Sticks and stones

As my interest turns more and more to mixed media and 3D, so it is also turning to using more natural materials, or materials i can make look natural. The organic world truly is an amazing place! While i look more and learn more from technological advances and techniques in the textile world, i crave being able to transform sticks and stones into art. As much as i love some of the synthetic materials available, i want to stop buying into the "processed" world, use what's around me without destroying the natural world, and feel satisfied that i have expressed and explored what i need to.

That's not to say that i won't continue using my beloved Invisible thread, or synthetic batting, Lutrador and synthetic fabrics --they all melt and burn so nicely, which confuses my instinct not to pollute but delights my Pygmalion side. BUT if i can keep those to a minimum and use "sticks and stones", perhaps my adventures will take me to a place where i can substitute use natural elements eventually for those. It's hard sometimes to reconcile a social consciousness with "progress"! I believe as i delve further into myself--that Core thing :}---i'll find some answers.

So much for Sunday morning's Introspection Moment! Feel free to laugh or deride, i can take it :}

Ahem.

We have a pile of these at work and no-one but myself likes them.

I'm gonna buy them all and use them. Dried Banana sticks, can't get any cooler, organic looking or natural.

Lemme at 'em!

Comments

[Sequana]

Who wouldn't like THOSE? My gosh. Grab them all before the rest of them wake up. *S*

[Anna]

Its very difficult to go 'organic' in textiles for although you can use cotton fabrics and cotton threads they are all processed - synthetics use natural products too such as plant extracts and oils. I agree we should create ethically and recycle what has already been made or use nature to help without destroying it. Where on earth do you work to have banana sticks available ?? :-)

[arlee]

Very good points Anna----honestly i had forgotten that. What i want to do is lessen my consumerism really, but those are points to think about certainly.
I'm a floral designer "by day" and have access to a lot of unusual materials :}

[Paula Hewitt]

I struggle between my use of resources, consumerism etc, and wanting to buy all this stuff I see other people using. I am trying to buy more stuff from charity shops etc - but its hard - none of our charity shops stock lutrador!
Those banana sticks look remarkably like a dried something else i saw once in the Chinese herbalist as a cure for impotence...

[arlee]

Paula, not unless the cure for impotence is 36" long :} :O

[Sarah E.]

I wondered when you were going to go public with this decision. You've been heading in this direction for a while, and I can't wait to see where you're going to go with it!! Bestest wishes from YFT

[MA]

I agree with you re the need to use more natural materials, or at the very least to use up what we already have. I've been trying to resist buying new things to create with, despite drooling over a lot of the great-looking ( but commercial) projects we're seeing. It seems to be a general trend pretty much everywhere...the 'green' movement, if you want to label it as such. It seems we're going back to the depression times in our outlook, which, in my opinion, is a good thing. I'm managing this when it comes to raw materials, but can't break my compulsion for new books!