keep me where the light is

my space often, if not most of the time, reflects which mode i'm in...currently she's in:  eye-of-storm-aftermath---'it will all be ok in the end.  if it's not ok, it's not the end.' indeed.

making a lamp with an led stringed-light source that dims/brightens to sound waves of 'thank you.'


acquired some materials for my project after meeting with john yesterday.  (many thanks for your help sir)
lights--(set of three 60 mini led indoor/outdoor light sets warm white)
cards that RECORD sound (hallmark seems to be the only 'stop-and-shop' locales) bought and extra note:  6-7 dollar range.  i'm sure with time and planning...you can find the pieces at a more reasonable rate
need
op amp (radio shack)
power source (?)
motion detector
arduino board--numbers.
lamp-----> either will find one from thrift store or will construct one on my own (wire...paper...recyclable material...dollar store hack one that resonates enclosed sound)
the know-how to wire/program all mechanisms together (meeting with john for how-to friday am)

pics...

hack a music card series coming soon. 

all will later be detailed and part of final output.

addendum

been swimming in info of 120 volt/9 volt batteries; ac/dc; timed lighting; LED...digesting this new thing of tweaking/modifying/transmutating electronics. 


going to play with led lights-9 volt battery and speaker I acquired with a card tonight.  on to other homework first.  time management indeed.
getting a crash course in arduino tomorrow thanks to our fearless leader, prof. park.


after reading my last post, this visual process says more...

rough cut

...this will be wrapped more clearly as this piece is pieced together, but for now... here are the bits:

personal responsibility. little broad.  feels a bit harsh.  how about personally responsible?  that flows nicer.  more singular. this art discipline can be...personal and singular.  i should be more. 

started off with a nice idea in a different direction.  thank you prof. park.  garbage can idea tossed aside for now.  still like it.  

so personally.  the word thank you.  never in need of re-stock.  exploring the idea of power in words.  their nuances.  their subtleness. create a space...one that is illuminated by the sound waves of words... (the contrast to this would be interesting to see).

this is what i see:  someone walks by a building/tree/etc., trips the motion sensor, which flickers lights to the soundwaves of recorded 'thank yous' in various languages.

watched this among others and felt a better about concepts of wiring.  first hack job.  looking forward to it.  paroused the isles for sound-making items at various stores.  toys, books, cards.  Took out the speaker of a sound-card I had received in the mail. 

i started off with just doors.  opening them.  triggering a word.  i had imagined a building on campus that i could use.  one with minimal traffic.  one with many doors.  i didn't like the idea of being constricted to a door, though, so i changed the idea to 2 doors.  i keep going back to the contrast idea.  one door opens to a 'thank you' the other to an 'eff you.'  thought this was too literal. 

went then for the idea of the idea that Masaru Emoto had in that exposing water droplets to specific words, pictures and music. he believed their frozen aesthetics were proof of the words that were exposed to them.  his methods for his findings have been scrutinized, but I am struck by the visual representation of a word.  a shape beyond it's physical shape.  words equalling shapes.  its a subtle, non-intrusive way to fill a space with some warm lights and waves. 

http://www.automat3d.com/electronics/motion-sensor-switched-output-hack/

hackin'

going to try and figure out how to hack into a motion sensored sound maker.  seems lofty at this point...but...i like lofts. pics to come...don't feel pressured to find mechanisms thanks to the 'holiday' choices.  specs coming soon.

a funny thing happened on the way to the forum

it's comin'...went back to basics. 

going to get my hands dirty

i.e. researching possibilities...

project / needed a refocus

getting unstuck.  put some cardboard under the wheels, so to speak.


placed a call; took a drive; paid attention to details.  photo process soon. 

'audio icicles' 

goats.

highly recommend this band...put their repertoire in yer playlist.

(ahh.  my twenties.  has much changed?)

http://jimmyluxury.com/thegoats.htm

Project Idea #3

stuck for now.

Project Idea #2

Project Idea #2

I have been tossing this idea around for a bit, in regards to personal responsibility and interaction with my/our environment.

Problem: Littering:  I deem this a senseless act- dare I say appalling?
I recently visited my niece's school where I was saddened to see the level of apathy in regards to simply throwing away trash, both in and outside of the building.  Students at this particular High School were once able to enjoy their meals outside, but due to the 'littering' problem, that is no longer an option. 

I admit, I've littered.  One time, a gentleman saw me toss something on the ground, and followed me and said that I had 'dropped something' and handed me my trash.  Nice.  I was a bit mortified...and admittedly, haven't 'dropped' anything since.  (John Watson and B.F. Skinner of operant behavioral fame, would have nodded their heads in my persuasion.)

Solution:  Making garbage fun:  in terms of just getting it into the 'can.'

The artist/sculpture Sister Paula Turnbull of Spokane, Washington is the inspiration.  She created an interactive garbage eating goat sculpture for the World's Fair and Expo in 1974 where the theme was 'Our Environment.'  Pressing the button mounted on the basalt rocks behind this sculpture activates a powerful vacuum and children and adults alike can feed garbage and leaves to this voracious critter.  Below are links to the hollow-horned mammal in action!  (One had to pull my siblings and I away from this years ago!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yUZzcfMWig&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGL5YaEI1JU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sejiCmBCpDg&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-UWhthkJbI

I want to create a motion activated garbage receptacle that says 'thank you' in various languages.  I'm working on the specifications for this and will post those soon. 

In the meantime, enjoy this! (Thank you for posting Ben!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbEKAwCoCKw


There is a toy in it's likeness!

Another inspired goat.
http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/garbage-eating_robot_goat_guess_which_country_it_came_from_8019.asp

This effect is also appealing to me.
http://vimeo.com/5450790

Project Idea #1

OBJECTIVE:
To bring personal responsibility to light in terms of interacting with our environment and its inhabitants.

SOLUTION (1):

To hold an awareness session with a group of 4th graders where art (poster making), will be the medium to then ‘spread’ the word through their school.

Initially, we would talk as a whole group in a circle. This can be somewhat chaotic due to their age range, but have found that narrowing down the topic to a one or two word phrase and passing around an object for them to hold, lends itself very well to focusing.

For example: Passing around a found piece of trash (not found in a receptacle) and have them say the first two or three words that come to their mind (a sentence if needed) and passing it to either the left or right of them. This is a nice way to start ideas and conversations flowing. They tend to be amazingly insightful.

The idea is to then have the 4th graders break into five or six separate groups, where by the end of the session, they will have produced a poster to display in a part of their school that is frequented by students and staff alike. We adults are always in need of reminders of personal responsibility!

Each group would be assigned an area of the school: Their own classroom, the music room, the library, the gymnasium and the cafeteria.

Discussions will be geared towards what it means for them to be responsible in their homes, school, relationships with family/friends/teachers and the world in general: Focusing on awareness of morals, values and actions and their consequences. Ten or Fifteen minutes is sufficient time to gather enough ideas for a poster. (A volunteer in the group would be writing the ideas down.)

The poster materials will be supplied: Glue, poster board, magazines (for clippings/photos), markers, paint, etc. A half hour or 45 minutes will be ample time to create a stellar poster to be displayed in their assigned area.

Each group would have the chance to show the rest of their peers what they have created and further establish a finer-tuned level of awareness of personal responsibility.

Afterwards, we would gather in a group circle again, this time giving a sentence or two about something we knew, what we wanted to know and what we’ve learned, nicely wrapping up the poster making extravaganza!
Throughout the above process, I would be filming the 4th graders/taking photos to document the process for them where I would create a video/album for the class and the school.

8 oct 09

visit to PDX 17 oct 09 noon?
laser cutter demo with joe mansfield

29 oct 09 volunteer meeting habitat for humanity

design bridge

artifacts...collect these...thoughtless design ideas/principles

water bottles...every 5 minutes 2 million plastic 'beverage' bottles are tossed
60,000 plastic bags are used in the US every 5 seconds.  fucking sad.
cell phones...

boycott/campaign

http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/

community/faith group/restaurant

visual psa

http://www.commondreams.org/   ----->nestle

spiral island (ripley's believe it or not)
-bamboo/plywood/bottles
aspiring for world travel  :)

1% of world's water is potable----> [great water recycling idea Drew!]

visuals of above statistics are powerful...use as part of organization/?

field trip?  reward program? volunteering in/with environment/community  yes.

met with groups...Lee...always insightful...merci.
-focus on 1 or 2 issues (scope is what hurts or helps)

excitement---->examples of pragmatic response---->consequences

'goofy awareness'  nice one Kristen!

photos/visuals/impacts

thursday--->accordian book demo.  word.

'I'm aware and I care'  (for you Jamie)

Who's Your Mummy? DIY October 2009

I adore Halloween!  Sadly, I cannot recall making any DISH for this holiday:  UNTIL NOW!

This will take 20 minutes out of your life and it's well worth it.  Found this easy how-to through the INSTRUCTABLES website. 

What you will need to create this spooktacular treat:
-hot dogs (your choice - I used chicken franks)
-biscuit dough (one can of ten will be plenty)
-mustard
-guaze or shredded strips of paper towels

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

Arrange the biscuits (if store bought) and 'squeeze' them together. The object is to roll out the dough into a uniform 'sheet.'

 

Wrap each 'dog' with a strip of dough leaving enough room for the mummy's eyes.

Place mummies in oven for 12-15 minutes.

In the meantime, I thought it would be a good idea to use guaze as a nice presentation.  Little did I realize that I grabbed an ace bandage, so I shredded some paper towels into strips and placed them on a plate.

The only thing missing are the eyes.

Et Voila!  A tasty Halloween treat that any age can enjoy!  (and we did...)

Happy Haunting.

coat rack/lost and found?

this glove caught my attention last january...thoughtless act indeed...always wondered if the owner found the missing half and/or appreciated the organic coat rack/lost and found.

6 oct 09

in terms of interacting with our/my environment, i saw a problem with personal responsibility

in terms of tackling this problem, rather than approaching it as a 'you should' or 'i should' finger-pointing solution...i find it more empowering/successful to lead by example. my 'idea' is to structure some sort of organization/group to teach or lead the way. not sure if this is a plausible solution, but i envision an organization with many tiers. involving workshops, curriculums, events, that would focus on how we as individuals are responsible for our actions. actions that have consequences. still trying to pare down the particulars.

need?

press kit

logo

investors/donors

volunteers

community outreach

psa

podcast

call on extensive connections in many facets of my friends/colleagues/acquaintances lives

military

schools

government

healthcare

etc.

'design is too important to be left to designers'

teach someone to fish...

[currently listening to adele...damn!!]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

notes...

how we notice things/signs that are around us

book: thoughtless acts by I.D.O.

jane fulton suri

observe patterns/interacting w/environment

collect this stuff (photos)

eventually make a book

(workshop on book making)

design 'thinking'

opposing ideas to create new solutions

building to think? prototypes

arthur ganson/machine artist :)

vik muniz/cloud guy :)

article: design for the other 90% - hell yes!

http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/

inspired

1 oct 09

bruce mau's 'massive change'

victor papanek 'what is design'

the wheels hub holds thirty spokes

utility depends on the hole through the hub

the potter's clay forms a vessel

it is the space within that serves

a house is built with solid walls

the nothingness of window and door alone renders it usable,

that which exists may be transformed

what is non existent has boundless uses.

---lao-tse

what we seek, we find

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE!!!!!

righter vs. wronger

method/tools.materials.processes

use/as tool.as communication

association/family.education.culture

aesthetics/gestalt.perception.biosocial 'givens'

need/survival.identity.goal.formation

telesis/nature.society.technological bias

function

symptoms of problems how they are manifesting in 'my'/'our' life/lives

cradle to cradle

william mcdonough

materials/content/documenting/what are we planning?

[discussion with group]

identify the problem

buckminster (bucky) fuller

geodesic dome/dymaxion[dynamic...maximum...ion]car/bucky ball

bio-mimicry

scope/scale/problem...individual vs. global

materials needed?/what goes into process?

research it!

vinyl cutter...stroke=cut

laser cutter...wood/acrylic/letters/silk/darker the pixel...deeper the cut

c&c router

source/symptoms/root of problem!

29 sep 09

day one notes: artd 410 intro to class
authors:

victor papanek

dave foster (former faculty member at U of O) 'the road to success is strewn with failure. i think it's part of the way. people shouldn't be discouraged by it'... they have learned something, but never realized it, because they were too busy trying to win... they were busy trying to be successful, but were learning, you see, in spite of themselves... emphasis on process rather than produce... the artist examines his own ideas by giving them artistic form..

ken o'connell

sacrifice---->economics

one laptop for every child
http://www.laptop.org/en/

design is about the process

!!!!energy of invention!!!!

interacting with my environment
nature specific vs. mode
problematic?
lacking?
wanting to change?
orientation
room styles
comfort vs. practical vs. aesthetically pleasing
interacting with environment group:
lee, me, kristen, chris, brian, drew, ray

design is powerful

1. understand nature of my lifestyle
2. discover a process for alteration
3. learn new tools, materials, methods
4. develop strategy & execute!
5. develop method of dissemination

'supernatural' (book)


ross lovegrove
http://www.ted.com/talks/ross_lovegrove_shares_organic_designs.html#
DNA design.nature.art - nature drills holes in things


xmind.net/mindmapping/pdf on bb/blogger.com/send john url/self/time/creative energy/skills/etc.