Emily Carr at the Glenbow

I managed to get out to see the Emily Carr exhibit at the Glenbow, and I am certainly glad I did, it was wonderful. Her paintings are so expressive, and it was great to see a larger body of work. There was one that I can't find a digital image of that was astounding, and I will certainly keep looking for it, it was a landscape all in grey, it took my breath away.

Stunning

I was perusing some of my favorite blogs, and designsponge's guest blog had the work of Jen Garrido. Absolutely gorgeous!

Luxury

A wonderful concept, Luxury Redefined looks at the entire process of sustainable manufacturing as a function of its luxury. I wonder if this could be adopted by other high-end manufacturers? If this idea of luxury is adopted as the norm, the manufacturing process would become more integral in product development at all levels and price ranges.

Once Was

I saw Rafael Morgan's new "Once Was" comb over on treehugger today. It gave me chills. How wonderful, thought provoking and beautiful. Hopefully, it will also make you pause and think about what your belongings 'Once Were'.

Interesting new blog I found

Just doing more research, I don't think it will ever end really, and I came across a new blog to read. Woo-hoo, more blogs! Its called Yanko, and it seems to deal a lot with technology and design, very relevant, I would say. So enjoy the reading, I know I sure will.

Another Top Ten List

So it seems as if I'm spending quite a bit of time on treehugger lately, but I can't help it, its so very good, and I want to save all of the information I get from them. This booklet is 10 Ways Design Can Fight Climate Change, by Thomas Matthews. Great Read, and very fitting. I'll duplicate the list here, but do check out the real thing.

1. Re-thinking
2. Re-using
3. Using friendly materials
4. Saving energy
5. Sharing new ideas
6. Designing to last
7. Staying local, buying ethical
8. Supporting what we believe
9. Inspiring, having fun
10. Saving money

The 10 Commandments

I found this nice list today via treehugger, which was originally from Swiss Miss, here. Excellent thing to always keep in mind...

Dieter Rams 10 Commandments of Design:

Good design is innovative
Good design makes a product useful
Good design is aesthetic
Good design helps a product to be understood
Good design is unobtrusive
Good design is honest
Good design is durable
Good design is consistent to the last detail
Good design is concerned with the environment
Good design is a s little design as possible

Dieter Rams

Oh the things I didn't know

I was checking around the blog world, and it seems as if I missed a really nifty event by COHDA, on recycling. Darn it. I'll have to keep more up to date on these things. The link to the event is here, and here is the nice link from designSpotter. I think that one is going to have to become a regular haunt.

Be The Change

Today I went to a conference on climate change - Be the Change - "The Sky's the Limit". It was more of an activists approach, with many, many interesting speakers, including Maude Barlow, Julia Hausermann, Frances Lappe, and Vandana Shiva. I have a few pages of notes posted here, raw and un-edited. One of my favorite things said, was by Vandana Shiva

We must move to a living carbon system as opposed to a fossilized carbon system.

It was nice to hear the realism and passion from all of the speakers, poets, storytellers, musicians and entrepreneurs involved, and it was a wonderful place to be for the day, just listening...

Ideology

Just a note that I thought I should write down. I'm currently listening to Vijay Vaitheeswaran on Treehugger's podcast, and he said something really interesting. Often you have to leave ideology at the door to make meaningful change. What was really interesting, was the fact that he talked about how changing people's lifestyle in regards to cars is not going to happen (thank goodness, a realist), what has to change is the way they are fueled. Interesting to finally hear someone talk in a real way about cars, car culture and what the real issues are, and the possible immediate solutions.

A Little Pick-me up

I'm in dire need of a bit of a visual and mental pick-me up. Normally one would go out and buy a new pair of shoes, but that's really not happening on a student budget. 3 pairs of shoes is enough, right? One for walking, one for running, and one for working. The rest are just decorations. I do have boots to add into the equation. 4 pairs. Hiking, caving, snow, and pretty. Wow, now that I write them down, I feel much better about my shoe collection. Do you think I could count my climbing shoes as a pair, and maybe my skates... Anyways, I digress, the real reason I'm writing today is Charlie Harper, illustrator extraordinare. I'm going to stop blathering, and let you look at his wonderful work here in Todd Oldham's book on the great naturalist/modernist....

One of My Favorites

I just received my boxes from my shipment that I sent AGES ago. Its very exciting to open all of my boxes. Its like Christmas, but its all of my own stuff, and its all just what I wanted! I found something worth noting when I opened my book box. Marian Bantjes... I love what she does, and being reminded of her I meandered over to her site for a little update. Lots of more beautiful things! The pics I've included are from the book I have from Fox River Paper... and the link to that part of her site is here. Enjoy the visual feast, while I'm busy rediscovering all of my favourite things!

Stain Teacup

Before

After

I've had my eye on this little number for awhile. I absolutely LOVE it. No other words to describe my feelings towards this little cup. I kind of wish I could get it in other colours. I will someday break, and just purchase it. But for now, I will admire it from here. You can checkout Bethan Laura Wood's other work at her website here.

Radium... Not the good kind

As most of you know, my favorite place in the entire world (of the parts I've seen anyhow), is a little place called Radium in BC. Now, luckily this post has nothing to do with that Radium, but it does have to do with a small place named Port Radium in Nunavut. There is exploration going on for Uranium reserves pushed by France's nuclear industry, click here for the whole story. I'm starting to really believe that Canada needs to move away from the exploitation of our natural resources, and become more of a knowledge based economy. The north is taking a beating lately. The polar bears are struggling to survive, and this horrible story about the oil sands in Northern Alberta, and now increased uranium mining. There have been concerns of an increased occurrance of cancer in the area because of the mining. Check out this article for more information. Thanks treehugger for keeping me up to date!

Things that Annoy Me

Increasingly I'm getting more and more annoyed with Greenwashing. I'm finding it harder to distinguish between what is environmentally friendly and what is just hype. Everything here seems to be 'green', but it ends up being something excessively small that is used to make the company look concerned. What is going to have to happen to make some REAL change? Is real change possible?

Yvon Chouinard @ Google

I've been procrastinating today, in a good way. I've been doing some research on environmental activism and business. I came across two talks by the founder and owner of Patagonia at Google. His insights are extremely interesting, and do make me want to sit down and focus on what is really important. The thing that I think stood out the most was the fact that often the most successful people are the ones getting their hands dirty, and often you have to step back and examine your values. Click here and here to watch the YouTube videos.

Searching for Worms

I'm in the process of looking for a nice batch of worms for vermicomposting. How exciting. I'll keep you all posted on how they are thriving, and if I'm able to deal with them. Truthfully, I'm really not excited about having to sort them out of the compost - but imagine the organic waste I'll save from the landfill!

Graffiti in Moss

So, I meandered over to Inhabitat, and this jumped out at me. How amazingly gorgeous! Edina Tokodi, works with moss to create these gorgeous works of graffiti. You can read more about her and her work here.

To Remember

Just a note to myself about a good idea from the book "Getting to Maybe" by Westley, Zimmerman and Patton.

Its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Diatoms!

I've been doing some reading, and unfortunately I can't find the original article I read, but diatoms seem like one of those things that could really revolutionize the way we dye things. Researchers at Oxford have found a way to use these unicellular algae to colour everything from paint to fabric. Its the crystal like structure of their shells, which give them their colour, and they are quite small - 1/3 the width of a human hair. you can find out more information here, and here. Thank you Treehugger and Wired for all of the information

Buckminster Fuller

His work keeps popping up in everything I read. His work is very interesting, as he dedicated his life to answering one question:

"Does humanity have a chance to survive lastingly and successfully on planet Earth, and if so, how?"

He was an environmentalist, and his work is entirely fascinating. He really explored the idea of technological advances in order to create a world for everyone to live in. He was most famous for his geodesic dome (pictured above), but he did work on all sorts of things, and he has a fantastic institute named after him. The Buckminster Fuller Institute is dedicated to the ongoing development of saving the world through science.

TFRG - Question Period

This took place on October 12, 2007. Click here to see all of my notes.

Ingeo

This interesting fiber is made from corn. Check out their website for how it is made. I wonder if it is really as great as it actually sounds? I guess I have some questions to ask them. http://www.ingeofibers.com/ingeo/home.asp