Blue is the New Green

It's about Clear Skies.

Fever, Future, Fonts, $%@# ???

It has arrived, the last minute crunch of the semester, when the season becomes stressful for everyone, not only are all the projects that we have been working on come to a head like a big pubescent zit; the holidays approach as well, the constant reminder that we have neglected family and friends for a few months on end now, and that we have many more months of neglect to go.

Yesterday ended for me in what felt like an unending pain in my joints, and when I finally arrived home by car service and checked my temperature there was no denying that my human body temperature of 101.6°F was a pretty good indication that I did in fact have the flu. Great! Just what I needed when I was just being able to get a head in my classes!

I was really thinking this might have been due to the thought of meeting with the Chair of the Industrial Design Department next Tuesday to go over my schedule for next semester. Oh, I have to start thinking about what I want next semester, but for the full program?, and when I want to finish---now? Really? I just got here! Can’t I just take a bunch of classes I like and at the end of 60 credits call it a Master’s of Industrial Design degree?

What is it that I really want out of the program, out of Pratt, out of life, basically? Gee, if I only knew, I might be so much better off. I like to draw, I like to think that I am drawing better and better, I’m not a literary person, as per the previous sentences and paragraphs might suggest. However I do enjoy graphics too. I used to be really good with computers, but they develop faster than me, or have as of recent, I’m trying to get a hold on that one too. Gosh! Just trying to download a simple font is like the worst multiple choice test I ever took, and likely didn’t get more than a “C” on.

So, whatever, right? I guess I only had a 24 hour flu. Too bad the hot water has been off for more than 24 hours in my apartment; so, what am I supposed to do?, live with the flu on my skin, or freeze it off?

I chose to freeze it off, oh well; it was better than another multiple choice question test.

Interpretation of Language

To the left, is my 3D representation of the English language,
and all other languages turned inside out; as the world continues to speed up, and boundaries become blurred .

If not noticed right away this is a broken keyboard found is a neighbor's trash, or rather, more precisely, found in the street where the "garbage" was left for the taking.

I was inspired by the keys, and what words I could make with the disassembled alphabet, as well as all of the "extra keys" which are communicating something, but it's not always clear.

What are F1- F6 for ,and F8- F12 for? I have only ever used F7 for my spell check.

Quickly was my association with texting, e-mails and blackberries that have completely taken the English language to a new level.
By stating a new level, I do not mean a higher, nor more intelligent one.
Quite the contrary.

Originally I wanted to create this piece with the keys falling off in different directions and lengths displaying the fall off of the importance of spelling and grammar in our society today, but as this piece developed, it mealy became symbol of the absence of language and what one can achieve with out one at all. How else can one communicate? Through movement, light and sounds.

I came to a point where I am no longer frustrated with the endless Texting of today, or the loss of snail mail, (the phrase, 'snail mail' in itself is a new invention of the time that we live in).

Instead I resolved myself to a place where I can see the benefits of the languages of the world merging in to a new language, not yet known. My fantasy is that we could come to a universal resolution on what word from each language was most esthetically pleasing to ones ears.
To continue to use that word for the item or thing or feeling that we were trying to say- and that would be come universal. Maybe we will speak a future language of a mix of English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Hebrew, to name a few.

I guess keyboards might have to become a little bigger, as the world grows smaller.

Here's to more garbage giving us the insight into the future.

Scully 11.2.07

Losing Brains Cells and Gaining Knowledge

Design Boot camp continues, but word seems to be out to all of the professors that we are inundated with work, and working very hard to meet everyone's expectations. Re-coping from 3 hours a night sleep is getting easier and rewarding; it's nice to go to class with better work, only thing is that I was so tired the other morning at 3 am that I fell off my bike when I got home, not a big deal, but my hand hurts, especially when doing clay, but whatever, clay sculptures were just smaller this week.

Last week many people were getting this crazy sickness where they would be home for 24 hours pucking their guts out, Then in the midst of us making models with various toxic materials and modeling clay someone made the most foul smelling popcorn in the microwave and then it occurred to myself and others that even though the hard clay we are using is non-toxic, doesn't mean that we should warm it up in the same microwave that we heat our food up in. We now have two Microwaves, one for food, one for clay.

On Sunday I turned my "Stacking dishes" with a lathe on urethane foam, I didn't know what either of those things were 2 months ago! Basically I shaped something with a machine spinning something around, it was really fun and my project came out pretty good! I didn't take photos yet, but I'll post them when I get another minute to do so.

Currently one of my favorite projects instead of Function following form, we are using Form following Function. We were all given random Form, picked out of an envelop and a function the sameway. My pair happens to be a Twig Bug (aka Walking stick) and a metro card holder. Everyone in the class has something completely different, the guy next to me had a Crab and a toilet brush, one of the funnier and ironic pairs;)

Anyway I have become completely obsessed with how cool walking sticks are, and how they form this symbiotic relationship with ants, Ants actually take their eggs and eat the top off and discard the rest, the ants taking the egg to their colony protects the nymph from being eaten by other predators and b/c the ant only eats, or cares about the top of the egg the nymph can grow stronger and safer and it's easier for them to get out once they are grown!---how cool is that!--And my product as a metro card holder it can be tied to how the egg, passes into to a crazy underground colony, or system of tunnels that make up our metro, everything thing is connected, aka the Toe theory.

Humm, what else, with all the late nights we are really getting to know each other a lot, quickly and it's just funny, seems like the hurdle had been jumped that we are getting over people's hang-ups and are starting to come to terms with people strengths and weaknesses, these are blessings, really. Sometimes one can be really good at something and it's almost hard not to hate the person b/c of how good they are, but then, the next day is another day and I or someone else does something super cool and it all just balances out.

Word also is we all need to get out a lot more, I haven't been to Manhattan in about a month and my only contact with the outside world was on Friday when my cousin Ken visited and then on Saturday when a friend came out to visit, actually it was Glen that first read the instructions on the Apoixe many of us are using was toxic. We were supposed to be using gloves, and masks, oops!

So that's, AH! my mind is slipping, it's late, it no longer feels it. I almost never know what day it is, only what is due that day---or 12 hours from now, With the toxicity of chemicals, I'm loosing brain cells and gaining knowledge. This week we noticed that we could start to work faster and that a museum visit might be a good idea- soon.

It's now that I know I'm in this for the long hall- no matter what, and that what came before although very useful for what I do now, I can never go back to with the same eyes. But this is also the point, I'm not very sharp, yet, but I've got another 2 and 3/4 years to go.