An article about Food Font was written by Cliff Bellamy and was printed in the Herald Sun newspaper. The article is called Playing With Food- With a Purpose and talks about the inspiration behind Food Font, the project itself, and about past projects. . You can read it on the Herald Sun website.
Links:
Food With a Purpose – www.heraldsun.com
What would a fish soup taste like if the recipe was based on publicly available local fishing data? What a pizza would be like if it was based on the population of Helsinki? What are the principles of local cuisine and how can this be represented?
One way to think about a recipe is that it is comprised of food and data. In the Open Data Cooking Workshop organized with Pixelache in Helsinki in September, the relationship of food and data is going a bit farther. The workshop explores how to represent information and data related to culinary topics. How can local food be represented in its qualities of color, form, texture, smell, taste, nutrition, and origin? In the workshop participants will have the opportunity to translate data in concrete, as well as more abstract methods. This includes using the senses, numbers, descriptions, language, and other means.
The workshop is described as a “collaborative research experience, blurring the boundaries between teachers and participants as well as data and food.” At the end of the workshop, a public event with a “data menu” will be tasted and documetation will be done in the form of a online cookbook.
The workshop is produced by Pixelache and organized by prozessagenten based studio that researches and initates processes by art and design), the OK Festival, Marc Aulum (creative chef and owner of the restaurant Qulma), and Moritz Stefaner and Miska Knapek, who do research and work in information visualization.
Image Source:
www.flickr.com/photos/suviko/
www.pixelache.ac/helsinki/open-data-cooking-workshop/
www.qulma.fi/
Links:
www.pixelache.ac/helsinki/open-data-cooking-workshop/
prozessagenten
This past weekend we setup the Food Font Booth for the first time at the Elmwood-Bidwell farmer’s market in Buffalo, NY.
The setup worked well since it protected us from the light rain and sun, provided enough room for two people to make letters at the same time, and had enough space for a crowd to gather to watch and join in the activity.
Food Font will be at the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, NC next Sunday April 5th from 11 am – 1pm. Look for our setup!
Here is a slideshow of the Food Font setup from the Flickr site.
Food Font had its first farmer market event at the Elmwood-Bidwell Market in Buffalo, NY. People at the market made a food alphabet out of food from local farms. The food that was used included peaches from Bozard’s Farm; squash, onions, tomatoes, beans: from Native Offerings Farm; cucumbers, okra from Winter Farms and blueberries from Erdle farm.
Before the end of the event the entire list of letters, numbers, and characters got done. People still stopped by to make letters – so we ended up with some extra Q’s and A’s. (and maybe some extra P’s) The alphabet shows the mood of the event – upbeat, creative, and curious. There are some really elegant letters and numbers that were made. Some people really took some time in crafting a letter, carefully adjusting blueberries, okra, or picking out the right green bean.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the event! Pictures from the event are up on the Food Font Photo page and also on Flickr. The Elmwood-Bidwell food alphabet will eventually be edited and put into the Food Font interactive design tool when built.
This upcoming weekend Food Font will be at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, NC where people will be making a Food Font out of peppers from a local farm.
One last update is that the resources on the Food Font website have been updated. Directions for making a food font, uploading your pictures, and promotional materials are all on the site to help you make a food alphabet that you can submit to the site. What food would you like to write with?
I have this idea that in the future I will have time for another creative activity – making terrariums. Terariums have been on the rise lately, with glass bubble containers, the use of upcycled/thrifted objects, and sweet small worlds of plants being seen in flower shops and garden stores. Often the plants are succulents, cacti, and other plants that do not require much water.
Where did terrariums start? The history goes back to Victorian times when people were really into ferns. Women had extra time on their hand so they had hobbies that included making crafts, sewing, and collecting ferns. Fern collecting was seen as a serious pastime, and both men women would participate.
In 1827, Dr. Nathaniel Ward, a doctor in London was studying moths and caterpillars. He found that some plants, including a fern, had grown in the bottom of the jar. This fern was healthier than the ferns in his backyard that grew in the polluted air from the local factories.
Ward discovered that plants could grow in London if they could be protected from the outside air. He created miniature greenhouses, which he named fern cases. Today they are known as Wardian cases or terrariums.
The cases led to new plants being to be grown, including tropical and more exotic plants. It also led to fancier cases. In the 1860s, most Victorian houses had at least one terrarium.
Today terrariums function as fun, decorative containers that have plants that usually thrive without much care. Some interesting studios that make interesting terrariums include Twig Terrariums and Sprout Home.
Right now I am more in a fixing up the house/ cleaning things up mode – but I have big plans to make some small plant worlds myself in the future.
Image Source:
twigterrariums.com/
terrariums.net
Links: