July 1, 2014

“I have been up cycling from discarded materials, and making art from them since 2004. It’s something I really enjoy. I am also a big supporter of the “Tiny Houses” movement.” Tyler Kessel

Cassidy, Tyler and I met at Bemis Center in Old Market to set up the first phase of the Palimpsest project.

Responding to 7 questions

We began by answering 7 questions about Flock House. We hope many visitors will use these questions to think about Flock House, and share their ideas. Our writing fed discussion about Flock House as structure, creative space, and shelter.

As structure: Open and free, Little or No Facade, Constructed of Recycled, Up-cycled for a “New Used” approach in making Functional Art. Flock House is Radical and Useful, Intriguing and Mystical, Exposed Metal and Wood, Organic and Industrial. These qualities are Futuristic Functional. The NYC Flock House is highly Tactile, sculpted wood, a Lantern, Platform, lifted up from street level, a Movable foundation. These are highly Urban structures. This question about using recycled materials, “Is there more waste than structure on the planet?” Useful, discarded materials = Abundance?

As creative space: Inviting. Not a place to live. No storage. Not really weather tight – Exposed. A place you want to enter, do something you want to do. A work space. No where. Non where. A place of Discovery. A place of Creative Solutions. Aquaponics. Water filtration. Rain capture. Growing plants for food and beauty. Why are we so ignorant of these basic systems, so dependent on obscure utilities?

As shelter: How would I bathe, use the bathroom? If many houses installed in a Flock, would these practical issues be solved communally?  A shared kitchen, shared dining, central toilets and bathing? Is a completely self-sufficient Flock House a necessity for the first stage? How will this idea evolve as more people build them and discover how to use them? Are we talking about the need for shelter for the Less fortunate? Or about purging our material space to Less clutter and stuff? Is Less a virtue or a loss?

We go to the 4th and 5th floors at Bemis. We find small boxes for the art materials we will place in the Flock House for visitors to use. Cassidy finds boxes to use as screens when she begins to make paper. She leaves us carrying materials for paper making.

Cassidy leaves with boxes, newspaper and recycled materials from Bemis Center.

Tyler is ready to draw inside the Flock House. He selects pens, pencils, markers. He uses 6 x 6 paper cut from a Bristol pad.

“I felt I could mix elements of art and line work that are out of my comfort. I think I’ll build one of my own.” Words and drawing by Tyler Kissel.