Belle Zhao
herbs taste best when grown under stress
Class of: 2023
Major: Integrated Design BFA
Medium: PDF (written word and digital illistration)
Faculty: Audra Wolowiec
Prompt: This project is in response to our new realities, we will be shifting the focus to allow current place and circumstance to emerge and inspire our processes. We will utilize the diversity of locations and experiences to respond to the theme of Distance, through asking this question: from a distance, what do we notice? This final project will ask you to creatively develop your findings in an individual "chapter" that will be combined into one digital publication, to be printed as an online publication.
While facing our new realities, I began to put all my attention onto my houseplants as a way of reconnecting with nature in the confinement of my NYC apartment (amidst quarantine). I see parts of me in my plants, so by taking care of them I was in turn taking care of myself as well. Through this, I was able to open up myself to the lessons of Mother Nature and treat myself as the precious life form that I am. Greatness is a process that takes time, nurture, and support. After all, you can’t grow beautiful leaves without strong and healthy roots.