SANCTUARY
Sanctuary is a piece that speaks about sustainability and the transformation of materials. With this project, I wanted to explore how a material is changed by human interaction, starting at the very beginning with the cork tree. After cork is harvested, it is taken through many processes and becomes an entirely different substance. It’s final result varies from compacted cork stoppers, sheets of insulation, tiles for flooring, or tiny granules. After touring Amorim’s factories and learning about all the ways this material changes as result of the human hand, I thought it would be interesting to transform this material back to its original state. In making a planter out of cork, I allow the processed cork to perform its original function yet again. The cork is now able to nurture and care for a new plant. In keeping the original function of the tree stump, I make it easy for my viewers to understand how far the material has come from its initial form and how much humans alter the earth in general to suit our needs. My final product consists of two cork planters. Each planter has two layers: the inner layer represents the raw tree after harvesting and the outer layer references the bark that is left behind.
I was initially inspired by the stark contrast between the raw, rust colored tree and the bark that was left after harvesting. Depending on the age of the tree, the harvester is able to harvest further up the tree, and down. One goal with my project was for its viewer to draw a connection between the final product and the cork tree. I was interested in making an informative piece about how cork is harvested. It was important to me to reference the material’s initial form in the final product.
Initial sketches and ideas.
By having an inner layer and an outer layer, I was able to make my pot self-watering. The outer layer acts as the old, strong, unharvested stump of the cork tree. The inner layer is a thinner, perforated piece of wrapped cork, without a bottom. This allows for the roots to expand outwards as the tree grows. The wrapping is evocative of the rings of a tree. The plant sits inside the inner layer, surrounded in cork granules for better water distribution. The plant care taker can pour water between the two layers and it will gradually seep into the plant’s roots.
