Reflection

Ever since my first trip to the farmers market I have thought more RPI students should make the trip down the hill to the atrium. I have done a lot of work making the food available for students on campus, but have not made much progress actually bringing the two communities together until now. I invited RPI students on a tour of the Market, from the union, down the approach, and through the Atrium to ask questions and get the full experience of the market.
For the art portion of my project I made a flier specific for this event and included it on a flier I had made for all of Earth week. I also made a stencil of the farmer’s market logo using the laser cutter and painted it on brown bags that people could use down there, and take with them as a memento of the event. People were excited to get something hand crafted and some even said they were going to reuse the bag again or cut out the logo and frame it.
While some of the people that showed up have already been to the farmers market, there were a few that were experiencing it for the first time. It was interesting to see people’s initial reaction and continued excitement for this new found Troy hot spot. It was also interesting to see the farmer’s reaction to a large group of students asking questions and taking pictures. A few of them asked what we were doing, but I think many of them did not have to ask, they showed appreciation for our efforts to bring students down the hill.
After taking this class in Public Art I am able to appreciate the art of people’s behavior. This experience was much more valuable than any other effort to educate RPI students about the market.