Get Fit with Motivation From Your Favorite Netflix Characters

This device can feed you motivation, or even make you keep working, to keep watching your favorite Netflix shows.

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7 Useful Mods to Upgrade Your Smart Phone Camera

These mods can change how you take photos and video

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Launching A Kickstarter: Creating Meaningful Rewards

What are the best rewards to choose?

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Show Off Your Magically Mathematical Pi Project For a Chance At Great Prizes

celebrate the coolest number with an awesome project!

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New Raspberry Pi Zero W: Built-In Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for $10

The latest board from the Pi Foundation is the Raspberry Pi Zero W, now with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities.

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Exploring a Car’s CAN Bus Data

See how a car's data logs can be accessed via a CAN bus connector and the sorts of things you can learn from it.

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This Tiny Apple II Is Powered by the $9 Pocket CHIP

you could fit this Apple II in your pocket!

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Use Epoxy to Build an Ocean Table

Some great tips to make an epoxy ocean

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DJI’s New M200 Drone Tracks Approaching Aircraft to Avoid Collisions

Manned aircraft transmit their aerial trajectory using a system called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which helps pilots navigate congested airspaces. DJI’s new drone, announced today, now adds an ADS-B receiver to help it know when it is in the path of oncoming planes or helicopters. The drone, called the Matrice 200, […]

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This Week in Making: New Planets, Voice Control, and 3D Printed Action Figures

See the faces of open source, discover three crowdfunding campaigns to watch, and check out newly discovered planets.

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Weekend Watch: Transparent Boats, DIY Tools, and More With Ray Pena

Join Ray as he builds everything from transparent boats to fidget spinners.

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Maker Pro News: Quitting Boeing to Go Maker Pro, Plus Philly Funds Startups

How one Boeing engineer quit to start a STEM non-profit and an LA hardware accelerator, Philadelphia pledges money to maker pros, behind the scenes of launching a Kickstarter campaign, and more.

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Tips of the Week: Painting, Drawing, and Jumper Wires

A few painting revelations and reminders, a bit about drawing, and how to cut the perfect jumper wire.

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Family Bonding Over a Giant CNC Router Project

Building a big piece of machinery is a great bonding experience!

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Maker Spotlight: Ashley Qian

Meet Ashley Qian

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7 Beginner Machining Tips, Learned the Hard Way

Sometimes learning is painful. Avert your eyes if you can't witness mistakes.

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This Tiny LED Cube Fits in a TicTac Case

So tiny, so cool!

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2017 New York Toy Fair: Hackable Toys

What hackable toys are at the Toy Fair this year?

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Watch Us Build Eddie, the Self Balancing Robot

Watch as Tyler builds this cute balancing bot on the live stream.

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Featuring: VersAnnette Blackman-Bosia, Poet and Painter

Today we feature VersAnnette Blackman, a visual artist, poet, and facilitator from the Chicago, IL area, who talks with us about her work, her own relationship to libraries, and what it means to show her work in a public library today. Her response to our question, “What does your ideal library look like” is worth a deep reading. ~Laura

Library as Incubator Project (LAIP): Tell us about yourself and your work.

Verse Blackman (VB): I’m a poet, painter and facilitator. I’ve always been a creative; I wrote my first poem at the age of eleven, and was always making things. I picked up painting again in my late thirties; and was just using it as an outlet for creative expression. I was just intuitively creating things, and wasn’t sure how well they’d be received. The first show I had someone wanted to buy my work. That was nearly three years ago; and my business has been growing ever since. I’m an abstract painter, but my love for both collage and poetry shows up in my work as well. I think this makes me a Mixed media Artist, but I try to avoid labels so I can create freely. I facilitate healing arts workshops, where I invite participants to explore their own innate creativity via painting, writing and demystifying the notion that creativity is only for a certain few.

I’m convinced that Creativity is deep soul work.

LAIP: What’s your relationship been like with libraries?

VB: Libraries are heavenly spaces to me. I was born a book nerd, and I grew up surrounded by books. My mother was a voracious reader and my Dad was big on having me read the dictionary daily. Our house was like a library in its own right. We had everything from Encyclopedias, both World Book and Britannica, Time magazine, Disney classics and Mom’s Danielle Steele novels. I don’t really know how to exist in a space without books, so the library just naturally always felt like home.

LAIP: Have they influenced or inspired your creative work?

VB: Absolutely. My work is inspired by experiences; by words and the vibrancy of visual language. I think of painting as storytelling. Like I get to access these worlds I might not otherwise know about. But also, I notice that any creative space I’ve ever had has to have books. There’s something very comforting and satisfying to me about the aesthetic of books themselves. I am a tactile person; I need to hold a book in my hands, I enjoy seeing all the various colors and sizes in the book shelves. When I visit a library, I’m amazed by just how much the overall atmosphere affects me; the architecture, the vibes from the people, the freedom to open as many books as I want and sit on the floor with stacks until I’ve exhausted myself. I’d like to think this shows up in my work. Most recently, I discovered that I can actually check out books about art! In all my years, I’d never done this before. It’s insane now, I walk away with like 22 books at a time.

LAIP: Tell us about your upcoming show at a public library.

VB: My upcoming show, “In Praise of Spartan Women” is a collection of figurative abstracts painted intuitively on canvas. It’s actually not a collection I planned; these ladies have been showing in my work for over a year now. I decided to gather them and create an exhibit to share because I’m a women’s empowerment junkie. I love being a woman, supporting women, and connecting with women across divides. I’m fortunate in this way; my world is a melting pot and my friends come from all over. I learn a lot, I get to witness the magic in soul stories shared I just believe there’s so much power in our communities! The message is simple: Women are warriors. And we’re often thought of in a way that doesn’t highlight our strength enough. When we hear the term Spartan, there’s this image of men doing battle in movies like 300, or Troy, (or the warriors who fought for ancient Greece, obviously). But I think of the battles we face daily, like fighting to be seen and heard and equally valued in business. The way we raise and educate our children, the way we are hyper-sexualized but rarely respected for what we bring to the table. It drives me nuts. And art is the only way I know how to respond. That’s my contribution.

LAIP: What does it mean for you to show your work in a library?

VB: Well there’s two angles: One as an artist showing her work in a huge library is a big deal. But then, there’s being an artist of color showing her work in a predominately white space. Now that’s HUGE. And I don’t mean this as taking a dig at the library – but it is something I’ve thought about. It’s my reality; and I have to consider whether or not I’ll be accepted. I live in the NW suburbs, outside of Chicago. There’s not a heaping amount of Artists of color, (not that I’m aware of, anyway).The art scene here is different. Lots of nature photography, still life and landscape paintings. I’m excited to exhibit because I think my work offers a different vibe; and I feel honored to share what’s in my soul. My hope is that my exhibit will invite others to think of the library as a safe space for us to connect.

LAIP: As an artist what does your ideal library look like or have in it?

VB: My ideal library has an incredulous amount of diversity. There are people of all races, religions, and ages, and there are programs to honor these differences. There are opportunities for authors and artists like me, who are just hoping to be a part of the conversation and offer some fresh perspectives. There are books that reflect my story, my lineage and ancestry. There is powerful art on the walls that stops you dead in your tracks and makes you question yourself and your thought process. There is community engagement, Artist talks, and a coffee shop would be the cherry on top. But that’s wishful thinking, I know.

Verse is an Artist, Author & Advocate on a mission to empower others to discover their innate creativity via painting and the written word. She is the founder of a nonprofit, HEM (Heal, Empower, Motivate) whose mission is to offer healing to Domestic Violence victims via art projects and creative writing. Her business Soul Revival Healing Arts is where she sells her own art, exhibits, and facilitates workshops and offers poetry readings. She’s passionate about social justice and empowerment, and her work is fueled by a desire for inclusive community engagement. For more you can visit: http://ift.tt/2lJ0YDu

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Act Quick, Get The Arduino and Raspberry Pi ‘Board Basics’ Deal

Humble bundles are such a great deal!

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The MakeShift Challenge: Save a Farm from Drought

A small family farm in Mexico is going under due to drought conditions. You decide to help. But how?

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7 Lessons from Building a GoPro Auto-Panorama Device

Trick your GoPro into taking pictures with a recording

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Writing Consults at Whistler Public Library

Today’s feature comes to us from Jeanette Bruce, Program Coordinator at Whistler Public Library in Whistler, British Columbia. Jeanette coordinates a program for the library (in partnership with Simon Fraser University) called SFU Writing Studio’s Writing Consults. These free one-on-one consultations provide local writers with the opportunity to talk with a professional writer about their projects. Enjoy! ~Laura

Library as Incubator Project (LAIP): Please give us an overview of the Writers Consults program–what it is, where it takes place, how patrons hear about it, etc.

Jeanette Bruce from Whistler Public Library (JB): The SFU Writer’s Studio Writing Consults take place at Whistler Public Library once a month. This program is a partnership between SFU’s Writing Studio, a local Writer’s Studio alumna, Stella Harvey, and the library. The idea is that Stella provides 45-minute, one-on-one consultations to local writers who submit up to seven pages of a current project.

Patrons can learn about the Writing Consults in several ways – the program is featured in our monthly newsletter, at whistlerlibrary.ca as well as whistler.ca(the website for the Resort Municipality of Whistler), on various social media platforms, and on posters throughout the community. Word of Mouth has also been a valuable method of promotion!

Students in The Writer’s Studio learn through one-on-one consultations with local writers, so the Writing Consults are like a taste of what a writer would get if they enrolled in The Writer’s Studio.

LAIP: What was the impetus for starting the program? Were community members involved in the planning for this service?

JB: The folks at SFU conceived the idea for this project, and we were lucky enough to have Stella Harvey, an alumna of The Writer’s Studio program and artistic director of the Whistler Writer’s Festival, on board to serve as our local mentor. I believe the original impetus for this program was to raise awareness of The Writer’s Studio program – a flexible, part-time course that writers could complete without leaving their jobs to go back to school. But I think we’d all agree that the program continues to thrive because it provides encouragement to local writers who may be experiencing writer’s block or who just need to talk through their ideas with an experienced author.

LAIP: What has the response been like from the community?

Writer’s Studio grad Chelene Knight.

JB: The response has been very positive! We’ve received great feedback from the writers who have completed a consult with Stella, and those who haven’t yet signed up are happy to know that they can sign up if they encounter a stumbling block in their writing. Moving forward, we’ll all be working to get the word out to as many local people as possible – no small feat in a town like Whistler where people are always coming and going!

LAIP: Are there plans to expand the program in the future?

JB: We won’t be expanding the consults program within our library, but the individual writers are given the tools to continue pursuing their projects. Since we began this partnership with Stella and SFU, a couple of our local writers have signed up for the full Writer’s Studio program at SFU – maybe they’ll be mentoring local writers down the road!

LAIP: What are a couple of lessons learned that you can share with our readers?

JB: I think we’ve learned something about human behaviour through this program – much like other goals, people tend to focus more on writing at certain times of year! January and February have been very popular times for these consults (perhaps with a fresh New Year’s resolution in mind?), and the writers in our community also seem re-invigorated after our annual Whistler Writer’s Festival in October.

Another lesson I’ve learned personally is that you never know who will be interested in a program like this. There are patrons at the library with whom I’ve interacted for months and months, never realizing that they were aspiring writers until they sign up for a consult.

Does your library offer a consultation service or other one-on-one help for aspiring writers? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at libraryasincubatorproject@gmail.com.

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Pokemon Go Revival with Generation 2

Pokemon Go has been getting steadily quieter in New England, as the craze of this summer hit critical mass then slowly as the weather got worse brought out only the die hard fans with unlimited data plans on their phone ::ahem:: Level 31 thank you very much. I still get beaten out of our library gym every few days and I still see some kids playing but it has not been on the tip of anyone's tongues since the holidays hit.  The holidays tried to keep the fervor up by offering special incentives during Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the lastly on Valentine's Day. Special Pokemon increased spawn rates, candies were doubled, lures lasted for 6 hours, etc. as long as you logged in during the week of the holiday and kept up with the app updates.

For those who need a refresher, look at this earlier blog post.  You may or may not know that Niantic released a huge update last Thursday, adding 80 new Pokemon called "Generation 2" that are available to catch. Most of them look like insects of some form or another. This is a huge score for the game as even the most seasoned players are getting tired of catching the common Pidgies and Weedles just for stardust or forever walking 10K eggs in hope of getting one of the elusive rare Pokemon they are missing.  

What librarians need to know: Trading is still not an option, but anyone with a Pokestop near their library can now drop lures for a crowd that is eager to catch all the new Pokemon. I walked 26 miles this weekend trying to catch as many new ones as I could. I'm not exaggerating. Plus I'm trying to get my 1 Chansey to evolve into a Blissy which is one of the biggest gym competitors in the game. If you hold a particular gym for 21 hours, you get coins and extra Stardust. This keeps going every 21 hours after redemption until you get kicked off by another team. Since Chansey's are rare, I have to walk the Chansey as my companion. For every 5 Kilometers I walk, I get another candy.  Needless to say, I have to walk another 200K for this end. 

Swinubs, Sentrets, Ledybas and Natus are common to find in most areas with an increased spawn rate (at least for now) in the wild. Think Pidgies, Weedles, and Spearows of Generation 1, they're everywhere. The catching screen has changed to make it easier to select which Pokeball to use as well as adding Nanab berries which can try to immobilize Pokemon (they can now zig zag around the screen to avoid being caught) and Pinap berries that will increase the amount of candy you get if you catch it while "under its spell". These new berries can be found by spinning Pokestops. Each Pokemon that you try to catch can only be fed with one berry. The Razz berry is still the one to go to if you really want to ensure a successful capture.

Some of the Generation 1 Pokemon now have an additional evolvement shown in pink that requires a "special item" like a sun stone in addition to a number of candies required from catching a certain amount of them. These are RARE. I must have spun about 100 stops this weekend only to get 1! They are completely randomly but having a stop at your library helps meet that end, and if you are lucky to have more than 1 stop, consider it time for another Pokewalk while the snow is melted.  I wish we knew Generation 2 was coming with a bit more notice because school vacation would have been a great opportunity for programming.

If you are curious whether special rare Pokemon are near you that you can advertise on social media, consider using the Silph Road, a website where players report on "nests". Every update changes what nest is currently in a certain area but it could last for a few weeks at least. I found myself driving around last night looking for Wobuffets after reported and confirmed sightings in a local field in Quincy using their Nest Atlas. Silph Road is actually a great resource for all things Pokemon and a perfect jumping off point from this article.  Happy hunting!

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Using a Data Collecting Surfboard to Design the Ultimate Ride

A surfboard can be a fantastic data acquisition device

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How JavaScript Helped Create the Highest Rated Spirit in North America

A DIY approach can lead to fantastic results

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Launching A Kickstarter: Making the Video

You absolutely need a good video for your campaign

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Math Monday: The ParaGons System

Check out this 10 foot tall DodecArt!

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Hit Snooze by Shooting This Alarm Clock with Nerf Darts

Haven't you ever wanted to shoot your clock?

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This Week in Making: LiPo Battery Tips, MakerBot Downsizes, and Table Saw Projectiles

learn about the care and proper use of LiPo batteries and more

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Weekend Watch: “Stupid Robot Fighting League” Brings Silliness to Combat

it may be stupid but it also looks like so much fun!

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Tips of the Week: Measuring Tape Mods, Mold Making, Vinyl Testing

A few of the top tips we've come across this week.

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Fusion 360 Adds “Slicer” for Laser Cutting and CNC Routing

Autodesk adds a slicer app to Fusion 360, perfect for helping you out with your next laser cut or CNC'd project.

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Turn a Trash Can into a Bioshock Pneumo Tube

2k games celebrates an anniversary by doing some diy prop building!

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Donate with the Press of a Hacked Dash Button

Every time you feel the ACLU could use a donation, just press this button!

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Maker Pro News: Shark Tank Startup Seeks Equity Crowdfunding, and More

Shark Tank winner Keen Home wants you to be an investor, plus maker pros come out for Maker Faire Kuwait, and meet some wild furniture makers.

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6 Ways to Repair Broken Plastic

don't throw away that broken plastic, fix it!

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6 Traps to Avoid When Changing from Hand Assembly to Machine Assembly

Don't shy away from machine assembly, these tips will help.

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Make Education: Remembering Seymour Papert, Tool Guides for Kids, and More

This month, we learn from Papert's "silent teaching" style, and take a look at fun resources for kids and educators, like Astrid Poot's 50 Tools Guide.

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Launching A Kickstarter: Quotes, Money & Timelines

The big question: How much money do I need?

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Students Throw Vibrabot Party with M-Lab

these students are in for a treat when it is time to supersize those bots!

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Software Review: Iris Calculator

Save time and effort when designing a mechanical iris with this calculator.

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Featuring: Aileen Bassis

This post originally appeared on the LAIP in February 2016.

In My Country, 14 page book, printed on a risograph machine, edition of 15. I asked immigrants what they miss about their homeland and used some of their replies.

Library as Incubator Project (LAIP): Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

Aileen Bassis (AB): I’ve always made art. I remember fixing up other children’s pictures when I was in kindergarten and pleaded with my mother for extra art lessons when I was in junior high school. I was terribly thrilled to be admitted to the H.S. of Music and Art in NYC (now LaGuardia High School). I studied drawing, painting and printmaking at SUNY at Binghamton, NY and went to Hunter College for an MA in Creative Art.

I was drawn to social and political subjects, beginning with a series about the AIDS virus. I was incorporating text into my collages, which led me to make artists’ books

I became really interested in conceptual art while in graduate school and started to work in 35 mm photography. My husband had a darkroom then and I became involved in printing and doing a lot of print manipulation and photo collage. As time went on, I was drawn to social and political subjects, beginning with a series about the AIDS virus. I was incorporating text into my collages, which led me to make artists’ books, a natural fit for my interest in combining words and image. Around the same time, my art practice expanded into photo-based printmaking like paper lithography, transfer printing and photopolymer etching. I have a large library of my own photos that I use in different combinations to address subjects that have included The Holocaust, racial disparities, muslim identity, immigrants, multiculturalism in Europe, and income inequality.

LAIP: What are you working on right now that you’re excited about?

AB: Last fall, I went the Printed Matter Artists Book Fair at MOMA PS1 in NYC. I saw some lovely books printed on risograph machines and heard about a new risograph workshop that was opening up at the School of Visual Arts. I signed up for a workshop there and fell in love with the process and results. I’ve made two books using the risograph, and I’m making another book now that I hope will be completed by June for “Unpacking the 21st Century: Artists Engaging the World,” an exhibition at the Westbeth Gallery in NYC. I curated the show and there are four other artists exhibiting. I’m showing work from a series, “Homilies for the 99%,” combining urban street images with text and images of books by Horatio Alger.

Holocaust Book #8, altered book with transfer prints and mixed media

LAIP: How do you see your work interacting with narrative or story? What does working with books allow you to do that you can’t pull off with other media?

AB: I love the time-based aspect of artists’ books, the intrinsically slow reveal that forces the viewer into an experience. You can’t assimilate an artists’ book in a glance. It’s a physical experience, you must turn a page, there’s a before and after, a sense of a beginning and an end. And since books are often small-scale (compared to large paintings or installations) it has a personal aspect and an intrinsic intimacy.

I love the time-based aspect of artists’ books, the intrinsically slow reveal that forces the viewer into an experience.

LAIP: How have libraries informed your creative work? Tell us about the first library you remember playing a part in your artistic development.

AB: I always loved reading — my family didn’t buy books, but I visited our neighborhood library weekly. I remember there was a six-book limit. I went to the Highbridge Library in the Bronx (that building isn’t there anymore) and to get an adult library card, you had to write your full name in script in a big lined ledger. I vividly remember signing my name in it and being thrilled that I was in the grown-up library and no longer with the little kids reading picture books in the children’s room.   Being able to check-out big wordy books came in handy when my fourth grade teacher caught me with an open book hidden under my desk. I was reading instead of paying attention in class and she banished (yes, she used the word banished) me from class for a week. I had to sit in the back and couldn’t do anything with the class, just read. I went to the library and took out six books; I was set for the week.

LAIP: Can you describe a particular library-incubated project for us? 

AB: In 2008, like many, I was riveted by the presidential election and Obama’s campaign. I was disturbed by the racism that his candidacy revealed. That got me thinking about the insidious legacy of slavery in the United States. I decided to make art on the subject and used the Library of Congress website to research first-person accounts by slaves and people who interacted with slaves. Fragments of these texts appeared in a group of artists’ books, collages and etchings.

Free Women, 7 page unique artists book with lithographs, transfer prints, photos, paint and thread, text is a first person account about slavery.

LAIP: As an artist, what would your ideal library be like? What kinds of stuff would you be able to check out, and what could you do there?

AB: My ideal library would be open from morning into night seven days a week, with lots of comfy chairs and sofas and tables for big art books. There’d be large copiers that could copy pages without damaging the book binding. There would be lots of poetry (I also write poetry) and books in translation (which are sometimes hard to find in my library). I would leaf through art books and read poetry and make notes for myself and perhaps doze in a big armchair. No one would say “Shush!” but everyone would be quiet and no one could use a cell-phone.

My ideal library would be open from morning into night seven days a week, with lots of comfy chairs and sofas and tables for big art books

 

Aileen Bassis is native of New York City who now lives in New Jersey. She holds a BA in studio art from SUNY Binghamton and an MA in creative art from Hunter College. She has been awarded multiple artist residencies including the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Frans Masereel Center in Belgium and a Dodge fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center. She has received a fellowship from the NJ State Council on the Arts and a grant from the Puffin Foundation. Widely exhibited in galleries and universities, Bassis has had solo shows at Rutgers University, Moravian College, University of Pennsylvania and Ohio University. Her work is in the collections of Wellesley, Dartmouth and Lafayette Colleges, the Newark Public Library, the NY Public Library, Franklin Furnace, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, St. Stephen Museum, Hungary, and the Nelimarkka Museum, Finland.

Aileen’s art can be viewed at www.aileenbassis.com

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