8/4

2 takeaways

1. I find Thomas and Brown’s (2011) idea about the culture of learning relevant to my recent experiences with new and imaginative technologies.  Three weeks ago, my two eight-year-old cousins introduced me to Minecraft, a video game where one makes a world out of blocks.  Minecraft remains an easily accessible application and engages people of all ages in creating an imaginative world. 

2.   Educause (2013) recognizes the significance of independent work completed in makerspaces.  These spaces inhibit creative and independent thinking, which in turn develops one’s capabilities of being an artist.  Artists must practice working independently and experiment with new media in multifaceted spaces.

8/3

Lesson plan idea for a stop-motion animation class with eight graders in a charter school. 

In groups of three, students create a short (6-9 second) stop-motion animation composed of 60-90 photos.  Each group should capture a sense of conflict through different subject matter.  For example, developments in one’s facial expressions from happy to sad or vise versa.  Groups should experiment with abstract subject matter.  Discussion about emotional changes each stop-motion at the end of class.

8/2

Documentation of my stop-motion animation

1. Supported Canon EOS rebel 5 on top of my travel mug in library classroom 

2. Took three sets of photos (the first two series taken too fast so deleted) - prompt: argue

3. Third set involved continuous shots and a slow pace 

4. Exported photos into stop-motion in lab 

5. Edited stop-motion animation 

6. Uploaded .mov file to YouTube 

7. Added video to blogger! 

Excluded photos 

8/1

A short stop-motion animation

7/2

In general, I unconsciously and consciously turn on or off my attention to different sounds - probably like most people.  I listen to cars coming from different directions as I cross a street, and pick up other peoples’ conversations out at dinner.  I sometimes like to zone out of all of these sounds and focus on one sound or just silence.  I cannot – or prefer not to – listen to music or other sounds while writing, reading, studying, etc. 

I prefer listening to music while drawing, painting, or working with different media.  Music, primarily EDM or movie soundtracks, helps me zone out and focus on my art.  I am interested in Kandinsky’s connection between the creative process of visual arts and music.

In the curriculum, one can use audio for different media including video – besides making an audio piece for the sake of itself.  Audio corresponds to and can be just as important as visual imagery in a video.  Audio remains very easy to edit and does not take up as much space as video. 

7/1

Proximity

My piece involves audio and a black background.  Each sound comes from a different movement created in the TC library.  One of the recordings depicts water coming out of the water bubbler.  I have edited each “instrument” in Audacity.

I used iMovie to combine my audio with a black background.  The combination of imagery and sound leaves the viewer confused.  The video remains linked to YouTube. 

6/1

Based on the first clip in my video - from the show, The Office - I asked a friend to "help me with a video" and possibly "be the main character and I'd just need you [him] to come up with a 1 minute story of a perfect crime thats funny".  I would like to continue this project and work with more people on telling funny hypothetical crime stories.  I would like this project to include people I cannot video in person as well.  Anyone with a computer or smartphone could video him or herself.

6/2

Creative potential of video in the classroom  

1. Use with eighth grade students in a Title 1 school.  First lesson with the class.

Introduce the lesson by showing students a short documentary about video production and ask students to interpret what goes into making a movie.  Show students the basics of editing in iMovie – I should demonstrate editing my own video.  Have students talk about the pre-production and post-production process in groups.  Have each group edit and make a short two to three minute video involving clips from each group member.  Students practice editing in iMovie and each group should present a video at the end of class.  Students should discuss challenges to making a video with new footage.  Due next class, students should take a few short videos that will be edited in class. 

2. Use with high school students at a private school.

Have students make a video about teaching someone new to video production the process of making a video.  Students must demonstrate teaching video production.  Students should assist their own participants in making a video and document the process.  This gives students the opportunity to become a video steward and possibly learn from a teacher’s point of view about this medium.   Students without much video experience may find this project especially challenging since they will have to learn more about video production before and while teaching someone new to video about video. 

5/1

Scanography series 2

5/1

Scanography series 1

Impact 25

5/3

3 take-aways from readings

1. Digital image editing most readily reminds me of a painting by James Rosenquist titled, F-111, 1964-65.  In this painting, Rosenquist combines and layers an assortment of imagery on 23 canvases covering 10 x 86’.  A U.S. Air force F-111 plane extends from one side to the other amidst cropped images such as a tire, light bulbs, spaghetti, etc.  Today, artists and virtually anyone can combine imagery with Adobe Photoshop on a computer.  Lankshear and Knobel recognize Photoshop as an efficient way to remix images by layering and editing (102).

2. I would like to hear more from Peppler about the changes in “aesthetics and genres of photography today” (34).  With the advancement of smart phones, virtually anyone can take a photograph effortlessly on Auto Focus.  While many skilled photographers use Manual Focus and make their photograph by adjusting various settings, anyone can use an iPhone to take a sharp photograph.  Digital cameras allow people to do more with their photographs, but smart phones remain easily accessible and receive ample attention.

3. Frazel introduces Audacity, a sound editing software, as one of her many tools to create a digital story (84).  While I am fairly unfamiliar with this type of software, I would like to learn more about integrating audio remixing into the classroom.  While I would not want to take time away from teaching another medium such as painting, I could ask students to remix music at home using Audacity to make playlists for class.

                                                             F-111,1964-65

5/3

3 take-aways from readings

1. Digital image editing most readily reminds me of a painting by James Rosenquist titled, F-111, 1964-65.  In this painting, Rosenquist combines and layers an assortment of imagery on 23 canvases covering 10 x 86’.  A U.S. Air force F-111 plane extends from one side to the other amidst cropped images such as a tire, light bulbs, spaghetti, etc.  Today, artists and virtually anyone can combine imagery with Adobe Photoshop on a computer.  Lankshear and Knobel recognize Photoshop as an efficient way to remix images by layering and editing (102).

2. I would like to hear more from Peppler about the changes in “aesthetics and genres of photography today” (34).  With the advancement of smart phones, virtually anyone can take a photograph effortlessly on Auto Focus.  While many skilled photographers use Manual Focus and make their photograph by adjusting various settings, anyone can use an iPhone to take a sharp photograph.  Digital cameras allow people to do more with their photographs, but smart phones remain easily accessible and receive ample attention.

3. Frazel introduces Audacity, a sound editing software, as one of her many tools to create a digital story (84).  While I am fairly unfamiliar with this type of software, I would like to learn more about integrating audio remixing into the classroom.  While I would not want to take time away from teaching another medium such as painting, I could ask students to remix music at home using Audacity to make playlists for class.

                                                             F-111,1964-65

5/2

Potential of scanography for art making

Scanography remains a great way to make a portrait despite not being able to safely open one’s eyes.  One can position his or her head just above the scanner to produce a self-portrait.  The pitch-black background contrasts with one’s dimly lit face.  The sharpness in the picture makes this type of portraiture personal and distant at the same time. 

Scanography’s portrait manipulating qualities relate to painting as well.  One can distort his or her portrait by movement.  Francis Bacon, a British painter recognized for his ominous portraiture, distorts his face in his triptych titled, Three Studies for a Self-Portrait, 1979-80. Bacon’s triptych includes three self-portraits of each region of his face (left, center, and right) in front of a black background.  Bacon’s scumbly brushstrokes and skilled textures relate to the high definition and grainy textures seen in a scanograph. (Bacon’s triptych remains on display at the Met.) 

Three Studies for a Self-Portrait, 1979-80

My eBook

4/2

Impact 25

Group project involving: Wei, Nicholas, Ned

Title: Lies

Concept: Play a recording of our group members reading 25 lies by 25 different people through a created confessional box.

4/1

Idea 1: Create a narrative where other figurines have surrounded her. Find pictures of toy soldiers and arrange them around her.  Each toy soldier should be different. 

Idea 2:  Compose a series of strong female figures.  Find pictures of everyday and recognizable women in a leadership role.

4/3

Connections Between Digital Photography and children

1. Children tend to find many types of electronic screens exciting.  The bright screen attracts one’s gaze and can resemble a new idea.  Digital cameras may interest and catch a child’s attention due to their view screen.  While the picture depicted in the view screen may or may not interest a child based on subject matter, it can capture a child’s gaze and could spark an interest in the child to learn more about the camera.  The camera’s view screen has the potential to initiate inquisitive thinking in a child.   

2. While digital cameras can be complicated, a child can almost instantaneously become an “artist” with a digital camera.  Set on Autofocus and made as easy to use as possible, the digital camera allows anyone to be a photographer.  This new identity might interest a child and give him or her the confidence to continue with art and /or photography. 

3.  Digital photography incorporates and relates to a number of other useful topics children should learn about.  Digital photography involves many other types of technology such as the computer, printer, USB drive, etc. It also plays a role in culture and photojournalism. Children can learn about all of these topics by identifying them with the camera.

In class digital photography

Oreo in class