ArtForage

Meag

Where am I?

Mvskoke Homeland/Atlanta - The city in the Forest

Who am I?

A person constantly battling being inside or outside. I love both so much.

My Project

I started this project to catalogue where I found materials for my various art projects and learn a bit more about technology as well. I built a server to host my journey. I call it ArtForage, and It's slow tech and slow art.

How is technology connected to this?

I'm running a debian based OS on a lil Intel Nuc mini pc. I built out this page myself and had to learn some html, css, markdown, etc. I also catalogue the plants I find with an open source mapping app called QField. Long term, I'd like to run my server off of solar power, which means sometimes the server might be down, but that's okay. The goal is to be slow and intentional.

I wanted to have a digital/technical component to my foraged projects because technology is deeply intertwined in our daily lives and as much as I'd like to get off the web. The web will still persist, so instead of ignoring its existence, I'm leaning into learning more, and exploring a relationship with technology that feels more fun, creative, and authentic to how I move through the world. I'm going into the "forest" of the digital domain and ArtForage is a grounding piece of that. I use the word forest because they've often been symbolic of self-discovery, emitting feelings of being excited, but equally scared. Going into its depths and discovering/remembering mysteries or truths long understood. This project feels like a forest I've begun exploring.

Grounding Focus:

• Take your time
• Making dyes takes time
  • Sourcing sustainable materials takes time
  • Processing natural materials takes time
• Managing a server and learning new technology takes time
• Be Open
• Use tools that aren't behind paywalls
  • Use tools that can be foraged, thrifted or are used
  • Something might not work the way you thought on the first try. Try again
• Stay Curious: Document, Iterate and Go Deeper
• Whether written or shared orally, duplication is how tradition is made, how culture is built, I'm not doing something new, but hopefully continuing knowledge long held.
  • I want to be so familiar with my little map of foraged finds, yet still unfold new layers again and again

The Inspo -

Technology: Open Source (Software), Second Hand (Server), Hand Built (RJ-45 Cable)

Supplies: Foraged, Re/Up - cycled, Low-cost

I wanted to catalogue my explorations of trying to make things with what I foraged. I initially began tracking where I found my foraged finds using QGIS and the mobile app companion QField, both free open source projects counter to the pay to play walled garden of ESRI ArcGIS.

QGIS got me familiar with reading documentation to understand how the software works and and using forums to find out how to use it in the way I needed it to work. This brightened my curiosity about finding more ways to explore my interests with low barrier tools.

Questions I ask

• When do things bloom?
• When do they go dormant?
• What other flora and fauna are around them?
• What is the landscape like? (i.e. Disturbed soil?, near water?)

Longer Art Map Goals

• Run the server off of solar power
• Collaboration with local foragers

Beyond the Class and Continuing Solidarity Infrastructures 💫

• Since wrapping up the course I've lightly tapped into potentially supporting the Common Internet Gateway Coop with some of my classmates and other tinkerers.
• IRL continued connections, friends and continued foraging have emerged. Honeysuckle tequila being one of the end products.
• My server went down, but the learning opportunity through troubleshooting it is priceless