Week 5 Winter Quarter

This week began with a fit of inspiration. I spent Monday morning delving into heavy art books in the library containing images to awaken my creativity and spring forth-new ideas for my art installation. Through reading Janine Antoni's Slip of the Tongue I was able to think up new ways of visualizing my body as a part of the installation. Her use of her mouth, hair and even eyelashes as tools to manipulate her work gave me a new foundation for how to make my piece even more interactive. This study went along well with my readings in Body and Earth. I am learning about evolution by being present with its existence in my body, I am noticing how I came to be an up right creature. By doing movement exercises in the book I stay connected to this somatic experience. I am really enjoying doing this course of study and like how it influences my art installation.

I have decided the basic structure of my installation. I plan to present it week 10 as an art event in my neighborhood with my installation outside and local small films being shown inside.
I will construct an art installation in my backyard. Building a cocoon like structure that visitors will be invited to enter with the beat of a drum outside. As they come into the space they will be greeted by a small stone labyrinth and dry tea bags (harvested form the many cups of tea drank at EAT) hanging from strings that they will have to duck from hitting as they walk the spiral of the labyrinth. Attached to the tea bags will be words from a poem by Rosario Murillo that starts with the line "I am going to plant a heart in the earth." As the visitor walks the labyrinth they will read lines from the poem and end in the middle. I imagine this as a way for the visitor to connect with there body in the space. There will be a worm bin in the middle of the spiral with a heart made of sprouted turf on top of it.

This installation will be a way for me to share some of the knowledge I experienced at the EAT and also a way to symbolize the ritual I do as a part of my earth based spirituality practice. All things I use for this installation will be crafted from natural and found materials except the worm bin which I will be constructing and using for my house and garden. I plan to use my body as a tool in crafting some of the structural elements of the installation. I am still thinking of different ways I want to conceive of this somatic practice in the making and experiencing of the installation.

Heron and I had another good seminar discussing our readings from the book Creating A Life Together as well as discussing the curriculum for the EAT report back. We came up with a general outline of what we wanted to focus on then went through each thing and discussed who would lead it and what information was the most important to share. This will be a well-planned report back exemplifying the holistic approach to learning we gathered at the EAT.