Gocco and DWI Statistic Coasters

The Gocco machine is amazing!
(once you get a blue screen :)






Here's the inked screen waiting for me to press the image onto the coaster









Tah Dah.







This is the front side to my DWI awareness coasters.
Stay tuned for photos of them in a bar/restaurant.

Social Design: DWI/DUI Installations

The DWI/DUI Parking Space.

Made for those that insist on driving while under the influence and risking themselves and others.




Hopefully the reflective tape will keep them from hitting
a. a pedestrian
b. vehicles, mainly mine
c. the curb
d. the building behind the curb
e. ME













Below, Jenn illustrates proper parking procedures when using the drunk driver spot.







Or at least common parking procedures for someone that under the influence.


























Here comes the law.



They thought it was paint. I was very pleased :)

After Action Review # 1

Design Problem One: Deconstruct/Reconstruct

Sustains What did you do well? Which actions and strategies led to success that
you will continue to use?

I made a good die before it slid apart on me in the press.
I really like the form I chose to use and hope to make a smaller version to use for the pin swap. Liz is determined I should have flocked tick/spider/men pins and I am down with that.
I feel that my timeline should have been written out so you could read it lol.

Improves Which things did not work so well? These are areas to improve.

I really wish I had noticed the shift before pressing the die and thus bending the brass plates inward. I would have saved myself an entire day of filing had the pieces matched better. At this point the die is unusable with out new brass plates. I also think I should have tried the natural rubber more in the project portion. I used it with my original sample pieces but didn’t want to risk my luck with the project.


What Ifs How could the project been more successful?
What are the best incarnations of the project?

Some of the pressings were more voluminous even though I pressed to the same psi and with the same durometer. These actually fit together better than the other slightly smaller forms from the very first pressings. I annealed the later pressings with the annealing torch so tht may be the contributing factor. Next project I will be using duct tape to hold my die. I don’t see why that would be a problem and it will hold up better.

Downtown to SoHo

Places to see on the way to Moss.


Most of these are going up 7th ave.





I freaking love these cars.

NYC - MAD Opening

We started out trip to NYC with the grand opening of MAD
The Museum of Arts and Design.








Balloon boy here is part of a installation by Jason Hackenwerth.







This is a list of all the artists I saw of interest that I want to check out later:
Mary Ann Scherr *Janna Syvanoja *Arline M Fisch
Tone Vigeland *Verena Sieber-Fuchs
Kiwan Wang *Heather White Van Stolk
Barbara Walter *Helen Shirk *Harlan Butt
Fran Reed *Steffan Dam *Devorah Sperber
Johnny Swing *Long-Bin Chen *Borris Bally
Tamiko Kawata *Nancy Warden *Emiko Sao
Marilyn Levine *Jin-Sook So *Susie MacMurry
Norma Minkowitz *Yuken Tekya
Paul Villenski *Chakaia Booker *Stuart Haygarth
Michael Rakovitz *Hew Locke *Do Ho Suh
Tara Donovan *Sonya Clark *Terese Agnew
Andy Diaz Hope *Laurel Roth

I apologize if I spelled any names wrong.

Friday

Today I was at Ken and Julie's finishing up my clocks and getting a demo on how to photograph your work. Ken showed us all sorts of neat tricks and how to get the best photo for gallery submissions as well as portfolio photos.

Thursday

Shown in this photo is my first prototypes for my DWI/DUI project in social design.
I was still awaiting my blank coasters to come in and was getting frantic so out came the spray paint.
Actually I just like the fumes.



The stress was starting to get to us so we made a runway.
Note: Tim Gunn is being drawn in for effect.
I'm still a little upset no one has decided to re-dress the Project Runway doll. I guess they like my recycled stewardess look.
I know Tim does.

Social Design Bibliography

Social Design Bibliography:

Drunk Driving statistics and general information:

http://www.madd.org/
http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics-maryland.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving
MADD Northern MD Affiliate:  7400 York Rd, Towson MD 21204

DIY/Guerilla Tactics and Social Design:

http://www.kerismith.com/blog/
-The Guerilla Art Book by Keri Smith, (Pages: all!) 2007
-DIY Design It Yourself by Ellen Lupton, (Pages: all!)
2006
-World Changing Edited by Alex Steffen, Abrams NY 2008
-The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley, Doubleday, 2001
-The Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley, Doubleday, 2005
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming
http://www.adbusters.org/
http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters_blog/world_carfree_day.html
http://www.fluxus.org/
http://www.peacejam.org/
http://www.cadc.auburn.edu/soa/rural-studio/mission.htm
http://www.trashformations.com/links_we_love.html 

Social Design: Prototypes

I bought some magnet/paper product today to see if gocco is an option with that. I really like the idea of magnets on peoples cars for the DWI project.
I'm debating design aspects right now:
If I use written language I feel it's less dramatic but I can't seem to find a symbol or set of images that are immediately recognizable and dramatic.
I'm thinking that I don't want to soften the blow by using politically correct terms but that Drunk Driver just isn't exciting enough.
I like the visual of drink+driving=jail but need some ideas on what symbols to use. So far I have martini+steering wheel?= handcuffs?

Are you following me here? This is a poll.
What would be the most obvious way to portray this?

Iconic Forms.

What is iconic form?
What is iconic hollow form?
To me iconic brings connotations of being immediately recognizable when viewed.
Like the rubber ducky, even a silhouette is understood by the majority of viewers.



Most everyone knows what this is, even if they can't remember it's actual name.







And I guarantee everyone can identify what this hollow form is.









Now, there are some out there that may say iconic=simple.
(Namely my goofy friend who seemed to think a cone was iconic)
Big help she was!
This did however make me re-think my definition of iconic as not just easily recognizable but also a symbol or representation of an idea.



Is the classical amphora an iconic form?
I think it is, it brings to mind not only the form but the history of the vessel. It represents a culture.










Mickey is an iconic form. If you made a metal ball and stuck two smaller balls on it like ears everyone within the broadcasting area of any known media would recognize and relate to it.







Andy Warhol made a living off of iconic visuals.
From Marilyn to Mickey these images had appeal because of their iconic state.










Even this form can symbolize a county, attitude and lifestyle.












The Domes of St Basils








The Guggenheim, Bilboa







The Guggenheim NYC







Hagia Sofia


I think the best example of what I feel is iconic form is Jeff Koons work.
His giant hollow forms are easy to understand and everyone can relate to what it is

Jeff uses scale to create pieces that are fun and whimsical and this also enhances the iconic feel of his work by making it larger than life.
I believe that is part of being an icon. Being larger than life.
If you'd like to share your definitions of iconic feel free...
From Websters:
Icon:

a. An image; a representation.

b. A representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified Christian personage, traditionally used and venerated in the Eastern Church.
2. An important and enduring symbol

What I've been making thus far...

Here's my beautiful bench.
It's soo shiny.
I can almost remember where most of my tools are now.






And this is my first project in Jewelry III
This is the first few steps finished.
They are hydraulically pressed hollow forms put together.
Next comes...modifications.

Coasters Ordered!

I ordered a pack of round coasters for my social design project. Hopefully they will arrive quickly. Now I just need to figure out if I want to stamp or just write on them.
Just a note for any looking to buy coasters:
The website www.blockheadcoasters.com sells blank coasters
The website 'blockhead.com' is a porn site. FYI.

Fun Blogs to Check Out From the NY Times

I was surprised to see that the NY Times had a spot in their HOME section about Design Blogs.
Here is a list of some blogs and websites to check out later:

Coolhunting.com
lindseyadelman.com
esque-studio.com
peakofchic.com
hollisterhovey.blogspot.com
apartmentthereapy.com
mocoloc.com
mediabistro.com/unbeige
designspongeonline.com

They cost how much?!

Ok, so apparently printing out coasters is out. Most companies have a 500 coaster minimum and they don't sell blanks. The jerks.
The coasters start at .25 US a pop. For square paper? I think Not.
Guess I better get out a brand new exacto blade and make a template because I'm going to be cutting like crazy. I'll try to keep from letting any blood this semester.
On second thought, I'll just 'borrow' the existing coasters and 'modify' them.
I can't afford another ER visit.

Social Design: Brainstorming cont.

Since my scanner is unhappy with life I'm just going to jot down some of my ideas thus far:

Drunk Driver Parking Spaces
Stickers of Alcoholic Beverages to be place on people
Coaster with Statistics
Posting Bar Tabs with Photographs of the Person (back of their heads)
Giant Car Stickers with Warning Labels

What is Social Design?

To me social design is an idea or design that inspires change in your world.
Here are some links to all the different sites I've been browsing in my search to define social design and inspire me to make a difference:

http://biobling.com/index.html

http://www.smartusa.com/
This features the Smart Car, also interesting: smart car crash testing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

The Wiki Definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_design

I thought this sites "Everything is Okay" caution tape would be fun to use:
http://www.backspace.com/notes/
If anyone knows where I can buy caution tape locally I think it may go well with my DWI Driver expose installation. Speaking of which, here is a link to the most well-known organization for anti-drunk driving, MADD
http://www.madd.org/About-Us/About-Us/Statistics.aspx
They list all the statistics on this page, for example that "three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives".
Think about that.
I'm one, are you?

Internship 9-12-08

Internship 9-12-08 10-3pm
Today we worked mainly on finishing our four clocks up. I'm almost finished, i only need to cut and grind 4 small pieces and all of my clocks will be welded. After that I will have to grind off the scale, coat them with acrylic sealer and voila! I will post photos as soon as they are finished.

De-stress.

For those of you feeling the stress of a new semester and tight deadlines...
de-stress with the lolcats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnpfJ6lkhvI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH8x2pFqG-o&feature=related

Note: If this doesn't amuse you, then you obviously aren't tired enough. Go back to the studio and do more work!

Hooray Books!

I got some of my books from Amazon today! So far I re-read the first 6 chapters of Ideo (which features Amazon, go figure) and am 3/4 of the way through the Penland book of jewelry. So far most of the artists featured make me want to try their methods out. I was fascinated with the forged jewelry of John Cogswell and am now jealous of everyone in the metals II class. I also really liked the work by Rob Jackson, although not my aesthetic his inclusion of steel and fine metal is intriguing. I liked the recycled look of Deb Stoner's file-rings and bracelets. I started wrecking my journal. It's a little goofy but relaxing in a way. I still think we should make this a cooperative assignment and swap journals for wrecking. I already spit in Megan's. If only everyone would spit in mine.
Unfortunately, I need to study my biology book for my upcoming exam or I'd be shooting right through the rest of my newly acquired literature.
I did get a chance to check out a few of my fellow metalhead's blogs and dig the link on Jenn's blog on social design. Check it out, it's about Web 2.0. I'll get back to you when I have time to read the whole article...here's a link http://www.technologyandsocialaction.org/designing_for_the_21st_century

Hopefully, I will be able to finish up all my reading in time for PR!!!!

Social Design Brainstorming

So far I've been reading a lot about different medications and thier over-prescription and side effects. I recently was given two separate drugs without being informed of the serious side effects. One of which has caused serious heath problems for me and many given the drug. Two of the 25 listed side effects was liver failure and death. They were the only two I didn't experience and I actually added seeing spots and blurred vision to the list!
I read the article in the NY Times on cholesterol medication and this stoked the fire behind my argument for less is more in pharmaceuticals because both of my parents were recently put on these type of medications at failed results.
I haven't thought of a viable way to make a product/item to remedy this serious issue.
I feel that informing people of the dangers of doctors over-prescribing dangerous and ill-tested medicine is one thing, fixing it is another. Most remedies would probably require government regulation, restriction and dedication...none of these words do I regularly associate with the government.

Another idea I have been tossing around in my head is that of drunk driver awareness and the issue of over-population and congestion on the highways. One of my proposed ideas is to implement a 2x DWI Offender mandatory license plate and 3x ect. They could be easily visible and known to all police and commuters so they could be more cautious around these drivers and would discourage people from drunk driving because, frankly, they would be embarrassing to the felon to have to have on his vehicle. We could also implement a speeding ticket insignia that would go on your license plate or window and enforce a "if you have, say, 2 speeding tickets in 6 months, you have a red sticker on your window and must drive in the right lanes only" rule. That way anyone with 2 or more tickets, if caught a. without their "sticker" or b. in the left lanes would get a ticket and the proceeds from the fines could pay for the stickers.
I know, it's a mean and strict plan but I'm sick of reading of people killed everyday from reckless driving and personally my commute would benefit from having the crazy people doing 90 in traffic stuck to the right lane and at the speed limit.

Ideas do not grow on trees.

Where do my thoughts and ideas come from?

Mostly, I find that I get my ideas from a visual or image. When I'm intentionally looking for a type of design, I focus on that particular type. It's often when I am not looking for a specific item or idea that I pull in the most useful information. I can look at everything as a possibility for art. The blood diamonds project sprung from a dead deer on the side of the highway. My sculpture often come from a shape or image seen while in transit. In other words, stay away from me on the road because I'm obviously not thinking about driving. Kidding. Mostly.
I think the majority of my ideas I generate from looking at references, modifying and incorporating things I've seen recently and admired. I may take a photograph of an item, not be inspired by the item so much as it's surroundings or it's connotations or remembering where I was when I took the photo.
Or sometimes I have an epiphany while in the shower. You never know. I'm a little random.

Hmm.

So I've been reading Rainbow Six the past few days. I find it a little ironic that this book is entirely based on terrorism/counter-terrorism, biological warfare, mega-corporations, espionage and sociopath ideology. I find it interesting that on opening up worldpress today the first article I read was on Blackwater and guess what it's all about folks....see above. Excepting biological warfare that is...or well at least I hope so.
http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/3215.cfm
check it out.
Funny, I thought Tom Clancy was a fiction writer. Shows what I know.

My BUG List

My BUG List:

(Issues that I wish to address in social design)

-The high cost of health care in the US
-The use of prescription drugs to over-medicate the populous
-Sending troops to foreign soil when the US needs to be focusing on the US
-The rising cost of living
-Wildlife protection and over-development
-The loss of middle-class American way of life
-Lack of public transportation in rural areas
-Declining education standards
-High cost of education in America
-Overpopulation and lack of available employment opportunities
-Loss of local, rural farms to larger conglomerates
-Decline in small businesses
-Congestion on the highways
-Drunk drivers an ineffective methods to reduce accidents

Fun Form From Moss

The NY Times

I started on the front page. I have yet to get through to section B. Every single article has drawn me in, I re-read the article on cholesterol medicine and it's possible side-effects twice. My parents have both been prescribed these types of medicine in the past and now they're publishing that advanced trials were never run and these drugs may cause cancer.
To make matters worse, I have been very careful in not mentioning any of my personal, political views for this upcoming presidential race. After reading about John McCain's running candidate I think my vote may change. That's all I am saying about that.
I am so overwhelmed with the amount of information I read, Japan's leader resigns (again), the Georgian conflict still wages with thousands displaced, sushi may not be sushi at all, Medicare is a joke, more than 1.4 billion people live below poverty level earning around 1.25 USD a day ...and just when I got depressed the Times throws in a dinky story on ecologically friendly revolving homes. Why is the inspiring stuff never front page material?

Project Runway Spotting!

Who says vinyl is all bad.
Project Runway now had laminated dolls that you can dress in your very own designs. You can cut out patterns and fashion yourself one FIERCE design. Of course I could draw a stick figure on some cardboard, cut out some paper dresses all for about 25 cents.
I remember playing with my paper dolls as a kid. What has happen to the world that they need laminated Barbie look-a-likes, glitter tube tops and sequined miniature Gucci bags.
I almost bought one for the studio but then I came back to a little place called sanity. If I put it up, inevitably someone would want to play with it all the time...(Jan?!)

Labor Day Weekend

So, Labor Day at my house actually means labor day. We split wood all day which I rather enjoyed the hydraulic splitter. The bugs, not so much.






While I am rolling giant logs over to said splitter and splitting away, my muscle bound brother...he's carrying logs ONE AT A TIME to the pile. But he did save me from the ants. That's all I will say about that.





After splitting wood I got to pressure wash the deck! Yeah!
Note: Do not let my mother near equipment. Here's about where she lost control of the gun and cut up the rails....At least holding a steel grinder all summer buffed me up for the 5000 psi pressure washer lol!