Wk 9: Making and Doing

 First stop: Could we make durable dog leashes out of plastic bags? In my "free time" I train service dogs, as well as have my own pet lab. I love animals in general, and my dogs are very close to my heart! The idea of creating a leash (or other supplies) in an eco-friendly way is really interesting to me. 

Second stop: That bridge is equally fascinating and terrifying!! I love that the man is stepping on the rope with his bare feet...really getting in there! The fact that they can just let the river wash away the old bridge is very neat. 

Common Threads: Weaving Community Through Collaborative Eco-Art caught my attention when it unpacked "back-sourcing". The idea focuses on the notion of taking back what we've become dependent upon out-sourcing. The multiple videos from this week's outline gets at the same idea: How can we keep things local? Is it necessary to use supplies from other parts of the world, or could we find materials in our everyday lives? 

Going back to my first "stop", I decided to try braiding plastic grocery bags into a strand, ultimately to see if I could turn it into a dog leash. Below are pictures of my progress. 

My thoughts were:

• "Smaller strips of bags would lead to more flexibility and proper sizing"
• "This is going to take a long time!"
• "It would be really handy to have a leash that could just be run under the tap to clean off!"
• "This would be so much work..."
• "I think I might try it again!"

Working with my hands is something I find very calming. When I was younger I would spend hours making friendship bracelets, just for fun. The patterns are beautiful, and I like the physical act of folding and tying. It would be fairly easy to tie these types of activities into pattern and sequencing units in math. What are your thoughts on more complicated connections?