FROST CATCHERS
a right-brain/left-brain project -- art and research
| Click any photo to view additional images. | ||
 fly swatter |
 rug beater |
 amoeba |
 borg jellyfish |
 Indian rattle |
 weathervane |
| This winter (2006-2007), I have been creating "Frost Catchers." This is a two-sided project for me. On the one hand (or "on the right brain"), I am creating these objects to be art. On the other hand (or "on the left brain"), I am creating these objects as devices to help me explore and learn about frost. The occurrence of frost--an ephemeral, delicate, and touchy natural phenomenon occurring outdoors during spring and fall as air temperatures hover around the freezing point--has not been as widely studied as you might think. Because frost can be very damaging to agricultural products, most scientific efforts have concentrated on predicting the likelihood of frost on plants (in spring and fall) and on practical ways to disrupt it's occurrence. I have been inspired to try to create art and study frost at the same time (e.g., what kinds of materials will frost form on). This project is part of my ongoing efforts to explore how my right brain and left brain work together--specifically, to identify higher-order cognitive tasks in which 1. the right and left brain dance together and 2. the right-brain leads. |
| Jamie Newton invents the Frost Catcher The inspiration for my frost catcher work was an entry on the FLUXLIST blog by Jamie Newton (Ashland, Oregon) -- shown above. I thought Jamie's device was a terrific idea combining elements of both art and high-school science-fair projects and focusing on a universal natural phenomenon, frost, that is both ephemeral and visually appealing. If you google "frost catcher" you will not find any similar such devices--a few links to refrigeration frost being the closest references. If you google "frost" and start reading the entries you will discover that our available knowledge and understanding about frost (e.g., what triggers and shapes its occurrence) is not as well developed as you would have thought. For example, I have been unable to find a list of materials and their potential "fostability" or a scientific understanding that would allow me to predict this: are some types of glass, plastics, metals, woods, organic products more or less likely to host frost formation than others? Jamie Newton not only created a cool looking device and art object in December, 2006, he may have also invented a whole new category of objects/devices that are waiting to be created and played with. That's the kind of stuff that gets me excited. |
 2 March 2007 |
 Frost catchers casting late afternoon winter shadows. Click here for more photos. |
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As soon as we have photos of our frost catchers with frost on them --hopefully sometime this spring, we will post them here. |
© 2007
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