Turn them into cycles Permaculture systems seek to stop the flow of nutrient and energy off the site and instead turn them into cycles, so that, for instance, kitchen wastes are recycles to compost; animal manures are directed to biogas production or to the soil; household greywater flows to the garden; green manures are turned into the earth; leaves are raked up around trees as mulch. Bill Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture Two CyclesAn ecological cycle ecosystemsrecyclinggardens
Introduction to Permaculture A Book by Bill Mollison modernfarmer.com The conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive systems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. About PermaculturePermaculture ethicsUsing akido on the landscapePermaculture principlesDesign is a connection between things+25 More 172. Garden Growing WildProtected, yet tuned inHints towards a non-extractive economy farmingnatureecosystemssustainabilityagriculture
Stress systems An Article by Ethan Marcotte ethanmarcotte.com The [Lake Erie] ecosystem underwent a series of changes, each of which were related. There was an increase in the human population; which led to higher phosophorus levels in the water; which led, at last, to an increased level of algae in the lake. In effect, Lake Erie’s ecosystem was rewritten. Changed by human activities into…something else. But Franklin cites the study because it’s doing something slightly novel: applying Selye’s principle of stress to ecological systems, suggesting that they are, much like humans, just as susceptible to external stressors. And I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, especially this week. Because Franklin’s suggesting that the work begins not by “fixing the system.” Rather, she suggests it’s about shifting the priority a little: to removing whatever stress you can. The Real World of Technology systemsecosystemsstress
Woodblock Prints An Essay from The Beauty of Everyday Things by Yanagi Sōetsu It seems to me that many printmakers are suffering under a delusion. Looking at current trends, it appears that recent prints are simply copying fine art and painting. Some printmakers are working in the nanga style of painting. Others are attempting to reproduce the effects of oil. Some cleverly contrived prints are often difficult to distinguish from paintings done with a brush. The question arises: Why are these printmakers working in the medium of woodblock printing at all? For prints to follow in the footsteps of painting has very little meaning. The art of the brush and palette should be left to the brush and palette. The fountainhead of beautyThe preliminary sketch artfashionmedia
The fountainhead of beauty It might be said that the carving of a woodblock encompasses the greatest restriction on freedom. Printmakers come under extraordinary natural constraints on their work. Strangely enough, however, it is this restriction that is the fount of beauty. Constraint and restriction themselves become a blessing. ...Many people see a lack of freedom as the death knell of art. That may be true in the case of the fine arts, but in the handicrafts, lack of freedom is the fountainhead of beauty. constraintscreativity
The preliminary sketch Among the best woodblock prints are many that seem not to have adhered strictly to the preliminary sketch. The sketch simply indicated a general direction, and in many cases was not used at all. Or it was even improved upon in the process of carving and brought vividly to life; the woodblock qualities of the print were accentuated and highlighted. BlueprintsHead and hand drawing