NUTRITION
Looking at the study of Nutrition has been something I've done since I lost my dad in 2016. Being very concerned with my health after this event, I did not want to encounter disease without knowing relevant information to take preventative measures.
As cliche, irritating and corny as this sounds, the diet that I quickly found out and associated with the lowest risk of all cause mortality was the "Vegan" Diet. However it revolved around whole foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes and other pulses. This really resonated with me as it only made sense to eat what came from the ground, in it's entirely natural form. No Oil either. This was prominent for good cardiovascular health, as it the most calorie dense food on the planet, alongside the fact that it is prominently saturated fat which has been conflicted to being associated with heart disease. Regardless of this, I looked at this as another very logical way of eating.
Does Oil come from trees? Or out of the ground attached too a root?
No. It doesn't.
I then had to make sure I didn't fall short of any essential nutrients that were essential for good health. An example is Omega 3 fatty acids, that are found in seafood and sometimes grass-fed beef. Learning the difference between short chain and long chain fatty acids, I discovered a lot of foods do have the pre-cursor of these acids. Such as walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds. So from my fear of becoming deficient in a certain nutrient, the lack of convenience was what pushed me to discover and learn more about food that I hadn't a clue about.
Point being, I have chose nutrition to look at for the most part of my project, because I resonate a lot with it. I enjoy food and not like the way other people say 'I enjoy food.'. No. I go to the effort of researching and learning what food does to the body.
La Dolce Vita; A Family Affair
So, looking back at my families health history was a good incentive and way of coming up with an idea for this project.
La Dolce Vita translates to 'The Sweet Life'.
So what does it mean to have a sweet life?
This is from the Cambridge dictionary. This information aligns with exactly what I believe to be true. To me, this means being in good overall health. Both psychical and mental. Let me now entertain you about the aspect of health that I know and understand.
Following on from the above, what contributes to good health.
So let's start with what gives your immune system it's strength. Vitamins and Minerals.
Vitamins.
A
Looking at both forms of Vitamin A.
The first being Retinol.
This is the active form of Vitamin A and is only found in Animal Products, such as, Beef Liver, Salmon, Eggs, etc. This is the form that needs no conversion and is able to be used immediately
The second being Beta-Carotene. This is found in non-animal products, more so leafy greens and other plant foods, such as Kale, Spinach, Carrot, Sweet Potatoes, Papaya, Bell Peppers, etc.
This form has to be converted in Retinol however the conversion rate is poor, therefore it isn't reliable to rely on as the only source of Vitamin A.
Bare in mind, Vitamin A is fat-soluble, therefore your body is going to be able to absorb it more, if you eat food that contain fat with this vitamin, such as Eggs. Either that or you consume your vegetables with this vitamin with fat, aka, oil on your kale salad.
Vitamin A is essential for eye health, which regards you retina and preventing night blindness. Alongside this it replenishes your skin, and contributes to health hair growth from the production of a certain protein called keratin.
These are the most common plant sources of Vitamin A.
These are the animal sources.
B1
This essential vitamin is extremely important for turning the food that you eat, into fuel that keeps you going. This vitamin is both water and fat-soluble.
Foods that contain this include nuts, pork, peas and other legumes.
B2
This vitamin is especially important for building red blood cells, which is important for carrying oxygen throughout the body.
Foods high in B2 are egg yolks (eggs pretty much have a bit of everything in them, especially the yolk) red meat, salmon, almonds and wholegrains.
B3
This nutrient is something that is key for metabolism and a well circulated central nervous system. A deficiency in this can be seen when a person find it hard to focus and is easily irritable. Not to mention a sense of overwhelming fatigue.
Foods high in this are beef liver, avocado, peanuts, pork, anchovies and other seafood.
B5
Another B vitamin, how many are there?! Only 7 it appears. This vitamin is essential for the conversion of essentially fats, carbohydrates and protein, into energy. Ergo, if you become deficient in this essential nutrient then you will irritable, fatigued, depression and adrenal fatigue. My mother suffers from adrenal fatigue and I can tell you from first hand experience that it is a debilitating condition. You can not do anything without feeling extreme exhaustion, however
Sources are shittake mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, sweet potatoes, lentils, avocados and beef.
B6
This is a vitamin that creates neurotransmitters for creating dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, all of which regulate your mood. Ergo is you are deficient in this you can show symptoms of irritability, anxiety, depression any cognitive based problem such as the two listed may be a sign of this.
Foods that contain this wonderful vitamin include chickpeas, pork, liver, tuna and vegetables.
You need B2 and zinc to for this vitamin to properly function!
B9
This is a vitamin I have not been too familiar with, so to do further research on it was interesting. B9 is a vitamin that split into two forms. Folate and Folic Acid. Folate is the natural form that this vitamin comes in, ergo you want to be consuming foods with this, as you body will thank you later. So, as you guess folic acid is the synthetic version of this vitamin, which is harder to break down in the liver to folate. If you have a deficiency in this vitamin, it can be seen from high irritability, fatigue, anaemia, which is very common among other B vitamin deficiencies.
Fear not as you can get this from your food. Sources include asparagus, avocados and most leafy greens including Kale, Spinach, Collard Greens, Arugula, etc.
B12
Another key nutrient that seems to be only present in animal products is B12. I've had a lot of trouble with this vitamin because I went without animal products for a year and a half so I could improve my health while losing weight. This vitamin was only available in supplement form for my chosen diet.
So B12 comes in 2 forms. These are...
Methylcobalamin
and
Cyanocobalamin
Methylcobalamin is found naturally in food, therefore your body is going to find this easier to digest and store in your liver, oppsoed to Cyanocobalamin, which is the synthetic version that needs to be broken down in the stomach and then used. This is challenging.
If you have deficiency in this vitamin, you will have something called pernicious anaemia which is lack of red blood cell moving throughout your body. Not good for oxygen. Furthermore a lack of B12 contributes to neurological problems such as brain fog and some brain issues which are often irreversible. This is something you do not want to slip up on.
Sources of B12 are mostly animal products, but as of recent people have found B12 in duckweed and sea buckthorn, both are plant based sources and are yet to be confirmed.
C
This is a water- soluble vitamin that is crucial for collagen production which is what keeps skin firm and tight. It keeps you glowing. Furthermore it helps the absorption of plant based iron into the body. Additionally it helps to increase nitric oxide production on the walls of the arteries, which involves preventing lesions that causes strokes and heart attacks.
A deficiency in this vitamin can be seen through scurvy, which shows from bleeding gums, loose teeth, weak hair and easily broken bones.
Vitamin C can be found in bell peppers, oranges, kale, spinach and the highest amount this vitamin is prevalent in is Sauerkraut.
D
. You can get this nutrient from a range of sources. However, it's not actual a nutrient. It's a hormone, which gets produced when our skin comes into contact from the Sun which is the most prevalent source of this vitamin. However, you can still get small bursts of Vitamin in Eggs and Cod Liver Oil. If you build an excess of this, you can store it in your liver for the winter months.
E
This is another fat- soluble vitamin stored in the liver and can easily be found in a variety of foods. It is essential for skin repair and hair growth. Not to mention it has an array of other benefits ranging from fighting off cancer, helping the overall function of the immune system alongside dissolving a clot, which will prevent a stroke. Something my grandma had which has left her in a very bad state.
Foods that this vitamin can be found in are Avocados, Nuts, Seeds and Leafy Greens.
K
The wonderful Vitamin K. This vitamin comes in two forms
The first being K1, otherwise known as phylloquinone which is found in plant foods such as leafy greens. The other is K2, which is found in fermented foods and animal products and can be produced in the gut. Both vitamins are responsible for the prevention of blood clotting, the formation of normal bone structure, heart health as well.
The king of Foods that this vitamin can be found in are Avocados, Nuts, Seeds, Natto (fermented soy) and Leafy Greens.
Minerals
Calcium
So, calcium. It an essential nutrient we need from food. It's not something our body makes by itself, unfortunately. Growing up all I heard non stop was that the reason why we drink cows milk is because of the "Calcium" in it. Acting as if it was the only food on the entire damn planet with calcium. Simply not the case. Where do cows get it from then? They don't drink milk, they're too busy munching on grass and looking slightly upset about something.
So, where does one obtain calcium, not from the lactation of a 600 pound mammalian? Well, I will tell you.
Leafy greens. So Kale, Spinach, Arugula. Even sesame seeds have a lot of calcium in them!
Copper
This?
No, not actual copper in the metal form. I mean what is found in foods.
Copper is used to form collagen and form connective tissue. So if you're deficient in this in the womb, then you may have flat feet, slumped back, etc. It's also a co-factor mineral that help proteins to form different structures. Copper helps to make melonin which is a pigment in your skin, so a deficiency will show spots in your skin. Copper also makes neurotransmitters. So in the womb you really need this mineral, otherwise your child will have a neurodegeneration (a broken down immune system.)
You can find this mineral in a lot of organ meats as well as shellfish, such as lobsters and oysters.
Iron
So Iron. It's a metal. It's also a mineral that you need to create red blood cell (hemoglobin) which helps to bring oxygen to your body. A lot of girls I know take this in supplement form, because unlike males who need 8.00mg, women need 18.00mg. What for? Because of the menstrual period, a lot of iron is involved in creating a healthy fetus, ergo in a women's period depletes a lot of iron.
Sources of iron are evidently red meat, however Spirulina (a type of seaweed) gram for gram has more iron than beef does. But it is in the form of non-heme iron, which is not as easily absorbed as the animal version; heme. However you can use vitamin C to increase the absorption of non-heme iron to a level it is greater than heme. You can also find this in a variety of seeds, such as Chia, Flax and Hemp.
Aside from this, iron is used for the transportation of a certain protein called 'hemoglobin' which carries oxygen around the body. So if you are lacking in this you become 'anaemic' which is latin for 'lack of blood'.
Magnesium
You won't actually know if you're deficient in this nutrient because it's stored in your cells, so a blood test won't do you any good! Magnesium is an excellent muscle relaxer, ergo when you have this nutrient, it's a great way to calm your nerves and anxiety.
You can tell if you are deficient in this nutrient if you do feel a lot of angst/nerves and if you have bone problems, such as osteoporosis. Another sign is if you have high blood pressure because of stiffness in the arteries, as this mineral relaxes them.
This is a great reason to consume foods high in magnesium, such as dark leafy greens like Kale, Spinach, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, etc.
Manganese
This is nutrient I'm not too familiar with, however I am learning now. Better late than never. This mineral is involved in your metabolism, which is too keep you weight in check. So long as you're eating correctly and not consuming foods that slow it down! It also gives off antioxidants which stop harmful free-radicals from harming your body. This means to say that this minerals helps to prevent all cause mortality. So, make sure you consume your nuts, such as almonds and pecans alongside those flatulence inducing beans and legumes, such as black, kidney, pinto, etc.
Phosphorus
Myself and Joana were discussing why drinking dairy was bad and when she bought a 2 pint cartoon of milk, I instantly checked the nutritional information because I'm weird like that and found that milk did have phosphorus. Even so, I wasn't convinced. Probably supplemented. Either way this mineral is important because it is required to create healthy bones, alongside repairing tissues and making new cells. It also filters out waste in the kidneys and nobody wants nasties stored in their kidneys.
Examples of phosphorus in foods are Chicken, Turkey, Organ Meats, Whole Grains and Potatoes.
Potassium
Another essential electrolyte (not mineral, but known as one) that you need quite a lot of. 4700mg per day! Not many people get to that, because they don't include enough vegetables in their diet. Too worried about protein. Anyway this mineral works to give you energy, by making positive ions when dissolved in water. Furthermore it reduces blood pressure, water retention and helps to reduce stroke risk. So if you're deficient in this nutrient, it's a problem. A big problem. You can also tell from a lack of stomach acidity, which means you have poor digestion and mineral absorption. Excess sodium also depletes potassium so careful on the sale mi amore.
The highest potassium food are beet tops. The tops of beetroots that get cut off for some reason... well per cup they have
1300mg! That's a fair bit considering how many you need to consume, the other foods that contain this are avocados, lima beans, spinach, squash, salmon and brussel sprouts.
Selenium
Ah the wonderful selenium. Me and my friend have this joke whenever one of us seems to be going a bit crackers when we send an over-enthusiastic voice note. Saying such things 'this guys been smoking to many cashews'. 'Hitting the OD' OD meaning overdose.
The reason why I talk about this is because there is one food that has a lot of Selenium in it out of every other food that has it. This food is actual a nut. It's the brazil nut. A pretty chunky nut.
So because these are nuts, they have anti-nutrients. This particular anti-nutrient is called phytic acid, which inhibits the absorption of certain minerals, such as iron, zinc, selenium, etc. So to remove this you need to soak the nuts in water! For at least 12 hours, so you have removed a fair bit of the acid, so your body can now use the nutrients in the nut. Selenium has also huge benefits in removing heavy metals from the liver. Now, more often than not you will get heavy metals from fish you eat, aka Mercury found in Tuna. So these nuts will help to remove that. A win win.
Sodium
So sodium, is just another word for salt. I didn't actually know that it was necessary! The best kind of sodium is supposedly in your vegetables, especially celery. However you can get it from, sea salt.
Himalayan salt is the best source of it.
I think I have a minor salt addiction.
Now sodium helps to move water in and around your cells, so a deficiency of this can lead to excess water build up in the body, which can lead to Edema, the swelling of body parts from excess water. My grandmother has this and I will put down a photo of what her ankles look like. It's debilitating.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral that is extremely important for health. It is found to help your immune system, especially in the fight against viruses. The reason for this is because it is a co-factor for 1000's of enzymes. The buildings of certain proteins to help fight against infections and to repair telomeres (DNA). Zinc is actually the most deficient mineral in crops, therefore a lot of people are deficient in this mineral, which leads to problems such as lowered testosterone, hair loss even depression and macular degeneration, which can lead to cataracts. My grandma had one of these and let me tell you it was not nice.
However, the foods you can get Zinc from are....
Beef, Pumpkin Seeds, shellfish, specifically oysters and crab.
Another small D.I.Y video I watched and then actually made myself, has taught my practice further about leather making which will steady me for this much larger project.
I'm actually in the process of making this bag. It's quite a leap in terms of making a wallet prior to this. But it is going well! So I'm hopeful and it's teaching me more about the making process and craftsmanship of leather!
Made a downgraded version of this for someone as a gift! Turned out well. Don't have photos due to the fact I don't have it on me anymore.
I love this video for the simple reason that it is really not that difficult to make something that is beautiful and elegant. It may have an absurd $5000 price tag, but don't let that marketing pedestal stop you from trying something new! This videos says to me to take more risk. Don't be fooled but the facade of smoke. You too can do great things, all you have to do is try.
"Someone said something mean to me yesterday on Twitter. Here's the thing about being mean. It's a lot easier to be mean, than it is to be nice."
This quote is from Casey in a different video called
'The Most Dangerous Thing in Life'
It inspires me, to realise that taking shortcuts and cutting corners, never pays off. Because you look back and think, 'why didn't I just take the damn extra bit of time to put in a bit more thought.'
In Fat and Lazy, this speak volumes about time management. It's something that I have been able to do, without scheduling. It's definitely influenced my decisions to sit down and be productive while I do something, such as watching TV while cooking, even doing workflow on the train. You don't have a lot of time to do what you set out to do in a day, because time flutters away. So being effective with time helps you too cut corners, but in a practical way.
A movie featuring the great Alec Baldwin, I watched this movie because of a YouTube video that spoke about "Closing." What does it mean to "close" something. It means to complete something. To not half ass. To execute with the fullest of intentions to deliver to your best possible standard. I'll be using scenes from this movie to motivate myself to make my item to it's fullest potential.
A clip from the Movie 'Glengarry Glen Ross'. It pretty much applies to all aspects of real life. But I will be doing the idea of 'closing' in my project. So I will be completing this to the best of my abilities. The best way to understand this video is to
a) watch it
b) compare the alternative of perusing things in life and not completing them vs completing them.
A person who has been given a lot of love for giving direction in peoples lives who don't have any, Jordan Peterson makes it very clear to make a start with something AND to do it badly. Don't have this belief, this ideology that you have to nail something you have never done before perfectly. That's a standard you will never attain. That is a idea that will keep you stuck. Let go of that and fail. Want to fail. Want to make mistakes. That way, you will truly be learning and growing. This is something I will try to do in this project. Somehow, I will try to do it.
This video helps me to do whatever I like and remind me that if someone has a problem with what I'm doing, that's their problem and not mine.
"We climb mountains for the same reasons that we work, it's because as human beings you have this desire to do something. To complete something."
Hmmm, that's plenty motivation to be productive. Beats twiddling your thumbs and starring into space.
Looking at Food as Fashion... Literally.
Looking quite literally at how food can be decorated on the body.
The way clothes hang on the body, can be seen by the way brocolli dangles over a persons legs.
Glitter, Inc.. 2020. When Food and Fashion Collide (on Instagram) | Glitter, Inc.. [ONLINE] Available at: https://glitterinc.com/food-fashion-collide-on-instagram/. [Accessed 10 February 2020].
LAST CHANCE TO EAT.
PAGE 174.
The title captivated me. What can I say.
I love this piece of text. A rare sight. A person acknowledging that some food was alive and did have a life before it was slapped on a plate covered in butter and salt. I'd like to provoke some kind of emotion to a person with my final piece. Whether or not that's possible, I'm not sure.
The Joy of Eating;
The metaphorical value in that sentence is quite nice. 'The dog was as big as the sea.' Shoutout to my Year 6 english teacher for making learning easier. This nostalgia is yet another quality i'd like to attach to my idea as time goes on, I will look back fondly at my piece.
Coffee.. Want Some More?
I chose this book because it was quite dainty, small and because the front cover reminded me of Italy. Plus I always see everyone come into archway qeueing up for a coffee because they are so fatigued for some reason. Were all young scallywags, what do we have to be tired about? Listen, go to your bedroom at 9pm, throw on some Netflix and knock out at 10pm. Anyway, coffee is something that seems to be fairly social and brings people together. Plus it has a quality that is associated with a cultured lifestyle. Different types of exotic blends of beans, a splash of oat milk here, a hit of stevia there. Oh, you have got. To love it.
Looking at some celebrities who have been papped drinking the infamous beverage, shows the social element of this brewed bastard. It has brought people together, for social congregations, for dates and for a little catch up.
This rustic looking photo showing the carefully placed, delicate coffee cups that seem to be made of a fine bone china. I recently discovered that bone china is made from actual animal bone. So vile. Anyway the composition of the upside down mugs, alongside the coffee pots hung on hooks.
Further reading into this book shows me the not so nice side of coffee. You know, the exploratory, cruel, slave orientated part. It's not exactly warming is it. The injustice that these workers are still paid a pittance. I'd like to create something that can potentially benefit these workers. Maybe I should change my brief to coffee instead of food, because it seems like this is what I'm focusing on, as opposed to food in general.
The location of where the coffee beans are harvested seem to be in very exotic, green areas. The chlorophyll colour that is evidently projected by the vegetation. I'm waffling now, but I do very much like how it's grown on a sloped surface. I can't imagine the workers like this.
The idea of looking at Fortune telling from the remainders of coffee grinds is something I saw once in Harry Potter with tea I believe but that was it. It's interesting what a person can decipher from the remainders of what makes coffee. The things people believe in. Tasseography is a funny thing.
Looking at the symbols makes me question is anyones coffee remains are similar to any of the symbols on this page. Anyway, I suppose it shows an additional element of coffee consumption.
I remember seeing this scene in 'That 70's Show' and it's stuck with me because it's so iconic even without context. I suppose this is another way that coffee brings people together, romantically that is. Cup of Joe is what they call it in the US. It's nice to see people together for a bit longer, just so they can consume coffee.
Practioners - Daniel Arsham.
One practitioner I have been exposed to recently is a lovely chap called Daniel Arsham. His work is renowned for encompassing art, architecture and performance. So, it is quite varied and abstract, which are qualities that I find to be attractive and that resonate with my taste and what I would like to create.
He has also done work with the house of Christian Dior and those pieces are very much on the border of fashion mixed with fine art. His performance of playing around with materials and distorting them in the regard of actually removing chunks from the solid, formed shape is something I haven’t seen done before and it made me think ‘Okay, you really can be individual in your approach when creating something and it is better to disregard any kind of rules or social normalities, as this will only stunt and prevent your work from being what it truly should be.’ In layman's terms, it means ‘Do whatever feels right’.
DANIEL ARSHAM. 2020. ABOUT — DANIEL ARSHAM. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.danielarsham.com/about. [Accessed 25 February 2020].
White DIOR AND DANIEL ARSHAM ‘CD’ Eroded Matte-Finish Ring - Accessories - Man | DIOR. 2020. White DIOR AND DANIEL ARSHAM ‘CD’ Eroded Matte-Finish Ring - Accessories - Man | DIOR. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.dior.com/en_gb/products/couture-R0888HOMMT_D009-white-dior-and-daniel-arsham-%E2%80%98cd%E2%80%99-eroded-matte-finish-ring?size=TM&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4sjyBRC5ARIsAEHsELHqqPa2zSdzuedqWvJFmUAP9nv5EMelCUcVrocRa4KouRTYz6e9FZ8aAusREALw_wcB.. [Accessed 25 February 2020].
Practioners - Tinker Hatfield.
Another designer that I have learnt a great deal about is none other than legendary sneaker designer, Tinker Hatfield. Creating many iconic silhouttes ranging from the Air Jordan 3 to the Air Max 1, he is a creator that has made shoes that have stood the test of time. Shoes that are retro'd and still in demand.
Tinker holding the first ever "Air Max" he designed and the first ever Air Max to exist. The simplistic shape is what I want to emulate in my design.
Another sneaker that I believe stopped Michael Jordan from leaving Nike, for adidas. God bless Tinker, because Jordan Brand probably wouldn't be so legendary if he hadn't made this shoe. The design looks to be technical, with multiple layering of materials and panels, including the air unit. However the actual sneaker in hand is quite sleek. Another design, that has a lot of character, which is a a quality I will be emulating in my final outcome.
Last sketch of Tinkers, i really like the annotations. Brings it back to earth somehow. The obtuse, long shape of a Jordan 11 has always got my eyes glued to them. They look like a loaf of bread in a sense. None the less I'd like to incorporate the vastness of size in my project. Taking this quality to not make my design 'overbearing' as such, but it has some weight to it when hold/look at it.
Nice Kicks. 2020. Tinker Hatfield's 30 Greatest Footwear Designs | Nice Kicks. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.nicekicks.com/tinker-hatfields-30-greatest-footwear-designs/. [Accessed 02 March 2020].
Practitioners - Tom Sachs.
Another artist whose work I quite like and who I have referenced often, is Tom Sachs. I found out about Tom from a shoe he created with Nike back in 2011 or 2012 I believe. These shoes were auctioned off to collectors, which if anything sparked more of an interest in what else Tom made.
He is, like Daniel known for his Fine Art work that infuses high fashion, with brute, ironic, conceptual ideas. He is also very infused with NASA and obsesses about space, which is depicted through his models he has made. I resonate with Tom because of a few things he has said in a Ted Talk I watched a few months back. The one quote I felt the most aligned with was “you know you’re on the right track… when you feel it.” Even though the quote has a lot of ambiguity in it, I can really understand what he means. He means that you know when you are definitely not on track. Doing things, you despise and resent, is a way of knowing what you would much prefer to be doing. It takes time, perseverance, trial and error and a willingness to completely let go and be accepting of failure and pain.
I began working at 18 and then decided on a career change (which I feel weird saying because how can I have a career when I’ve only just started in an industry that I didn’t have to study to get into?) I started the foundation at 22 in comparison to the majority who do it at 18, which was on my mind admittedly but I really was not going to let that stop me from doing what I wanted to do.
People like Tom who talk about being a janitor for 20 years while trying to make a living doing solely sculpture, tell me that it is okay and normal to not be where you want to be. Because life is not as black as white as planning where you will be in your career at certain stages of your life. So, the pressure is greatly lifted, however that is not to say you can just take it easy and be passive and submissive. No, you need to work hard, however respect the lane you are in and understand the rate you are moving at is intended and to appreciate where you are, opposed to where you are not.
Tom Sachs: Work / Prada Toilet . 2020. Tom Sachs: Work / Prada Toilet . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.tomsachs.org/work/prada-toilet. [Accessed 02 March 2020].
Tom Sachs: Work / Hermés Value Meal . 2020. Tom Sachs: Work / Hermés Value Meal . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.tomsachs.org/work/herms-gift-meal. [Accessed 02 March 2020].
Tom Sachs: Work / Chanel Guillotine (Breakfast Nook) . 2020. Tom Sachs: Work / Chanel Guillotine (Breakfast Nook) [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.tomsachs.org/work/chanel-guillotine-breakfast-noo. [Accessed 02 March 2020].
Tom Sachs Biography. 2020. Tom Sachs. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.tomsachs.org/biography. [Accessed 20 February 2020].
I enjoy this video because Tom lets me know it's okay to take time to get to making a full, viable living off of being an artist. He spent 20 years being a janitor before he was able to make a full time living off of making sculpture. So this level of patience will help me to understand it takes time to get to a level of profession I want to be at. Making mistake is part of the process.
Coffee Pickers; The Other Side.
Salgado Coffee
Looks like these chaps could do with a bag that could distribute the weight evenly on their bodies. Interesting. I like the disposition of how the bags are slung over their shoulders. Reminds me of those men who throw their blazer over their shoulder in that flamboyant way.
This photo looks like it was taken in AD 27–29. I love the sun reign on the bags filled with coffee beans. Weird how they called beans when they're a fruit. The
Coffee as a Health Food
Now looking at coffee in more of a health perspective, we can see that it has been linked too many benefits for you. This is why I'd like to direct my idea around coffee, because alongside it being a massively consumed by people, it also comes along with its health benefits. Now coffee is the most widely sprayed crop in the world, this means that people are consuming a whole host of chemicals when they buy non-organic coffee. Therefore you will be reaping these benefits ONLY if you drink organic coffee.
So we can see it does have benefits to the body, such as preventing liver cirrhosis. It helps to prevent type 2 diabetes, a prevalent killer in the world, it also prevents another huge killer; heart disease. It helps with the retina in the eye which tends to degenerate when you age and prevents cavities which is common because of the elevated sugar consumption in this country is reduced. It also and this is incredibly important, it helps to repair your DNA telomeres which when damage, makes you a lot more susceptible to all cause mortality.
This means that drinking coffee, just coffee no creamer, sugar or anything; is very beneficial to your health.
20+ Good Health Reasons To Drink Coffee. 2020. 20+ Good Health Reasons To Drink Coffee. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.caffeineinformer.com/7-good-reasons-to-drink-coffee. [Accessed 12 March 2020].
Impact Personal Training. 2020. Coffee – The Most Chemically Sprayed Crops in The World! - Impact Personal Training. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.impact-pt.co.uk/blog/coffee-the-most-chemically-sprayed-crops-in-the-world-2/. [Accessed 12 March 2020].
Liking the way she has her child kept in a clean. She seems to be a strong independent woman and knows what she must do to survive. I'd like to emulate this kind of strength.
More uniform that seems common in coffee workers. I like how they seem to have these small hats. Even the baskets are quite interesting to look at and take some designer inspiration from. I'm definitely leaning on incorporating my design to these types of containers, like this.
I'm liking these hats. Very large and obtuse. The material seems very loose and flexible.
The gloves, the oversized shirt.
Loving the colors of this bags. They look synthetic. Not a fan of this.
Upcycling
Taking an existing bag and creating something as effective as a hat to protect workers from the sun is something of value.
Looks very up and coming don't you think?
I think I'd like to incorporate my leather making skills with this material. The sacks have a connotation to them and the leather will somehow reinforce the connotation. I'd also like to make this piece something I could maybe sell and then donate that money for coffee workers in brazil.
More Bags
Chicken Connoisseur. At your service. Very creative and looks the part. The trousers too, are extraordinary.
Do not take if you are pregnant or have pre-existing health conditions. I like how this isn't leather. It's got a rough, ragged look, with fraying here and there. Detailing is superb. It's a yes from me.
It's a brown bag and I'd still see why it's valued at three figures.
Candid and most certainly expensive. I like how you can hold it by the zipper and let it dangle precariously, or clutch the main body of it to give it more of an "attachment" look. So to speak.
This reminds me of
a) a butterfly chicken
b) those funky waffle flakes you get in ice cream when you're abroad
I like the way the bag is extendable and can be retracted back into itself when need be. Like if you were on the tube at rush hour. You'd be like 'oh deary me, let me not take up more room than need be."
Other Types of Containers.
So the transportation of food comes in many shapes and sizes.
Some in solid forms. Such as this freight. Carrying many tonnes of food across seas to get to those who need it.
Some in cages. Like these poor pigs. My heart really does go out to all of the animals that end up with this fate.
How to move packaged food 101. The design is so ugly, good grief.
So, looking at more of a personal aspect of nutrition, I decided to look at my mothers side of health problems. My grandma had a stroke back in 2012 and she's had a massive knock on affect because of this. She isn't herself and hasn't been ever since. Her voice is much quieter, she holds onto everything whenever she walks because her balance is off, she doesn't remember a great deal, nor does she conversate. It's very debilitating.
This is her at age 26 she looks so much like my mother. Which is something I was never able to pick up on a few years ago. I like her hair in this. But yeah, she was a very vibrant and full of energy. Left photo is her with me when I was 5 and it was at my Aunties villa in Venafro.
So this is my great grandmother, Nona Emilia. She was a very lively, kind woman to use my mothers words. She had a lot of "forza" which means strength. She too looks how my grandma looks now! Incredible. She too died from heart failure, cause from heart disease. My mother believes it to be 'hereditary' however because I've been doing extensive research about heart disease, I know this not to be true. Bad genes can be turned off with the diet corrected. Certain food combinations of fat/protein with sugary foods causes something called 'Glycation', which causes sticky, vicious, blood alongside plaque build up in the arteries. My Italian family tend to combine a lot of these foods, e.g. Spaghetti Bolognese, Panettone, Tirumasu, Pizza, so pretty much starch with fat/protein, that ages your body way fast than need be.
I know that for a fact from talking to my mother, the majority of her diet growing up was white pasta, bolognese, sometimes meat with that meal, sometimes salad, chicken pie, chocolate pudding. So already from this there isn't any mention of greens, legumes, beans, fruit, etc. So the diet already lacks the fibre, phytonutrients necessary for so many of the bodies functions, alongside the essential vitamins that help prevent the disease. I can tell you know, when you go to an Italian house for lunch, you will be fed far too much. And they don't take no for an answer either. I'm going to now look at making some kind of vessel through the incorporation of these health foods with these vitamins.
Vitamin C Baby.
I remember my mother telling me that back in her day that people used to bang on about how Vitamin C was really important for cardiovascular health. I've been looking into this myself. I've found a paper/article which discusses how "vitamin C inhibits oxidation of LDL-protein, thereby reducing atherosclerosis". This is promising for those who have this disease and could easily incorporate foods that have it in abundance, aka vegetables because the only foods that have it are vegetables, not animal products.
So as we can tell from the quote that I sited previously, this vitamin has a big affect on whether or not you get a heart attack, stroke or any other arterial blockage in the body.
This is a Kakadu plum and supposedly contains 10x more vitamin C than a orange has! So just from that, eating these would help. However they are native to Australia so I don't know how environmentally friendly these are to rely on due to the shipping to and from. However foods that have enough of what you need for Vitamin C are Bell Peppers, Kale, Mustard Spinach, etc.
Koagulation aKa; Vitamin K
So the other vitamin I found to be affective in helping with heart disease/atherosclerosis. This fat-soluble vitamin has two forms.
K1 and K2.
Vitamin K1 is found in plant based sources, such as Kale, Collard Greens, Brocolli, Spinach, pretty much any leafy green. It has the involvement of coagulating blood and attaching to proteins that contribute forming clots , which in turn stop bleeding. It is also part of bone formation, which is necessary as well.
Now Vitamin K2 can be made in your gut biome, but this is an unreliable source, ergo you need to get it from your diet. The foods that have K2 are essentially all animal products aside from Natto, which is a fermented soy bean. What K2 does that is so crucial is that it binds to the excess calcium in the arteries and your soft tissue and move it into your bones. This helps the build up of calcification in the arteries.
Looking at Fat;
So the wonderful depiction is what fat looks like under a microscope. Reminds me of the scene in Aliens (1986) where the crew go into the vessel to explore it and find a girl held by what I can assume is an alien. She is alive, but as soon as she opens her eyes and asks the crew of soldiers to help her, an alien bursts out of her stomach. Gruelling.
Either way, this excess accumulation of fat contributes to all cause mortality. Not good.
Hail Kale
So going over extensive research looking at heart health, the number one food that seems easy to incorporate into a diet is Kale.
The vegetable is extremely nutrient dense, cheap and readily available at most local supermarkets. Not to mention it is very easy to incorporate into a variety of meals, such as stews, salads, stir-fries and curries. So no reason not to use it. Plus it is loaded with fibre which people seem to be lacking their diets. Bowel movements seem to be lacking.
62 pence? Put down the chocolate and pick up the Kale.
If you're willing to splash the cash, then go for the organic kale. It won't have any nasty herbicides, pesticides, insecticides or fungicides.
The wide variety of kale, makes it another interesting vegetable to be observing. I only discovered this the other day, being only familiar with. Here are the varieties.
So this is curly kale, the most common available kale.
This is 'oriental kale' which is insanely bright and pretty to look at. I'm kind of inspired to emulate this shape into a bag of some kind.
This huge leaf of Kale is referred to as Lacinato or Dinosaur due to the size of it. It's versatile in replacing a wrap or sand-which if you're trying to avoid carbohydrates, considering it's massive.
So this version is called 'Red Russian' not sure why. Maybe because of the stalks, but it appears to look more like Rocket than it does kale.
Another variation is Chinese Kale. These look familiar to Bok Choy mixed with spinach. The stalks are quite long which shows more roughage in the plant. Roughage is fibre.
Final variation I could find is called Redbor Kale. The colour is magnificent. I doubt i'll be able to get my hands on it, it looks good to use for dying material seeing as it has such a vivid colour. It also has curls on it like the green curly kale.