Hatch Collective.

Just real quick, a little time lapse video of what Sam and I did (more/most kudos to Sam) freshman year. We talked to the cop that stopped by for a few minutes about how he liked it and thought it was cool, until he found out we were doing it just for fun... and then he kicked us off.

This was over the course of 45 minutes, I think. It's been awhile; I'm not really sure.

I was gonna make this big fancy video because I remembered how much I loved video/audio editing :) But it is 3AM. I'll probably be up for another hour on this 15 second shot if I let myself play.

Social Disconnect.

The purpose of this whole project for Design and Social Entrepreneurship is to bring attention to and in small ways, end social disconnection. I'll be the first to admit, my iPod is never out of my reach, and I can't walk 5 minutes without listening to music.

It's not because I don't want to interact with people, I am just literally addicted to music. Not necessarily the worst thing to be addicted to, but I could stand to break it. I do smile at people I pass that manage to make eye contact with me on campus, and while I'm at home, I make it a point to say a bold "hello" that god forbid others would say.

Drew's first project was to draw attention to social disconnect and create a break in daily routines of running between buildings, while being engrossed in phones or iPods. He was rather successful, and got more than he expected with "Thank you(s)" and "Can I try?(s)"

So here we go. Each person in the group is designing their own bird to have laser cut (which we'll be doing tomorrow) and we're going to have our own personal stencil to put up a big installation on an undisclosed place. :) Laser cutting is tomorrow, installation is Thursday.

I got the first one from Brianna- check out her blog. I don't wanna pull them all from her, but these are definitely some good ones.

"I don't much care for people. My driveway is 1/4 mile long. The only people back here are those delivering something, those who are utterly lost and those looking to get into trouble. I do not relate well with others, nor do I care to try. In a crowd or among others, I am "inept," don't kibitz well, misunderstand cues, signals and clues. I am basically, socially dysfunctional. I relate well with my animals. I then, have a social disconnect"
-Yahoo search on social disconnect

Sisters and Happiness - Understanding the Connection

Why Sisterly Chats Make People Happier

This is a slightly different kind of article than I usually have up.

Me and Christine

Me and Cecilia

Emma (Melody, Emma's baby girl) and Morgan

This is kind of funny because we just talked about something like this in our Sexuality in a Diverse Society class (which I failed the test to with a 64% because I literally didn't have time to study YAY). Women are more inclined to talk about their emotions and feelings and all that jazz that I hate putting a label on. I do like to talk about my "feelings" but not in the same sense as everyone else. I hate saying "feelings" because it sounds so... weak hahaha even though that is what I do when I talk to my sisters or close friends.

In any event, women are more inclined to be more emotional. Therefore, sisters (who talk) are more inclined to talk to each other about their problems, successes, and everything in between. So what about brothers? Basically, if they talked to each other, they could be happier too, but they aren't necessarily unhappier. If that makes any sense.

We women also talk about all the details of our lives that men find trivial. And when I say "we," I'm just putting a general blanket on "us." Because I sure as hell don't say more about my new clothes than "I got new clothes. They're pretty sweet/cute." I think. I don't go on about how adorable they'd be with this that and the other. I talk a lot more about well... school and food... hahaha.

But as in any other situation, it is lovely to talk to people about deeper things. I find it to be a huge load off my chest if I'm talking about things that stress me out, whether it be about my HUGE artistic conflicts in my major or my "romantic" life (another term I hate using). And not to say men can't talk about it... I talked to Tai about a big thing on my mind, and actually, Scott is the only one I have told everything to and consistently talk to him about it.

Tai is less traditionally masculine being gay, so he doesn't necessarily apply, along with the subject matter I talk to him about because we relate in a way that blurs the line between genders. But Scott is straight through and through, and he knows a world more than my sisters do.

I suppose Scott is in addition to my sisters making me happy.

Crowdsourcing... Defined.

Hey lovers.

Though I got two very constructive critiques, I didn't find my crowdsourcing to be successful. Although, I did only post to two outlets, but one of which I knew I was going to get some responses from.

Crowd sourcing... what is it?

I imagine it to visually be rainbows flowing into a gold bag. Sorta. Anyways, you get multiple sources and their input, and in most cases in my world, its on a design. Could crowd sourcing be getting sources and their input on say... elections? I suppose it would be, in a way. Elections and underlying points that those running support. Or how about uhhhh getting people's input on your paper?


But to focus on design crowdsourcing. Trish mentioned crowdsourcing of Mac and their Airbook. I haven't seen it, but it made me think that crowdsourcing is really just about everywhere, subtly. For example, Jamie Cullum's new radio station (okay he started broadcasting back in the spring) had asked the audience/subscribers to the email listing to suggest any topics or old artists to feature for the next week.

And then I remember Ponoko sent out a survey with set questions plus room for comments at the end to get suggestions on how to get more people to laser cut from their company. As it turns out, surprise surprise, everyone wanted things cheaper. So for a short period of time, they offered discounts on laser cutting. I filled out that survey so I don't know if it was discounted solely for those who filled it out or not. I told Amy about it and I don't know if she actually got to use the discount... kinda curious now.

Anyways, it's things like that. It's kinda funny that I took a split second to think about it and realized I had already participated. This is all crowdsourcing through social media though. We could say that our critiques in class are crowd sourcing. Just look at Brianna's redesign. She didn't get the amount of responses she wanted, so she took the responses she got from our class critique and incorporated it into her brief. Pretty much the same thing, just different audience.

I also found this book called "Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business" by Jeff Howe. (Ok, I'm pretty sure Jan talked about it in class haha)

I did a quick skimming and found one of the things that Jan mentioned in class about open sourcing which ties into this crowd sourcing and how really in any situation, both can easily be tied together. It was about Linux. I think it was Linux, anyway. But yeah, I feel like open sourcing is closely related to crowd sourcing in that you could crowd source to make it open sourced... get everyone's input and then push it back out there for them to use it. Free. Or the other way around- put it out there for free, and then get everyone's input to improve it and push it back out. It's a circl

Interactive crowd sourcing process... not just through social media

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First Piece

Hey lovers.

This is my first piece for Jewelry 3. It is a large neckpiece (larger than my usual). As a quick overview, it is the interpretation of jazz and its elements through a simpler form. The soft curves and forms are the fluidity of music, and the container on the back serves to hold extra weight which will amplify the feeling of bass on the chest. The blue suede is the color that can be interpreted dually, as a slow tranquil mood or light, upbeat mood.

So the second part is to crowdsource and pick up suggestions on how to improve the design through the form to strengthen the concept. For our re-design, we must utilize the injection molder. To injection-mold, we are making a mold out of a hardened epoxy...

...which is the grey mold in the middle. Then we are using Jan's new toy to melt plastic and make a plastic mold of it. The parameters are about 2" x 3".... the length has a little more leeway than 3" but it's not really suggested. The best part of this is that I can make it much more moldable and flexible, in a way...

Knowing that it is possible to be more flexible and formfitting, how could I change the form to improve? And what is the best way to resolve the "chain" in a more effective way?

There are so many things I would do differently. I am not happy with this piece at all. Though I spent ample time on it, I could have used more. I still like the forms, but the problems I had riveting are clear as day, so I would like to resolve the connections in another way. The connections being the ones between each piece, and the ones on the bulbous centerpiece holding the suede to it. The etching for the solder inlay should have been deeper so I wouldn't have to worry about sanding it off, and the overall craftsmanship is poor compared to my usual work. I would also like to resolve the "chain" better. I would like to add more wires or somehow have a chain that gives it structure around the neck and conveys fluidity at the same time.

I was actually getting to be very satisfied and sort of happy with my piece the day before it was due... then I went in to finish and it just fell apart which forced me to fix it all with brute force since it was only hours before it was due. So now, I'll have more time to resolve all the problems.

I plan to redo the piece because like Rachel said, I'm better than this!

In a Digital Age, Students Still Cling to Paper Textbooks

The title is pretty self explanatory. I guess it's the context. We always get scolded for avoiding the libraries and turning to the internet. But I value textbooks... I tried to keep my psychology textbook from high school because I loved it so much (and I considered a major in psychology). I used my textbooks in my gen eds to the full potential. Like they said in the article, you can't get a virus- the words will always be there.

However, I suppose it's for research papers. It's just so much more convenient to find what you need for that one paper, as opposed to going to a library and finding it. I depend on my textbooks for gen eds because it's so structured- straight facts, stats, and graphs. But for research, I find it a lot easier to go to the internet. I'd go to textbooks and books if I had them right there so the only reason I avoid the library is for convenience.

A Spray of DNA Keeps the Robbers Away

A Spray of DNA Keeps the Robbers Away

Via NY Times

In the Netherlands, Rotterdam has created a system to spray robbers with a specificly engineered DNA to set them apart from everyone. If the cashiers suspect that people are stealing, they can activate the system by removing a 10 euro bill from a money clip behind the cash register. This was developed for the McDonalds somewhere in that town.

Every single day its something new. The idea is pretty simple, really. How else could you mark someone in your store, that would follow them for a good distance? You can't throw electronic trackers on them, that would be too big or too expensive. The DNA mist is odorless and weightless. However, the owners of the McDonalds mention that their main goal is not to catch but to prevent. Apparently, it's been working well lately. Prevention, that is. The box is pretty noticeable and they threw a blaring sign up next to the door.

This is just another one of those things that reminds me of how ridiculous the world is. How we have to resort to more ideas (although ingenious) on how to catch or prevent crimes... at McDonalds. So it's kinda like, "Cool!!! More ways to stop the 50 billion criminals (and counting!) out there!"

Many Days (& Nights) in the studio.

Hey lovers.

This isn't the time for my After-Reaction so I won't say a single word and just throw up my process, drawings, and design statement. And I'll write a different entry this weekend or the next about the personal side of it.

Okay, I'll say some words. I vote for a bed in that loft above the entrance and a secret bathroom because it's hard not sleeping or peeing when you're technically not allowed to be there all night and are forced to be locked in. I literally would have cried if they tried to kick us out just to get sympathy.

"Successful people don't sleep." -My studio mother
But humans sleep, Jan. Although I'd like to say I think I fared well. 13 hours of sleep in 5 nights. Meg sleeps 13 hours in one fucking day. I usually sleep 6-8 hours a night. (8 if I'm lucky). This studio weekend kicked my ass. I would normally have loved this (and okay, maybe a few more hours of sleep because sleep is kinda necessary after awhile) but I grew to hate my piece... more on that later.

I'm linking the photo albums in the section titles and choosing my favs of each just for a preview.

Visual Research:


Process (Sketches, To-Do lists):

Die-Forming process

Visual Progress: (In this album, I wrote a lot of notes under the photos)
My lovely little bench(es)
Visitation from Alex

At the point I was going crazy... Kelsey conveyed this well for me hahaha

End Drawing:
I didn't have any colored pencils so I had to get creative... and used my tablet to color and draw (a bit). It reminded me how I used to love digital art/design.

Design Statement:

To Contain

To contain something most often provokes thoughts of Tupperware, purses, and the like. However, containing can be more abstract. A home contains a family and their relationships until they leave the home, a heavy suit of armor contains the wearer in gravity, or a sheet of paper contains each individual element of music translated.

This rather large neckpiece contains the wearers themselves as a part of the neckpiece because of its size. The most important elements of jazz are woven through the components of the neckpiece to overtake the body. The thick wire and leather lace overtake the wearer by creeping toward their chest, where each person feels the rhythm of the music the most. At thunderous concerts, the bass of the rhythm is amplified and feels like a heavy beating drum inside. The weight of the bulbous central piece is felt on the chest like the weight of the rhythm in the chest. Any addition to the actual container designed into the back of the central piece would add to the weight to increase the rhythm. Throughout each of the pieces, the lines and curves of melodies are made in material form through the silver inlay as highlights to the whole piece. The large metal pieces themselves are reminiscent of the melodic curves to reinforce that the melody is carried throughout a song. The element of jazz seen in this piece alone that sets it apart from other genres of music and specifies this as a jazz effect as opposed to rock (because all music has rhythm and melody) is the overall effect of mood. The color blue can be interpreted in two extremes, making it the best color to be represented. Blue is slow, tranquil, and reflective, but blue is also uplifting, stimulating, and light feeling. In some cases, both interpretations can be fused. It all depends on the individual interpretation.

What might not be as evident to those who do not know the process is the integration of improvisation. Jazz is like art in that creativity is key in the creation of the music. There is a structure, but smaller details are worked out in the flow of the creation. Such details would be the swirls of the melodic inlay or even the solutions to small mishaps that happened along the way.

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NY Times for Sexual Diversity (Health) or D&SE?

Judge Orders U.S. Military To Stop 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
via NY Times

This is our fear. ====>


“Lifting the ban on open service will allow our armed forces to recruit the best and brightest,” Mr. Berle said, “and not have their hands tied because of an individual’s sexual orientation.”

"Since 1993, some 14,000 gay men and lesbians have been discharged from the service when their sexual orientation became known, according to Mr. Nicholson’s group."

I have a rather strong stance on the LGBT world. Obviously, I am for all rights. I was raised Catholic but their attitudes toward the LGBT community hasn't stuck at all. At the same time, my church never mentioned that community. My churches weren't like the Catholic churches people think of now, being money hungry, gay bashing, and child molestation. I never knew any of that. Like I said in the beginning of the year, I was completely oblivious to the horrible things because I grew up where it just didn't exist. Racism, homophobia- all that. Tai went to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" thing at the Union on Monday but I missed it because I had a lot of work to do and I had to catch a ride home.

The fact that so many people were discharged based on their sexual orientation is beyond me. You cannot help who you like. It doesn't matter whats in someones pants, it just depends on personality or an attraction to general aesthetics of someone's appearance. It's not about sex, it's about what you find beautiful in a person- inside and out. That sounds ridiculously cliché, but it's clichéd for a damn good reason. I think that even if you're lesbian, you can still find men attractive. Why not? It shouldn't matter what their sex is. If the personality is great and if you find them to be beautiful or handsome, it doesn't matter.

Additionally, what about asexuals? Yessssss, they do exist, it's real, nothing wrong with that. That would be 5% of the population (or something like that... I'm grabbing that from my memory of Drew telling me at my birthday party haha). Asexual people have no preference of either sex and are completely celibate/abstinent. Drew is a drag queen but he's not gay. Nor is he straight. He has no desire to be in a relationship, he just wants to keep good friends.

I understand the concern for sexual distraction but seriously... when they have all volunteered to put their lives on the line to protect YOU, you're going to question their intentions, motives, and dedication to their choice? "You" being everyone out there who thought it was such a great idea.

I could go on longer but it's bed time. Hopefully back tomorrow.

Note to self;

http://www.jccojewelrycastingservices.com/sterling_silver_casting_service_prices_

1 Day in the Studio.

Hey lovers.

NY Missed or Ignore Signs on Girl Who Died

Via nytimes.com

Long story short- a girl who was apparently at risk (for her health/life) was not checked up on by the welfare agency, and was abused and neglected by her mother. She died at 18 pounds, only four years old.

An infant is born at around 5-6 pounds (at least I was). Imagine just a bit over three infants being a four year old. That is unbelievable. This grabbed me because I have this huge passion for children since it is the truest form of love for me. The relationship between a parent and child is unmatched by any other kind of relationship, and to see things happen like this makes me lose more hope in humanity.

At the same time, I believe in the inherent good of people so when this sort of situation arises, I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that there is something wrong with the person. How else can you explain abusing the child you should be loving unconditionally? I could go on for days about the importance of family and what a phenomena it is to me...

My favorite boy, Luca :)

Erin put the flower he gave her behind her ear so he decided to do the same.
Via Lindsey Scarpulla's sister-in-law... This is Lindsey's little bugger. I missed a chunk of him growing up but I still feel like he's my own boy. :) This is the part I show my womanly weakness... the love between Linds and Luca melts my heart. Also Luca is the cutest baby ever and will be the biggest heartbreaker ;)

Now instead I will continue with my updates.

It's so cold. Penguin pajamas!

As per Dawn's suggestion, I've made a huge cup of [jump]rings. The copper will be patinated black and I'll connect it to a silver chain. Then I'll be getting a foot of silver wire (12 gauge) for the [jump]rings to replace the brass maquette ones. The iPod and phone are for size referencing. The tiny one at the top is about the size of the rings. I love the big chunky one though. :)

I finally got my first pressing for the JIII project. I'm going to chase it. Initially, I was going to solder it to a flat surface until today when I considered having a pierced plate on the back... Jan DID say to go with the flow and improvise, yes? I just have to decide if it is relevant to my initial design goal.


These are my sample pressings. I ended up loving the forms and I definitely want to make something out of it. The second one popped because of the little intrusions I put in the die space but I LOVE it! I was talking briefly to Brianna about having popped die forms... I'd love to make intentional breaks.

Hinge!!!! It was easy! I knocked it out in a few easy hours. The only frustrating part was filing a cradle for the hinge to sit in because the space was so small but I finished it. I was worried I was doing something wrong because I heard of people spending 7 hours or something, and getting horribly pissed off when I had such a chill time doing it. I suppose I was just in greater spirits.

Just needs one more heating to reflow a tiny bit of solder and some polishing of the scribe lines. :) I wish I could actually use this for my current project. I'm definitely keeping this around for future use though. It turned out great (in my opinion).

This week is going to be a whole week of work. I have lots to do and lots of opportunity. I can take the car for a part of this weekend after dinner with David, Susan, and my parents. :) And then Saturday night I can probably spend in the studio until Sunday. I LOOOOOVE studio privileges. Amy and I were talking about the sheer awe we had for everything Jan collected.

All that being said, I should go to sleep (2:30AM, already?!) so I can get up, go buy socks... take care of my study abroad shit, and work in the studio until the sun starts to set.

Speaking of study abroad... I started a new blog about traveling. HIT IT

Colloquies of Odysseys.

+Love+