Faster and Faster.. 2020, animated GIF
Its Still Electric Though..
Its Still Electric Though.. 2020, animated GIF
Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling Part 2
This post is part 2 of the Paper, Light & Storytelling Project – be sure to read Part 1 first 🙂 – go HERE
Welcome to Part 2! Lets add some compelling light to our piece. After cutting and organizing your pieces onto the wall lets talk about options for how they can become radiant, dramatic and full of emotion. Color plays a role in how we connect to feelings, emotions and temperature. So, how did I capture all of these images? What kind of light source did I apply?
Scroll down below and lets see..
I found these little flashlights on amazon.com. Its a 4-pack consisting of a red, blue, green and white light set. It was $20.00 well spent. The lights are really powerful and the beauty of working with the primary colors is that you can layer them and make secondary colors. (example – layer red and blue together and you will “make” purple). Here is the link to that set.
Next, “how” did I set this all up? My next purchase was this flexible table clamp for smart phones. I’m a teacher, and lately, I have been doing a lot of remote and online teaching (as you know) so this was an essential tool to add to my arsenal of techniques. The link to the armature is here. This was $22.00, and again, it was well worth it. Im making a ton of tutorials these days so.. Please note, you do not need to purchase any of these items to capture your work or apply light sources. In fact, I encourage you to be experimental and try out variations with natural light, the filters that come with the “editing” feature on your phones, and to push the limits of the lighting that you have access to. For example, taking a lamp shade off one of your household lamps and pointing it at the sculpture.. Or using the flashlight feature on an old smart phone, or a flashlight from a friends phone. Friends and family become collaborators this way! Most smartphones also have a timer so that they can set up their shot and let the phone do the work. Tripods really can help.
Above, I not set my iPhone into the armature and set the timer for 10 seconds. Those 10 seconds give me time to play with the positioning of the flashlights as they project their light onto the wall. Above, I layered the green and blue flashlights for this capture. I held the green light in my hand and set the blue light up propped on a stack of napkins pointed from the right side of the wall. The distance of the light sources play a role, so have fun with that!
This capture displays the use of the white flashlight coming from the right hand side of the wall. I was relatively close to the wall and set the timer on my iPhone for 10 seconds held on the armature tripod. It is a little over exposed but I like how it brings the texture out of the wall and the gradient of the paper as it appears to diminish.
I removed “one paper element” from this image above, which was an intention of altering the composition subtly, can you tell?
This capture is slightly fuzzy and blurry. This is an example of me holding both the red and blue flashlight and layering the light on top of each other. If you are mixing paint, red and blue will make a value of purple. I had turned off the background lights to maximize the capture. I really like the effect, and wonder if this would “look” more 3D if I have 3D glasses.. which I think I do…somewhere, in some closet..
This image has simply been turned 180 degrees. Does it help the composition work in another way? Do you like it better this way or as you see below? The images below are also variations with over exposures and contrast tweaking using the filters on my iPhone. Have fun and share your work!
CT101-Digital Storytelling has Arrived on the Commons!
Its TRUE!
The wait is over! NET-ART’s infamous companion course: “CT101 Digital Storytelling” is now officially taking place here on the Commons! We are excited to bring the course in its full entirety here beginning this coming Fall 2020 semester. Two new sections of CT101 will be contributing as authors of the site.
Hey, not to fret, they will also continue to submit collaborative work here on the NET-ART site as well.. (I saw your right eyebrow raise!) The CT101 Digital Storytelling community is vast and has a passion for creative experimentation, open source learning and pedagogy.
Hold up… I know what you are thinking! “Prof, will there be more GIFS?” “Will there be more tutorials, how-to’s and collaborations?” “Will there be more blogging?” So it will be! (do the best Yoda impression you have)
See you soon!
The Reminder
A hybrid character composed of outdated technology hardware hovers over the beach of your last bad decision. A decision made to not use and apply “alt-text” or add closed captions to your last video podcast. “The Reminder” may come for you and face “it” you must…
Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling – Lets make a Paper Sculpture.
How-to make an Ephemeral Paper Sculpture.. from Home!
Here is a fun tutorial that you can follow along with (from home) through this post. This blog post is both the assignment and the example for how you may choose to create and publish your own work. This is part 1 of the process for the creation aspect of things, I will publish a “Part 2” with another tutorial for creatively pushing the documenting of the art work in a few ways. Feel free of course to improvise with any additional materials or hack the whole project to expand your own examples and storytelling. The goal is to publish your process and narrative into a compelling sequence of events!
*Please e-mail a selection of your best final images to [email protected] – a collaborative image gallery will reside on this website.
Paper, Light, Shadow & Storytelling – Lets make a Paper Sculpture.
First, the essence of the project is to create and investigate 3D form through storytelling. The form(s) that we make will serve as the content for your blog post. Lets put an emphasis on making a “subjective form”. We can get great practice in by narrating and detailing our steps. We can do this with some pretty common household materials too. Lets jump in! Grab some standard typing/printing paper, tape, a glue stick, a pair of scissors, a wall or table top surface and an external light source (flashlight). Let’s ask ourselves: “self, what are the potentials of form using paper, shadow and light by generating “a new forms” into existence through our creative immediacy? In my example below Im using a relief application by adhering my pieces to the wall, but you can also work on another flat plane if you wish. Keep the word “perspective” in mind as the documentation process plays a big role later on.
As we scroll below the images will begin to “paint a picture” of the process but we can help it along and make it more compelling by the “way” that we assert the process. Adding your personality and sense of humor is certainly one option. We can also apply accessibility and inclusion by adding text to support the images. We can do this both below the image and placed into the “alt-text” area when we “edit” the image itself.
Notice, Im using a simple shape, a circle, and Im altering its height by applying scale variations to my individual pieces. Subtle variations go a long way. So do multiple units of one single shape. Oh, and photography plays a big role in capturing your work in progress and the final outcomes as the sculpture itself is ephemeral… or is it?
Artist references – What artists work with or have worked with paper?
Li Hongbo, Felix Semper, Elsa Mora, Kara Walker (and many more, what did you discover?)
Jump in! (Im going to project some fun colorful light sources on this same piece once it gets dark tonight).
Have fun and be sure to publish your post here on the Commons – add your URL here in the comments section below!
*PS –*Please e-mail a selection of your best final images to [email protected] – a collaborative image gallery will reside on this website.
*Part 2 will also publish on this blog soon!
- Gather your materials – a cutting mat (cardboard also works) transparent tape, a glue stick(bond version), a pair of scissors, an X-Acto knife and some regular printing paper.
2. Cut your paper into strips (as many as you would like, but think of at least 10 or more) using the X-Acto knife or the scissors, apply the glue stick to the edge of one side of the strip that you have cut.
3. Carefully fold over the paper and apply pressure to the edge as it meets the glue. Hold in place for a few seconds.
4. Cut a strip of your transparent tape and from it into a loop. (you will be repeating this process)
5. Once the circular form is ready, place the loop of transparent tape to the same side where you joined the two ends of your paper.
6. Apply the tape and repeat the process as needed to start composing your fragments.
7. This is an example of the various pieces that I cut out and glued together. Notice, they consist of various heights and diameters, this is called Scale and it creates variation.
8. Begin the composing process by organizing and adhering your pieces. (Your first idea is NOT your only idea so play around with this a bit).
9. Add more pieces.
10. Keep Going!
11. Looking good, add more!
12. Finished! I used all of my pieces and took this image with the natural light that was present at the time.
13. You can certainly see that LIGHT plays a role in the enhancement of the mood and overall aesthetic… what will you do?
*OK if you made it this far, here is a teaser from the light projection captures! Coming soon!
ImAg-IN-a-TioN-ing
“ImAg-IN-a-TioN”, 2020, Animated GIF & Digital Image
Im trying to re-image how to apply the imagination. Do you say “my imagination” or “the imagination”?
It’s the most intangible thing, is it not?
But so necessary, so needed and powerful. (forgive me for starting this sentence with the word “but”).. or should I reimagine this too?
It’s hard to imagine a world not being physically face to face in the classroom again, but maybe the whole point is to reimagine everything from the “once default state” we discover it in? Perhaps contrasts are already in place and awaiting our intervention. The endless array of potential new outcomes, they are awaiting our creative potential and new friends we can meet at the same intersection.
Oh, the continuous metaphors, evidence and reminders of the non-static!
Reflective Metaphoric Flowers
Reflective Metaphoric Flowers, 2020, animated GIF
There is a silver lining, we are growing, there is so much to process and reflect upon, I feel like Im the slowest at this part…
It is the greatest contrasting time of all of our lives. It’s been hard. We all want to plant new seeds and yet also go back to our old lives, painfully so..
It feels like we are standing on a cliff of hope and we get too close to the edge and take a step back, again..
Here are some flowers of growth, a reflection in the mirror, the growth of our world 🌎 energy and new ideas 💡 in a looping metaphor of seamless creative potential.
Breathe.
The Dis-Miss-ed Inner Calls
“The Dis-Miss-ed Inner Calls”, 2020, Animated GIF
The Coming Consequences of the Glitch
The Coming Consequences of the Glitch, 2020, Animated GIF
