sustainability – art, design and social practice

ugh, Im sorry this is so late, I don’t have internet so I forgot about it and I am having picture trouble, I will post links to pictures next

so, I made people a bunch of gift bags in the spirit giving, and probably because I have been thinking about Christmas for the past two months. Now that it’s so close, Im not that excited, I was more excited about claymation movies and eggnog. ANYWAYS, I made gift bags, and they were filled with things that I hoped you all would use and then make for yourselves. They included Bread, seed starters, and laundry detergent, and then a little sheet of all the recipes I used.

These past three months or so I’ve been researching things I can make myself and the results were so suprising! I found it mind boggling our dissconnect from what we buy and what we know about what we buy. People have been talking about animal cruelty, chemicals, consumption, etc etc on end in this class, and this fits right in. The gift bags were my first try, I figured, even if the things I use to make these objects aren’t 100% enviromentally friendly, at least all of these things can be re-used, and not recycled REUSED……even the bread because you digest it, it’s the most natural… But the bread pan, glass jars, seed starters, bags, all included with the intention that you’d use it again. SO don’t you throw away those jars! use them as cups or something. I’ve also been researching  tiny homes. While I did not really divulge this research in class I’ve been really interested in the idea of building a space in which I live that I have complete control over, that no landlord owns, etc etc. THIS IS SO MUCH EASIER THAN I WOULD HAVE IMAGINED!!

insane, I’ve also been researching communities, and the ideal situation in which these small (>900sq ft) homes would be grouped together and the space would be divided into private/public/community gardens/ and what we can do to combat, or re-image suburban sprawl. woosh…

My mom now lives in a generic split level in 70s suburbs, and pretty soon my brother will be moving out and going to college. She’s debated what to do when that happens, on her list of things that prevent her from staying in her house: Very old parents whos’ health is on the decline, Mounting payments, mortgage, college, insurance, etc etc, and the house it too big for one person! She’s played with the idea of moving back home, She’s the youngest of 6 and the only single one, and she’s willing to devote her time to allowing her parents to stay in the home they love so much while she gives them extra care, and a watchful eye, But moving in with your parents when you are 52 is tough, we’re trying to find a way in which she can be helpful and independent, and this includes converting an old shed into a home. Anyways, that is a fun project I am hoping to help with this summer and am hoping to impart some of my sustainable ideas generated from this class to my mother, off that tangent here are the recipes….

I’ll add pics soon

Vegan Banana Pumpkin Bread
I can’t help but be wary about vegan recipes, but this one turned out fluffy and full of taste and moist, and just good! I had the six year old I babysit over at my house while I was finishing a batch up and she ate over half of one of the mini loafs I made to hand out to the class.

what you’ll need:
1 can (14 oz) Pumpkin puree (you can easily make your own)
1/2 cup of applesauce – ditto on the applesauce
2 smashed bananas (these compensate for three eggs in a non-vegan recipe, but also make it taste extra good)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350* and grease you pan(s)

Mix in large bowl:
sugar
vegetable oil
pumpkin puree
applesauce
bananas
set aside

in smaller bowl mix:
flour
baking soda
cinnamon
nutmeg
baking powder
salt
ginger

Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet until just mixed and then spoon into pan(s)
let cook 50-55 minutes or until darkish golden brown, or when it springs back when you touch the loaf.

Laundry Detergent
I also handed out to the class some homemade laundry detergent, this recipe yields 3 gallons and cost less than a 1 gallon container of detergent. It works the same, and you use the same amount in a load of laundry as store bought detergent

what you’ll need:
Washing Soda (you can find this in the laundry section of your local grocery store, I found it in Giant, but not Safeway or Superfresh, It’s made by Arm and Hammer)
Borax (you can also find this in the laundry section, they had this in every store)
I bar soap (whatever kind will work – I used Irish Spring)
5 Gallon bucket
pot
water
cheese grater

First, grate I bar of soap with a cheese grater, while you do this, heat a pot of 4 cups of water to a near boil and slowly add the grated soap until dissolved into the water. This will leave you with some very soapy water.
Next fill a 5 gallon bucket with 3 gallons of warm water, I found it was easiest to measure with old milk cartons.
Mix the soapy mixture into the 3 gallons of water and stir
Next add 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup if borax
*be careful with the borax, use gloves or a long spoon with mixing and make sure to keep chemicals away from pets or small children
Once mixed let detergent cool overnight, it should turn into a slimy/ gelatinous consistancy, so if you are going to transfer it to smaller containers I would recomend doing this before the mixture cools. The color will be a muted version of the color of your soap, and you can experiment with smells, soaps, herbs etc.

oh yeah here’s my BLOG where the recipes are also

http://recipesforrituals.blogspot.com/

please dont fail me