Saturday, June 9, 2012
Blicket (Novel Object) Screenprint!
I have a new website! This post has moved here: http://www.allykraus.com/wp/2012/06/09/blicket-novel-object-screenprint/
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Video Game Cross Stitch
I have a new website! This post has moved here: http://www.allykraus.com/wp/2012/05/19/video-game-cross-stitch/
Saturday, March 24, 2012
GOOD Art Challenge: Update 8
Also, despite the rain, I went on an adventure. All in the name of GOOD! Today was such a good day.
2. Take a street art walking tour.
30. Take your camera with you on a walk and record the experience.
So... there really isn't much street art in Mountain View. I see a lot of tagging along the fences while I ride the Caltrain, but nothing interesting. There was one really cool piece I used to see all over that was a tag, but also a hand, and a face, all in one. I never got a picture of it, and I haven't seen it in awhile.
I thought about this a little more, and decided to focus on unassuming "street art". Namely, all the spray paint and regular road paint you see on the streets. The road paint (what is it actually called?!) you interact with on a daily basis: when you drive, when you use crosswalks.
The other marks people see, but don't really see. These are the ones made by the utility company, usually when there is construction. They mark various cables and systems that lie under the ground. I think they are so interesting. They seem like lines and arrows but they convey so much information for people who know the code. They also hint at a hidden network that you never think about.
I also wanted to document this mysterious collection of squares on the road along the Caltrain. I would see it every morning on my way to work, and it took me forever to figure out what it was. One day I saw it in action - I thought it was really exciting. Yes, I'm a dork. Can you guess what these are for?
Finally, I started noticing all the different textures of the features of the sidewalk. All those utility boxes (or access points?).
Anyway. I took over 100 pictures, but instead of posting them all here, I placed them in a Picasa Album. Also, I have learned that if there is one surefire way of making yourself look crazy, it's standing in the middle of the road taking pictures of the street. Especially when it's raining.
2. Take a street art walking tour.
30. Take your camera with you on a walk and record the experience.
So... there really isn't much street art in Mountain View. I see a lot of tagging along the fences while I ride the Caltrain, but nothing interesting. There was one really cool piece I used to see all over that was a tag, but also a hand, and a face, all in one. I never got a picture of it, and I haven't seen it in awhile.
I thought about this a little more, and decided to focus on unassuming "street art". Namely, all the spray paint and regular road paint you see on the streets. The road paint (what is it actually called?!) you interact with on a daily basis: when you drive, when you use crosswalks.
The other marks people see, but don't really see. These are the ones made by the utility company, usually when there is construction. They mark various cables and systems that lie under the ground. I think they are so interesting. They seem like lines and arrows but they convey so much information for people who know the code. They also hint at a hidden network that you never think about.
I also wanted to document this mysterious collection of squares on the road along the Caltrain. I would see it every morning on my way to work, and it took me forever to figure out what it was. One day I saw it in action - I thought it was really exciting. Yes, I'm a dork. Can you guess what these are for?
Finally, I started noticing all the different textures of the features of the sidewalk. All those utility boxes (or access points?).
Anyway. I took over 100 pictures, but instead of posting them all here, I placed them in a Picasa Album. Also, I have learned that if there is one surefire way of making yourself look crazy, it's standing in the middle of the road taking pictures of the street. Especially when it's raining.
GOOD Art Challenge: Update 7
More GOOD items crossed off my list!
1. Visit a museum or a gallery.
17. Support the local arts scene by going to a local festival, music event, art show, play, museum exhibit, etc.
The Sunnyvale Lace Museum's Semi-Annual sale ended today, so I stopped by. I love this museum. It's such a fantastic bit of local color located unassumingly in a strip mall. It's kind of hilarious.
I discovered it maybe a year ago? and drop in every once in awhile. It's been on my mind lately because I really want to learn tatting, and I know this is place to go. The inside was pretty quiet - I think the rain was keeping people away. I snapped a picture of the sale surreptitiously.
I looked through the bins, didn't see anything that immediately caught my eye, and then migrated back to the gift shop part of the museum, discovering tons of lace books. Glorious! Looking through all the tatting books, I selected the most thorough shuttle tatting book they had, and brought it up to one of the museum volunteers, asking for advice. She directed me to the resident tatting expert, who advised me to steer clear of shuttle tatting and start with needle tatting. Interesting. I was not aware that needle tatting existed. I thought you did it all with a shuttle.
Apparently, you can make the same designs in needle tatting as with shuttle tatting, but needle tatting is much less complicated and easier. "Easier" is a four letter work in my book - bring on anything complicated and challenging! Perhaps she could sense my skepticism because she immediately went into the back room and brought out her tatting kit and gave me a demonstration right then and there. It was amazing. She tatted away at lightning speed and instantly it became obvious why needle tatting would be preferable and quicker. I was sold. She hooked me up with a good beginner's book and needle, talked to me about different thread options, gave me some great websites for resources and patterns, told me about a needlepoint shop in Burlingame that's apparently going out of business (hinting that I should go buy up their discount threads) and invited me to the Thursday afternoon "Stitch and Bitch" at the lace museum. It was a little overwhelming! Very nice though. And now I'm all set and ready to tat!
1. Visit a museum or a gallery.
17. Support the local arts scene by going to a local festival, music event, art show, play, museum exhibit, etc.
The Sunnyvale Lace Museum's Semi-Annual sale ended today, so I stopped by. I love this museum. It's such a fantastic bit of local color located unassumingly in a strip mall. It's kind of hilarious.
I discovered it maybe a year ago? and drop in every once in awhile. It's been on my mind lately because I really want to learn tatting, and I know this is place to go. The inside was pretty quiet - I think the rain was keeping people away. I snapped a picture of the sale surreptitiously.
I looked through the bins, didn't see anything that immediately caught my eye, and then migrated back to the gift shop part of the museum, discovering tons of lace books. Glorious! Looking through all the tatting books, I selected the most thorough shuttle tatting book they had, and brought it up to one of the museum volunteers, asking for advice. She directed me to the resident tatting expert, who advised me to steer clear of shuttle tatting and start with needle tatting. Interesting. I was not aware that needle tatting existed. I thought you did it all with a shuttle.
Apparently, you can make the same designs in needle tatting as with shuttle tatting, but needle tatting is much less complicated and easier. "Easier" is a four letter work in my book - bring on anything complicated and challenging! Perhaps she could sense my skepticism because she immediately went into the back room and brought out her tatting kit and gave me a demonstration right then and there. It was amazing. She tatted away at lightning speed and instantly it became obvious why needle tatting would be preferable and quicker. I was sold. She hooked me up with a good beginner's book and needle, talked to me about different thread options, gave me some great websites for resources and patterns, told me about a needlepoint shop in Burlingame that's apparently going out of business (hinting that I should go buy up their discount threads) and invited me to the Thursday afternoon "Stitch and Bitch" at the lace museum. It was a little overwhelming! Very nice though. And now I'm all set and ready to tat!
Friday, March 23, 2012
GOOD Art Challenge: Update 6
One week left of the GOOD challenge.
14. Check out an art book at the library.
This is such an easy challenge because I live in the art section at the library. My most recent check-out is the library's only book on tatting: Tatting, Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson.
Tatting is working it's way up on my projects list - it's a form of lace making comprised of loops. I just got a shuttle and some cotton, and hope to teach myself how to begin in the next few weeks.
22. Finger paint.
The modern day form of finger painting is surely tablet drawing. Or touch screen drawing. If you take that into account, I have been finger painting up a storm lately ever since I got the Draw Something app. It's a touch screen version of pictionary. You can play with your friends, and the best part about it is that you can see not only your friend's finished drawing, but the whole process of the drawing in the form of a video. It's so entertaining! I can't believe some of the detail and time my friends (plus random people form the internet) put into this game. One person drew me the most amazing drawing of Tupaq - I don't even know who this guy is, but I guessed it correctly. Here are a selection of my finger paintings! Can you guess what the words were?
14. Check out an art book at the library.
This is such an easy challenge because I live in the art section at the library. My most recent check-out is the library's only book on tatting: Tatting, Patterns and Designs by Gun Blomqvist and Elwy Persson.
Tatting is working it's way up on my projects list - it's a form of lace making comprised of loops. I just got a shuttle and some cotton, and hope to teach myself how to begin in the next few weeks.
22. Finger paint.
The modern day form of finger painting is surely tablet drawing. Or touch screen drawing. If you take that into account, I have been finger painting up a storm lately ever since I got the Draw Something app. It's a touch screen version of pictionary. You can play with your friends, and the best part about it is that you can see not only your friend's finished drawing, but the whole process of the drawing in the form of a video. It's so entertaining! I can't believe some of the detail and time my friends (plus random people form the internet) put into this game. One person drew me the most amazing drawing of Tupaq - I don't even know who this guy is, but I guessed it correctly. Here are a selection of my finger paintings! Can you guess what the words were?
Monday, March 19, 2012
GOOD Art Challenge: Update 5
Another GOOD Art project!
8. Make a self-portrait.
16. Make a collage.
Although the idea of a blind contour self-portrait was really appealing, I decided to make a silhouette collage inspired a pin. (Hmm... maybe I "liked" the pin and didn't actually add it to one of my boards... I'll have to research this later.)
After several hours working in Gimp, I produced this:
8. Make a self-portrait.
16. Make a collage.
Although the idea of a blind contour self-portrait was really appealing, I decided to make a silhouette collage inspired a pin. (Hmm... maybe I "liked" the pin and didn't actually add it to one of my boards... I'll have to research this later.)
After several hours working in Gimp, I produced this:
Sunday, March 18, 2012
GOOD Art Challenge: Update 4
Part two of the GOOD challenge updates from this weekend!
6. Sign up for an art class.
I signed up to teach an art class this month. Definitely counts. This weekend, I taught a cross stitching class via Workshop Weekend. I've never formally taught any craft, so this was a completely new experience for me. There ended up being 7 people in my class. It was a little hectic, and too short, but I learned so much from teaching and had a blast. Hope my students did too! I know a ton of ways to improve my lesson and hope to have another opportunity at another Workshop Weekend, or even through Skillshare.
Cross stitching isn't something most people want to learn. It's not quite cool, it doesn't have a hip following like knitting does. But it's easy, accessible, and you can make some great pixel art from it. There are so many possibilities. It's by far my favorite craft. I tried to garner interest by calling it a "geeky" cross stitching class, and providing my students with old video game characters to stitch and turn into pins. I assembled a variety of patterns I mocked up in Excel from Space Invaders, Super Mario and Pacman. I can post my pattens later, but here is one of the finished pin demos.
3. Take a photo.
Now that I have a phone with a nice camera, I am taking photos constantly. The challenge for this one for me was to pick which photo I wanted to count. I settled for... a few.
First, was the Berkeley Bowl West shrine. I made an offering... can you pick it out?
Here's a close up:
(Pin demo #2 from my class!) And for good measure, I'll throw in a picture of the produce section...
Oh Berkeley Bowl West. I miss you!
6. Sign up for an art class.
I signed up to teach an art class this month. Definitely counts. This weekend, I taught a cross stitching class via Workshop Weekend. I've never formally taught any craft, so this was a completely new experience for me. There ended up being 7 people in my class. It was a little hectic, and too short, but I learned so much from teaching and had a blast. Hope my students did too! I know a ton of ways to improve my lesson and hope to have another opportunity at another Workshop Weekend, or even through Skillshare.
Cross stitching isn't something most people want to learn. It's not quite cool, it doesn't have a hip following like knitting does. But it's easy, accessible, and you can make some great pixel art from it. There are so many possibilities. It's by far my favorite craft. I tried to garner interest by calling it a "geeky" cross stitching class, and providing my students with old video game characters to stitch and turn into pins. I assembled a variety of patterns I mocked up in Excel from Space Invaders, Super Mario and Pacman. I can post my pattens later, but here is one of the finished pin demos.
3. Take a photo.
Now that I have a phone with a nice camera, I am taking photos constantly. The challenge for this one for me was to pick which photo I wanted to count. I settled for... a few.
First, was the Berkeley Bowl West shrine. I made an offering... can you pick it out?
Here's a close up:
(Pin demo #2 from my class!) And for good measure, I'll throw in a picture of the produce section...
Oh Berkeley Bowl West. I miss you!
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