Everything Comes from Nature by Mary Erickson, Ph.D.

Ultimately, everything we eat, wear and use in our daily lives is made from natural materials: plants, animals and minerals

Sometimes the natural material is easy to recognize. Which of these objects is made from: Stone?Bone?Seashells?

Sometimes the natural material used to make an object is not as obvious. For example, glass is made from sand.

Copper is mined in the earth. Plastic is a petroleum product.

For thousands of years before synthetic fibers, clothes were all made from plants or animals. For example, wool for sweaters starts with the hair of a sheep or goat that is made into yarn, then woven or knit into cloth.

Cotton cloth is made from the fluffy fibers that protect the seeds of cotton plants. Linen is made from the fibers of flax plants. Certain worms spin a fine thread to make their cocoons, which are used to make silk. Leather is made from the skins of animals.

All our food starts as a plant or an animal. Do you recognize these growing fruits, vegetables and grains?

People get meat from many kinds of animals, including cattle, hogs, sheep and fish. Chickens, geese, and ducks also provide eggs. Cows give milk from which cheese, yogurt and ice cream are made.

Trees of many kinds grow almost everywhere on earth, even in the deserts of Arizona. People have found countless ways to use trees.

Trees give us fruit and nuts we can eat, like these ripening oranges, peaches and almonds.

These containers are made of tree materials, including wood, but also pine needles and bark. Which container is made from which material? How can you tell?

Wood is a common material for making toys.

Wood also is used to make a variety of tools and utensils, from mallets to rolling pins.

People have been making buildings from tree materials for a very long time.

Today, wood is often the skeleton of a building, which may then be covered on the outside with other materials, like stone or stucco. Look around your classroom, school, neighborhood and home. What can you find that is made of wood?

You are invited to visit the Biennial: Wood exhibition at the Tempe Center for the Arts to see wonderful artworks that have been made with wood or have been inspired by wood. “Transitions” by J. Paul Fennell