PRODUCTION SPRING 1-Processes
workshop weekend 11.05-12.05
prep tree- walk and felles meeting at Losæter with everyone- 30.04
meeting zoe Losæter - 20.04 - befaring
reworked open call final version dated 19.04
see link
testing painting with ink on bunting prototype- 15.04
- buckthorn and pine bark are stronger and work fine on textile
- adding guar gum to make printing paste also works well!
- printed with plastic piece
- how long did it take to dry? maybe 1/2 hr
- do we have to use gloves? only if your skin is sensitive.
meeting Merete 12.04- reworked open call
- 1st page: title + name + contact info + illustration (the berries?) ONLY THAT
- 2nd page: motivation letter, in the form of a letter, dear etc... cut down to half of my original motivation letter. THIS IS ONLY ABOUT THEM.
- 3rd page: project proposal, what is the project, who are involved, how and timeline (what is happening when, who do I need from them etc..), they want to know what’s happening from now to the 29/30th may event.
- images: cover image that illustrates the project, few images throughout the proposal
- less information, cut down the info
- edit collaborators - one sentence each (refer to web page where you could have more)
- ‘location part’ of original proposoal put int he website
- budget goes out only to KHIO
- simplify the timeline: show what they need to know, if it was booked, who I spoke to, etc...
- remove purpose + goals + inspiration parts of original proposal
- contact info last
- one has to do that first ‘original’ draft to get to the cut down draft.
- THINK OF DIGITAL WAY OF PUBLISHING?
- inspiration for documenting - storyboard? oral storytelling publciation? pencil/accordeon book?
- add in the oral presentation a bit about part 2 - future to come.
- storyboard is a way to plan what is needed to document. about the project
- story should explain the main picture of the berries
- maybe the readings should be in the spoken word (literary references)
- ‘squash food for real’ art project
- contact Linn lervik, MAPS alumni, living on Nesodden also into ecological art (big surprise).
meeting Francesca- 11.04- natural dyes and inks talk
- she thinks the project is a wonderful idea and is willing to help me out with the printing/painting workshop
- she has lots of inks we could use for the workshop
- she never held a workshop before but has worked with natural dyes and inks for many many years
- she doesn’t mind not getting paid (for now)
- gave me pine bark, buckthorn and arronia berries inks to test on bunting
Open call proposal final version dated 02.04
see link
SoMe website publishing of events-01.04
see link
meeting zoe 01.04- brainstorming
- whittling: look at two key areas of the whittling : CRAFT and TIME.
-CRAFT: you have to know the material that you’re working with, how it works, when it grows, when to pick it, and through that you get respect of what you’re working with.
- TIME: making (tree) supports for the future.
- in order to understand our interconnectedness with the rest of the world. we’ve lost our understanding of what it is to be human (?) which is where storytelling and craft comes in to remind us to explore our connection. looking at what separates us from other beings?
- the ability to make/craft and tell stories is a way to look back to the past to inform the future. BUT not to mimick it/go backwards.
- doing craft makes you have a different perspective on time
- ‘crafting tree supports will make you think long-term’
- the tree supports can be chipped into mulch for trees once they are older
- an unspoken part of human existence was these links/reliance on understanding the organisms around us for food, craft our lives really. and now we don’t ‘need’ to. and now, the people who still know this knowledge are massively threatened or people who have the privilege to take the time to re-learn or people who have taken an education (biologist, biochemist, botanist, herbalist, arborist, etc..), which is linked to social standing and class.
- talk about when your brain is so stimulated (that overwhelming feeling in my stomach) you need the element of craft to focus (there’s limitations within the craft). talk about this topic as well?
- craft, time, long-term thinking- tree work to ‘get to know the material’ part. tool-making, grandmother effect.
- they will be doing decorative whittling
- how can we tap in to this ancient knowledge while also acknowledging that life today is intrynsically from ‘then’ (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing).
- make questions for the event, to put up on the event page so people can think in advance about the questions, and then talk about it while whittling.
- when I’m knitting, my mind flows freely, it focuses my brain and also switches it off so my thoughts roam freely.
- act of talking/discussing while doing something with your hands.
Meeting with zoe then eliana on zoom, mari on the phone the next day - 20.03
- is ok with doing in one weekend, looking at the 11-12th may
- saturday= tree walk, sunday= practical day w/garden party
- things she needs to know: circumference of the stem
- gingko tree might be quite expensive
- there’s an Oslo tree day in autumn
- ask Andrew for Oslo Trær contact
- tree support can be a big pole with holes and branches coming out of it
- tree supports to be put in the same day as placeholders for the trees, not too deep in the group
- workshop lasting 1,5hrs
- what’s the narrative of the whittling workshop, can we make it not disjointed, maybe it’s nice that everything is happening over a weekend. full circle thing.
- sign a waiver for knife- to create an awareness
- choices of branches from different tree species (dyed or not?)
- Merete: risk assessment from school?
- first aid kit 2stk
- knives for 12-15 people
- there’s a tree nursery at Bogstad/Sørkedalen
- liz to do: promotion and event of whittling
- to do with zoe: brainstorm key themes, how we can talk about things in different ways.
- 2 separate events, whittling and printings/painting= 2hrs for printing (40mins blindfolded, the rest is for fun), 2,5hrs for whittling and including putting tree supports in the ground.
- what are the things important to mention, instead of talking about climatic changes that the tree responds to, how the tree senses things.
- dyeing wood? test, call francesca!
- her main focus and workshop is in the second part in autumn but will help out in the first part.
- Bydel Bjerke: tree initiative planting with youth
- Oslo Fjord- planting sea weed workshop for second part in autumn? Eliana will contact them, how many people: 15-20stk? Losæter collaborating with UNG Norge just by the harbour?
- regarding planting along the road to Losæter: she will look at trees with good air quality
- testing the water quality as its own workshop?
- comment on the workshops this spring: what is the language, can they speak/write in their own language? how do you handle multi-lingual, that’s another way of being inclusive.
- can we borrow chairs and tables from Losæter?
- what’s the contact for Losæter for studieforbundet solidaritet?
dates for workshop- weekend of 11-12th may
- dates for our pre-walk: after Mari is back, middle of april
- date for get-together ?
- contact stephanie to book date at Losæter
- contact AB Hovind for studieforbundet solidaritet thing
- tree walk- planning the walk can be done when Mari is back
- invite people to bring their own notebook to write in
- go for walk, then people go back to a tree they want to go to and write.
- use my email when people do booking to book a space at event, Mari will make the event (event with waiting list). yes to up to 20 people
- don’t put the recording part in the event
Results from contracts- 24.03
- I askd each of the collaborators to confirm their participation and send a short statement of how they define their role/contribution to the project and what they expect from it in return.
- only two answered:
A short statement of how you define your role/contribution to the project and what you expect from it in return
My goal in this project is to co create a tree planting workshop, where old practices meet new generations, creating a lasting legacy. I will teach the type of soil needed, the mineral powder that supports growth and the sacred ritual of creating a healthy environment where trees can thrive. In return, I would receive a payment in the form of a donation based on the time and effort I put in and I'm also excited to meet new people while supporting Liz's initiative.
An artist statement and biography for promotional purposes
Artist Statement
Interactive Sculpture Exhibition is the media I choose to show my artistic work, where form, scale and senses merges. The connection between concepts is a strong ingredient in it that unites what seems separate. My research goes around Social Law and the Animal, Mineral and Plant Kingdoms, these silent Masters that shape our physical reality.
Biography
Eliana Vero was born in Venezuela, raised in the Canary Islands and nowadays based in Oslo, Norway.
She is a sculptress and an interior architect who has been working for more than a decade with interior and urban spaces. Throughout her career and professional experience she has studied various disciplines, product design, sacred geometry, science, farming, human rights and poetry, which flow freely within her artwork. Working this way, she enjoys the opportunity to explore the potential around the subject. Her interdisciplinary work includes art installations, murals, recycling sculpture, photography and restoration. This results in an interesting portfolio that brings together knowledge and imagination.
"I move frequently, this fact stimulates my curiosity and opens my mind to learn the secrets of nature. I studied science, but chose art to understand the alchemy of materials. I moved from my home in the mountains of La Gomera in order to achieve greater understanding of art and culture, willing to work as a bridge between cultures".
P.S_ Extra info about the 2nd option of the project^ In case we plant on the border between the garden and the roadThe trees that I recommend you to plant in these specific area: Conifer family like Walnut, Cypress or Oak. The way to distribute them on the ground should be in a zigzag shape. It's really important to take into account the necessary components to enhance soil Tilth in the area (Soil tilth is naturally maintained by the interaction of plant roots with the soil biota).
Hi Liz,
I just want to let you know that I have read your letter of intent and the content all sounds good. I am fully aware of the funding situation and I enter into this collaboration understanding my role and the responsibilities that come with it - i will send you the statement confirming how i see my role and bio etc within the next few days
Hi Liz,
This email confirms that I understand the scope of my involvement with the project ‘(Re)-learning tree-time: exploring long-term, thinking from the more-than-human time perspective’
I am responsible for contributing to the collective effort of conceptualizing, organising and realising a series of workshops. This involves preparing the practical aspects of the whittling workshop and together with Liz, introducing the more theoretical topics for the workshop and discussion. I will be sourcing the materials and designing the tree supports in advance.
My involvement in this project benifits my practice as I am keen to put more energy into the social and community centered aspects of my work, with the public and environmental topics at the center. I am always excited to collaborate with individuals with varying backgrounds/expertise/perspectives.
I understand that this project is currently unfunded.
Best wishes!
Zoe
Bio/ artist statement:Zoe Jo Rae
A British Interdisciplinary Designer and Arborist living in Oslo. Zoe studied Sustainable Design at Brighton University, graduating with ‘Hunter Gatherer in the Anthropocene’ - a project that became a manifesto for her professional practice. A rural upbringing provided hands - on engagement with natural materials and an interest in our evolving relationship with our planet. Zoe employs material experimentation, narrative and animism creating objects that trigger dialog and actions around cultural and environmental challenges. Working with Oslo’s trees - both in their living form and as a material resource - provide unique interactions with nature in the urban environment.
Zoe is an advocate for resourcefulness, collaboration, the power of humour and re-wilding the design process.
Meeting Merete 06.03 - tutorial
- contract of intent
- we don’t have the funding to pay right now, if she (Eliana) thinks of it as a job then maybe she shouldn’t be in the development stage.
- I’m growing an art project, I’m initiating.
- project description for the school, collaborators and for participants. THE SCRIPT!
- budgeting : list of things that you need, time and space (value of things, of ALL things involved, for ex the room where you have your meetings in).
- why am I interested in finding out about time perspective from trees? is that why I am interested as an artist
- parrallel bw me and the tree, how do I say that?
- proposal: 3 aspects about what’s going to happen and one about why. PLACE YOURSELF IN THE ART!
- what happens when you put an ‘I’ instead of ‘we’.
-KHIO is a collaborator in the project, not as a student, don’t put khio in public advertising about part 1.
Meeting Zoe 06.03 - contract talk
- she will write what she thinks would be good to get out of her workshop.
- she’s ok with my role
- she will send a list of things she needs
- money: travel reimbursment, not buying the tools, salary would be nice. is open to possibility to help each other out in the future as ‘payment’.
- hours: time for pre-production
- knowing when the workshop would need to be!
Meeting Eliana 06.03- contract talk
- bit weird meeting. it doesn’t seem like she wants to get involved on the idea level ‘we already did that’. she doesn’t understand the difference between her and getting Andrew from KVANN to do a workshop.
- she says I am asking professionals to put in knowledge in workshops, what does she want to get out of it: knowledge. I create the workshops and I add the professionals who put in their knowledge.
- she wants to see a contract template. ‘in the case that hours are over time then...’
- is there something specific she wants to put in the contract when it comes to the capacity he has time or other? she just wants to see a template.
Meeting Mari 04.03- contract talk
- collab with Mari- tree walk. what’s her role? apart from ‘leading’ the workshop, how involved is she in the overall project? for me it’s great if she takes charge of what she needs, budget, planning.
- the tree walk is part of my research project and I can use the ‘findings’ in my final thesis (quoting them etc...)
- how much time planning, how many hours? she doesn’t know yet this far in advance.
- she said she could use some of the results in her tree walk project, and she will take the responsibility for the planning, what’s needed, etc... for the workshop. she will make the event, practical info about her workshop but the project in general is common.
- in our next meeting we should talk more about who the audience is and writing about it. find different ways of sharing to them?
- the challenge is recruiting people- needs time and effor, finding the right channels, words to use, etc....
- she says to email KVANN about some kind of collabroation, give a concise description of what we want to do, ‘if this is relevant i can send budgets’
- check studieforbundet solidaritet but you get the money next year if the workshops are accepted
- urtealliansen meeting recap: talk to Francesca, she works with natural dyes and has experience colouring wood. 2 trees are enough for the space they hve on Urtealliansen, they would like gingko and hawthorn. talk to Andrew about the soil, it’s not super deep. local climate is quite warm.
OPEN CALL PROPOSAL DRAFT 1 02.04 - link here
Meeting Eliana, Zoe & Mari - 23.02.24 (see minutes of meeting here)
- each collaborator has their ‘own’ workshop and gets help from the others.
- map out a handful of trees, which each participant will visit on the walk, then chose a tree and sit with the tree.
- Instructions to write everything that comes to mind without stopping with the option of either talking to the tree, as a dialogue/conversation, or write what the tree is telling you.
- (Option of recording for those who don’t like to write?) then debrief, invitation to read out/share if they want, invitation to share with artists so a little book can be made of all the conversations (to be given/sent to/picked up by the participants at a later date)
- discussion of ‘the knowledge’ while whittling supports for trees to come (in autumn)., in the end the supports are ‘planted’ in the ground.
- the knowlege= more-than-human / tree perspectives on time. the trees from the area what have they ‘seen’, what’s their time, how is their time slower, what can we learn from that.
- OBS! Ask if the discussion/sharing of thoughts can be recorded. As part of the ‘little book’ to be shared/sent to/picked up by participants at a later date.
- Number of trees and which trees to be determined
- Planting in autumn
- Include singing (!!!) in the planting (just as there are harvesting songs, use ‘planting’ songs) make it into a performance too (?)
- Lead by: ELIANA, with help from ZOE and MARI (planting song)
- Ask if the event of planting can be filmed
- role-playing game while celebrating the end of this first round of the project at a garden party organised at Losæter
- picture a descendant of your choice two generations down at their 90th birthday party. As they’re about to say a thank you speech they suddenly see a picture of you, their ancestor, who planted a now very mature tree. They decide to speak about their ancestor as their speech, how their life has inspired you or your family, their habits that have descended through the ages, ...
- printmaking using found objects at Losæter, with natural dyes (made from the help of Francesca from urtealliansen?)
- printing on textiles to make the decorations for the 90th birthday party (bunting)- to give to Losæter as a thank you gift (if they want it)
- printing on paper to make paper lanterns for the burthday party, which participants can take home if they want
- printing while blindfolded to use other senses than eyes
- artworks/art installations
- made during the whittling workshop then planted into the ground where the trees from the tree planting workshop will be planted.
- stay over summer on the urtealliansen plot at Losæter.
- made from gathered wood from old trees as a gift to give the younger trees
- permanent installation on the urtealliansen plot of land at Losæter (to be used as supports for the trees to be planted in autumn, and for the rest of the tree’s life maybe?)
- making the decorations (bunting and paper lanterns) for the birthday party using printmaking and natural dyes on textiles/paper
- temporary installation for the evening of the birthday party
- is this on a film-loop throughout the workshops in the background?
- is it a film-screening?
- is it just for research, for my sake?
- transcribed recordings and texts from the participants with their permission, pictures from the workshops of the installation ‘objects’, made into an artist book.
- several copies to be made and given/sent to/picked up by the participants of the workshops at a later date
Meeting Eliana Vero - 19.02.24
- also up for collaborating
- interesting in slowing down, old knowledge, legacy/heritage, and passing on of knowledge (through self-esteem, enotional intelligence, economic intelligence, oratory intelligence)
- she has a project with mapping the old creeks along Alna elva.
- knowledge of the elders = knowledge of the trees
- made me realise more and more that I’m missing the indigenous perspective on time in this project, she mentioned artist Katarina Skår Lisa (also lives on Nesodden), who is sapmi, and put us in contact.
- rock book- colombian chief (story from Julio, from Gaia architects in Nesodden)
Liz & Zoe walk - 14.02.24
- talked about collaborating and Zoe is definitely up for it, more than just doing a whittling workshop but helping to shape the idea, ownership to the idea
- she can provide with lots of wood soon (tree work starts in march)
- the tree we looked at near lokomotivværksted is about 120 yrs old, maple. (she can look at the tree and deduce how it speaks, what it’s saying, the age, what type, etc..)
Liz walking around Losæter to map out the trees I’m interested in- 05.02.24
- defined an area (see map)
- identified the trees I want to show Zoe when we go for a walk
- took pictures, idea for smaller, satellite artworks: taking macro shots of trees and their ecosystems so much that they become a landscape or a different imagined reality (to a tiny tiny ant walking on the tree trunk, the bark is like mountains to it) & film-loop of the tree-time (placing a camera at the foot of a tree, or somewhere, that would film over time, accelerating it into a timelapse?)
2nd meeting with Mari 11.02.24
- she’s interested in collaborating on the project: interested in slowing down, time, bringing people in on how amazing trees are, being aware of what we can learn from them. entrance of storytelling as a way to sew the knowledge into a bigger picture. talking TO trees, when we are in the presence of these trees we’re always talking ABOUT them
- deep-time is part of the seed
- looking at the time of year when the project is happening: in may a lot of trees are flowering, connected to the stories, pollinating process. the seeds come through the flowers.
- seed picking walk? for the autumn?
- planting the trees on the Urtealliansen plot. Herbs don’t need that much water so trees wouldn’t affect them too much.
- WHITTLING: whittling a ‘present’ for the trees to be planted, from the wood of the big older trees from around Losæter, which could also act as a tuteur for the new trees.
- ask Merete: if the project gets funding and becomes part of a bigger project, is that ok? being a student project.
Phone meeting with Robin from Efferus planteshop 08.02.24
- humidity is no disadvantage to planting trees from seeds
- Losæter is climate zone H2 so it should be seeds for that zone (or H3, H4, H5, H6)
- type of soil matters a bit, but fruit trees, nut trees find their way, but different types of soil will affect the trees differently: heavy clay soil= more prone to root rot.
- DON’T plant pine trees, they eat up the space because they only like acidic soil (and will therefore make the soil more acidic)
- apples trees don’t do that well with walnut trees for ex
- he always advises in his workshops: plant whatever gives the quickest yield as it will start getting the soil ‘going’ ( first sprouts can yield in 4 days depending). willow helps the soil.
- wind is a factor- find out where the predominant wind directions are, as well as shade/sun
- small leaves thrive with sun, things with wide leaves tolerate more shade
Phone meeting with Andrew McMillion (the seed guy, board member of KVANN) 08.02.24
- he can offer to hold a course on stratification maybe (for the fall?), 3,5hrs or 2hrs
- baking my project into KVANN’s søknadprocesses
- nut seeds for example need stratification, narrow down which seeds I want to work with
- contact Eliana Vero, artist, to help me plan the seed/tree planting workshop and then go back to him with what course he can offer
- I’m running out of time if I wanted to plant seeds in may (and even prepare seeds for planting?)
thoughts after the andrew talk: planting sprouts in May with stratification course in the future with other seeds ? scrap planting of seeds and focus on the storytelling of the trees for the May workshop, then do a 2nd workshop in autumn for stratification etc... (as part of the KVANN projects?)
Meeting with Tarjei (permaculture friend)-brainstorming - 31.01.24
- a kvm to each participant to plant many trees at Losæter, is this possible?
- stupid question: there’s lots of Elm in the area, if we plant Elm at Losæter, will they ‘communicate’ with the ones further up that they need nutrition?
questions for her:
1)does she know any tree experts who can tell me about the trees in gamle oslo (Sørenga area), their age, history of the area, stories about old trees , etc... 2)whittling workshop? making a wooden envelope?
3) any thoughts on the project?
- contact Jenny, fellow arborist, info specific to seeds maybe? (degree in biology)
- contact/take a look at Oslo Trær with Oslo kommune: community planting of trees (sapplings though), engaging people to plant trees.
- tree expert: contact/take a look at Norsk Trepleieforum, fb page and ask specific questions of what I want to find out about the trees.
- Bymiljøetaten: they’re more like ‘office’ arborists but might know people?
- look at old/historical maps on Norges kart (or even finn.no), she sometimes uses it to cross-check information on the age of trees.
- seed storage: what about making ‘test tube’ looking wooden objects, with a plug or cork to block the top?
- TO DO: DEFINE THE AREA, MAP OUT THE TREES
Initial thoughts of the process:
- difficult to decipher when going back to 1880s
- little info and a bit depressing stories so felt a bit heavy, this isn’t necessarily what I want the project to be about.
- all that’s remembered of the ancestors is that they died of dyphteria.
- only info they have about people in general is through fattigvesenet.
- looked in the register for names of people registered at addresses from gamle oslo (byspegade, byspebryggen, Saxegaard, Saxegaardsgade, Klemensgade, Sörengen (gård?), Strandgade...). then got the folio and protokoll nr to get the fattigvesenet books, and the info about the people.
- to get the addresses I looked at old maps, interesting to see when the industries started coming in (Nylands Verksted, Lokomotivverksted, Kra Hövleri, etc..) and got a name for an arbeiderbolig along Liabroveien (1896). thought of checking Arbeidernes museum.
Motivation Letter to Losæter & short bio- 17.01.24
- when she does her botany workshops she always uses storytelling as the communicative medium.
- storytelling is sensorial, visual, movement.....
- on the guardian of the forest: take people to the forest, maybe the guardian of the forest is in losæter?
- she has a workshop on sitting with a tree for an hour, once a week, for a year.
-people go to workshops for an experience (in the case of my projects, they could even get a book out of it)
- contact KVAN (she’s a board member of the herb guild) and Andrew McMillion, seed expert, also called pumpkin andrew.
-mentioned an artist in Linderud who works with seeds?