Week 9 (Mathematics & traditional and contemporary practices of making and doing )

Reading Reflection:

Excerpts from Sharon Kallis, Common Threads: Weaving Community Through Collaborative Eco-Art 

The Chapter titled “Building for the Change from Ground Up” is from the Book Common Threads : Weaving Community through Collaborative Eco-art “ by Sharon Kallis. This reading is about promoting local production of goods and services that we so heavily rely on external resources, industry - all dictated by purchasing power.

STOP 

The act of learning to make for personally use what we have previously purchased is perhaps the most fundamentally important gift we can give to ourselves.

This statement really resonated with me. In today’s fast paced lives, we depend so much on the consumer industry. Most recent example being when we decorated our new home with market bought expensive wall hangings. Recently my mom had gone back to India, and she brought 3-4 of the art work pieces that she had made herself. We framed those and have replaced our “expensive wall hangings” with mom’s art work. The beauty of it, and the fact that we are able to relate more with it, and mom can talk about her work gives so much peace, satisfaction and just brings a new life to the walls of our home.

STOP

It is really important to be able to step outside of the consumer lifestyle….if you think about how a lot of kids have grown up the last few decades, not having any agency outside shopping…wanting something, getting it, being disappointed and then looking for ht next thing…..whereas when you make something…you share the skills for making something with others and people value that –its an incredible thing, there is a real worthiness to that.

Again, this really struck the chord with me as these days as a parent I am feeling frustrated with how quickly the kids lose interest in a toy and want another new one. Reflecting back to my childhood, we dint have many toys- and found value and interest in the select few ones we had. The point shared here above that when you share the skills for making something with other - there is a real worthiness to it. My husband & I recently had a debate about that he wants to get a outdoor swing and play set  to be placed in the backyard (worth $1500)....I am against this type of setting. He says the kids should have something to play with outdoors. But now I am thinking what can we create with them outdoors - involve them in the process. Starting at very basic, I think we will start by getting kids to grow their own mini vegetable garden in the backyard….something they will take care of, and take proud in watching the crops grow. 

Activity

For this week’s activity I tried doing the 5-strand braid with my daughter’s hair, it just turned out to be a big mess and my daughter dint have patience to sit through another of my tries. So we stuck to our standard three strand braid. As we do the three strand braid on a regular basis, I dont have to think about the process that goes behind it. My husband on the other hand has never tried doing braids. So for this activity I guided him through the process of doing a three strand braid. Finally after many tries, he did get the hang of it…here is a pic of his attempt of braiding my hair. He described the whole experience as a very unique way in which our hands and brain are working together to make a beautiful pattern.