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the beauty of chaos

i started my job at the beginning of a two-week stint of craziness known as Machine Project. they are a group out of L.A. who invaded the Walker with all kinds of fun and excitement. i sort of wish it could be like that all the time, yet it would be difficult to get things done. but it’s made these first two weeks an awesome place to work

a sampling of what i caught:

car theft for kids – a workshop teaching kids how to break into, hotwire and break out of the trunk of a car.

music for parking garages – the occasional car alarm really added to the atmosphere

the tragedy of the sea nymph: a dog opera – a silent film staring dogs, accompanied by live opera singers

opera listens to you – probably my favorite piece – a person would sit in the middle of 8 opera singers and talk about anything. the singers would listen and then respond in song, sometimes more traditional opera, sometimes musical sounds, sometimes pop songs. always amazing.

electric melon workshop – participants could solder their own amplified microphone and place it in a melon, which could then be used to drum on and make sounds. after, people could eat the melons or bring them to the pickling workshop nearby to make pickled watermelon rinds (which were quite tasty!)

sheep mowers – a part of series on how you can cut your lawn. the sheep were amplified, mm the sound of chewing grass. other parts of this series included a push lawnmower bell orchestra (didn’t manage to stay for that).

earbees – they brought a whole bunch of these devices that can record and playback a loop. with enough of them, it’s easy to create interesting songs and sound experiments. i wish i had a bunch!

fol chen verbal algorithm composer-free song generator – for this project, participants took a survey based on a piece of art at the Walker. Based on the boxes they checked, a song was composed specifically for them, made from loops that were recorded by other participants the previous day.

here is the song created for me, based on the Earbees:
01 EarBees for Cali by starfive

one thing leads to another

earlier this year, i was contacted by a girl named Kristen that i met through MNZero puzzle quests, to help create a game for the Walker Art Center’s Teen Art Council. WACTAC, as they are known, is a group of 12 teens, who create events to connect teens to contemporary artists. it’s a really interesting and diverse group of kids who are all into art. they wanted to create an outdoor game for their big spring event. Kristen and i worked with the teens to create a game called Friend Request, which is based on facebook and social networking. it included puzzles, drama, real life poke wars and running around the city. we took their ideas and turned them into something that would hopefully be both entertaining and interesting.

the day of the event, was quite rainy and chilly. so we remapped the entire event that morning to make use of the Walker’s indoor spaces. sadly, only half of the teens that registered braved the weather. those that came out seemed to have fun, but since they were no longer running around the city, it took them a lot less time to complete the game. it was still a fun event, and i really enjoyed working with the teens, but i hope we get a chance to put it on again.

just before the event, i noticed a job posting for a Teen Program Fellow. after the fun i had working with them, i knew i had to apply. i also hoped that my recent experience would give me an “in”. and it turns out, it probably did!

i start my new position tomorrow. it is a fellowship, so it’s not quite a normal job. it’s part time and lasts for one year. i don’t know what all my days will entail, but i do know: i get to work with teens, i get to work in the art world, i get to work with interesting people, i get to bike or walk to work (until the snow makes it too hard), and i get to work at the walker! i am seriously excited!

stayin’ alive

all day today, i’ve been getting added as a contact on flickr by people i don’t know. eventually i checked my stats and rss feeds and noticed one photo was getting a bunch of views.. like over 1000 views in the last 24 hours. i checked the flickr blog on the off chance one of my photos made it up there.. and found this photo i took during my 365 photo project a few years back. neat!

it’s funny how seeing this photo again and it getting noticed, makes me feel like a photo slacker lately. i want to make a new photo project, but something smaller than 365. much like thing-a-day, setting constraints and rules forces me to work on something i enjoy and push my boundries. this, i need.

making things

no, i haven’t forgotten you!

thing-a-day ended, and i planned to give myself a break, but not quite this long. life has been busy.. but wasn’t it also really busy when i was making things every day? i really do work well with outlined constraints. perhaps i will plan to post at least once a week. perhaps.

thing-a-day felt pretty successful for me this year. i made a lot of things i’d been meaning to make, used up supplies, learned some new things and got my creativity flowing. it isn’t quite feasible for me (or most people) to keep up that pace for a longer period. life is busy, and some days you just don’t feel like making something! but it did remind me that it’s really not that difficult to create things.

one of my biggest difficulties in life is lack of motivation and overcoming inertia. if i just get started, it’s not that hard to do creative things. making these things was a good reminder that the inertia hurdle can be overcome.

i feel pretty good about the kinds of things i made. perhaps a bit too focused on sewing and cooking, but what are you going to do when you have towers of fabric and cooking classes to teach?

thing 28: chopstick pouch

a while back, a certain someone mentioned wanting chopsticks that could be carried around in a backpack, so disposable chopsticks wouldn’t need to be used. well, that someone has a birthday tomorrow (now today). i had looked for something you could buy, but the only kinds i found were metal or kid sized (and colored). i found something close at the co-op, but it had a bamboo fork, spoon and knife as well. while nice, not as minimal as i suspect was desired.

so i decided to find some nice chopsticks and make a little carrying pouch. i had some nice stiff canvas material, added some snaps and bias tape around the edges. simple, but i think it turned out really nice.

i waited to post this until i had given the gift. it was well received!

and thus ends my thing-a-day. phew! more musing on the whole experience sometime soon.

thing 27: pink tentacular stuffed monster

today i really wasn’t in the mood to make a Thing. but it’s the second to last day, and there’s no way i won’t finish.. so i bring you a little stuffed creation of mine. it’s pink, it’s got tentacles, a star, and it’s very soft.

thing 26: red fleece slippers (beta version)

a while back, i bought some bootie style slippers that wound up being a bit too big. after looking at them a bit, i realized they wouldn’t be very hard to make. i knew figuring out exact shapes might take some trial and error, therefore i decided to make a beta version. the final version might be fuzzier and perhaps have a sole that is at least somewhat non-slip.. and have no visible seams inside or out. i wasn’t ready to jump into that, so i started with an all fleece version that has seams.

in the photos, the seams are on the inside, which wasn’t so bad when i was wearing socks.. but without socks, the seams bugged me. so i’ve taken to wearing them inside out. still.. not bad for a beta version.

thing 25: red furry hat

since there was still red thread in my sewing machine from the apron, it seemed like the perfect time to use up some red fur i got on my last trip to san francisco and make a red furry hat. this is the same style as a white one i made a month ago, only it fits me better. it’s lined with red fleece, so it’s nice and cosy.

thing 24: tongs (mostly done)

in my blacksmithing class tonight, we started making tongs. we started with 2 steel bars (like the one in the last photo above) that were 11″ long x 3/4″ wide x 1/4″ thick. i heated and hammered them into the right shape and are now almost 15″ long. i used the hole punch i made last week to punch the hole where a rivet will hold the two pieces together. our instructor didn’t expect us to get this far, so he didn’t bring the rivets to class. next week we’ll add the rivet and shape the ends a bit to be better for gripping things. it’s frustrating being limited by class time.. if i’d had just a bit longer (and the rivet), i could have finished. i still feel like i did the bulk of the work and you can see what it is.. so it counts for today’s thing.

also i made a blister on my thumb and a purple pinky finger. fun!

thing 23: apron

i found this super cute fabric, that i thought would make a good apron.. except it was a little thin. you want your apron to be thick enough to take a spill or wipe your hands. so i wound up lining it with some red cotton. i found a cute apron online that i somewhat copied. the only part that really gave me troubles was the neck strap. sure i could have made ties.. but noooo.. i had to make a strap that fits my neck just right. it’s tricky figuring out shapes that fit on the body. this was the third strap.. but this one fits well.

i thought about adding a pocket. some aprons have pockets.. and they are cute.. but i’m not really sure it’s something i need. i mean.. what do i put in my apron pocket while i’m cooking?

i know what i’m wearing for my vegan cooking class i’m teaching in march!