Lottery)

>whilst resident at the BF<

(1 week/1 day a week over several weeks)

Alternative methods of getting messages to the community (promoting the BF) - not via social media [post?]

Totem Pole

Subtle..(cows, superlambananas - iconic)

Treehouse! Invite the community to help build a treehouse - observation tower (bird watching! - bird watching for beginners workshop?) project things from treehouse onto building...

'Blackboards' - boarded up ground floor windows - chalk boards? projections?

Projections onto bridge

River - boats - boat making project/workshop?

Cooking workshops

Increasing the amount of worms in forest garden - would attract more birds.

Growing food in forest garden (and roof garden) - would attract more birds.

How to stop birds (and other animals - squirrels, hedgehogs, foxes) from eating the food produce?

- make bird feeders to keep them away from the human food? bird feeder making workshop?

Squirrel obstacle course!

> can we do things that are just for fun? If they still get people involved? <

Other notes from last week's visit:

*Permaculture Course

23-29 Jun 2012

11-17 Aug 2012

http://biosphericfoundation.com/PDC

manchesterlab.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/day-79-biospheric-foundation-permaculture-design-course/

around 25 people doing the course

*Blackfriars community

getting young offenders(?) -under 25 to transfer their skills of growing cannabis to growing food? instead of Community Service

*Anaconda Cut

http://www.flickr.com/photos/soundman/2830040495/

Visuals and Pollen

The bee article made me think of the artist Lisa Kronenburg and her work 'Pollen Trail', exhibited in a woodland exhibition called 'In The Woods Today', on a fruit farm in Cheshire, this summer:

http://inthewoodstoday2011.blogspot.com/

There's lots of visual examples here of thinking about exploring/exhibiting in the natural envionment...

the bee's knees

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/nov/11/bees-business-corporate-beehive

Initial Thoughts

Worms - Metaphors - Language - The Babylon Lottery... How does this parallel to the Biospheric Foundation?

Why open a can of worms?

What could the worms represent?

How do we charm the worms? http://www.wormcharming.com/

If the worms represent the local council, the government, or the Arts Council England, how do we charm the worms out of the can? Do we play them music? Do we jump up and down on them? Do we prod them with a fork?

What if the can represents the Biospheric Foundation?

Do we want the worms to come out of the can? or go back into the can?

What is allowed in and out of the system?

Is this system strictly vegan?


How can we use rural knowledge in an urban setting?

..................................................................



Other Creative links/ references in mind at the moment:

- Artist - Adela Jones - http://www.axisweb.org/seCVPG.aspx?ARTISTID=11933
- Artist - Nina Katchadourian - Mended spiderweb series - http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/uninvitedcollaborations/spiderwebs.php
- Antennae magazine - The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture http://www.antennae.org.uk/
- The novel Lord Of The Flies by William Golding - Microcosms/macrocosms. Looking at life on different levels and worlds of existence
- Music - The Beatles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99aL0NkcQDw

Links

Hallo I've done some (very) quick internet research and found a couple of things that may be worth looking into (or may not...I've not had chance to look at much in depth yet). I've also put some links to the side >>>>>

North Devon's Biosphere Reserve - Art in the Landscape

Biosphere 2 Artist in Residence - Future Perfect Project

The Rillito River Project - Border Biosphere Art Lab artists (also at Biosphere 2)

-Mel