PLASTIC

Tape, shape, merge, straight, match, build, form, rise, move , create

When working with the plastic straws, this brought me back to my childhood. I remember always building structures with the thin plastic tubes and the little plastic connectors so that inspired me to try to recreate those memories. Because I made that connection, working with this plastic made me feel happy. I was very determined to recreate the structures that I used to build which made it feel as if time went by quickly. While building this cube I tuned everyone and everything out and just placed the straws together trying to perfectly connect them all. Even though I had a plan of what I wanted to do, plastic was a hard material to work with. The plastic did not quite sync with my movements, nor was it really flexible or easy to manipulate.

Cut, break, bend, slice, roll, blow, string, press, look through

Just looking at the plastic, I was then confused on what to do next. I then thought about how much plastic ends up in landfills. Next, I thought of an even more frightening question, how much of this plastic ends up as pollution? The amount of plastic brought into the class for the studio was a lot and most of it was going to end up in the garbage which would contribute to the pollution issues we have already. This made me feel uneasy and worried for the future. I read that it is important to teach young children sustainability and show them the effects that using and throwing away plastic has on the environment (Duhn, 2011). The reading mentions that some people feel that childhood is a time of innocence so it would be inappropriate to bring up big issues to them, but the author fights that it is actually important to discuss these issues with children (Duhn, 2011). I personally agree with the author as I feel it is important for children to know about the environment and how to better it so they learn early on and can maybe even pass this knowledge onto people they know as well. Starting with educating children on this issue can cause a whole chain reaction which would contribute to bettering our environment.

Reflect, rigid, synthetic, transparent, clear, stiff, resistant, avoidant, tough, firm

Plastic serves a variety of purposes in our lives and is used for quite a lot of things. Simply sitting and looking around at your surroundings I guarantee that you will find at least a few things made from plastic. I never really noticed how much we rely on plastic until I truly took time to examine the material. Even though it is a very commonly used material and I encounter it multiple times a day, I still found it hard to connect and attend to the material. The material itself comes in a variety of forms which made it hard for me to understand it.

References

Duhn, I. (2011). Making ‘place’ for ecological sustainability in early childhood education. Environmental Education Research. Retrieved from http:// dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2011.572162