fab times
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: design, innovation, manufacturing, process, sustainability | Tags: arduino, FabLab, Gray's, PhD, resilience, RGU 2 Comments »
I have recently begun a PhD at Gray’s School of Art and Design, funded by IDEAS @Robert Gordon University. My research will be a design led examination of the opportunities that digital manufacturing technology can bring to rural communities.
I am by no means an expert in this field – I am a low tech / analogue kind of a girl, naturally drawn to pen and paper and bits of wood rather than tablets and arduino, but there, I guess is the appeal – what can new technologies offer? My default position has always been a ‘return to the land’ mentality: let’s turn the clocks back and everything will be ok sort of plan, but am keenly aware that things really aren’t so straightforward – with rising populations and dwindling resources, we can never go back.
This PhD then offers me the chance to really delve into new forms of production – with 3D printing tipped to be the next big revolution, what can this bring to the areas of sustainability and community resilience? Models such as the FabLab are truly inspirational, offering people the world over the opportunity to create anything from a garden gnome to a wifi antenna. Labs like these allow production to move from large scale factories to our own bedrooms and desktops, potentially cutting down on materials, transport and infrastructure, while also increasing creative output, knowledge exchange and enterprise.
new cups
Posted: November 23, 2011 Filed under: city, community, engagement, tea | Tags: cups, Dundee, Light Night, November, tea cups, tea trolley 2 Comments »
Getting ready for a Commun-i-tea outing as part of Dundee’s Light Night on Friday, where I am officially billed as ‘tea lady’!. I’ve been out scavenging some new cups, as I seem to have lost/broken/mislaid most of my stock. New addition this time will be a cake stand (yum, yum), and I am just about managing to resist the urge to don some kind of outfit – my feeling is that my fleecy jacket will be the most relevant on a late November night… and I’m not going to wear a tea cosy on my head (unless it gets really cold). Looking forward to taking my dear old trolley out again and having some interesting conversations – if you’re out this Friday, come and join me for a cuppa!
walking to westhorn
Posted: October 7, 2011 Filed under: art, city, place, social space, urban agriculture | Tags: CCA, Glasgow, hogweed 1 Comment »Whilst finding my feet in my new role as arts education and outreach intern at the CCA I decided to walk out to their allotment, to get a feel for the area and see what condition the plot is in. When I arrived I discovered I had the wrong keys, thereby resulting in being locked out, and then later, after another plot holder opened the gate for me, being locked in. And it was raining. Westhorn is at the end of a long lane which continues onwards to the Clyde walkway, but with the day wet and overcast there was nobody around. I had obviously stayed a little too long in the rain because all the other plot holders had left and I was left contemplating the 8 foot high gate with spikes and barbed wire all along the top. Happily though, Tommy the chairman turned up and was able to release me. We had a good chat about art, growing, wood turning and hogweed before I headed home. The plot is pretty infested with the dreaded Giant Hogweed, which without consistent removal, just spreads all over the place waiting to inflict nasty burns to anyone who comes into contact with the sap… not really what you want thriving in a community allotment! Interestingly cows and pigs can seemingly eat it without any ill effects and the dried fruit is used as a spice in Iranian cooking…
exciting times
Posted: August 11, 2011 Filed under: art, city, community, design, sustainability, urban agriculture Leave a comment »I received great news the other day – that I will be working as an intern for the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow when I finish! I’ll be helping with their arts outreach and education work, which includes their allotment site in the East End – perfect! I’m also embarking on a permaculture design course which is something I’ve wanted to do for ages. This’ll involve many weekends through to the beautiful west coast. All I need to do now is find a way to pay for everything – if anyone is looking for a talented designer who specialises in community engagement, co-design and sustainable food systems, drop me a line!
Posted: August 11, 2011 Filed under: design, master of design, process | Tags: communication, exhibition, open spaces, poster Leave a comment »
The final poster! The Masters Show opens on Saturday the 27th of August in Dundee.
colour!
Posted: August 1, 2011 Filed under: design, community, master of design, knowledge, engagement, open space | Tags: design methods, method cards, open spaces Leave a comment »I’ve not blogged in a while, with only three weeks to go, I’ve been focused on finishing up my project and preparing for assessments. There’s a lot to do! I’m producing a set of methods cards and a wee book for local authorities consulting about open spaces, and I just thought I’d share a snapshot of how they are shaping up – they’re bright!
poster prototype
Posted: July 25, 2011 Filed under: master of design, process, prototyping Leave a comment »
For the degree show at the end of August we will each have a large poster to fill, so here is my first attempt… don’t look too closely, a lot of the text is gibberish – just trying to get a handle on the layout and general content.
seashore festival
Posted: July 16, 2011 Filed under: art, engagement, open space, participation, prototyping | Tags: Ann Lolley, broughty ferry, broughty ferry environmental project, engagement, Jackie Malcolm, Samantha Higgins, seashore festival Leave a comment »
In mid June it was the seashore festival in Broughty Ferry. I went a long to help out at the Broughty Ferry Environmental Project stand, and Ann Lolley, who runs the project had graciously given me the opportunity to ask people about open spaces. Picking up on the results from the open space meeting earlier in the week, I made up some question cards that might get at how people connect to open spaces – and used Castle Green, where the event was taking place as the subject. I had the perfect backdrop – a replica victorian bathing machine that the project had built. It’s a beautiful thing, white and gleaming and resting on massive old cart wheels – but it’s a bit of a beast to move! Inside we had the first showing of an exhibition of the Tay Estuary – fantastic research by Samantha Higgins, beautiful posters by Jackie Malcolm and two watery artworks by myself. 
shared aims
Posted: July 16, 2011 Filed under: city, community, design, engagement, open space, participation, process | Tags: Dundee City Council, post-it notes Leave a comment »At last months open space meeting I asked everyone what they were looking for from consultation – reponses were written on post-its and each person was given three sticky dots to vote for those they too would like to see. It was interesting to see the common aims and shared goals. Top of the list was to understand people’s personal connection to open spaces, and then to build relationships with the community and to give them the opportunity to discuss what it’s like where they live – their feelings, issues and ideas. The feedback from the group was that had been really useful as it was first time they had voiced their aims. At next months meeting I’ll hold a longer session to take this further. Walking to the meeting I saw a lovely bit of open space improvisation…
Day 10: from Santiago to Guanabo
Posted: June 22, 2011 Filed under: cuba, travel | Tags: beach, casa particular, guanabo, INIFAT, rum, santiago de las vegas, spanish Leave a comment »The story continues… apologies for taking so long, but ife seems to keep getting in the way!
Well today was finally time to leave INIFAT… I had wanted to tell everyone what an amazing experience it had been for us, so decided to write what I wanted to say – I had intended to read it out, but when I saw Esmeralda she took the letter and read it out loud herself – mistakes and all! However they laughed at the bits I had meant them too, and didn’t look too puzzled overall, so I think I was understood! We had to wait a while for my certificate to arrive (which I didn’t know I was getting and was ridiculously excited about), so we ate a massive tub of ice cream each to fortify us on the bus journey. Then goodbye all…
We trundled off to the bus stop and managed to haul our stuff on the baking hot, overcrowded bus. We even managed to get a seat after a while and cram all our things around us – I was feeling quite glad about deciding not to get a taxi, when the bus stopped in some dusty outer region of Havana and we all had to get off. Where were we? Finally figured out that we were probably closer to the coast than if we continued into the centre of Havana, so at this point we flagged down a taxi which took us all the way to Guanabo. We had decided we wanted to go to the coast, but we wanted to spend as little time (and money) travelling as possible. Guanabo is a small coastal town, not very far from Havana and a popular destination for folk from Havana – as we soon discovered. We found a lovely casa particular – rather than stay in a hotel, we wanted to rent a room with a family – this is the probably the best way to see Cuba – the rooms are cheap (well relatively speaking) and the hosts friendly. This casa was airy and fresh and just a couple of blocks from the beach – which is where we headed as soon as we had dumped our bags.
It was so beautiful and turquoise and sparky! The beach itself was mobbed – it seemed the whole of Havana had come out to play and drink rum… honestly, everyone was drinking rum! The water was warm and the breeze was gentle, although there was a band of killer rocks in the shallow water (ouch). We had only been in a few minutes when Freya noticed a policeman waving to us from the beach, so back over the rocks we went, only to be severely warned about the danger of leaving our things on the beach – it was not a wise thing to do he said, they’ll get stolen for sure. The only solution it seemed was to take it in turns to go in the water – which wasn’t so much fun…
