Ivy Bus Stop

Here are the pictures from my final project. I planted ivy plants in mason jars and zip-tied them to the bus stop at Coal and Girard. I chose this location because this particular bus stop is not being used at this time because of some construction on Coal. With few people using this bus stop, I hope that the ivy plants will have time to grow without being bothered or noticed and removed. I chose to plant ivy because they can grow and flourish in New Mexico's hot, dry climate. They need minimal watering and can tolerate a lot of sunlight. I put rocks at the bottom of the jars so that the water would be able to drain. My hope is that these little ivy plants will attach themselves to the bus stop and cover the gate. This is a continuation of my previous projects with the jars and the flowers, but this project has potential to grow roots and thrive for longer than only a period of a few days. I hope people see the ivy plants and appreciate the little beautiful things that happen on a daily basis that we tend to take for granted.

The theme of the booth was oriented around stress and the booth itself functioned as a destressor.  Whether it be by actively engaging in the therapeutic process of art or by enjoying the contents of the carefully crafted care packages, people were encouraged to enjoy the contents of our booth.  At the booth we had and exuberant amount of sidewalk chalk, acrylic paint, colored tissue paper, glitter, scissors, and construction paper.  They were all free and all available for anyone willing to participate.  Many people came and went as their schedules allowed, but by closing time it was evident by the chaos of color in our little corner of the plaza that something big definitely had gone down.  Even we, tempted by the ample amount of supplies before us, engaged in a little painting and sidewalk chalk use.  

Our goals: destress at a time of high stress, encourage student involvement/interaction, reduce stress in a healthy and creative way...were all met.  And because of that, and the fun that we all had while doing it, I would consider out booth a big success. 

Paint-on-Grass

Here's that "paint" that I mentioned in class:

Click on the picture for more info.

Project Four

My main idea was to increase awareness of potential disaster/emergency preparation. One of my first thoughts was life-sized posters of scenes of something going wrong asking "What would you do?" followed by instructions. Small business card like handouts with instructions on basic responses to hand out would be interesting too. Examples would be along the lines of "if someone is bleeding" or "if you suspect a neck injury."

This was actually inspired by the emergency siren test earlier this term and the lack of awareness surrounding it. My rant with UNM's system would be another issue entirely, however.

Project #4

My goal for this project is to target a wide audience, I want a great deal of people to be touched, moved or to take something from this project.  The ultimate goal is for this project is for people to take something away from it  and for them to impart it in their personal lives.

Us against the World

If I could do anything without any limitations, I would interview people and share their story. Uncut. I don't care if it's a typical story or completely outrageous, I just want to listen and document. From there I would want to pass on the mission for people to interview someone they don't know and document their story. So there's my goal: listen and document.

Project 4

Building on the theme of examining what society finds valuable and drawing from my daily experience living/going to school in Albuquerque, I'd really like my fourth project to deal with the issue of homelessness. I've always thought it was peculiar how insular and removed UNM as an institution seems from Albuquerque as a city (and its problems at such). Additionally, its interesting how well social divisions persist despite the fact that students and the local homeless occupy very much the same spaces, whether around central or even on campus. The goals of this project would be: 1. To get UNM students involved in the welfare of the larger Albuquerque community 2. Opening a dialogue about homelessness, its ethical implications and its possible solutions.

http://chicagohomelessblog.com/?p=235

I'd like to do something along the lines of this project done in Chicago in 2009, where volunteers made pinatas stuffed with emergency blankets and placed them in the underpasses where the local homeless typically slept. I really like the idea of anonymous care packages, although I think using non-perishable food and water might be a good variation. I feel the light-hearted shape of the pinatas makes the offer seem more genuine as opposed to out of pity or obligation. I'd like to use a similar light-hearted packaging of some sort, perhaps presents?