Because I am pretty new to selling glass art, I have been checking out other people’s stuff online to see what they are making and how much they are selling it for. I have seen a lot of cool stuff out there, but I have come to the conclusion that people need to use a dictionary when they are describing their glass art. So in this blog entry I will attempt to define several “green” terms that are commonly misused or misunderstood. Whenever you see my description of my glass products, you will know that I follow closely the following definitions:
Recycle – Recycling is the process of reclaiming materials from used products or materials from their manufacturing and using them in the manufacturing of new products. -sustainabilitydictionary.com
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| "Bones"- left over edges from flattened light sconces |
When a plastic bag is recycled into a new plastic bag, it is melted down and reprocessed into a new bag. It may not be the same color, size or other similar characteristics to the original bag. It may have even been changed into something completely different than a bag like plastic car paneling, or polar fleece. When I recycle glass it means that I take old used glass and change it into a new object. When I make stained glass out of bottles, I first cut the bottles, then fire them in my kiln, then cut them to shape and assemble them into the stained glass piece. When I make tiles, I crush the bottles into powder and then fire them into molds in the kiln. Some of my recycled glass jewelry is made by simply cutting out patterns from bottles or vases and using just that bottle or pattern in the jewelry.
Reuse – noun 2. the act or process of using again. - Dictionary.com
“Often, the most sustainable option is to reuse materials and objects already manufactured, either for their original or new purposes, rather than recycle them into other products. This decreases further energy and materials use in recreating them into a new form.“ -stainabilitydictionary.com
People will often reuse bottles or vases by gluing, cementing, or painting objects onto them. The glass objects retain their original form, but are just decorated. The bottle does not undergo any major changes or processing.
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The temple was made from recycled light sconces, but the
sky was made of salvaged glass a lady was getting rid of. |
Reclaimed – verb 2. to recover (substances) in a pure or usable form from refuse, discarded articles, etc. -Dictionary.com
Reclaimed means it has already been thrown away. Objects may be reclaimed to either be recycled or reused.
Salvage - noun 2. the act of saving any goods or property in danger of damage or destruction -Dictionary.com
Salvage may or may not have been thrown away, but without intervention would otherwise be destroyed.
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Bottle bottom boxes are upcycled because the new
product is deffinitly worth more than hte original bottles
they are made out of. |
Upcycle - The process of converting an industrial nutrient (material) into something of similar or greater value, in its second life. sustainabilitydictionary.com
Upcycle is a new phrase that I have seen used for items that are both recycled and reused. I believe that to be upcycled the object should be worth more after the alterations have been made.
This system made them very easy to pick.
Again, it’s been a while since posting last, but here I am again. As you will see in the next few posts I have been very busy. In the Mitleider method of gardening it is important to minimize the amount of non vegitable life in the garden. This is mainly talking about bugs and weeds. The way to accomplish this is by weeding and pruning regularly and by not watering in-between the isles of crops. Because my garden is in the front yard where it is constantly under the scrutiny of anyone passing by, I decided that I didn’t want to have just plain dirt between my grow boxes. So, this is what I came up with:
The now mostly empty broccoli bed, the cabbage bed, the zucchini/crookneck bed, the tomato bed and then the pumpkin/watermelon bed. The pumpkins are growing on up the pergola. We have been able to fit a lot of food into a small space.
The pumpkins have outgrown the T-frame and are heading up onto the pergola.
A tomato plant trained to wrap around the string clockwise.
Same thing with watermelon. The empty string is waiting for an acorn squash that had a slow start.
I put anchors in the face of the house to run a small cable. I put a cable both along the top and the bottom and tied strings between them for the beans to climb up.
The strings for the tomatoes. Tomatoes are planted 9 inches apart then are split every other one up either side of the T-frame. That way the plants get the space they need as they get bigger (as long as you prune them correctly.) In the background are the beans growing in front of the house.
The cable at the bottom of the row of tomatoes, the string tied to the cable, and the tomato wrapped around the string. 
Tomatoes like this produce lots of even full fruit and keeps them off the ground which prevents disease
Pumpkin wrapped around the string, grown' on up
Even when the pumpkins are growing horizontally towards the pergola they are guided clockwise around the strings. One tiny little pumpkin is starting to grow.
Meenwhile I have been very busy working on my own garden. As you can see I have decided to grow vertically despite the current regulations. I figure that if I get caught or someone complains, I will just apply for a varience. I doubt that will happen because we have recieved nothing but compliments from people passing by.
