2: Public Pedagogy of Everyday Objects & Spaces: Table Talk Encounter

My wife and I bought our 1946 house about 5 years ago.  Looking at the picture above, I'm amazed at how the view of the house has changed.  We cut back some unruly azaleas from the front (regrettably to some extent now), and planted some holly and Japanese Pencils in their place.  On the interior, we wanted to respect the architecture and era of the house, so we gutted the kitchen and bathroom and added vintage pieces when we could find them, and age-appropriate facsimiles if not.  My first thoughts of a house centered around the word "home," a safe place to reside and come back to.  I know that a house is an extension of ourselves, but I feel a house also has a character of its own that must be respected.  Almost five years later, we're still working on our little house to make it an extension of ourselves while maintaining its historical roots and essence.

For the table exercise, I was drawn to the image of a picnic table.  I particularly like how the seats are part of the table, and in this example, seem to float in air without legs of their own.  This type of table evokes the outdoors and feelings of community.  While it is a communal place where people can gather, I feel there is also a strange tension in its essence.  The picnic table is an icon that can be viewed in backyards and rest areas everywhere, yet there is an impermanence to the structure due to its weathering from the elements and day to day use.  In a park nearby our house, there are some stone and steel picnic tables that have stood the test of time for many years and bear the etchings of both visitors and lovers.  While many varied designs exist, I prefer the classic version as pictured above- it reminds me of childhood road trips and stops at rest areas for homemade sandwiches.

This is how my wife and I start every morning- Starbucks Pike Place Decaf.  Her sister works at Starbucks, so we usually have a "free" supply of coffee (in exchange for babysitting).  When purchasing coffee at the store, we had always steered away from Starbucks in favor of a more environmentally/social conscious brand, or so we thought.  I was surprised to see Starbucks rated as highly as it was on the goodguide.com site.  While I knew they were a charitable company to some extent, I tended to view them as the "McDonalds" of coffee companies since you see one on just about every corner and in some grocery stores nowadays.  I'm sure there are better options in terms of fair trade certification, but for the taste and price to us, I'm rather satisfied.  On the same site, I did see some Baltimore Oriole French Roast from Birds and Beans that we may have to try though.  Here in Durham, NC there are some great local coffee providers that I grab a cup from when out and about, and I like the idea of supporting the local community, especially mom and pop type establishments.

After reviewing the tasks of this lesson, I think it's important to stop and take a look around at our surroundings and what we surround ourselves with and consume in those surroundings.  We all internalize messages from society and what those messages represent to us, but its important to recognize and acknowledge the implications of choices and the impact/effect they have on others.