Yesterday, Ian sent me an email with this in it:

now, the next one is going to rock you a bit.... remember that there is nothing new under the sun, and ideas are not as valuable as thet once were, nowadays it is more what you do with them and how it is presented, and your project is very much about the public engagement and the absurdity..

anyway, i suggest you email the artist Amy Youngs, who for a few years now has apparently been trying to grow a BLUE dandelion! or i can email her if you feel weird doing it..

http://accad.osu.edu/~ayoungs/hyperind.html

her objectives, though there is some overlap, are different, and her struggle is not public.. but anyway...? as far as i can tell she has had no success.



So, I emailed her:

Amy Youngs,

My name is Nicole Wilson and I am a student at Tyler School of Art/ Temple University in Philadelphia. This summer I received a research grant to create a pink dandelion. My professor and mentor, Ian Burns, recently showed me your project to create a blue dandelion and suggested that I contact you. I update my research at http://pinkdandelionproject.blogspot.com and have a sculpture (which I view as a stand in for the art making) at the Crane Arts building (http://www.cranearts.com/?p=1039).

I was wondering if you have had any success in creating a blue dandelion or if your project is purely speculative?

I look forward to hearing back from you!

Thank you

Nicole Wilson

And, I heard back from her:

Hello Nicole,

Project Pink Dandelion sounds fun!

The project I did, Hypernatural Industries: Project Dandelion, was indeed pure speculation - with a dose of digital image manipulation and a seed sculpture to go with it. I was thinking about how this kind of thing might develop - once it is made and spread around, will it be as uncontrollable as the yellow type? The uncontrolled nature of the dandelion makes them commonly seen and my sense is that is why they are so hated and deemed "weeds". It seems they would need to be less common and more easily controlled by humans in order to be loved.

My favorite writer about genetic art is George Gessert. If you have not yet read his article called "Notes on Genetic Art," (in Leonardo 26, No. 3) I think you will enjoy it. Blue roses are discussed.

Laura Cinti comes to mind as another artist you will want to know about, if you don't already. She worked with scientists to create a cactus that grew human hair. And of course there is Eduardo Kac's latest project that combines his own genes into a petunia. Exciting times. If you end up focusing in bio art, you might consider doing this new residency in Portugal called Cultivamos Cultura, http://cultivamoscultura.blogspot.com/ which is organized by Marta deMenezes, the artist who genetically manipulates butterfly wings, among other things.

If a pink dandelion is made, I definitely want to know about it. I subscribed to your blog.

Good luck!

amy

I will officially be holding a "meet and greet" for the project on this Saturday, July 11th, from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Crane Arts Building!

Please bring your ideas with you!

date Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 2:02 PM
subject Re: Thank You!/ Pink Dandelion Project

Hi Nicole -

I am not sure if I replied to you or not. As I have not checked my Temple e-mail on this however, if you are looking to breed a pink dandelion this is something huge. Is this what you are talking about?? This is a very specialized field of plant genetics and you would have to hook up with someone that specializes in plant genetics or a specialist i




date Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 2:03 PM
subject Re: Thank You!/ Pink Dandelion Project

sorry did not finish. A specialist that works on weeds.

Give me a ring or e-mail to talk further on the project.

Eva

4th of July

Ian sent me this in an email a little while ago:
yeh, i would think july 4th would be a dud - unless you can make dandelion fireworks.-- oh HANG ON! that is the name of a kind of firework display.. a quick google search yields a bunch of stuff.. you might be able to get some interesting stuff for your blog at least

So, here are some images from a Google search:
one

two

three

And then this video is from the firework display at the Art Museum last night:

The studio has closed for the ENTIRE 4th of July weekend... thus meaning that I will be bumming internet off of friends all weekend. AND that I am unable to take care of the dandelions in my studio... big bummer.

I have a stack of books though to go through this weekend so I'll still be able to get some work done despite the studio closure. It seems as though every outlet that begin to research hits a dead end. Ian sent me an email telling me to make more posts with the dandelions and about the dandelions... and he's right, I should, but all the dead ends are getting depressing. The idea of a pink dandelion fills me with the same sort of hope that seeing an elk does. Thinking about it makes me smile like when I get a cappuccino in the morning and the foam on top looks like a heart.

So, mark your calenders! On July 11 from 1 pm to 3 pm I'll be hosting an event at the Crane to get some input and help. I'd like anyone and everyone who is interested in the project to stop by and offer up advice, ideas, questions, comments and support. I'm planning to make dandelion wine and candied dandelions for everyone and to learn a lot!

A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants p 214
Arnold and Connie Krochmal
New York Times Book co, Inc NY, NY 1973
• Biennial or perennial growing 2 to 12 inches tall
• Deeply serrated leaves form basal rosette
• Roots use to increase urine flow, as a laxative, as a tonic, to treat liver and spleen ailments, and to stimulate appetitive
• Tea of boiled flowers for heart trouble
• Juice in roots to treat liver diseases
• Cooked young greens to purify blood- Indians
• Root tea to cure heartburn- Indians
• Paste of ground leaves and bread dough for bruises
• Leaves for salad greens, flowers to make wine

Common Weeds of the United States p 438-9
Prepared by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture
Dover Publications Inc NY, NY 1971
• Compositae
• Taraxcum officinale weber
• Perennial herb from thick taproot often several feet deep
• Many-branched crowns
• Milky juice
• Reproducing seeds by new shoots from the root crowns
• “Stems very short and wholly underground producing a rosette of leaves a the ground surface”
• “Leaves from 5 to 40 cm long variable in shape from lobeless or entire to being divided into many shallow deep-cut lobes with long soft points and intermediate small teeth, a larger lobe at the tip, or the edges merely toothed narrowed at the base into a short hollow petiole, usually pubescent”
• “Flower heard 2-5 cm in diameter in flower, solitary at the end of a naked hollow stalk 5-75 cm long”
• “Receptacle flat or convex, naked”
• “Flowers all strap-shaped ray flowers, golden-yellow, 5-notched at the tip, 100-300 per head”
• “Bracts (phyllaries) green to brownish, surrounding the flower heads in 2 rows, the outer row hanging down and one-third to one-half as long as the inner, erect row”
• “Achene yellowish to greenish-brown, 3-4mm long, 5- to 8- ribbed on each side with minute curved spines on the rib margins of the upper half of the seed”
• “Beak threadlike, 2-4 times longer than the body of the seed, topped by a tuft of whitish hairs (pappis), 3-4 mm long, persistent”
• “Flowering and fruiting from march to frost of throughout the year in warmer areas”
• “Nearly ubiquitous weed in waste areas, lawns, overgrazed pastures and meadows, open fields and roadsides from sea level up to about 12000 ft elevations”
• Mainly a lawn pest, but also in hayfields and pastures, often an impurity in Kentucky bluegrass and forage grass seeds. Introduced and naturalized from Eurasia: perhaps also native of northern America. Throughout most to the United States”

Weeds friends of foe? P 116-7
Sally Roth
Readers Digest Association Inc Pleasantville, NY 2002
• “At maturity, the spent flower closes up into a cylindrical mass of silky hairs and seeds. The flower stem lengthens even more to raise the seed head above surrounding plants so that the wind can freely disperse the seed”
• Sun, well-drained soil, year-round with peak bloom in spring
• Ground hugging but seed puff rises 12 to 18 inches tall

Desk Reference to Natures Medicine p 130 and 131
Steven Foster and Rebecca L. Johnson
National Geographic Washington D.C.
• Family asteraceae
• “Small perennial with a stout taproot, dandelion has long, toothed leaves that form a basal rosette. Yellow. Solitary flowers are followed by spherical, fluffy “seed” heads. All parts of the plant exude a somewhat butter, milky latex”
• “Native to Europe and Asia, dandelions grown almost everywhere throughout the world’s temperate regions. They thrive in nitrogen [rich soil in pastures, gardener, and lawns and are cultivated in Germany and France”
• “The first recoded reference to dandelion in Chinese medical texts was in A.D. 659. The herb was used to treat digestive disorders, appendicitis, breast inflammation, to stimulate milk flow and to reduce abscesses in the breast and intestines. By the tenth century, Arabian physicians were writing about dandelion in their medical journals. Once introduced to Europe, dandelion became a prized medicinal plant. European herbalists incorporated it into remedies for fever, boils, eye problems, diabetes, and diarrhea. They also used it for liver complaints. Native Americans used dandelion for decoctions to treat kidney disease, swellings, skin problems, heartburn, and dyspepsia.”
• “In traditional Chinese medicine today, dandelion is prescribed for ling and breast tumors, jaundice and hepatitis, mastitis, abscesses, and urinary tract infections. In Western herbal medicine, the herb is considered a remedy for a wide range of conditions that can benefit from mild diuretic action, including poor digestion, liver disorders, urinary tract infections, and high blood pressure. Fresh or dried dandelion preparations are used to stimulate appetite and ease stomach distress. Dandelion root is used as a mild laxative and to improve digestion, as well as treat gallstones, jaundice, and other liver problems. Dandelion is also used for chronic joint complaints, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne. IT is still respected as one of the best tonic herbs for building the blood and combating anemia. The juice of the dandelion root is used to treat diabetes”.
• “Dandelion contains a variety of acids, sugars, and other nutrients (iron, zinc, boron, calcium, silicon, and especially potassium), and vitamins A, B complex, C and D. Despite the fact hat dandelion as long been recommended as a diuretic, studies of its potent diuretic properties have yet to identify the substance or substances that are responsible for this action. Some researchers have proposed that dandelion’s diuretic activity may simply be the result of the high potassium content of its leaves and roots. While most conventional diuretics cause a loss of potassium from the body, dandelion contains so much potassium tat despite its diuretic effects, potassium levels do not generally decline. Some preliminary studies on diabetic mice suggest that dandelion may help normalize blood sugar levels. Extracts of dandelion have been shown to have antimicrobial and antibacterial effects and some animal studies have shown it to have moderate anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In test tube studies, dandelion extracts have also shown antitumor activity against liver, colon, and melanoma cancer cell lines”

Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Second Edition p 64 and 65
Bradford Angier
Stackpole Books, 2008, Mechanicsburg, PA
• “Often the first wildflowers that foretell the spring and one of the last in the fall”
• “Composed of numerous, individual, tiny flower tubes, each broadening into as slim long strap. The golden tubes are arranged on a round disk with the straps extending in a circle, those at the edges unfurling first”
• “Each of the flowers nods by itself at the end of a long hollow stalk that, when broken, emits a bitter milky juice similar to what oozes from the cut or abraded roots. Directly beneath the golden head is a verdant cup composed of slender, pointed, green leaves, a few of which twist back toward the cylindrical stem. Nights and on rainy days, the leaves of the cup lift and cover the gilded pedals with their greenery”
• “Once the blossoms wither, the round disks that hear them become white with the unbranched, short, white hairs that radiate in tiny tufts from the tips of each of the multitudinous sees.”
• “The dandelion’s flowers and seed heads are a favorite spring and summer food of Canada geese, grouse, partridge, pheasant, prairie chickens, and quail. Blackbirds, siskins, and sparrows are among the songbirds that relish the seeds. Deer, noose, elks, black bears and grizzlies, the little prairie dogs, and the even sprier and smaller chipmunks eat the plants.”
• “Raw dandelion greens, 85 percent water, have an abundant 14,000 international units of vitamin A per 100 grams, plus 0.19 milligrams of thiamine, 0.26 of riboflavin, and 35 of the vital ascorbic acid”
• “198 milligrams of calcium, 76 of sodium, 397 of potassium”

Philadelphia Weekly

In print:


Or internet

As always, any ideas, comments, questions, suggestions... nicolemwils@gmail.com