Tuesday 31 January 2017

10 Charging Station Projects

F8B27MAI9418I1R.LARGEFun, clever, and useful projects to help keep your mobile device batteries charged and raring to go.

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Launching A Kickstarter: Behind The Scenes

TechnoChic-BowTieWhat really goes into running a crowdfunding campaign? Here's step 1.

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What if Different Artists Made This Sculpture? Using Drones to Find Out

Screen Shot 2017-01-25 at 2.13.20 PMUsing photogrammetry and fancy software, you can change the style of real sculptures

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How DJ Sures Built EZ-Robot from the Ground Up

IMG_6739 copyHow DJ Sures built the EZ-Robot empire in just five years, aiming to build the world’s first complete integrated robot building platform

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Sunday 29 January 2017

Quick Tip: Give Your Tools Away!

skilPlay it forward and give unused tools away for free to friends, neighbors, and local maker groups.

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This Week in Making: Suspended Kickstarters, REI’s Boot Drying Build, and More

image1-C01-0210-017news from the world of kickstarter and new entries into the DIY mindset

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Weekend Watch: Unfold These 5 Origami Channels, from Simple to Complex

origamiyou could fold all day long and not get through all these tutorials!

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Friday 27 January 2017

Maker Pro News: Pitch Your Project, a Palm-Sized Drone, and More

Brinq-on-stage-openerPlus, read about product pitch tips from IoT platform Brinc, Google's maker survey, and unique laser-cut business cards.

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Marvelous Mechanisms with Ben Light

benLight_1Fun and clever designs for various physical mechanism by artist, designer, and mechanical engineer, Ben Light.

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Linkubator Roundup: Week of January 22 2017

Being a librarian is a political act– one that takes as its identity radical inclusivity, and which strives to help everyone in a community meet their information needs. It values accurate information and free and open access for everyone. These values are under attack in the most blatant way we’ve seen in our lifetimes, but it’s facile to suggest that “the resistance starts now.” Just by being librarians, we are fundamentally part of resistance to systemic ignorance and intolerance.  Think hard about the fact that the Library Bill of Rights was first adopted in 1939, as the world was crashing toward war, information was controlled by fascist and dictatorial rulers, and minorities of all descriptions were dehumanized by vicious propaganda.

Everyone deserves to be literate, to have access to the best and most accurate information available, and to use this to inform their civic and personal decisions. You are already part of the resistance.   ~Erinn

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3 Tips for Throwing the Ultimate Maker Party

DSC02103 (Medium)introduce a maker aspect to your party

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Thursday 26 January 2017

Tie Dye Flowers

TieDyeFlowersFinal-3Liven up a floral arrangement with tie-dyed flowers you can do in a day.

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Inspiration Flows From the Global Maker Faire Summit

0002Maker Faire producers really love to share what they've discovered.

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Wednesday 25 January 2017

The Glowforge Is Almost Here and it’s Worth the Wait

AngleCleanEveryone has been clamoring for a Glowforge since it was announced a year and a half ago. Now it's here, and its features make laser cutting easier than ever.

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Turn the Crank and Watch This Mechanical Camping Scene Come to Life

atuo1A gift for a long distance partner shows a great use of mechanical design

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This Autonomous Boat Went from California to Hawaii and Beyond

IMG_20160524_172541232jbrAfter Damon met his autonomous boat in Hawaii after launching it from California, he set its course towards New Zealand.

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Pop des Fleurs Winter Pop-up Garden with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

This post originally appeared on the LAIP in January 2016. 

AresenalPark

Pop des Fleurs at Arsenal Park

by Suzy Waldo

After over a decade of working in libraries, I have embraced the idea that sometimes the best projects happen totally by accident. Early in January 2015, my friend and fellow South Side Community Council member Jennifer Holliman asked me if Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh- South Side would be interested in participating in an art project.

Of course I’m interested in a public art project! Who doesn’t love art?

PopLogo1

That art project was Pop des Fleurs. Or more accurately, practice for Pop des Fleurs:

Pop des Fleurs was originally conceived by Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh member, Annette Sandberg. The idea was born during the cold and dreary Pittsburgh winter. Annette was trying to remember how her friends and family had remained up-beat and connected during long, cold winters in her birthplace, Norway. The image that came to mind was her family home, filled with flowers and candles and warm conversations in front of the fireplace.

Its creation will create color and bring delight during the dark season of February and March through handmade, pop-up flower bouquets and gardens. It will also raise awareness for the internationally renowned exhibit of contemporary fiber art happening here in Pittsburgh in May 2016.

The Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh is well-known for their amazing 2013 community project Knit the Bridge. The guild wanted to have another community outreach project to celebrate the Fiberart International 2016.

KnittheBridge2

KnittheBridge1

This is how we ended up making 1,000 flowers in a month.

CLP- South Side was a test installation (along with Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville) to see what (recycled!) materials would survive the harsh Pittsburgh winter. We made flowers out of plastic tablecloths, newspaper bags, coated paper, wool, acrylic yarn, shower curtains and any other material we thought would work. The result was a gorgeous, colorful installation of flowers (and some soggy coated paper.)

We didn’t do this alone. In fact, the South Side community embraced the project from start to finish. Community groups like the South Side Community Council and South Side Chamber of Commerce held workshops, library customers made flowers at home and even opened up their homes for workshops (with wine!), the CLP- South Side Crochet and Knitting Club made crocheted flowers every week, and to top it off, we installed on my birthday!

Our neighborhood loved the flowers. The Chamber of Commerce and a local senior center were inspired to have their own installations, meaning that the South Side was covered with flowers for the three worst months of winter. I was sad when we took our installation down.

A few months later, Jenn said, “Hey Suz, want to do a bigger art project?” And of course I agreed.

So in February of 2016, all 16 branches plus the Main branch of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will be covered in flowers. And the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Dippy the Dinosaur will have his own 18 foot handmade scarf.

So stay tuned!  My next blog will include details of installing this year’s Pop des Fleurs art in 16 different library locations!

 

MeSuzy Waldo is the Library Services Manager at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-South Side, which is her dream job. She’s left-handed, loves symmetry, presents, bike-riding and bacon. She hates birds. Her favorite books are The Life of Pi by Yann Martel and Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and has worked for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh since 2004.



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Tuesday 24 January 2017

Open Sourcing Plans for “Low-Tech, High-Thinking” Water Filters

Clean_Drinking_Water_in_BangladeshOHorizons works on providing access to clean drinking water by teaching local communities to build and maintain their own water filtration systems.

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The Labs @ CLP: The Music Department Gets Seriously Synthesized

 

Miss Irene Millen and Mrs. Ida Reed during the early days of the Music Department

by Tara Goe

The Music Department at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh celebrated its 75th anniversary a few years back. It’s recognized as one of the largest and most diverse music collections housed in a public library, offering everything from books and music scores, to sound recordings, periodicals, as well as numerous special collections and resources related to the ongoing history of music in Pittsburgh.

Every day we, the librarians in the Music Department, serve an eclectic group of musicians and researchers; we find scores for musical theater students, working musicians, parents and music teachers, as well as people both young and old who want to get started playing music. We have learning resources — instructional DVDs, guides, and music scores for pupils of all levels. But aside from the electronic piano in our department (which I assure you gets daily and frequent use) one thing we have not historically had on offer are musical instruments for practicing and borrowing.

About a year ago I began doing some research into the feasibility of loaning out musical instruments; it seemed a natural fit for our department since we’re all about lowering barriers to musical exploration.

About a year ago I began doing some research into the feasibility of loaning out musical instruments; it seemed a natural fit for our department since we’re all about lowering barriers to musical exploration. Initially I was looking at traditional musical instruments — guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, accordions — but then I came across the Music Tools collection at the Ann Arbor District Library and it completely expanded my ideas about what might be possible. Our department has long thought about how we might bring some of the Music Department’s resources to the Labs @CLP, but what would it mean to bring some of what The Labs provides into the Music Department?

Drummer and Music Librarian extraordinaire Tim Williams makes beats with the Roland TR-8

Pittsburgh has a really creative and diverse electronic and emerging music scene. It occurred to us that this might be an audience that has traditionally not visited the Music Department and that maybe by providing them with electronic musical instruments and gear, as well as educational classes and programs that meet their interests, we might be able to build meaningful relationships with a new audience of music creators.

Our first step was to reach out to local musicians to help us build this new collection. The items we ultimately decided to purchase were based on votes cast by local creators and sound-makers.

This past October the Music Department was awarded an Innovation Grant to explore some of these ideas and circulate electronic gadgets and gear. Our first step was to reach out to local musicians to help us build this new collection. The items we ultimately decided to purchase were based on votes cast by local creators and sound-makers. Additionally, an important partnership with local instrument manufacturer Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers was established with help from our IT Department. We will be circulating one of their SV-1 Blackbox units, as well as having one on offer in our department for in-house exploration.

Coming soon to CLP’s Music Department: Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers SV-1 Blackbox

The collection will launch in February 2017, and while the Music Department does not currently have an in-house classroom ideal for musical exploration, we’re thinking about other ways we might act as an “incubation space” for local and emerging musicians. One possibility we’re considering: while we can’t currently offer a traditional Musician-in-Residence Program perhaps we could do the next best thing and commission works by local musicians, ideally inspired by the people and places of Pittsburgh, such as different neighborhoods, historical figures, sports teams, or even the library.

Taking a cue from our historical Pittsburgh Sheet Music Collection we are thinking about how we can connect the old with the new, the analog with the digital. Musical works have long been inspired by or commissioned to celebrate the many wonders of Pittsburgh, and now we’re wondering what it would look like to take that into the electronic and seriously synthesized realm. Perhaps in the coming year we will be able to engage some of our local avant-garde musicians and sound-makers in creating some new works that celebrate Pittsburgh.

Just a few of the locally-inspired works to be found in our Pittsburgh Sheet Music Collection (l-r: Duquesne Garden Waltz, Kennywood Park Waltz, Lucky Bits Are Haunting Me: Theme Song Written for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

We’ll be returning here later this year to discuss what we’ve learned from this project — both successes and failures. And perhaps we’ll even have a few sound pieces (or a Carnegie Library theme song) to share with you!

 

Want More?

 

Tara Goe is the Film Specialist in the Music, Film & Audio Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main. She previously worked for the Oakland Public Library and was a founding member of that city’s Rock Paper Scissors Art Collective. Her burgeoning curiosity about electronics and programming inspired her to build her first musical instrument — a miniature synthesizer that fits in an Altoids can.



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Linkubator Roundup: Week of January 15 2017

Hello Hello.  This was a shit week, not gonna lie.  Things we care about are under fire.  We continue to do what we can with what we have– keep an eye out for new features that respond to our Inclusive Creativity call, and consider submitting your own.

~Erinn

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Stick Together a Durable Duct Tape Hammock

RP1303_187Always wanted a hammock? Now you can build one with just a wooden dowel and some duct tape.

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Monday 23 January 2017

3D Printing Topographical Maps from Space Shuttle Data

MountSaintHelensPicHere's how I wrote a program to convert the Space Shuttle Endeavor's geographical data into topographical 3D printed maps.

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Learn the Double-Stitch Technique to Handsew Leather

Photo by Hep SvadjaThis basic technique will propel you toward custom tool coverings, bags, apparel, and more.

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Math Monday: Tons of Triangles

20161209_131424-e1484860809332Triangles Everywhere!

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Sunday 22 January 2017

This Week in Making: High Voltage Heat, Makerbot Loses a CEO, and More

MF17CHI_BadgeThis week, Makerbot undergoes a big change, we discovered an awesome science channel on Youtube, Maker Faire comes to Chicago, and more!

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Saturday 21 January 2017

Friday 20 January 2017

Terrific Tips from the DiRestas and Darbin Orvar

dIOrvarTips_1415 super-handy shop tips, tricks, and shortcuts from three top makers.

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Maker Pro News: Lily Robotics Crashes, HAX Heats Up, and More

Lily-hero2Lily Robotics' "follow me" -style drone doesn't deliver, how one maker built a DIY Mars rover that blew away the competition, and more.

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Program with Robot Operating System for Smooth Servo Movement

gswros_robotarm-4Learn how to use the open source ROS platform to bring your robot to life.

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Measuring Magnet Strength with a Dual Sensor Gauss Meter

gauss3ever wondered how strong your magnets really are?

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Thursday 19 January 2017

3 Robots That Help Kids Learn to Code

ankicozmo-5Knowing how to program is an increasingly important skill in the world we are making. Thankfully, it’s never been easier to learn. Block-based languages like Scratch make it simple to start acquiring the base concepts of creating software. Python, a language I personally believe should be required for graduation from […]

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Retro Gaming in Style with a Laser Cut, 3D Printed Case

pp2This cool looking handheld gaming system packs tons of retro gaming goodness

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Maker Faire Is Coming To Chicago and Needs Makers

1920px-Chicago_sunrise_1Windy City, here we come!

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The Story Center at Mid-Continent Public Library

We’ve chatted with the crew at Mid-Continent Public Library before, particularly for a series about their serial fiction project, “The Timely Adventures of Rachel Evans”. Today we’re talking with Andie Paloutzian, Story Center Program Manager, who fills us in on the fantastic suite of resources and programs for writers known as the Story Center. Thank you to Emily Brown, Public Relations Coordinator, for organizing this feature for us!

From the Story Center website:

The Story Center will offer materials, resources, programming, and options for showcasing the print, oral, and digital stories created within. The aspiration is to build a nationally-celebrated center which houses and inspires the art of the story.

Library as Incubator Project (LAIP): What’s the elevator speech re: The Story Center?

Andie Paloutzian (AP): Our mission at The Story Center is to build the capacity of individuals to create and share stories. It sounds simple, but there’s so much to it. We offer a huge listing of workshops and events to get people started or develop their skills further. We bring storycrafters together so they can build new communities and network—with peers and sympathetic strivers alike, and we support them by having a world-class collection of storytelling resources—which includes our Espresso Book Printing Machine. It’s an extraordinary privilege to have the opportunity to assist individuals in creating content that Mid-Continent Public Library can then curate. We also promote a broader understanding of literacy by introducing opportunities to develop communication and self-expression skills through storytelling.

LAIP: Can you tell us a little bit about the impetus for the Story Center? How did it get started, what gap did it fill, etc.?

AP: The Story Center was the brain-child of our CEO and Library Director, Steven V. Potter. Initially, it was meant to be a writing center, contained within the historic home on the Woodneath Library Center grounds. The Espresso Book Machine was always part of this plan. Soon after opening the Woodneath Library Center in 2013, the Library system turned its collective attention to this project and set about expanding its boundaries to be more creative and all-encompassing. We were fortunate that at that time the National Storytelling Network was also seeking a new home. Once that partnership was solidified in November 2013, The Story Center started programming. We cater to writers of all levels, subjects, or genres, but we also develop oral storytellers, brand storytellers, and digital storytellers. Story doesn’t thrive in medium. Our programming has grown to illustrate that. We also showcase published authors who are willing to share their writing process.

Woodneath Library Center Campus. Photo provided by MCPL.

Espresso Book Machine. Photo provided by MCPL.

LAIP: Were patrons and/or members of the writing community involved in the development of the Story Center’s resources/services/etc., and how do you evaluate the resources now that the Story Center has been around for a while?

AP: Absolutely. In the very beginning, the MCPL administration reached out to The Writers Place of Kansas City, one of the best-known advocates in our area for the written word. They were the first programmatic partner. Since then, we have allied our interests with the National Storytelling Network, Rainy Day Books (a local, independent bookstore), and about 20 other regional arts advocacy groups. Additionally, the programming has evolved based on the input from customers. At the close of any given workshop or event, customers are surveyed. We use those comments to build the next season of programming. In addition to what we are doing in our own neighborhood, we also make trips to national conferences like the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, which hosts 3,500 aspiring writers and 600 published authors every year. We are constantly seeking new perspectives and ideas for new avenues to develop our storycrafters. Feedback is always welcome.

Writers at a recent NaNoWriMo program at the Story Center. Photo provided by MCPL.

LAIP: What are some of the most popular aspects of the Story Center?

AP: Our Story Center Speaker Series is a crowd favorite. We host amazing authors for Q&As on everything from inspiration to publishing choices. It is a fan-favorite as much as it is a classroom moment. Most notably, we have seen Gillian Flynn, David Morrell, Rainbow Rowell, and Sara Paretsky. We have hosted 36 authors since October 2013. We are also onto our third year of the Local Author Fair, which is held each year in December. This is a great event that allows us to bring in authors who are newer in their careers and give them a chance to engage with customers and feel as popular as someone like Jen Mann, author of Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat. In addition, we try to offer programming that appeals to teens. Our previous nine-week digital storytelling program for teens, taught by Kansas City filmmaker Brad Austin, is a great example.



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Wednesday 18 January 2017

The Peeqo Robot Communicates Using Only Animated GIFs

robotic assistant communicates using animated GIFsanimated GIFs work great and are very expressive

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3 Tips for Laser Cutting a Unique Business Card

lasercardpick up some helpful tips for laser cutting and engraving paper

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Detour by Anne Wu at Mid-Manhattan Library

Today’s feature comes to us from visual artist Anne Wu, whose work titled Detour is installed in The Corner Room at the NYPL’s Mid-Manhattan Library. Thanks to Curator and Art Librarian Arezoo Moseni for her help in assembling this feature. ~Laura

by Anne Wu

Situated in the street-level vitrines flanking the main entrance to the Mid-Manhattan Library, my installation, Detour, is comprised of two sets of plaster sculptures. In each window, five freestanding panels are placed one in front of the other, creating a layered effect. Cut from sheets of wire mesh and covered using plaster strips, the sculptures reference the shapes, patterns, and textures of the urban landscape, recalling recurrent architectural forms and structures, from security grates, iron railings, to stainless steel gates. Each piece is painted with bright colors reminiscent of business banners, street signs, and storefront flyers, particularly those found in New York City’s Chinatowns. Using an image transfer process, visual elements pulled from photographs of found signage appear on the first panels of each set.

Detour (2016) is installed in the North and South Windows at Mid-Manhattan Library.

The opportunity to create work for the Mid-Manhattan Library can be traced back to a couple of years ago, when I first met Arezoo Moseni at a talk she was hosting at the New York Public Library. At the time, I was a few months out of art school, living and making work in my mother’s attic in Queens. As I listened to Arezoo introduce the speakers, I was struck and inspired by how much she, a practicing artist, devoted herself to giving back to the public through this meticulously crafted program. Over the years, as I navigated the realities of maintaining a studio practice in the real world, we continued to keep in touch.

Runaway, made of wire, plaster, tint paste, and oil pastel, was created at BHQFU in the summer of 2015.

A few months after I completed a residency at BHQFU (New York’s freest school, as it is known), I received an email from Arezoo, who had followed the work I was making there and invited me to create pieces for the library vitrines. It was the perfect time to be presented with a new challenge, and I was eager to take it on. While I was surprised and honored that she wanted to take a chance on my work, Arezoo’s gesture embodied the qualities that I have come to respect about her: open, generous, and incredibly supportive of all artists.

Untitled, a drawing made using cut paper, is a study of form and color.

Because of the site specificity of this work, I could not visualize the sculptures’ ultimate effect without first installing the pieces. For this reason, it was vital to regularly communicate with Arezoo, the curator of the Art in the Windows exhibition series, to create the most fitting work for the space—her continued guidance and input were crucial to the process. Equipped with the dimensions of the vitrines and potential installation limitations, I thought about how the finished pieces could be site-responsive without altering the space directly. From the beginning, I was set on allowing the L-shape of the windows to dictate the form of my sculptures. Instead of letting the pieces simply inhabit the vitrines, I hoped that they would enhance and highlight the existing physical attributes of the windows. Creating work that conformed to the specific dimensions of the space brought the site into the sculptures—the two must coexist for the installation to be fully realized.

A glimpse in the reflection of Midtown Manhattan situates the North Window view of Detour.

It was important to remember that the sites where I would eventually install were working windows. Unlike my other sculptures, which exist in the same space as the viewers and can be experienced from all sides, this installation would be seen behind glass, only allowing the public to view the work frontally. To accentuate this characteristic of the vitrines rather than be limited by it, I sought to make pieces that introduced an alternative way of looking. Instead of walking around the work as one would a sculpture, viewers can approach the installation by peering inside and exploring the depth of the vitrines shaped by the cutout forms of the plaster panels. At first regarded as a challenge, the physical attributes of the windows ultimately provided a conceptual framework from which to make something new.

The layers in the South Window view of Detour interact to form the installation’s final shape.

Seeing the work finally installed was a profoundly meaningful experience. As someone who grew up in New York, I can say with certainty that libraries played an important role in raising me. I recall many afternoons since childhood spent in the comfort of the stacks, rifling through new and familiar titles as the clock ticked on. For me, the library is the ultimate place of reflection and contemplation. The sounds of pages turning and feet shuffling between shelves signaled moments of discovery—like sheer magic, the library slowed down time and encouraged those who entered it to follow suit. As I became an adult, libraries provided a place to regain this sense of wonder about the world around me. It was crucial to maintain this feeling of openness (to concepts, thoughts, beliefs) as I embarked on creating work. There is a clear relationship between the way in which I wander the city to gather ideas and the way I weave through the library stacks; both instances reveal a desire to uncover information. These journeys are guided by the importance of looking and paying attention. As I installed the works in the Mid-Manhattan Library vitrines, I hoped that my sculptures would offer passersby a similar moment of meditation, no matter how fleeting, as they made their way through the hectic intersection.

Graphite drawings, like Untitled (2016), allow a way to make sense of shapes and forms I encounter on daily walks.

Making Detour for the Mid-Manhattan Library has given me the much-needed jolt of energy to plunge onward in my studio. It is never easy to create art in a vacuum, and to be able to show these sculptures not only to those who know and support me, but also to those completely unfamiliar with my work, has been a truly enlightening experience. One of the biggest takeaways from this opportunity was the lesson in stepping back and letting the work speak for itself. Because the installation is situated in a public library on one of the busiest streets in Manhattan, the experience of viewing the work is characterized by a kind of chance encounter. As the crowd of people stream by, I catch a lingering glance, or perhaps even a pause in step. That moment of recognition in someone’s eyes as they transform from merely seeing to intentionally looking is just enough to push me to continue making and creating.

A detail shot of Detour before installation reveals the visual effect of the layered sculptures.

Check out more information about this exhibition at Mid-Manhattan Library:



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Tuesday 17 January 2017

3D Printed Material 10X Stronger Than Steel

a-Melanie-Gonick-MITA new way of 3D printing internal material structures that make them up to ten times stronger than steel at five percent of steel's density.

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The Global Maker Faire Producer’s Summit is This Weekend and I Can’t Wait

DSC00803 (Medium)The people who run the show get to gather and swap ideas

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I Built My Own Mars Rover in the Spirit of Simplicity

erica-60-copyHow I built a Centennial Challenge robot using the cheapest materials I could find.

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Featuring Book Artist Ioulia Akhmadeeva

“Bukvar/ Essay of a protest.” Laser print from author’s first elementary school book (1978, DDR, URSS), historical images printed in laser on mylar plate.

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

Ioulia Akhmadeeva (IA): I was born in 1971 in Krasnodar, Russia. Now I live and work in Mexico as a visual artist, working in printmaking and artist’s books. My artistic production consists in 95 group exhibitions and 10 single shows. At the moment I’m a full time professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (Michoacan State University San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacán, México). I have a MFA in Graphic Arts (with honors) in 1996 from the Russian State Academy of Fine Arts, Surikov’s Institute, Moscow, Russia. Russian academic printings graphic school gave me a lot of preparation on having enough freedom to carry out diverse editable projects like artist’s book, using many combinations of techniques (like etching, lithograph, electrotransfer). I was trained in Mexico for bookbinding. I feel fortunate to produce, investigate, and teach artist’s books in the university.

“My Tortillas for Valentina.” The book is dedicated to my Russian mother Valentina, who died in Mexico in 2001. It presents the five stages of her life in the form of 5 “tortillas”– ­ pages that include her and her family’s portraits, plus engravings printed on handmade paper of jonote fiber.

My work is my life and my memories are my work. In my work, I use pieces of my family’s collection, each one with a story, a smell and a touch, and I create another life for them. For me, an artist’s book is the container which preserves a time and a memory. My purpose is to capture these moments, senses, and memories.

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

IA: Now I’m working on a personal project about my mom’s dress, in which I’m using my three daughters. I would like to show this project at Artist’s Book Fire CODEX 2017 in Berkeley, CA USA in this February.

Another project I’m working on includes my students and consists in a portfolio of lino prints in the style of popular engraving. Normally I try to develop several projects at the same time. We’ve just concluded an exhibition in Russia at a very important museum with the prints and artist’s books of our Mexican university.  

Cover and binding of “Bukvar/ Essay of a protest.”

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

IA: My books are created with a story in mind. It might be a personal story, a family story, or a story from my country of origin. They might have texts or be only a visual narrative– it depends on the project or idea. The genre of the artist’s books allows me to involve personal objects, elements of design, and to include instructions for the public so they can understand.  My artist’s books register time and present space. It’s a whole.

“16 years / 1998­-2014”, artist’s book object. 8 found and recycled objects with 16 pages: prints on handmade fiber paper, the digital print brochure catalog with dates and names, the box container was produced by ALTERnativa Gráfica. Texts and translation by Ioulia Akhmadeeva. Morelia, Michoacán, México.

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

IA: When I studied art in college, I always consulted art books in the college library. Later, at the Russian Academy, learning how to use the college’s library was very important for investigation projects, both physically and virtually. Artist’s book exhibits are more often displayed at libraries, as well. In the USA, artist’s books have their place at the special collections of college libraries, but in Mexico libraries are barely beginning to pay attention to the subject. My books are in libraries in the USA and in Russia.

“Book of Buttons” | Text handwritten and embroidered in English and Spanish by the author. Silk and linen, embroidered by author with beads and buttons of family’s collection.

“Book of Buttons”

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?

IA: One that has a reading room, an artist’s book consulting room with complete information about each book, a good catalog, a space for temporary book exhibitions (pop up, game books, antique books) with good curatory, conferences with artists and writers, roundtable activities, workshops and master classes for all ages, with a space for book club. And last but not least, a good book collection for the public.

 

Ioulia Akhmadeeva Was born in 1971, Krasnodar, Russia, and has lived and worked in Mexico since 1994.  She is a Full Professor, Faculty of Fine Arts, Michoacan State University San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacán, México, and works in printmaking art and artist’s books.  Visit her online at  http://ift.tt/2iINWE5

 



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Monday 16 January 2017

Sunday 15 January 2017