This owl was a hand-made present from my sister. It is the only “toy” that made it into my suitcase when I was moving from Ecuador to here. This object means a lot to me for three reasons. First, she invested her time to think about it, design it and make it. Second, she gave it to me on a normal day, it was not a special occasion such my birthday or Christmas. There was no excuse for it, she gave it to me just because she felt like it (I felt special!). Third, it is made of recycled materials which resonates with my beliefs about taking care of the planet. When I look at my owl the words that come to my head are love and family.
It was very interesting to “take it apart” and think about all its constitutive parts from different perspectives (scientific, formal, representational and interpretative). I would say that looking at all objects, people, things and thoughts in this way, all the time, would be most certainly overwhelming. However, I appreciate to know that this way of seeing the world around me exists, and that I am capable of using it whenever I need it. I think this skill would be very useful in academic settings when I am trying to understand something new, or when thinking about a new design. Nevertheless, I can also see myself thinking in this way when I am just walking around, enjoying nature and thinking about how certain things work.
Overall, the essence of the meaning of the object has not changed. It still makes me think about my sister and my family. However, now I might see it differently… I think it would be accurate to say that I have expanded the way I think about it. Never before I stopped to think about where the different parts came from, how many people were involved in their creation, or the science and technology behind them.