felted bowl finished

Finished Felted Bowl!  Before and after felting process.

Not a bad first attempt.  I'm going to refelt it again soon, since I did it by hand and had to stop because my hands were raw.

coffee inspiration

The way I see it

Isn't necessarily 

The way you see it

Or the way it is

Or ought to be

What's more important

Is that we're all 

Looking for it

And a way to see it

- Desi Di Nardo, author and poet

Poem found on Starbucks cup

I don't usually buy Starbucks anymore.  Their coffee is too sugary, too fatty, and too socially irresponsible.  But I broke down out of convenience yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the above.

peace day

Sunday, September 21, was peace day.  The image is completely unaltered and is something I happened to get leaning on a Vietnam Veteran's memorial which the Vet's for Peace were set up right next to.  I was doing work with the Civic Media Center (CMC) where I'm currently doing an internship.

bridal shower

This past weekend, Karebear and I threw Greenie a bridal shower.  Neither of us had ever done such thing before, but I like to think it went exceptionally well and has set the bar.  It was a lovely afternoon filled with mimosas, treats, and the bride-to-be (last picture).

garden fun

Playing in Erin's garden.

projects and tinkering

Below are photos of fun time playing with old jeans with Erin, camera practice, and my felted bowl project still on the needles.  Enjoy!

article idea...

Below is the speech I gave at the Harn Museum of Art on Water politics and activism.  I'm thinking about submitting it to a local publication several friends of mine work on.  I've been asked by many people to write something about my study abroad experience and perspective on India.  The best I've been able to do so far is this speech below, and the journal entries I posted this summer.  I feel it falls short of both my and their expectations... mostly mine.  I have so much more to say... just no idea how to say it yet.  Any suggestions would be wonderful!

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My research focuses on activism within India’s anti-dam movements and why these particular movements are gendered. By examining India’s multifaceted dam discourse through a gender lens, I seek to draw conclusions on the condition and involvement of women in this sphere of activity.  This is part of a larger body of work I did this past summer for the UF in India study abroad program. 

The issue of water scarcity is seen as part of women’s burden.  This stems from the role of women within the Indian family, community, and society.  Through their role in the family, women are expected to gather the water for household activities such as cooking, cleaning, drinking, livestock upkeep, and maintaining sustenance agriculture.  As water becomes scarcer, women have to walk farther and spend more time, labor, and energy gathering water for daily use.  As farms have failed and more men migrate into the cities to search for work, the women are left as the sole caretakers and maintainers of the household.  Since water is an essential resource for daily activities and survival, women have carried the brunt of the burden of water crises.    

Women emerged into the Indian public sphere during the movement for independence.  Mahatma Gandhi called on women to do traditional activities in public spaces as a means of protesting British industry and control.  Women were encouraged to spin their own thread and take up the national issues as mothers, wives, and sisters of India.  This became a new responsibility that women incorporated into their roles within society.  While the majority of activists were village and rural women, men participated in leadership or figurehead roles.  Yet this is changing as depicted by prominent activists Dr. Vandana Shiva, Medha Patkar, and Arundhati Roy’s facilitation of various environmental movements.  As women become more vocal about water crises and subsequent social problems, they emerge from the margins and into the center of society as activists and defenders of community and common resources.  These women have stepped in and claimed agency within this context.  Through these new constructions, women’s organizations and groups are now gaining support of the community and being publicly granted legitimacy as active members of the communities.

Many of the anti-dam movements, and environmental movements in general, developing across India’s landscape are deeply rooted in the ideas and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.  Although his great work, Hind Swaraj, was in reference to freedom from colonial rule, its ideas remain highly applicable and are deeply ingrained in modern anti-dam discourse.  As Gandhi describes it, “modern civilization is a disease (Gandhi, 2007, p. 34).”  Modern civilization used in this context refers to the capitalist, industrial, cultural homogeneity that is Western “development” and culture.  Gandhi analyzed this so called civilization as a degradation of morality, religion, duty, and self.  The discourse used in the anti-dam movements updates these ideals and applies them to the current discourse and framework. 

What activists are calling for is “appropriate technology – the application of grace and scale to machinery in pursuit of ecological balance” (Leslie, 2005, p. 28).  The Narmada Bachao Andolan calls for the use of small check dams that could provide modest amounts of power to individual small villages instead of encouraging the wasteful energy consumption habits of Westerners.  Activists call for responsible, sustainable development that takes into account social and environmental implications of dam building and technology.  They call for examination of effects across societal boundaries and a government that listens to the concerns and protests of its people. 

september 21

This video is really quite powerful and awesome.  It sent shivers up and down my entire body.  I love the idea, and I can't wait to see how it pans out this year.  I'm also trying to think of what I'll personally do...

resolution

I've resolved to teach my future dog commands in only spanish.

Yes, I like this plan.  Also, can limit what others tell my dog to do.

Excellent.

Also, will work on said resolution by talking to other people's dogs in spanish.

This might be fun.

Step One:  find a dog to talk to....

quandary

Sometimes people surprise me in the most interesting ways.  Yesterday was one such case.  I wish I could fully describe it and explain why yesterday was such a lovely day.  It felt like it wasn't one day, but several.  So much can happen and change in a day.  People can surprise you, while others can remain highly predictable and frustrating.  Yet they exist in the same space.

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I'm slowly working on a few felting projects.  I'm knitting the piece first, then turning the beautiful wool into felt.  There is one skein of  yarn that I'm in love with as is.  I'll post a picture of it very soon.  I'm currently trying to figure out what to do with it to keep the properties I love so much, but make it a practical and functional piece.  I love the yarn unknitted for its colors and soft feather-like texture.  A melting of sage green, soft grey and hits of light browns and egg shell.  I knitted it into a swatch and was disappointed with the outcome.  I felted the swatch, and was only slightly satisfied.  I shall solider on.  Any suggestions as to what to do with it would be lovely.

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There has been a lack of beautiful found metal in my life lately.  Perhaps I've just been too busy and not paying attention to the ground around me, but nothing glittery has really caught my eye.  I have refound several bits while cleaning up my desk, apartment, and emptying out bags.  Its almost as if I foresaw this slight lull and created a treasure hunt for my future self.  Which would be rad if I had purposely done that.  Perhaps I need to devise surprises for future Liz.  I think she'd like that.

morning procrastination

outsourced

Interesting looking film that will be playing in Gainesville Sept 19 - Sept 25 at the Hippodrome:

Outsourced

I'd really like to see it.  Word is out that we're going to try to do a India reunion and see the movie together.  I love that we're all staying close.

adult minus the dull

This week it has really hit me that I'm an adult now. I gave a talk at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art this past Thursday on Water as a Metaphor for Identity. My talk was on women's activism around water politics in India. TB, Kite, and Jimi Hendrix also spoke. We all kicked ass. It went remarkably well. So many people that I know and love were there to cheer us on. It meant the world to me. Almost everyone from the India trip was there. It was wonderful to see everyone and reminded me how much I love them. Greenie called me the next day and told me people were taking notes on my portion of the program. WHAT I HAD TO SAY WAS NOTE WORTHY!  Perhaps I can do this academia thing after all.

Today Karebear, Greenie and I went to Jacksonville to taste cakes and have Greenie try on her wedding dress and make sure it fit. I cried when we walked in to the bridal shop. Tears of joy and pride. I can't believe the little girl I met 10 years ago is a beautiful woman and getting married. She looked so beautiful. Karebear cried too. We looked silly I'm sure, but couldn't help it.  Abe Lincoln is going to have a heart attack when she walks down the aisle to be tied to him in holy matrimony.



That's all for now. Botany classes are going amazing well. I was learning how to identify leaves in Taxonomy Lab Friday and was geeking out... hard.  I'm very proud of my inner geek, I embraced it long ago.

pisgah hike photos #6

morning procrastination

While peeing on campus today I noticed some beautiful grafitti on the stall wall. It read:

Don't diet.

You're already beautiful.


Thank you stranger! You've made my morning.

pisgah hike photos #5

vain vogue

This article was in the NYT and sent to me by the lovely Erin.  

Vogue India

I'm so freaking angry I'm shaking.  I don't even have a place to begin ranting.  This is NOT an answer to India's poverty problems. Encouragement of consumerism is only going to deepen the many socioeconomic crises and class gaps. Good job Vogue, now I want to burn every edition I come across.