Sunday, April 17, 2011

Reflection: My Experience and What it Taught Me

Everything in nature has a purpose. I used things that I would normally have thrown away mindlessly (such as onion skins). In our society and culture sometimes it's hard to clearly see what the purpose in nature is. However, when I looked closer I realized that a big part of sustainability is exploring and utilizing nature without exploiting it.

The more I learned, the more I realized how much I didn't know.

The beauty of the natural world is subdued. In nature, there's a grace, quietness, and stillness that exists. It allows me to be reflective, yet this natural beauty and its characteristics are also infused into any piece that is made with nature. The soft colors in the cloth reflect the quietness and peace in nature. Nature is also the star in the cloth that I made--I used nothing but plant matter and water.

Nature is often times destructive, but it also has a soothing touch.

It's difficult to fight to urge to change the plant. There were times where I wanted the process to speed up and the results at certain points during the process were not what I expected. However, in the end I did not do anything to change the plant color.

Man often uses tools to try and destroy nature, but through this project I learned that it is possible for man and nature to have a symbiotic relationship. It is moral to use nature but not destroy it. Nature can be a tool if we allow it to.

Beauty also exists in nature. It is a key element of nature that has the ability to soothe us and make us happy. It's important to create through what is already provided. Trying to force or wish nature to do something that it's not meant to do is wrong. By creating synthetic processes and chemicals to produce the goods that we want, we are going against natural laws and disrupting the balance between us and the environment.

Patience.

We have slowly lost knowledge of our sources. It's important to question and explore how things come to be and where they originate from. It teaches us about ourselves and the environment.

Do not see everything as an obstacle.

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