University of Michigan
Stamps School of Art and Design
PROJECTS | 2020
Ka-Bloom
Jenna John, Cassie Hoisington, Alexandria Pompei, Roy Schmidt, Ellie Ward
Ka-Bloom imagines replacing home lawns with meadows of indigenous plants to transform our relationship with nature. The team created “plant bombs,” indigenous seeds mixed with clay and fertilizer, and location-based “recipes” to kickstart the process.
Finalist Team
CapSoul
Isabella Brand, Yeager Edwards, Gina Kim, Sunjae Lee, Stefanie Matza
Using technology similar to that used in insulin pumps, CapSoul is a line of jewelry that injects the wearer with genetically modified bacteria-based chemicals t0 combat mental health issues.
Filtering Water for the Navajo Nation
Amanda Taylor, Mika Reedy, Elizabeth Hungerman, Emily Greatorex
A plant-based water purifying system.
instructor
Cathy Barry
Cathy Barry is a faculty member at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design in Ann Arbor. She received a Bachelors of Fine Art in Painting from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Fine Art in Drawing and Painting from Eastern Michigan University. Cathy's creative practice and research areas of interest lie in the natural world and the interdisciplinary fields of art and design, science and nature and climate conscious making.
ADVISORS
Dr. Jane Prophet is Associate Dean for Research, Creative Work, and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Michigan. Her practice-based research and writing emerges through collaborations with life scientists such as neuroscientists, stem cell researchers, mathematicians, and heart surgeons. She works across media and disciplines to produce objects and installations, frequently combining traditional and computational media to produce apps, objects, and installations.
Dr. Selena Smith is a paleobotanist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. She is interested in using modern and fossil plants to understand evolution of plants and the environment, with a focus on monocots, a group of flowering plants comprising important taxa such as grasses, sedges, palms, orchids, lilies, gingers, and seagrasses.
Dr. Bruce Tharp is a speculative designer and associate professor at the University of Michigan. At times aiming for provocation and perturbation, while at others sustenance and service, Bruce’s practice spans the four fields of commercial-, responsible-, experimental-, and discursive design. This four-field approach to design theory and practice was conceptualized by Bruce and his wife and has been incorporated into design thinking and classrooms across the globe.
Joe Trumpey is a sustainable expert and designer and Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. Joe founded and currently directs Michigan Science Art, one of the largest groups of science illustrators working together in North America. Their most notable achievement is the completion of approximately 5,000 illustrations for the award-winning, 17-volume Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia.