Allie Boram

11/10/2009

Tea Infuser

When researching the slow food movement, I found this quote, “Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment” (www.slowfoodusa.org). When thinking about the slow food movement, I think natural, clean, taking your time, slowing down your everyday. When I think of colors, I think blue, green, brown, grey, tan. A problem that I am trying to solve is the elimination of fast food and all of the terrible things that go into making fast food. My intention is to make the person using the tea infuser slow down, and actually take the time to notice the tea infuser and the tea they are making. Through this tea infuser I am trying to convey a sense of the earth’s natural beauty and how to embrace it. An object can make someone slow down by having them take more time than usual to do something. If you have to use both hands to take the tea infuser from off of the top of your cup before you drink, you are taking more time. If the tea infuser is so beautiful and creative that you take more time to look at it, you are taking more time. If you have to look at it for awhile to be able to decipher what it is and then it is something really neat, you are taking more time. This last example can control the viewers eye. This can be an advantage because not only are you controlling the viewers eye, but you are controlling it to take more time and slow down to look at the piece. Materials that are relevant to my piece would be anything of a natural color. Possibly rocks, a tree shape, metal. In my piece, I will be taking a stand against fast food and for natural foods. The Slow Food USA website says, “Slow Food USA seeks to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system. We reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food. We seek to inspire a transformation in food policy, production practices and market forces so that they ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat” (www.slowfoodusa.org). Their motto is; Good, Clean, and Fair. In regards to Good, they say, “For Slow Food, the idea of good means enjoying delicious food created with care from healthy plants and animals. The pleasures of good food can also help to build community and celebrate culture and regional diversity” (www.slowfoodusa.org). In regards to Clean, they say, “When we talk about clean food, we are talking about nutritious food that is as good for the planet as it is for our bodies. It is grown and harvested with methods that have a positive impact on our local ecosystems and promotes biodiversity” (www.slowfoodusa.org). In regards to Fair, they say, “We believe that food is a universal right. Food that is fair should be accessible to all, regardless of income, and produced by people who are treated with dignity and justly compensated for their labor” (www.slowfoodusa.org). Through this project I would like to make something that when people look at it, they actually take their time to look at it. I would like to make something that makes people sit and think about the earth and being natural in everything they do.