This week we were prompted to get making models with a materials workshop, where we focused on the property analysis of various materials and how they engage our thoughts and senses. It was a good way to get out of my own head and start exploring with physical things. The material I chose was yeast, which is a really basic way of playing with live cultures. Dried yeast contains living microbes that are only activated when dissolved in warm water. When in contact with glucose, they start metabolizing the glucose and release carbon dioxide. So in many ways they behave exactly the way most living organisms do on a rather fundamental level. Here are a few images of what I've been toying with in the last couple days.
These short experiments have given me the momentum to keeping moving on with making. What I initially wanted to do for this workshop was work with blood, but it proved to be more difficult than just asking the local butcher. If I can manage to get my hands on some in the next week or so I'd say that would be my next move. Body fluids in general and what I can make with them are an interest I'd like to pursue.
