Week #5 - Observing Nature - Final Blog Post

Today was the first sustainably rainy day of spring. The grass was greener against the grey-ness of the patchy dirt and the sky and certain colors crept out of places that I wouldn't have expected.

Going back into nature after doing these weekly blog posts, I notice that I pay attention to the sounds and the colors surrounding me in my environment much more. I make a note of taking deep breaths to also take in my environment in a sensory way rather than a tactile way by touching things only with my hands. I wouldn't say that I lick the ground to see what it would taste like, but I appreciate studying the textures of pine needles or the buds coming up from branches with my fingers. I actually think I got a weird look from someone as I was stroking my nose with a piece of grass the other day (as a side note, the nose is a WONDERING organ to feel things with. I never considered that before this class, but the sense of touch there is phenomenal when studying different textures).

After learning about the spiral similarities in organisms, I am much more aware of discovering those similarities in nature around me.

Being an illustration and design student is great when it comes to exploring nature. I feel that as an artist I can appreciate the textures and the naturalism all around.

My all time favorite illustrator is Beatrix Potter. She created little lovely stories with anthropomorphic animals and was also a mycologist on the side. She was the person to discover that lichens and fungi are inherently similar in their biology. Looking through her biographies, I am always inspired with how close her connection with nature was. When she was young, and into her middle ages, she would go on holiday in the Lake District in northern England where she would fill sketchbooks with her findings. Eventually she became a conservationist for the Lake District where it remains untouched and natural.

Things are growing!

It was actually pretty funny the other day. My boyfriend and I were at a garden store buying some plants for a terrarium that I made. Mid-sentence, I pulled him to a gorgeous small succulent plant that had a single droplet on it transforming and skewing the skin of the succulent plant beautifully.

I guess I pay attention to the little things these days. VERY little things.

Now, stepping outside is a treasured event. It was rare for me to take time out of my crazy days and just sit outside and not really think about anything but experiencing my surroundings. The air, the smell, the way the ground feels under my feet, the texture of tree bark with moss and without moss.

My family has a cabin up in Hackensack, Minnesota on Ten Mile Lake. It's pretty rare to tell someone that and have them know exactly where that it. But then I would say that it was ten miles from Walker, Minnesota and Leech Lake and about 30% more people know where THAT is. But I digress.

Up on the lake, it's so amazingly different.

We have groups of loons fifteen strong cross our portion of the lake around one or two in the morning and you can hear their haunting, beautiful calls as they talk to each other in the night.

I have always appreciated that, but I can only imagine what it will be like now.

This experience of taking down notes of my experiences in the CITY will make a huge difference for when I go up there. With fishing, skipping stones, hiking, picking flowers, bird watching, swimming, canoeing and the occasional mosquito slapping, my senses of the outside world of nature will be beneficial to appreciating my experiences more and more.

Thank you.

Mary N.

Missed Assignment: Week #3 - Biomimicry Basics

Footpads Manage Increasing Body Mass is Mammals

Picture Found Here

Most mammals move efficiently by their four legs being the only body parts that touch the ground. The footpads of most mammals are fleshy formations that begin with a larger center pad, and then pads underneath each toe on the mammal’s foot. What is interesting about this formation of flesh on the animal is how it manages the increase of body weight as the animal grows or gets larger. The footpads themselves have to have bounce in them that efficiently distributes energy throughout the animals paw in their stride. The pads are somewhat elastic and give the animal proper cushioning. However, when the animal increases in size and weight, the pads must consolidate for the change by hardening and becoming cushier for the animal’s comfort.

This was discovered when the growth of the animal also showed signs of toughening of the pads on the paws, allowing the pads to become almost calloused and provide comfort at the same time. According to the case study, done by Louise Roth from Duke University in the Biology Department, “The bigger the animal, the stiffer the shoes.”

What could be build and discovered from this phenomenon is how to make our own footwear and prosthesis more comfortable and energy efficient for us. Tires and construction equipment could also benefit from this discovery by somehow creating a reactive material that will build up strength compatible with the weight of the load. Other ways in which this is integrated into design is by creating shoes or tires that already have these “calluses” in place.

Picture Found Here

From my own personal life, I have a product that is directly influenced from this kind of situation. I am a runner and the only way in which I am able to actually run more than a mile these days (due to both a bunion and an old knee problem) is by wearing Vibrams. Vibrams, or the Five Finger Running Shoe basically fits onto your foot like a glove, separating your toes while maintaining your natural foot shape in the bottom. The idea is to safely give the wearer the ability to run barefoot without worrying about injuring their feet in the process. On the bottom of the shoe is a tough, textured and flexible plastic that protect the feet. By separating the toes, the shoes are allowing the wearer to run not heel to toe, but by “fore-striking” meaning to hit the ground with the center of your foot. This spreads the striking force to your phalanges, which naturally have bounce to them, rather than sending all of the striking force to your knees, which happens in regular running shoes.

Picture Found Here

The best thing about Vibrams is that they keep in mind how native tribal people would run in the wild. Barefoot. By going back to the natural way in which humans ran before, we can run in comfort with pre-made calluses for our feet.

Week 4: Biomimicry Basics

So last week I worked on a design that was influenced by the biological design of bamboo. Bamboo was an interesting organism to address considering it is one of the most sustainable and strong materials that we use in our world today. I think it is only appropriate to try and mimic its biological properties with a different material such as metal to appropriate into the design.

Image from here

Taking into consideration the six Life Principles, here is what I have to say:

1) Locally Attuned and Responsive:

This design is resourceful in the way that it relies on an already organically efficient organism in order to survive structurally. Everything about bamboo’s design and structure is about opportunities and limitations in how it is able to resist breakage and reinforce itself from jeopardizing its own structural integrity in the natural world. Through mimicking this design, we are able to utilize this method and transfer its properties into a different medium

2) Integrates Cyclic Processes:

In a sense the processes of this cycle are cyclical. The growth and formation of bamboo in nature is cyclical in the way the it can repair itself easily. This a product like this with something as reactive as metal, it’s difficult to tell how abundant the cyclical processes would be for a product like this.

3) Resilient:

This design is incredibly resilient to change and force within its structure. The pattern of groups of materials bunched together in ever bigger bunches creates strength and balance with the whole structure due to many forms reacting together rather than a single form reacting. The design incorporates redundancy by design through the bunches creating a pattern that builds the structure itself. I guess you can say that it does co-evolve with the other parts of the system in the way that it reacts with other materials that are similar in the whole.

Image from here

4) Optimizing Rather than Maximizing:

This is somewhat different. This product does not have compostable materials but they are recyclable materials. If one structure is damaged in some way, the metal could be melted down and created into yet another structure with the same principles easily because of its repetitive form. Bunches that are damaged could be removed and bunches that are not damaged could be taken away and replaced into other bunches to make a working whole. With the materials, it could be repurposed through the form of melting the material down, or even keeping its shape and being used for another purpose such as roadwork or household construction.

5) Benign Manufacturing:

The product isn’t necessarily made of life-friendly materials. Through more research, there could be a replacement material, such as bamboo itself that would be sustainable and eco-friendly rather than metal. The reactions for this product do not rely on self-assembly but rather on self-obedience. Reacting with other parts of the whole to form one strong piece. The product is not built to shape. It must either be cut or molded to its form and then bound together to become a whole.

6) Leveraging Interdependence:

This design does foster symbiotic, cooperative, relationships with the product itself as a whole. With the cooperation of other elements within the form, the shape and form is maintained by the structural soundness of the form through each different group.

Biologically, this system is not actually cooperative or community-based because of its material.

Image from here

Nature Post - Week #4 - Nature Lens Post

You couldn't guess it but it SNOWED LAST NIGHT and I woke up to the horrifying sight of white overing everything outside, even my beloved tulip buds!

But that's beside the point. Around noon today I was able to sigh a breath of relief as there was nothing left on the ground save for a few lingering ice chunks. (pictured below)

But in general, today was cold, about 39 degrees outside. It was damp, and you could smell the water in the air. It actually made me think of fall, when you're hoping to see snow soon because of the drop in the temperatures. I could hear no wind, actually there was barely any wind. But it felt much colder outside because of the dampness in the air. It crept into your bones no matter how many layers you had on or how much tea you drank. The ground crunched under my feet because of the bits of ice that fell earlier today. It was about 6:00 pm and the sky was peeking through in patches of blue amid the dark blue grey. The sun was falling yet the sky was beginning to turn a bright pink and gold. Very beautiful, but unbearable to be outside.

This picture made me particularly excited. From a distance this plant was turning yellow from the bottom up as the buds were emerging. It made me really happy.

So this is pretty funny.

I was sitting outside, (obviously when I didn't have my camera, as it usually goes) and this squirrel runs by. I have to take a double take before I realize that this squirrel is carrying in its mouth a giant cookie chunk.

A couple of minutes later, I see another squirrel running around and munching on another cookie. It got me thinking about this week's post and made me really wish I had had my camera to document this hilarity and cuteness.

And then I found this...

Image from Here

But then I got to thinking.

When it comes to this Nature Lens blog post, we could relate one organism to six Life's Principles. And when it comes to the squirrel as an organism, there are a lot of ways in which it can relate through how it lives in its environment, eats and reproduces.

So,

#1 - Optimizing Rather than Maximizing -

Description: Although squirrels don't intentionally do this, their habits of burying food to save for later and frequently forgetting where it is located has benefitted the growth of numerous trees in various areas. This phenomenon occurs more in the spring and summer months due to the fact that is early fall, squirrels memories increase by 15% lending to their inherent need to put on weight for the impending winter.

Design Idea: As far as a human concept goes for something like this, it could be considered for people who eat fruits with seeds to save them and later plant them in order to grow fruit trees. This small act could produce more trees and reinforce an eco friendly planet.

#2 - Leveraging Interdependence

Description: This one could also relate to the topic above in which the squirrel's diet can help influence its environment. However, squirrels live in communities and families that cooperate with one another in different scenarios. Baby squirrels or "kittens" are blind for two months or more, so family bonding and the importance of the mother in a setting for her kittens in incredibly important. With the two months or more that the kittens are blind, they rely on their other sensory organs to communicate with their mother.

Design Idea: The importance of child-rearing! Children spending more time with their families in social activities function better in groups outside of their family. In school, for instance, communication is better if there has at least been a little bit more practice first.

#3 - Benign Manufacturing

Description: The only way in which I can relate this topic to squirrels is in the "using self-assembly" way (hopefully). Squirrels are organisms that function both in groups and on their own and biologically they are perfectly made for their lives in the tree. Squirrels have sharp claws in which they are able to literally hinge themselves onto the side of the tree. Their back legs are also double-jointed to help them be able to move about tree branches more efficiently. Their eyes can see front and to the side, but also completely backwards so they can pick up on danger.

Design Idea: This is just something I want to be made. Glasses that have rear-view mirrors. That would be so insanely useful for anyone with glasses or sunglasses. In sports like biking and running it would offer a sense of safety and awareness for the user.

Also, I don't know about double-jointed legs, but if it helped me climb up a tree, I'd be all for it.

#4 - Locally Attuned and Responsive

Description: As with the free energy processes, black squirrels absorb heat from the sun easiest seeing as their coats are, well, black. This offers warmth for them on cold days and energy to continue their scavenging.

Design Idea: More black clothes to keep you warm and not so cold you can't go on with your day.

#5 - Integrates Cyclic Processes

Description: Squirrels lives are very cyclical considering their short lifespan of only three to five years in the wild. In the winter, squirrels eat and eat and eat so they can bulk up and retain heat in their little bodies. They move into nests within the trees to keep warm. As spring approaches, they reduce their caloric intake and shed a few pounds for the warmer weather and reproducing. Squirrels usually mate twice a season and are able to tell about the approaching of different seasons by how long the days are. With summer, they spread back into the trees and nest up in the branches for the cooler weather. As fall approaches, their memory increase 15% and begin to find and store nuts for winter in hope of eventually finding them again for winter.

Design Idea: Utilizing the length of days as a form of a seasonal clock to be able to tell what time of year it is. I might need a little feedback on this one.

#6 - Resilient

Description: Squirrels are fierce little critters. They defend their territory, try to scare off predators, camouflage themselves to trees when there is a predator with wings nearby and mate often.

Design Idea: The tenacious quality of these animals is pretty amazing. Although they come to trust humans and often think they'll get food from us, they can be clever and resourceful little beasties. Going back up to the cookie thing.

Thanks

Mary N.

Week #3 - Observing Nature - Function Lens

This was a very interesting way to look at my natural surroundings this week.

Because of the wealth of humanity in my normal locations, I documented my experiences in the original space on campus as well as a small field trip to my parent's backyard in Edina, MN where things are budding up in their own different way.

I had a lot of fun documenting something that I never really considered before: birch bark.

Aesthetically, birch bark is beautiful to me. The patterns of the negative space within the white and black of them is hypnotizing and it never fails to be an interesting organic form. Lots of times I see eyes staring back at me through the markings in the bark.

I am going off of my Learning Through Observation Worksheet in numbers:

1) I see white birch trees that are slight and bare. No leaves on the branches and small seeds clinging to the branches. The seeds are dried up and puckered. The white birch has a lovely texture and “eyes” that break up the white space. On the bark of the tree itself it is peeling slightly showing the pink underside of the bark and the “flesh” of the tree. I feel that this process is in order to shed the winter skin, give way of the hard wrapper that protected the tree all winter and starting fresh, like a crab shedding its shell. Through this, I can assume that it’s not only preparing for the warmer season, but also creating an additional ply it its already strong bark which protects it. Through peeling, the bark it flayed and hardened again to create more protection for the next cold season.

2) The seasons and the potential of animals or people peeling the bark off. When I was little, I loved peeling the bark off of birch trees to use as a kind of parchment paper. That is, until my Mum told me it hurt the tree, then I stopped, of course. I could see deer and bugs eating and burrowing into the bark of the tree causing harm. Could this possibly be that the bark that it can stand to lose it flayed so that whatever might be eating it would take the less valuable bark, and not the bark that’s protecting the core of the tree?

3) I would say that peeling is a different way to approach a seasonal change. But then again, many trees release their bark as new layers are grown. I think that lots of trees shed their bark over time in order to thicken their skin for the next season as they get bigger and stronger. The loose bark is unnecessary as the tree sheds and it less of a detriment to the tree if it is eaten or pulled off.

4) This is something that occurs in the crustacean world! Crabs and shellfish often shed their too small shells and either grow new ones or seek out new homes via other discarded shells or other vessel forms.

Much like the birch tree, there is a large oak tree that has bark peeling off in large chunks and regenerating new bark underneath.

Composting! What things lose that are organic in their cellular make-up can be used as nutrients for the same or other growing trees and plants. The lost bark could be used in mulch or ground up into a sustainable and recyclable fertilizer for other plants. Compost heaps. They are everywhere now and such a good idea when it comes to disposing of organic matter. Even coffee grounds!

5) AskNature.com for sure. I would even look into the National Geographic archives to see what I can find about trees and their growth patterns.

I would contact a tree biologist or get back into contact with the Haas family who I worked with over a summer at their tree nursery in North Dakota. They work with every kind of tree!

Why do trees really shed their bark? In case I didn’t get it right.

The trees were shedding only very slightly. In tiny little bits. The bark was crunchy and light, barely a millimeter thick and when peeled off, the simply floated to the ground. The texture of the bark that was still tough was hard and thick, very hard to peel off.

These were some of the seedlings that were coming off of the birch tree. They were very dry and hard and if they were shaken, the seeds would fall out onto the ground as they weren't held in there very well.

I love the lightness of the strands coming off of this indian grass. So light and airy that if the wind caught it it would almost dance around the branch. Very pretty.

And yes, my parent's cat Gracie was happy to help me in my quest for lovely nature around us.

Here are some sketches that I had done. I only had a green marker with me but it ended up being way better because I could get the textures really well from the branches. Especially the birch bark!

Thank you!

Mary N.

Week #2 - Biomimicry Blog Post - Pattern #3

My Macbook

Pattern #3 – Life Needs an Inside and an Outside.

My laptop and I have been through a lot together since I got it on my first day of orientation at MCAD four years ago. My laptop has been dropped, knocked and stepped on. It has overheated, had its hard-drive crash and even been peed on by my cat (yes, and that was in the first month of having it). Yet through everything it has been through, it has been steadfast in adapting to its surroundings (extreme cold, extreme heat), and being workable when I needed it to be.

I’ve never really seen what the inside of a MacBook looks like, but I have a feeling that it is a vast, complicated system of circuits, wires and things that light up. On the outside, however, the calm white aesthetic actually appears to be simple, much less complicated and user friendly. I think this I why I like my MacBook so much. It is simple LOOKING, therefore I thin it is simple to use. Anyway, the ways in which my MacBook does NOT share characteristics to Pattern #3 is because of how it reacts to shifts in its environment. One night I was working on some business cards that I was really proud of. I was just about to finish them up and upload the designs to a website where I was going to get them ordered (you see where this is going). Within an instant of me feeling really satisfied with my work, the fan in my laptop turns on full blast and Adobe Illustrator quits. My computer overheated and decided to shut down the programs I was using. Needless to say, I was furious. Another story, which is actually the opposite of the previous one, reinforces why this machine is capable at surprising abilities of adaptation. So, my cat peed on my laptop and I thought it was ruined.

My computer works for four years straight (aside from a crashed hard drive, which was fine) without a problem with the fact that once the CD drive was soaked with cat pee. Earlier this year I got in to replace my memory and some tech guys from school are tinkering around in it. They take out the old memory and look at it in a confused way. “This is really dusty… But it’s green dust?” they say. I grin and say that my cat actually peed on it and that must be what it looks like when it dies up. The guy immediately replaces my memory and goes to wash his hands. I thought it was pretty funny. But considering the trauma that happened to the computer in general, it’s a pretty sturdy machine.

The ways in which I think that my computer would be even better at adapting to its surroundings and becoming more sustainable in the long run would be if it were:

- Biodegradable – Any time you need to upgrade, gut the computer to recycle the parts, and bury the rest of it near a tree to spread the protein nutrients of its hard shell. That way it would be incorporated into life’s patterns via using biodegradable proteins much like the shell of a turtle or the antler of a stag.

- Had solar power panel on the back – reduce plastic and technology costs of a power cord.

- Came with a hard, clean shell that resisted any kind of shock. – If they can make cell phones like that, that you basically never have to replace, they can do it to laptops.

- Waterproof – because who doesn’t always accidentally spill their coffee on the keyboard?

- Flame proof – Self-explanatory. Wouldn’t it just be the best if your whole house burnt down and you could just walk across the rubble and pick up your pristine laptop?

- Efficient ventilation system to flush out dust and debris from the keyboard and other cavities i.e. USB ports, power cord port, headphones port, Ethernet port, etc. – No one wants powdered cat pee on his or her hands.

I think that if these changes were put into place with this type of technology, people would learn to accept it more. Oddly enough, I feel like if people were able to take their laptop into the lake with them, they would be more open to buying them or upgrading. I think that if there were a system of even converting every piece of machinery into a biodegradable protein form, laptops and laptop supplies would become cheaper, more accessible, resistant and better for the planet.

Mary N.

Week #2: Naturalists Blog Post

Okay, so I have two different locations this time. I had taken pictures one night in my alleyway when it was the first rain of the season and really wanted to share these interesting experiences and pictures with you all. This is all pretty much stream of consciousness, so sorry if it's a little loose.

So I got home around 2 am and it was raining steadily. It was pretty cold so I could still see my breath in the air.

I could smell the dirt and decayed leaves as the rain fell. I love that smell when it rains and it brings the moisture in the dirt to smell heavenly, almost like summer. Almost every time I smell that, I imagine that taste and feeling in my mouth, gritty against my teeth. Almost like the smell and thought texture of garden mulch. Sweet and earthy.

The rain was very cold against my skin. I wasn't wearing a jacket because it was nice that day temperature wise. The streetlamp near my garage glowed and it was surreal to stand in this very private, quiet place in which I have never really lingered before.

Whatever snow that was left over was wet and crunchy, speckled with dirt and grime. The snow smelt too. It smelt like winter air, only damp.

By the time I got inside, I was a little drenched, but exhilerated. The skin on my hands felt tight, cold. My camera is a real trooper, it got pretty wet too!

So today I was able to go back to my spot on campus and sit at a table and just take everything in. People, sounds, smells, interactions, reactions, senses, almost everything.

I really wanted to pay attention to the landscape around me. It being the first considerably warm day, nearly EVERYONE was out doing something. There were skateboarders, lolligaggers, people dancing, talking, tossing a football. But what I love about these things are the way in which the things that stay in place remain static and still amidst this constant exchange of interaction.

It was about 53 degrees out today in the sun. In the shade, about 45 degrees which was where I was sitting for my stakeout.

The air smelt clean, not too dry, but not wet. Occasionally there would be a waft of a wood fire that would pass by in a pleasant gust of cool air. Aside from the smell of a rainstorm, wood fire are my favorite smell in the whole wide world. I think it's because it makes me think of my cabin up north.

The trees are still bare and skeletal, but there is hope in the fact that there are perennial buds coming up in the school gardens.

The sky was blue an the clouds were lovely dimensionally. There is a small sketch of one in my field journal. The bottoms are darker than the tops which makes them look extra voluminous.

I took a while to compare the latticed pattern of the tree-tops to the similar patterns in the bare bushes around school. I the looked down at my wrist and remembering what was said in the lecture, traced the lines in the veins of my wrist. Isn't it strange that we are some of the few organisms that strive for order in such an organic world? I think yes.

With me, I brought my green tea that I had been sipping on all day. I was having a conversation with a fellow tea enthusiast earlier this week about the fact that all we're drinking is a packet of leaves and twigs. I responded with the fact that they are the most DELICIOUS and good for you leaves and twigs you could hope for. I loved that while was observing outside, I was basically drinking what I was observing, only in a different form. Not that I'm going to scoop up a handful of mulch and pour hot water over it.

I'm one of those people who if they're not biting their fingernails, they're biting the insides of their cheeks or the dry skin off their lips. Disgusting, I know, but it's my only vice aside from compulsive tea consumption. However, I was interested to compare how the skin on our bodies very much flaked off much like the bark on a tree or the needles on a pine tree branch. In the lack of water, they shed.

Okay, and the last interesting thing that I encountered today. So I was sitting in my studio very early this morning and it was glorious outside. Recently I bought this cheap necklace that had a fake cut crystal as the charm. So I'm walking through the studio spaces (I'm right by the windows on the East side of the building, so the sunlight was pretty intense.) and everytime I would pass through a sunbeam, it looked like a mini disco. The light was refracting off of my necklace and throwing absolutely beautiful colors onto the walls and onto me.

I had to take a photo and a video of it. I know it doesn't necessarily pertain to the naturalist blog post as far a nature outside goes, but I wanted to share this!

Thank you,

Mary N.