Towards A Green Sculpture

Nomad Nest

2011-05-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

I knew I forgot something! Here is a video and images to help give you an idea of the final treehouse in St. Louis' Missouri Botanical Garden.

check out our blog to see more in depth writing and pictures: thenomadnest.wordpress.com

Designs for the Homegrown Sign

2011-05-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a backwards progression of the development of my design for the KCAI Homegrown Garden sign and information board. The top three images below represent the final (pretty much) design, arrived at through discussion with the students involved in the garden. The top image is obviously a scale drawing, and is a back view of the sign (meaning the info board side is shown). Below is another view of the info side (not to exact scale), and the one below that is my first drawing of the front, where the main graphic for the sign will go. The drawings below these represent some of my preliminary ideas that I showed to get a sense of what people liked the best. The text/graphic on the front of the sign will be designed and executed by someone else involved in the project. The roof will be covered with ceramic tiles early next semester. The three panels on the back of the sign will have a locked case, a blank board, and a chalkboard for pertinent information about the garden to be posted and shared. This is a continuing project and will be completed toward the middle of the fall 2011 semester.

Shae

2011-05-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

Annie Woodfill

- Some trees and plants around the area.

2011-05-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

Annie Woodfill

Sites around KCAI - Warwick, Main, Oak, and Rockhill.

2011-05-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

Annie Woodfill

- Signs from the area around KCAI

2011-05-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Annie Woodfill

Images from areas north, south, east and west of KCAI.

2011-04-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

Annie Woodfill

Here's a series of images from around the neighborhood - east of KCAI from Oak to Rockhill. More to come!

Marc Fisher+Epperson=artist lecture

2011-03-07T23:33:00.000-08:00

"The distinction between art practice and other creative human endeavors is irrelevant to us."

-Temporary Services

(from their publication: Self Reliance Library)

I had a step-brother that was in prison for about six years. My dad began dating his mom about 6 months before he got out of prison. Before I met him in person, my stepmom would correspond with him and when he would ask about his family-to-be--my label was "the artist". Before he (Stu) got to know who I was he already thought that I would judge him based off his past and be wary of ever accepting him as part of my family. I was scared of what he was capable of. I was scared of what people would think of me living with a convicted felon. I did not know what to think of him.

When he moved into my house it took time for us to gain an understanding of one another. I slowly began to realize that he was not a monster and he began to realize that I was not a highbrow artist. He would show me projects like to ones Angelo shared with Temporary Services. He showed me the flowers guys would make for their girlfriends out of toilet paper. I began to make paper flowers for my friends and school events...I still make flowers like this. He showed me how to make a pizza with a crust of ramen noodles and canned refried bean sauce. It was good! It was by him sharing the creative problem-solving from prison that we found a way to understand each other and how we found our commonalities. I began to see that despite the place we may live in, we all find ways to negotiate our environments; I found that negotiating his past environment as he had to negotiate my current environment helped me understand how to deal with someone who seemed so different than me.

I feel the project that Temporary Services did with Angelo gives others that same opportunity that I had to negotiate the "survival tactics" and limitations of prison. In the Francis Alys video we watched tonight the young man said that art is a reflection of what is happening in the world as it is today. I feel that it is easy to create a niche in the world we are comfortable in contemplating, comfortable in negotiating. By bringing Angelo's work to the gallery, Temporary Services recreates the prisoner's perspective and environment for us to negotiate. By taking direction from Angelo I feel he is able to communicate like my step-brother through his experience and way of addressing the environment he is used to. As artists we are constantly trying to get people to understand our point of view and the way we see the world based off of our unique experiences. I rather enjoy seeing the prisoner's perspective in the contemplative space of an Art context...it is a refreshing break from 60 minutes. The artist has freedom that a journalist, sociologist, or probation officer does not have to ask society to contemplate the way we relate to prisoners. Before I met Stu, my understanding of prisons came from the Shawshank Redemtion and the interrupted view of sprawling rural landscape by high fences and cold architecture on long road trips. I did not really know who or what was inside the real place. I still really don't. The project done by Temporary Services asks me to at least negotiate my relationship with these places. I cannot simply ignore them because they don't affect my daily life. As I am in class and eating in the cafeteria there are prisoners making up recipes with ramen and the nasty bologna they are given. There are also atrocities and injustices impossible to imagine that occur. It is this kind of perspective that the simple reproductions of projects offers the audience--at least me.

I agree that "the distinction between art practice and other creative human endeavors is irrelevant." It is difficult to ask people to contemplate the relevance of what an art object may be or the nature of an interaction. I believe that if we are asking ourselves the hard questions that product of these thought experiments are hard to determine. I think that Temporary Services has allowed the questioning to precede the products of their efforts. I believe it is a generous act to ask ones audience to enter into a dialogue about the questions you are asking yourself as a maker. We all do this, they're doing it directly and specifically.

I know that authorship is a very difficult thing to negotiate when collaborating and especially when working with "non-artist". As artists we exploit ourselves constantly. When working in collaboration we exploit even still. I feel that without Angelo's perspective and authorship on the work I would not have been able to contemplate his perspective and therefore my relationship to the world of prisons as well if it were solely an interpretation of his condition. His interpretation of what art is an can be is valuable. When surveying for a product--say toilet paper--we don't solely survey those who are experts at making toilet paper about the quality and usefulness of it. I feel we do not need to do this with creative acts. I think that we need to be asking ourselves these hard questions and we need to be thinking about what it is like to be confronted with an environment different than our own. We gain this perspective by engaging in a broader dialogue. Perhaps it is through the process with which we creatively respond to our environments, we find our commonality.

Who is Monsanto?

2011-03-07T23:25:00.000-08:00

New things I've learned about Monsanto:

-they began their company IN St. Louis

-Mexico has banned genetically engineered corn from the U.S. and Canada to protect their local Mexican varieties of corn that have been passed down from generation to generation

-Monsanto produces over 90% of our sugars

-"round-up ready" labelled plants=plants that have been genetically engineered to resist dying from the use of round-up weed killer. Mass spraying of these chemicals are used on crops to kill weeds; because the plants have been engineered, they don't die but they have the chemicals still on them.

-Monsanto's breakthrough product was "Round-Up".

-They had to remove the label 'biodegradable" from their round-up product. They were sued for their label "leaves the soil clean" and "respects the environment".

-Round up promotes cell division malfunction...Robert Belle (a french scientist) is doing research that links round-up to cancerous cell reproduction

There is an interesting video series on Youtube called "The World According to Monsanto"

I feel a bit overwhelmed right now with all there is to know. I will update this post soon.

Monsanto's Pledge

Kansas City Artists Coalition’s Undergraduate College Student Exhibition 2011

2011-03-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Here is an opportunity for any of you to put some work in a show at the Kansas City Artists Coalition. The deadline is March 15, so be sure to apply soon!

Open to currently enrolled undergraduate college students in Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas.

2011-03-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

Building a Turf Bench: Michael Bond Final Project

Turf benches were a popular addition to medieval gardens. They provide a comfortable place for one to rest with the comfort of grass as a cushion. Typically they were either rectangular, curved, or in circular shapes, sometimes wrapping around trees. I would like to make a turf bench that reclines in a soft “v shape” that fits the contour of a reclining person. A combination of recycled bricks and wood should make a nice structure. I am choosing a perennial ryegrass because of its resistance to bugs and temperature fluctuations.

This painting by Hans Helming illustrates in this detail how a turf bench can be incorporated into a garden.

My first step is to sprout the seeds indoors until it is warm enough to move the grass outside. For this I will need a container with a screen at the bottom to drain from. For this I will use scrap plywood. Once the grass has sprouted and grown a few inches I will have to transplant it into the bench structure. I am still a bit unsure about the soil type and where I will get the soil from.

Anarchy in Art Schools

2011-03-06T06:34:00.001-08:00

Check out this new project hosted by Creative Time: http://teach4amerika.org/

Final Project

2011-03-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

I’ve always been interested in how people are forced to negotiate with structures when they move them, like moving furniture up stairs. So, after seeing images like these from the Trisha Brown Dance Company

And Merce Cunningham

I've always wanted to make outfits where someone is forced to be moving awkwardly connected to a 2x4 or a strange constructed architecture. To me this is a good project to do for green sculpture as a way to bring up our immediate physical relationship to our surroundings, as thinking about it more could be beneficial.

Now that I am refreshed on crocheting thanks to Zach’s wife’s presentation in class, I’m thinking of this as a way to process materials. I made a small piece after that workshop and I like the way the knots look as a drawing.

I was thinking I could make a tapestry from plastic sort of in the fashion of Anni Albers...

I use building materials a lot in my studio. In seeing Sara’s trash Island project and how they used trash as a building material, I’m thinking I could also use this elective to build building materials out of debris that I could use in the future in my studio.

These are some of the ideas I have. I’ll talk to you guys Monday.

Also, here's an interesting thing that is going on: LEED. This program deals with the effective use of materials in architecture and design.

Marc Fischer: Temporary Services

2011-03-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

Marc Fischer's discussion of his work with the group Temporary Services on Thursday night was of interest to me because, as a basically object-oriented ceramic sculptor, I often hear a perspective on art practice which is very different from, or entirely contradictory to, the view that Marc proposed. I am always extremely interested in hearing about disparate ways of progressing one's career as an artist, and I am happy to learn about a group of people who are dedicated to a non-traditional approach, even if I disagree with some of their beliefs, because I believe the more traditional art world can only benefit from the presence of this element in the dialogue.

One of the things I am most interested in about what Marc covered is the possibility of working without money and outside of the confines of a single, particular medium. I like the kind of empowerment he gives in demonstrating that if you have an idea and a few resourceful people you can find a way to do what you want, even if no one wants to buy, publish, fund, endorse, or even permit, the work you want to do. I see problems with, but am not fundamentally opposed to, the art world of galleries, grants, and residencies, and I do not think I will ever stop being a physical maker of art objects. Nevertheless, I frequently get just as excited about a seemingly (but not actually) random non-ceramic side project that I have an idea for and want to do simply for the gratification of doing it. It is easy to think of these ideas as impractical distractions from "real studio work", but when you are thinking of the personal, collaborative, and social value of projects free from a consideration of a patron's monetary valuation, there is a great feeling of liberation. Marc's discussion of his projects like Half Letter Press and the micro-grants associated with Art Work were inspiring because they are self-funded, self-motivated and allow complete creative flexibility (other than ideas that are intrinsically expensive).

Although I haven't discussed my views on each of the different Temporary Services projects Marc talked about, my primary response is to the elements of his presentation that I have focused on above. I am glad that we were assigned to attend this talk because I would not have gone otherwise, and also because I think being able to reference the work of Temporary Services will be valuable in our class discussions and those within our respective departments.

Shae

Temp. Services

2011-03-04T01:15:00.000-08:00

Tonight the Kansas City Art Institute held a lecture from a member of an art collective called Temporary Services. I thought their marketing of themselves was a little transparent and unknowingly trendy (it seemed like the group wanted to capitalize on the idea of a zine shop and guerrilla art). I thought their work was amusing and sometimes pretty (like the public phenomena project), but I had problems with the implications of what they were doing.

The collective promotes a democratic framework for art and have managed to benefit from being anti-institutional and ignoring conventions of art. In continuing this tradition of the Fluxus movement and demonstration art in the 60s and 70s, they do charming projects like slipping art into shelves of the public library, puting drawings of inventions made by a prisoner into a gallery, and placing punkish passive-aggressive signs with handles around a city to be moved wherever by the people.

In their project "Public Art Opinion Poll 2000" and a more advanced "Public Art Opinion Poll 2009", the group presents a critique of public art through the voices of anyone who wrote them down on a clip-board the group pinned to a telephone pole next to the pieces. The people's ideas were "it sucks", or "it rocks" and got more elaborate in the second running. I think the project was an entertaining gesture because bad art does suck, but the idea was to allow these examples to be part of a broader critique.

The rep tended to sound self-righteous in talking down people who spend money on art and commercial galleries who represent artists. He put himself in a typical position of implying fine-art is bullshit. The man called funding for art frivolous spending in talking about Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate in Chicago. It’s true that not everyone wants to see any purpose in abstract art or fine art but that doesn’t make it irrelevant. I believe the art world has moved past that basic disapproval and found ways to deal with promoting the right conversations that involve a distinction between artists and ceo's, and placing a value on art. I found myself disagreeing with Marc Fischer, because I believe in the effort of fine art and the value of formal critique.

I also felt like maybe the work inadvertently surrounded making a spectacle of whomever they’re trying to advocate. I imagine that for people in prison and people who have to make basketball hoops out of milk crates, that these creations (although formally beautiful) are oppressed desperation. To exploit this as clever and funny and re-contextualize it without regarding the tragedy in these things, seems maybe shallow and demeaning.

Marc Fischer Lecture Response

2011-03-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

I found the dedication and intentions of Marc Fischer and his collaborators stimulating.They work within a small budget and make the most out of each situation. The Half Letter Press is a good demonstration of that. The booklets are made of a folded sheet(s) of paper depending on the funds as he explained. He commented on their intentional means of working with restraints, he would fold and staple the booklets in order to save money. Which lends itself to the DIY movement. I found their support of other artists or "creative works in general" great. Under no discretion, an artists community is continually growing.

Marc Fischer is 1/3's part of a group called Temporary Services. The group explored a project titled Public Sculpture Opinion Poll. He comments public sculpture can cost so much money to make and also upkeep. In this exploration the group strapped clipboards to poles near a site of sculpture and asked the public their opinion. One of these events asked for feedback on a sculpture titled Episodic. It is a continuous form made up of light poles. Apparently Episodic did not have any information accompaning it for some time and the community's response in general was negative. I do not believe the ability of public sculpture should be dismissed. In some cases it may need the intent spelled out to reach a broader audience. However, I realize not everyone is accessible and sometimes artists are making art for other artists. The success in the Public Sculpture Pole I believe is raising questions, for the viewer and the artist. In a sense Temporary Services act as "middle men" in this project. I found it interesting when the group received more thought out opinions when responses were able to be made via email.

I appreciate the sort of community based work and social experimentation Marc Fischer is dealing with. His photographs of particular areas I found fun and appealing. The images are makeshift instances of everyday people. They convey the creative acts that occur on the streets. I think Marc Fischer and his collaborators are in most cases, making a critique of Art that resides in galleries and permanent collections.

Trash Island

2011-02-28T16:36:00.000-08:00

First of I should fill you all in on what trash island is... It is a collaborative project between a former KCAI student and myself with the help of other Art Institute students and The Lakeside Nature Center. We held a workshop to construct an inner tube made from construction netting and plastic bottles as the floatation device. Secondhand netting was then used to fill the tube structure. The nettings purpose was to support the roots of the plants we would be filling it with. Plants were donated from the Nature Center and one local Nursery. Then we proposed our floating garden to a committee to seek approval to launch it at Lake of the Woods in Swope Park... It was approved!

We choose Lake of the Woods at Swope Park because it is a heavily polluted public location. We wanted to use the island as a vehicle to speak about pollution not only only a global scale,(specifically the trash island that has formed in the Pacific Ocean) but also on a local spectrum.

It looks great and the plants go through a natural process to aid in water remediation. The trouble is there is no signage to communicate what our intentions were for it to speak and bring awareness to. That is why I am going to utilize the Green Sculpture elective I am in to tie up the loose ends this project so desperately needs...A sign!!!
I came up with this piece of plastic after considering several materials. I think the transparency will lend itself nicely to see the island in the background therefore tying the two together. My first instinct was to clean it up before adhering vinyl lettering but after speaking with my classmates, I think it will only heighten the grotesque nature of what it will be communicating. I still am working through some technical issues, like what type of vinyl lettering to use and coming up with the proper support leg or legs to steak it into the ground. I am really excited about the sign! I think when it is put together it will possess basic sculptural elements, balance and gesture that I explore in my studio practice. Above all I hope our project will communicate the huge pollution issue at hand and encourage individuals to make conscience decisions that effect our environment.

Boat Building Ideas

2011-02-28T02:10:00.000-08:00

I am planning on building a boat as my main project this semester, so, in preparation, I have been looking at plans for different types of simple boats. I would really like to primarily base my boat on The American Boy's Handy Book from 1882, but I thought it could be helpful to look at some contemporary tips as well. I think I will end up making a scow, basically, but maybe with curved sides, like a skiff. I'm not sure if I will go with plywood or all-plank construction, it might depend a bit on what the best free repurposed wood I can get is. I am also thinking about the exact function or idea I am intending for the boat to have, so I can hone the design to enhance that. It would be incredible to build a birch bark canoe or a dugout, but I think that might be a bit over my head for this class.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-One-sheet-boat/

The above link is great because it demonstrates how much one can make with pretty major limitations and a low budget. I would not have to follow the same restrictions in making my boat, but it gives a good idea of what's possible. Below are some other ideas I looked at to see a variety of options.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Pumpkinseed-Kayak-build-it-its-easy-sail-away-a/

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Construct-a-Simple-Boat/

http://pdracer.org./

Shae

Manipulating Styrofoam With Steam

2011-02-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

Materials

Recycled styrofoam cups or other styrofoam

Rubber bands

A stove top or a hot plate

One glass bowl

Step 1

Put 2 or 3 inches of water into a pot and bring to a boil.

Step 2

Take one of the styrofoam cups and decide where you want pressure to be applied. Put your rubber bands around the cup and it will bend according to the pressure points once set in the steam.

Step 3

Take your glass bowl and add about an inch of water to it. Next place the bowl in the center of the boiling water and put the styrofoam cup into the bowl. Cover the pot and let the cup sit there for 7 or 8 minutes. Monitor the styrofoam here to ensure that it does not melt or release any smoke or fumes.

Step 4

Remove the styrofoam from the bowl and take off the rubber bands.

2011-02-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic (magic) Dome:

Instructables.com has how to build one out of newspapers, pvc piping, and wood with perforated metal strapping for the joints.
These were all really specific to the exact size and materials they used, and to build this I needed to find a system that worked for the materials I had.
So later I discovered a website that calculates the necessary measurements you need to build one at any height.
There is also more than one frequency for a dome, and it had calculations for different kinds.

We did the one with two frequencies (this means, there were two different lengths of struts) and built it at 77.66 inches tall.

Next I did sketches to see how it would lay out and did some measurements I didn't need, to work out how we would build it.

After talking to the group, we decided we could get enough wood to make all the struts. So we got a piece of plywood then stripped it into 1inch pieces - 30 at 42.41" and 35 at 48".

Finding a joint system that could accommodate the angling of the dome was tricky. Using a flexible material allows room for the bend but doesn't have to be precisely calculated. So we ended up using rubber hose which was the right amount of sturdy but flexible.

We segmented the hose into 4 inch strips, sliced those in half long-ways, and screwed the halfs onto each end of the strut. This way we could drill holes in the hose and when we built it, we just connected the struts with bolts in the hose.

So after our team effort in the wood shop making the struts and the connectors, we took the parts outside and connected all the pieces according to this diagram-

(orange being the long struts and blue being the short struts.)

We started with the base first - 10 long struts on the ground connected. then added the next level creating a base of alternating tall and short triangles...

We kept adding until we got to the top...

and with the final joint everything held together!

I suggest using the rubber hose even though it's not the prettiest connection ever, it's flexibility really helps when you're putting it together and can't support every piece at once.

I wish I had pictures of the final thing cause it was cool.
Good job group!

My studio presentation and reading

2011-02-20T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

For my project presentation I've created a blog to document the process. Check it out!:

Nomad Nest

For our discussion and viewing pleasure Sir Ken Robinson:

Changing Education Paradigms

See you Monday!

Clay Ocarina Workshop: My New Project

2011-02-17T21:50:00.000-08:00

SOOOO...

After the problems I had with my first project (which I actually have almost fixed now) I decided to switch gears to a project the whole class could do more easily. I decided to use thisInstructable for Clay Ocarinas as a starting point. The Instructable was pretty simple, but it had a link in it to this website, which is very comprehensive, and filled in some of the gaps.

I started by making one myself, which was easy and worked great, so I went ahead and pinched out the hollow bodies of 5 more to get the class started. Materials and tools I used were all things I already had: white earthenware clay, wooden tools, bladed tools/exactos, strips of mat board, and a spray bottle.

The class went really well, everyone followed along with learning the process and had a working whistle within 20 minutes, after a little tweaking of the air slots. The rest of the time we spent sculpting them into shapes which included a tailless platypus, a mohawked sperm, an elephant, a traditional ocarina form, and a dolphin. They are all dried out in my studio now and will be fired on Saturday. Next week I will talk to the class about how we want to finish the surfaces (stains, glazes, paints etc.) After they are finished I will post pictures of everyone with their own piece.

Total success. To anyone who wants to try making their own ocarinas I would recommend taking a middle road between the Instructable page, which doesn't explain quite enough, and the Green Verdigos page, which makes the process a bit more complicated than it needs to be if you are just doing the project for fun. I thought it was also easier, and quicker, to pinch the bodies out hollow than to shape them around a form and cut them off. No matter how it's done, its a pretty simple project with a lot of freedom for variation.

These are pictures of the pieces in a dry state.

Plunger Squat Seat

2011-02-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

The squat seat made from a toilet plunger and bike seat was a success! With a couple of alterations from the Instructables instructions we were able to make ours for around a buck! (The cost of the Plunger.)

First we measured a piece of scrap wood to a comfortable squat height and cut to size. The instructables website recommends round wood but we improvised with what was available and used a sander to round the ends of some scrap wood.

Once we rounded each end of our sticks we attached the bike seats. ( In some cases this took a little elbow grease and some help.) After the seats were secured we then attached the plunger end. (We figured out a washer is good to add for more surface area before connecting the plunger to the stick with the woodscrew.) Wa la! It does not freely stand but we figure that is part of its versatile nature.

spirograph=bike-o-graph workshop

2011-02-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night's workshop demonstrated how to use bike parts to make a spirograph drawing machine. The instructables' site we chose to base the workshop from is here. I was able to make a few improvements to the design, which also cut the making time down.

Here it is:

Step 1: The tools, parts and pieces.

*compass or sting attached to a pencil

*ruler

*double sided tape
*scrap 1/4" plywood

*hammer and point driver (or a chain breaker)

*WD-40 (to clean the chain and gears)

*drill and drill bits

*scroll saw (could use saber-saw)

*pencil

*Hot glue gun + sticks

*recycled bike chain

*recycled bike gears

*scrap pieces of wood about 1/8" thick
*band saw

*clamp

Step 2: Prepare the chain

Using the hammer and point driver (or chain breaker) release the pin from the joint in the chain. Once you've done this you can add or shorten the chain, making the circumference of the chain your desired length, thus the size of your drawing can be customized.

Step 3: Find the circumference and plot onto plywood.

I simply laid out the chain in the most accurate circle I could get by "eyeing" it. Then I took my ruler and found the largest measurement for the diameter. Using the compass, I plotted the radius (center point) of the circle. At this point, I make the compass a hair smaller than the outermost circumference measurement. This way, you can sand the circle to the perfect size (you can always take more off, but you cannot add wood back on).

Step 4: Drill and cut on scroll saw.

Using a large drill bit (larger than 1/4"), drill a hole on the inside of the circle close to the edge. Take your wood to the scroll saw and cut along the inside of your line. (Note: if you are cutting a large circle out of your plywood, you may be able to save those scraps to make a smaller spirograph with a smaller chain.)

Step 5: Sand circumference to size and glue

Using an oscillating sander, sand the circumference to where the

chain will fit tightly within the circle. (Note: be careful, because it is easy to take too much off.) Once fitted, use the hot glue gun to glue the outer edge of the chain to the inside of your plywood cutout. (Note: also, be careful not to let the hot glue seep into the gaps of the chain, or else the gear will bump into the glue messing up your lines). Don't use too much glue, but enough to make it hold well.

Step 6: Preparing the gears.

The graphs you can generate will depend on the number of teeth in your chainring and the number of links in your chain. If you think of the graph as a star, the number of points in the star will be the lowest common multiple of the tooth number and link number divided by the tooth number. The number of times you have to trace around is the lowest common multiple divided by the link number.

Here are some examples off the instructable's post:

130:52 -> 5 points (5x52 = 260 = 130x2)
130:48 -> 65 points (65x48 = 3120 = 130x24)
84:52 -> 21 points (21x52 = 1092 = 84x12)
84:48 -> 7 points (7x48 = 336 = 84x4)

I didn't really pay attention to this, but I had a number of gears to switch out with in case they were proportional and wouldn't skip beats.

In the instrucable's post, they used the gear just as it was. This led to gooey residue getting on the page and choppy transitions in the line when the pencil got close to the chain, thus making it come loose from its path. To problem solve this, I cut out a small disc of wood that did not interfere with the gears (just smaller than the circumference of the gear). Make sure the disc of wood is no thicker than an 1/8". Because this elevates the gear, the pressure of your pencil (when close to the circumference of the circle), does not make your gear come loose from the chain. Also, this prevents the metal of the gear from scraping your paper with the gook that it picks up from the chain. Another advantage to this addition is that you can customize your marker/pencil holes. Simply drill holes into the exposed wood using different sizes for different marking utensils, and in various places. This makes one gear have a number of options for one drawing.

To attach the disc of wood to your gear, simply use double sided tape between the two, then use a clamp to apply pressure, therefore there will be a strong hold. Then you're ready to drill.

Step 7: The good stuff!

Clamp your chain template on top of your paper on a table (or I prefer to just have a friend hold it down). Enjoy making cool drawings and colorful designs!

You can play around with the shape of your circumference to make unique shapes too!

Hope you all had fun, and feel like you learned something!

love,

Theresa

My project and why it's failing (plus pictures!)

2011-02-09T02:02:00.000-08:00

OK. So here's how it's going.

Project: DIY Airbrush

Why it's failing:

The first main problem is that I didn't have (or have easily accessible) any of the materials. The second problem is that the Instructable I am working from is designed as a super low-tech blow-powered airbrush. Come to find out, there are more complications than I anticipated in upgrading it to a heavier-duty air compressor powered airbrush. One of these complications is the fact that I need couplings to attach the tubes to the compressor hose. So, I went to Harbor Freight and spent 26 dollars on 6 each of 2 kinds of parts. When I returned I found that one part I got I didn't need and I did in fact really need a splitter (so both hoses could be hooked to the air) and some kind of regulator valve (stopping the air by bending the hose doesn't workView Blog too great). So, I went to the hardware store to get the other things I needed for everyone to make an airbrush. This brings us to the third major problem. Getting all the materials for everyone to make one of these puppies would be expensive. As in 63 dollars, not counting the hardware to connect the airbrush to the air compressor, which was mostly too big for my tiny flexible tubing and also super pricey (especially since I was at Ace and had already blown my chance to get what I needed cheaper at Harbor Freight). Even if I bought all of the stuff, I hadn't finished and tested one of these yet, so I didn't know if they would even work.

Therefore, I gave up on both the valve-controlled air compressor connection and having all the materials for everyone to make one on Wednesday and I went back to studio to at least try to get one working so that I could see if it was worth it and to try not to let the whole project be a complete failure.

On a more positive note:

Here is a series of pictures which show some key points in the progress of my trial airbrush.

1. Everything is cut, drilled, and mostly assembled. Materials used were a marker, 3 types of flexible tubing, a length of PVC pipe, capped on both ends, and the nozzle from a spray bottle (but based on the pictures, not the exact same kind as the Instructables person used.)

2. Epoxy! It holds stuff together and smells bad. I used Emily's, cause I was out.

3. Loookin goood. Everything is epoxied together and just needs to set.

4. Oh wait. Here are the stupid fittings I bought that don't do what I need. Sure wish I'd planned that better.

Now, all I can do is wait until tomorrow to try out the airbrush with some paint and see if it works, then we will talk in class and figure out what I'm going to do about teaching you all to make them.

See you tonight.

shae

Geodesic Calculations

2011-02-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

LINK

Some good sites to look at

2011-01-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

Jan Korbes

Superuse

My Blog

2011-01-26T18:11:00.000-08:00

http://shaebishop.wordpress.com/

Shae's Instructables

2011-01-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

Here are the three projects I found.

The first is making soap out of used cooking oil, which is interesting, because I never know what to do with used oil and the page says this stuff has good cleaning power.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Soap-with-used-cooking-oil/

The second one is instructions for making a simple airbrush. I don't know how well it works, but airbrushes are expensive, so maybe this would be a good, cheap, recycled solution.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Airbrush/

The last one is how to make plasticine, which I use to seal coddling boards when making plaster molds. I also use it to fill air bubbles or chips in molds, so I thought it would be interesting to know how to make some, especially since it is pretty cheap, and seems simple.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Oil-based-Modelling-Clay/#step1

DIY ideas from Instructables.com

2011-01-26T17:49:00.000-08:00

Silicone Molds and Gummi Cast

It would be fun to somehow find function out of this process - like making a tool or container.

Geodesic Dome

It seems like the Geodesic dome is an economic way to build a structure (survival skills). It would be good to talk about the physics and pay tribute to Buckminster Fuller.

Honey Comb Structure

This one is structurally economic and is from bees.

Toothpaste

Why not? Seems short, and its always good to know what things are made of.

Sara's Instructables

2011-01-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.instructables.com/id/All-you-need/

Neat squat seat made from a toilet plunger and an old bike seat!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Self-watering-recycled-plant-pot-for-growing-herbs/step9/The-reservoir/

This is a great idea for those who frequently forget to water their plants. If one wanted to be really green second hand water could be used to fill the vase. Also lining the bottle with newspaper adds a layer of compost when you transplant.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Go-Green-Upside-Down-Hanging-Planters/

Great way to have plants around when there is little space. The plants will grow upward towards the light source.

Instructables for Theresa

2011-01-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

I have to say that there is nothing better than dancing in sync with others.

Electric Slide

I've wanted to do spirograph art with some kids I teach...but I didn't want to have to do a lot of math...plus this will use parts that my be thrown away.
Spirograph-bike-o-graph

I have an ambition to live like a nomad...since we now have resources that aren't necessarily from nature we might as well use the principals of the nomadic life and use the waste to our advantage.

Fish Trap with soda bottles

When I was in Zambia there was a women's project that supported the school by collecting the plastic bags from the streets and crochet them to sell to the ''west". I don't know how to crochet, and would like to be able to teach this method and know it for myself.

crochet plastic

Ninja can be a side class...? you'll see....

Syllabus Spring 2011

2011-01-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

Towards A Green Sculpture
Spring 2010: Monday/Wednesday 6:00-8:50, Sculpture Conference Room
Office hours available upon request

Zach Springer
903-705-2678
zach@craftandconcept.com

Description
This course will explore possibilities for making sculpture in ways that are not harmful to humans or the rest of the ecosystems. In our class we will collaborate as we examine our own practices for ways we can continue with the forms and ideas we are interested in, in a more ecologically conscious and responsible manner. We will conduct analysis and experimentation of materials and processes. Each student will be responsible for presenting these experiments on a regular basis, and for making work that arises out of the experiments and is an extension of their own interests in studio art. There will be a community- based collaborative project as part of the course. This project will extend the exploration initiated in the experiments and will be considered as one avenue that many artists are taking towards a green sculpture. For their independent work students may choose to make sculptural objects, installations, site-specific work, performance, video, sound works, to work in mixed media and/or new ways.

Objectives
Upon completion of this course students will understand the historical and contemporary motivation behind sustainable art practices, and how those ideas can function on a practical level. Students will be able to safely design and build their own artwork while being conscious of their impact on the environment around them.

Community Connection
During this course students will spend 2 weekends learning how to harvest natural materials and make sculptural objects with them. Martha Younkin will host this activity in her Union, MO home. On Friday, April 1 we will meet at 10 AM in the sculpture conference room and leave for a camping trip at Martha’s home, we will return Sunday morning. Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17 Martha will come to KCAI to host a follow up workshop. All students are expected to attend both of these weekend events.

Blog
Our class blog can be found at http://greensculpturekcai.blogspot.com. Each student will have the ability to post on the blog, and will be expected to on a weekly basis. Each post should be an update to the project you are working on, pictures are greatly encouraged.

Weekly Assignment/Class Participation
Each Monday one student will bring 9 copies of an interesting article related to environmental issues (art or other) to class. The same student will give a Powerpoint presentation updating the class of their project status, and we will discuss what we think. The following Wednesday we will discuss the student’s article.

Evaluation
Your grade is based on your performance in this class, which includes not only the quality of what you produce, but also how you contribute to the class through participation. Every student is expected to engage in all discussions and not doze off.
 Each project will receive a letter grade based on:
25% - craftsmanship & presentation
25% - ambition & work ethic  25% - experimentation
25% - documentation to class blog

Final course evaluation will be based on:
25% - Class Participation
25% - Blog posting
25% - Instructables Project
25% - Final Project 
Grading scale
A (100-94%), A- (93-90%), B+ (89-87%), B (86-84%), B- (83-80%), C+ (79- 77%), C (76-74%) C- (73-70%), D+ (69-67%), D (66-64%), D- (63-60%), F (59-0%)

Extra Credit
Almost every Thursday night there is an artist lecture at 7:00 in Epperson Auditorium. If you attend one of these and write a personal response on our class blog you can receive 2 extra credit points towards final grade. If the writing does not clearly articulate your ideas you will be asked to revise it, and Zach will help if it is needed.

Alex's Essay

2010-12-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to my essay for the Semester's end: Living in Camden Point.

2010-12-01T18:43:00.001-08:00

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/everyday-dance-challenge-the/id294438643?i=89388208

Mary Pinizzotto's Up to Date interview on KCUR.

2010-11-30T08:20:00.000-08:00

Update on a new problem in Camden Point

2010-11-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

KCP&L is proposing a new transmission line from their new power plant in Iatan to Nashua.

living in camden point

Another update on Camden Point

2010-11-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's deer season, check it out on my blog at Living in Camden Point.

Updates next weekend, my cousin is coming up with his new wife and father-in-law to go hunting.

Update on Living in Camden Point

2010-11-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

Jokes from Brocious

At the Halloween parade Brocious told Mary and I a few jokes.

Lizard and Monkey were sitting in a tree in the middle of the jungle sharing a joint. Lizard got thirsty and told Monkey he was going down to the river to get a drink, laughing the whole way. At the river he met Crocodile and told him what a funny sight Monkey was getting high in the tree. Well, Crocodile just had to see this. So Lizard and Crocodile headed back to the tree and Crocodile looked up and said, "Hey!" Monkey nearly fell out of the tree in his surprise and looked down at Crocodile, exclaiming, "How much did you drink!"

He also told us about a few pictures that he had drawn. One was of a bunch of dinosaurs howling at the moon, "Someone had to teach the coyotes how to howl at the moon."

Brocious also told us about a series he had drawn based on old time carnivals, one was of a horse being shot out of a cannon, instead of a man. Another was of a pool of water diving into six inches of man at 50 feet!

2010-11-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

I will install lights into this 100+ year old Missouri farm house. Traveling at night along interstate 35- drivers and passengers will have only seconds to process the illuminated windows and cracks of this long-forgotten dwelling. My hope is that the fleeting image of this old house will stay lit within the memory and conversation as the viewers reach their destinations.

-Andy

Living in Camden Point

2010-11-08T18:31:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,

I have officially started a blog at: http://livingincamdenpoint.blogspot.com/. Hope you go see it before critique!!

Update package

2010-11-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

The students have started working on their final projects. Alex is working on an oral history project with the town of Camden Point, where her family has lived for 4 generations before her. Connor is building a "death ray" which will be able to direct sunlight into a very focused focal point where water can be boiled very easily. Andy has begun working with a family directly off interstate 35N to make a night spectacle of one of their old barns. Nikki is experimenting with a public beading station, asking people to sit and bead something with her. And Sasha is taking her fight to change the intersection at Westport Rd and Southwest Trafficway to the level of getting petition signatures. All of these projects are directly connected with each student's personal interests and have been very self directed. I am very excited to see what happens next!

As for the lack of blog posts in October, I will take the blame for that. In order to show the class what was going on with art in the Kansas City community we met with a handful of local artists. Tex Jernigan, Jesse McAfee, Jerrad Wilson, Mary Pinizzotto, Sean Starowitz, David Prince, and Kurt Flecksing. Each of these artists contrasted one another and made for very good discussions. By the end of October we all had a better understanding of what was happening around Kansas City.

Our critiques will be split into two class periods and dates are still pending.

More soon!

For Sunday

2010-11-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

My address is 20700 Edgerton Junction Rd. Camden Point, MO 64018. Just come up the I-29, take a right at the Camden Point exit (25) and come past town to highway DD. After the second big turn take Edgerton Junction Rd, we are the second house on the left.

Bring your hiking boots and a good jacket, we'll be touring the farm in the morning. Don't be afraid of the dogs, just come on in and be ready to eat the best breakfast you've ever had!!!

crayons gone wild!

2010-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

well look who decided to blog their lip gloss/crayon project?
haha enjoy!

http://www.instructables.com/id/ReUse-ReMake-Crayons/

To complete this project you will need:

Crayons (recycled of course)
Aluminum Cans
Wooden sticks or dowel rods (chop sticks work great)
Candy mold or ice cube trays
Large Pan

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-lipstick-with-crayons/

You will need a small, heat resistant container, such as a stainless steel measuring cup. Use the smallest one you have.

The following quantity will fit easily into most lip balm tins, but you will have a little left over if you are using a tube, which usually holds only 0.15oz. For the triple lipstick mold, double the recipe.

Here is the basic recipe:

1/2 crayon of your favorite color (approx 2.4g)
1/2 tsp jojoba oil (approx 2 g)
1 almond-sized chunk of shea butter (approx 2g)

Ingredients you can add to the above:

1 pea-sized dab of lanolin (improves feel and possibly color distribution)
1 pinch gum arabic (improves color distribution and durability of color)
1 drop vitamin E (helps prevent oil from becoming rancid, improves shelf life)
1 pinch zinc oxide (makes color lighter and more opaque, offers protection against UVA and UVB sun rays -- but make sure your wax mixture is well stirred before you pour)

Alternate ingredients:

You can replace shea butter with cocoa butter (will make lipstick slightly more firm)
You can replace jojoba oil with castor oil (will make a glossier lipstick)

2010-10-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

http://welcomebooks.com/oxfordproject/

This is the book I was talking about in class a couple of weeks ago. The Oxford Project reminded me of Alex's tentative effort in/on Camden Point.

I think it is also applicable to the class as a whole.

Enjoy

See you all tonight

HELP!

2010-10-18T19:47:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,
I found a online petition site!!! whooo...
I would greatly appreciate the signatures and if you'd pass it along.
Thanks!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/wearewestport/

Updates and Homework!

2010-09-30T20:41:00.001-07:00

We have been using our class periods to wrap up the class led workshop series (assignment 2) and visiting with Kansas City based artists. These artists work in public to empower creativity, fund local artworks, lead workshops, and develop communities. I have been documenting all of these experiences with the plan of posting each set with the story of what we did. This is all coming very soon! We might work on doing this as a class on Monday. Check back soon for updates.

As for homework we are reading INTHECONVERSATION with Randall Szott and Sal Randolph. Also, check out Josh Greene's Service Works for another micro granting system.

Tone Tube

2010-09-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

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

This video is the documentation of the "Instructable" assignment.

Although this version of the People-Annoyer is made with pill bottles. However, one can use many different types of containers toward the same end.

The next step is to employ a plumbing piece with openings connecting three Noise Tubes- when tuned correctly, the resulting wind bellows forth in consonant transcendence, uniting all humans. L'unité dans le sonique!

DO MI SO

andy

Light Bulb Terrariums

2010-09-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Supplies

· Light bulbs

· Small magnets

· Large washers

· Soil and seeds

· Water and sunlight

Tools

· Newspaper

· Leather gloves

· Safety glasses

· Slot screwdriver

· Mallet

· Needle nose pliers

· Salt and water

I found a few instructions on how to make different kinds of light bulb terrariums, but none of the instructions were very detailed and the process was kind of intimidating.

First, the setup: I think it was best to do this outside with a newspaper to catch all the glass shards. Don’t forget safety; wear your leather gloves and safety glasses to protect your hands and eyes.

Carefully hold the light bulb above the newspaper with the screwdriver poised as a chisel against the glass support at the bottom of the bulb and use the mallet to break it into pieces without breaking the glass bulb.

After the support is broken take out the electronic parts but don’t shake the bulb, this results in broken glass and a ruined project. Make sure to pull all the wires out and break out the inner glass support, again without breaking the bulb.

Use the salt to get all the little pieces out of the bulbs but pouring in a little bit into the bulb and shaking it up. Then pour some water in to get rid of the white powder that diffuses the light and obstructs your view to the inside of the bulb.

With the light bulb all cleaned out and dry slide the little magnet inside and pour a little soil in on top. Next, put a few seeds in (I used about five) and gently shake to get the seeds to bury themselves. Gently pour some water in, but be careful not to overwater.

Set the bulb on the washer, the magnet will stabilize it. Then set the whole thing in a safe place in the sunlight and let it grow!

Afterward:

The light bulb terrarium works best if the light bulb is stationed on it's side or glass side down. Plants don't like to grow in the closed space of a light bulb glass side up.

Also, if using a high powered magnet and washer to keep the terrarium steady do not pull them apart and let them snap back together. This causes the glass to shatter over the various times it is allowed to snap together. Leave them together or do not use the magnets at all.

OH MY GOODNESS, I FIGURED BLOGGING OUT ALL BY MYSELF!

2010-09-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

So here's the puppet. He's awfully cute, I'm pretty happy with him. You all noticed the change from the tinsel to the fabric boas, which is not only greener, but a lot more attractive. I also opted to make his head out of paper mache instead of a styrofoam ball, which, again, more green, more attractive. Substituting a stick instead of the ruler was a matter of cost-effectiveness, and I'm not sure if it works with the over-all look, but I saved dough, so whatever.
Some things I will change when I make the next one:
1. I want to figure out hands and feet. I have some washers, but they're being used in a photoshoot currently. When I get them back, I will use them to weigh down the feet. I think I will make the hands and feet out of paper mache, like the head.
2. Smaller boas... this means just that I would string up smaller squares, as those squares are awfully fat. I would also make his arms a little shorter than his legs.
3. Since it would be my final puppet, I might go crazy and buy a wooden dowl instead of using a twig. I also want to experiment with making a more traditional marionette cross at the top, instead of just one line.

I'm gonna request that tomorrow I go first, and we all make our paper mache heads. It won't take much time, and that way for my real workshop we don't have to worry about waiting for the head to dry.
THE END

Notes from class

2010-09-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Upcoming class schedule:
September 13 - Instructables Project due
September 15 - Mary comes to class
September 20 - Regrouping session, Instructables Project Documentation due on Blog

To read the article about Social Practice on Culturehall click here: http://culturehall.com/feature_issues.html?no=51

For sculpture safety manual click here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CB4QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kcai.edu%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpdf%2FSculpture_SafetyManual.pdf&rct=j&q=kcai%20safety%20manual%20sculpture&ei=axiITOSEMYqonQe89PiyCw&usg=AFQjCNFUJ-Q8jhcgZu4o2JppA3yIAQnNKg&cad=rja

Connor's Instructables

2010-09-08T13:04:00.001-07:00

PVC Garden Trowel: Making garden tools from recycled materials.
http://www.instructables.com/id/PVC-Garden-Trowel/

Showerglass: A DIY five-minute hourglass to help you take shorter showers.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Showerglass/

Paper Plant Pots: Planters made from newspaper, which can later be buried.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-paper-plant-pots/

Andy Instructables

2010-09-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

Desktop Skeeball-
http://www.instructables.com/id/Desktop-Skeeball/

Noise
http://www.instructables.com/id/make-an-amazing-sports-noisemaker/

Pocket Sundial
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pocket-Sundial/

Descriptions to come!

Sasha's ideas

2010-09-01T16:20:00.001-07:00

My first idea was a kite
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-10-Cent-Kite/

these are neat little monsters
http://www.instructables.com/id/Monster-container-with-bottles/

these are crayon related.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-lipstick-with-crayons/
http://www.instructables.com/id/ReUse-ReMake-Crayons/step3/Water-Bath/

Alex's Instructables Ideas

2010-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

First, I found the lightbulb greenhouse at http://www.instructables.com/id/Lightbulb-greenhouse/. This looks interesting and really enjoyable.

Then I thought about a bow and arrows made from bamboo (two projects in one) at http://www.instructables.com/id/3%24-bamboo-longbow/ and http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Bamboo-Arrows/. I have always liked to shoot, and a homemade bow and arrow would be even more fun.

Lastly, I found a plastic bag bag made from recycled grocery bags at http://www.instructables.com/id/Plastic-bag-bag/. I like to crochet and this looks like a fun project.

Alex Asher

Assignment 1

2010-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

Just in case you don't remember what needs to be ready for tomorrow here is the text:

Go to youtube.com or instructables.com and find three sets of directions to things you would like to do.
Post links to the three sets of instructions on our class blog.
September 1 - Come to class prepared to discuss why you like each set of instructions, and we will help you decide which one to do.
Do the project, documenting the process with either video or photos.
Post the documentation on our class blog.
September 13 - Come to class with the final product and discuss how it went. Be ready to talk about it, have a list of what you enjoyed and disliked. You will be continuing with this project for the next assignment so it will be helpful to think about these things and have the class brainstorm adjusting it for next time.

I am for an art ... by Claes Oldenburg May 1961

2010-08-31T04:35:00.001-07:00

I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum.
I am for an art that grows up not knowing it is art at all, an art given the chance of having a staring point of zero.
I am for an art that embroils itself with the everyday crap & still comes out on top.
I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary.
I am for an art that takes its form from the lines of life itself, that twists and extends and accumulates and spits and drips, and is heavy and coarse and blunt and sweet and stupid as life itself.
I am for an artist who vanishes, turning up in a white cap painting signs or hallways.
I am for an art that comes out of a chimney like black hair and scatters in the sky.
I am for an art that spills out of an old man's purse when he is bounced off a passing fender.
I am for the art out of a doggy's mouth, falling five stories from the roof.
I am for the art that a kid licks, after peeling away the wrapper.
I am for an art that joggles like everyones knees, when the bus traverses an excavation.
I am for art that is smoked, like a cigarette, smells, like a pair of shoes.
I am for art that flaps like a flag or helps blow noses, like a handkerchief.
I am for art that is put on and taken off, like pants, which develops holes, like socks, which is eaten, like a piece of pie, or abandoned with great contempt, like a piece of shit.
I am for art covered with bandages, I am for art that limps and rolls and runs and jumps. I am for art comes in a can or washes up on the shore.
I am for art that coils and grunts like a wrestler. I am for art that sheds hair.
I am for art you can sit on. I am for art you can pick your nose with or stub your toes on.
I am for art from a pocket, from deep channels of the ear, from the edge of a knife, from the corners of the mouth, stuck in the eye or worn on the wrist.
I am for art under the skirts, and the art of pinching cockroaches.

I am for the art of conversation between the sidewalk and a blind mans metal stick.
I am for the art that grows in a pot, that comes down out of the skies at night, like lightning, that hides in the clouds and growls. I am for art that is flipped on and off with a switch.
I am for art that unfolds like a map, that you can squeeze, like your sweetys arm, or kiss, like a pet dog. Which expands and squeaks, like an accordion, which you can spill your dinner on, like an old tablecloth.
I am for an art that you can hammer with, stitch with, sew with, paste with, file with.
I am for an art that tells you the time of day, or where such and such a street is.
I am for an art that helps old ladies across the street.
I am for the art of the washing machine. I am for the art of a government check. I am for the art of last wars raincoat.
I am for the art that comes up in fogs from sewer-holes in winter. I am for the art that splits when you step on a frozen puddle. I am for the worms art inside the apple. I am for the art of sweat that develops between crossed legs.
I am for the art of neck-hair and caked tea-cups, for the art between the tines of restaurant forks, for odor of boiling dishwater.
I am for the art of sailing on Sunday, and the art of red and white gasoline pumps.
I am for the art of bright blue factory columns and blinking biscuit signs.
I am for the art of cheap plaster and enamel. I am for the art of worn marble and smashed slate. I am for the art of rolling cobblestones and sliding sand. I am for the art of slag and black coal. I am for the art of dead birds.
I am for the art of scratchings in the asphalt, daubing at the walls. I am for the art of bending and kicking metal and breaking glass, and pulling at things to make them fall down.
I am for the art of punching and skinned knees and sat-on bananas. I am for the art of kids' smells. I am for the art of mama-babble.
I am for the art of bar-babble, tooth-picking, beerdrinking, egg-salting, in-sulting. I am for the art of falling off a bartstool.

I am for the art of underwear and the art of taxicabs. I am for the art of ice-cream cones dropped on concrete. I am for the majestic art of dog-turds, rising like cathedrals.
I am for the blinking arts, lighting up the night. I am for art falling, splashing, wiggling, jumping, going on and off.
I am for the art of fat truck-tires and black eyes.
I am for Kool-art, 7-UP art, Pepsi-art, Sunshine art, 39 cents art, 15 cents art, Vatronol Art, Dro-bomb art, Vam art, Menthol art, L & M art Ex-lax art, Venida art, Heaven Hill art, Pamryl art, San-o-med art, Rx art, 9.99 art, Now art, New ar, How art, Fire sale art, Last Chance art, Only art, Diamond art, Tomorrow art, Franks art, Ducks art, Meat-o-rama art.
I am for the art of bread wet by rain. I am for the rat's dance between floors. I am for the art of flies walking on a slick pear in the electric light. I am for the art of soggy onions and firm green shoots. I am for the art of clicking among the nuts when the roaches come and go. I am for the brown sad art of rotting apples.
I am for the art of meowls and clatter of cats and for the art of their dumb electric eyes.
I am for the white art of refigerators and their muscular openings and closing.
I am for the art of rust and mold. I am for the art of hearts, funeral hearts or sweetheart hearts, full of nougat. I am for the art of worn meathooks and singing barrels of red, white, blue and yellow meat.
I am for the art of things lost or thrown away, coming home from school. I am for the art of cock-and-ball trees and flying cows and the noise of rectangles and squares. I am for for the art of crayons and weak grey pencil-lead, and grainy wash and sticky oil paint, and the art of windshield wipers and the art of the finger on a cold window, on dusty steel or in the bubbles on the sides of a bathtub.
I am for the art of teddy-bears and guns and decapitated rabbits, explodes umbrellas, raped beds, chairs with their brown bones broken, burning trees, firecracker ends, chicken bones, pigeon bones, and boxes with men sleeping in them.
I am for the art of slightly rotten funeral flowers, hung bloody rabbits and wrinkly yellow chickens, bass drums & tambourines, and plastic phonographs.
I am for the art of abandoned boxes, tied like pharohs. I am for an art of watertanks and speeding clouds and flapping shades.
I am for U.S. Government Inspected Art, Grade A art, Regular Price art, Yellow Ripe art, Extra Fancy art, Ready-to-eat art, Best-for-less art, Ready-to-cook art, Fully cleaned art, Spend Less art, Eat Better art, Ham art, Pork art, chicken art, tomato art, bana art, apple art, turkey art, cake art, cookie art.
add:
I am for an art that is combed down, that is hung from each ear, that is laid on the lips and under the eyes, that is shaved from the legs, that is burshed on the teeth, that is fixed on the thighs, that is slipped on the foot.
square which becomes blobby

Mary Pinizzotto

2010-08-26T04:31:00.000-07:00

Last night when I got home from class I was watching The Local Show on KCPT and saw a very interesting project by a local artist named Mary Pinizzotto. Her project is to dance once a day in public, and try to get other people to dance with her. This kind of work ties in perfectly with what I consider to be Green Sculpture so I invited her to meet with us during class and talk about her work. She quickly responded with a yes, so make sure to check out her work on thefreebox.org

Welcome

2010-08-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

This will be our class blog for Towards A Green Sculpture. The Syllabus is posted on here and won't be printed out for class, so refer back to this if you have any questions.

See you all in the Sculpture Conference Room soon!

Syllabus

2010-08-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

CASLE & SCUE 322 40: Towards A Green Sculpture

Fall 2010: Monday/Wednesday 6:00-8:50, Sculpture Conference Room

Office hours available upon request

Zach Springer

903-705-2678

zach@craftandconcept.com

Description

This course will explore possibilities for making sculpture in ways that are not harmful to humans or the rest of the ecosystems. In our class we will collaborate as we examine our own practices for ways we can continue with the forms and ideas we are interested in, in a more ecologically conscious and responsible manner. We will conduct analysis and experimentation of materials and processes. Each student will be responsible for presenting these experiments on a regular basis, and for making work that arises out of the experiments and is an extension of their own interests in studio art. There will be a community- based collaborative project as part of the course. This project will extend the exploration initiated in the experiments and will be considered as one avenue that many artists are taking towards a green sculpture. For their independent work students may choose to make sculptural objects, installations, site-specific work, performance, video, sound works, to work in mixed media and/or new ways.
This course is also offered under CASLE 322. Students enrolled in Community Arts and Service Learning courses and internships may earn a Certificate in Community Art. For more information, please call Julie Metzler in the Academic Resource Center, 802-3357.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course students will understand the historical and contemporary motivation behind sustainable art practices, and how those ideas can function on a practical level. Students will be able to safely design and build their own artwork while being conscious of their impact on the environment around them.

Community Connection

During this course students will initiate a residency outside of the KCAI campus where they are expected to collaborate with an individual or group of people to create a site-specific artwork. This artwork should not only be well crafted, it should also serve a purpose to the community.

Throughout the semester each student will need to schedule a time to meet with Zach at their location to discuss what their plans are.

Evaluation

Your grade is based on your performance in this class, which includes not only the quality of what you produce, but also how you contribute to the class through participation.

Each project will receive a letter grade based on:

25% - craftsmanship & presentation

25% - ambition & work ethic
25% - experimentation

25% - documentation to class blog

Final course evaluation will be based on:

25% - class participation

25% - Blog posting

10% - Assignment 1

15% - Assignment 2

25% - Final Project

Grading scale

A (100-94%), A- (93-90%), B+ (89-87%), B (86-84%), B- (83-80%), C+ (79- 77%), C (76-74%) C- (73-70%), D+ (69-67%), D (66-64%), D- (63-60%), F (59-0%)

Extra Credit

Almost every Thursday night there is an artist lecture at 7:00 in Epperson Auditorium. If you attend one of these and write a personal response on our class blog you can receive 2 extra credit points towards final grade. If the writing does not clearly articulate your ideas you will be asked to revise it, and Zach will help if it is needed.

Class Schedule

Week 1 August 23 Introduction, Set up class blog, Intro to first presentation, Set presentation schedule

August 25 Work on 15 Minute Presentations in Janis Library (Meet in Sculpture)

Week 2 August 30 15 Minute Presentations with 15 minutes of class discussion for each

September 1 15 Minute Presentations with 15 minutes of class discussion for each, assign “ I am

for an Art” reading (found on blog)

Week 3 September 6 Labor Day! No class!

September 8 Teacher presentation on Green Sculpture, talk about reading, Introduce

Assignment 1: Instructables

Week 4 September 13 Class vote on individual projects, Work day for Assignment 1

September 15 Assignment 1 due, 15 Minutes of class discussion for each

Week 5 September 20 Introduce Assignment 2, Assign presentation schedule, Work day

September 22 Assignment 2 Presentations

Week 6 September 27 Assignment 2 Presentations

September 29 Guest Speaker Jesse McAfee, class discussion, Intro Assignment 3, Assign

presentation schedule

Week 7 October 4 Assignment 3 Presentations

October 6 Assignment 3 Presentations, Introduce Assignment 4

Week 8 October 11 One on one meetings with Zach

October 13 One on one meetings with Zach

Week 9 October 18 Guest Speaker, Class Discussion

October 20 Work Day

*** As a class we will discuss the final weeks of this class and how it should be scheduled. This does not mean we don’t have class.

Week 10 October 25

October 27

Week 11 November 1

November 3
Week 12 November 8

November 10
Week 13 November 15

November 17
Week 14 November 22 15 minute Final Assignment Presentations with 15 minutes of class discussion for

each

November 25 15 minute Final Assignment Presentations with 15 minutes of class discussion for

each

Attendance Policy
The general attendance policy is in place because students are responsible for the entire content of the courses, including required portfolios and examinations. An absence from a regularly scheduled class or studio session is defined by a student not attending a scheduled class time and/or missing a significant portion of any class time (as defined by the instructor). If absences meet or exceed 15 percent of the class meetings in any one semester, the student will be subject to a reduced final full letter grade. The use of attendance in grading, up to that point, is at the discretion of the instructor. If absences reach 20 percent of the class meetings in any one semester, the student will fail the course (if absences are excused, the student may be eligible for a withdrawal from the course).

"Excused absences" include absences due to illness of the student, illness of an immediate family member for whom the student must care, death of an immediate family member, religious observance (where the nature of the observance prevents the student from being present during class), or representation of KCAI in an official capacity. Students seeking an excused absence must provide documentation to the ARC to substantiate the excuse. The ARC will notify instructors that the documentation is on file. Students with excused absences are responsible for completing all course requirements as outlined by the instructor.

15%

1 credit hour	3 credit hours		5 credit hours		6 credit hours		9 credit hours
1x/wk	1x/wk	2x/wk	1x/wk	2x/wk		2x/wk	3x/wk	4x/wk
2.4 classes	2.4 classes	4.8 classes	2.4 classes	4.8 classes		4.8 classes	7.2 classes	9.6 classes
Morning/afternoon sessions w/ lunch break:			4.8 sessions	9.6 sessions		9.6 sessions	14.8 sessions	19.2 sessions

20%

1 credit hour	3 credit hours		5 credit hours		6 credit hours		9 credit hours
1x/wk	1x/wk	2x/wk	1x/wk	2x/wk		2x/wk	3x/wk	4x/wk
3.2 classes	3.2 classes	6.4 classes	3.2 classes	6.4 classes		6.4 classes	9.6 classes	12.8 classes
Morning/afternoon sessions w/ lunch break:			6.4 sessions	12.8 sessions		12.8 sessions	19.2 sessions	25.6 sessions

Attendance Procedures

If a student has been marked absent (could include tardies counted as an absence) for 15% or more of the class, the instructor, if it is before mid-term, will give them a down grade if the mid-term earned grade lowered by one full letter grade is a C- or less. At any point in time during the semester, if a student is marked absent for 15% or more of the class, the instructor will inform their department chair and the Associate Vice President for Student Achievement. The Associate Vice President for Student Achievement will send notification to the student warning them they have missed 15% of the class(es), telling them this will have a negative impact on their grade, and requiring them to meet with the department chair who will reinforce where they stand and explain to them what will happen if they are marked absent for 20% of the class.

If a student has been marked absent (could include tardies counted as an absence) for 20% or more of the class, the instructor will inform their department chair, the Associate Vice President for Student Achievement and the Registrar’s Office. The Associate Vice President for Student Achievement will send notification to the student informing them they will receive a failing grade (F) for the class. The notification will let them know that, if the absences are excused absences as outlined in the policy, they may request the failing grade be changed to a withdrawal (W). The Academic Standards Committee will review these requests to verify if the absences were excused and warrant a withdrawal from the class.

Disabilities Accommodations
Students who have documented disabilities and are eligible for accommodations must provide documentation of the disability to Kathy Keller, Disabilities Coordinator in the Academic Resource Center before accommodations can be provided.

Academic Dishonesty Policy

Academic Dishonesty is defined as follows:

A) The copying of another student’s, work or the use of unauthorized notes and materials during examinations,

B) Plagiarism, or the presentation of either the written or visual work of others (including that of other students), as one’s own

C) Plagiarism is a serious offense in the academy, as well as illegal in the context of our nation’s copyright law. As such, it is important to know what plagiarism is in both one’s studio- and liberal arts work. According to the Modern Language Association, plagiarism is "the wrongful act of taking the product of another person's mind, and presenting it as one's own." In other words, plagiarism is the use of not just words but ideas borrowed from someone else without crediting the source. Students are required to learn the arts-standard, Chicago Manual of Style guidelines for citing sources referenced in their own work, and must follow them carefully in their research and writing projects.

Students are also expected to be honest in their studio practices, particularly since the practice of appropriation is such an important strategy in art history. Though they might appear to be similar, plagiarism and appropriation are actually two very different practices. While it is true that appropriation involves taking possession of something often without permission—which for the visual artist usually means taking an image—it is also true that an appropriated image isn't passed off as the original production of the appropriating artist. Indeed, the appropriation artist wants the viewer to recognize that an image has been utilized and referenced. (An artist who appropriates an image inevitably wishes to comment upon the original source in some way, usually as a critique, parody, or homage—all of which happen to fall under the realm of “fair use” in copyright law.) As such, appropriation is actually more like citing a source than plagiarizing it.

All academic dishonesty is taken as an offense against the Institute and may result in penalties assessed by the faculty member teaching the course in which the offense has occurred and the Judicial Board, up to and including expulsion.

KCAI Academic Dishonesty Procedures
In the event academic dishonesty is suspected by the instructor of the course, the faculty member is responsible for sending a Notice of Alleged Dishonesty to the student, departmental chair, Associate Vice President for Student Achievement, and Vice President for Academic Affairs. This letter must include the following information:

A. Student’s Name

B. Instructor’s name and name of the course

C. Short description of the original assignment

D. Alleged dishonesty

E. Date of alleged dishonesty

F. Time, date, and location of the meeting set to discuss the allegations with the student, faculty member, and department chair.

The faculty member, Associate Vice President for Student Achievement and department chair are to meet with the student in an Academic Hearing to discuss the allegations. This committee will then decide if the student has violated the academic dishonesty policy or if the allegations have been dropped.

All hearings are to be taped and kept on file within the college for five years.

The Associate Vice President for Student Achievement may be notified at any time during this process if the faculty member, department chair, and/or Vice President for Academic Affairs believe the student is in violation of additional campus policies and/or the Student Code of Conduct, in which the student judicial procedures would apply and begin.

The faculty member and department chair will determine the appropriate sanctions, which may include:

A. A zero or an “F” on the assignment

B. Failing the course; grade forgiveness prohibited

C. Suspension

In severe cases of academic dishonesty or in the case of repeat violations, sanctions may include withholding of the degree, revocation of the degree, or expulsion.

Appeals
The student may appeal the resolution of an Academic Hearing in writing to the Vice President for Academic Affairs within ten business days of the issued resolution letter. If the student receives the resolution letter via US mail, the request for appeal must be submitted within ten business of the postmarked letter.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs of the college will consider the request for appeal and conduct the appeal hearing, if applicable.

A judicial resolution will only be reversed or remanded if:

A. The college did not follow published academic dishonesty procedures.

B. New information is available that was unavailable at the time of the hearing, and the new information is relevant to the hearing resolution.

C. The sanction is inappropriate for the violation.

The written request for appeal must include:

A. Name of the student.

B. Instructor’s name and name of the course.

C. Short description of the original assignment.

D. Alleged dishonesty.

E. Resolution of the hearing process and imposed sanctions.

F. Reason for appeal (see reasons for reversal listed above).

G. Supporting material, if applicable.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs will render a written decision within ten business days of consideration of appeal. Notice will be hand delivered, delivered to rooms in the Living Center, or mailed via US postal service to the student’s local address.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs may:

A. Uphold the original resolution and sanctions.

B. Uphold the original resolution and alter the sanctions.

C. Dismiss original resolution and sanctions.

The decision of the Vice President for Academic Affairs is final and binding.

(Faculty members shall articulate their basic grading policy concerning academic dishonesty in their syllabi.) Additional penalties, up to and including expulsion, will be determined by the Judicial Board working in tandem with the faculty member who reported the offense.

Cheating/Unauthorized Assistance

It is inappropriate for students to provide or receive unauthorized assistance during an examination or for other assignments. For example, the use of cheat sheets, copying from another individual’s paper/examination is in violation of the KCAI student code of conduct.

KCAI Disability Services

KCAI will provide services and accommodations as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Students requesting accommodations based on disability status should provide KCAI appropriate documentation. The documentation must be in written form from a licensed health care professional or educational professional who is qualified to diagnose the disability and recommend specific accommodations. Documentation must be within 3 years of being current. KCAI has the right to require a student to supplement the documentation if it is determined that the information in the initial documentation is incomplete, inadequate, or the qualifications of the health care provider or professional are in question. The documentation should state the specific disability and include recommended accommodations with a rationale if needed.

All documentation will be kept confidential.

Students with documented disabilities are encouraged to provide documentation whether or not they opt to have accommodations in place so that if a specific need arises, an accommodation can be put in place in a timely manner. Accommodations are not made on a Post Facto basis. Accommodations are not put in place unless requested by the student.

All requests are confidential.

Send Documentation to:

Katherine Keller, Disabilities Coordinator

E-mail: kkeller@kcai.edu Phone: 816-802-3485