Posts tagged "project"
Barbie Hack, March 11 2012, Milkwood Gallery, Cardiff. The next event that I’m contributing to is part of Milkwood Gallery’s programme of activities for International Women’s Day. Laura and I, (from, and as ThinkARK,) are running a ‘Barbie hack’. The idea was borne of a throwaway conversation about Sugru, Made in Roath and Barbie, and we decided we’d run an event where we invite people to ‘hack’ Barbie into a normal female shape using plasticine. We loved playing with Barbie as we grew up, and we wanted to encourage people to consider popular views and ideas about the female form, and to challenge those Frankenstein forms presented to us by mass media. Poor Barbie is a representation of what the media tells us we should be - to the extent that her feet were moulded into a permanent tip-toe stance ready for her stilettos!  I’m really looking forward to this workshop. It’s been so much fun looking round car-boots and charity shops for old Barbies to use, and also digging up old Barbie ads and stuff online to reacquaint myself with my old friend. She’s changed a lot over the years, and I was surprised at the extent of her change, but then I’m sure, if her plastic face could talk she’d say the same about me. The changes we’ve both gone through are not so great as to have fallen out of love with her though, and this is my favourite Barbie; I love you Barbie. I still melt when I see that dress! 

Barbie Hack, March 11 2012, Milkwood Gallery, Cardiff.

The next event that I’m contributing to is part of Milkwood Gallery’s programme of activities for International Women’s Day. Laura and I, (from, and as ThinkARK,) are running a ‘Barbie hack’. The idea was borne of a throwaway conversation about Sugru, Made in Roath and Barbie, and we decided we’d run an event where we invite people to ‘hack’ Barbie into a normal female shape using plasticine.

We loved playing with Barbie as we grew up, and we wanted to encourage people to consider popular views and ideas about the female form, and to challenge those Frankenstein forms presented to us by mass media. Poor Barbie is a representation of what the media tells us we should be - to the extent that her feet were moulded into a permanent tip-toe stance ready for her stilettos! 

I’m really looking forward to this workshop. It’s been so much fun looking round car-boots and charity shops for old Barbies to use, and also digging up old Barbie ads and stuff online to reacquaint myself with my old friend. She’s changed a lot over the years, and I was surprised at the extent of her change, but then I’m sure, if her plastic face could talk she’d say the same about me. The changes we’ve both gone through are not so great as to have fallen out of love with her though, and this is my favourite Barbie; I love you Barbie. I still melt when I see that dress! 

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I was very proud to become a TANt Associate on Friday, as I co-presented issue #0.3 = #0.1Cymraeg of TANt as part of a World Book Day event at Chapter.  The issue essentially comprised a presentation of my interpretation of the platform, in Welsh. And what, pray tell, is my interpretation..? Well;  TANt is a decentralised network and platform for independent voices.  It is an experiment in form and believes that discussion & reading are valid modes of production. So, it follows that discussion events are also issues of TANt. TANt seeks to explore ideas around collaboration, and naturally through this notion ideas around translation, interpretation and meaning are also explored. TANt is multi-lingual, already having produced issues in English and Japanese, and now Welsh.  Far more that simply being a publication of interesting ideas, TANt is forming a network of thinkers and participators in the production of ideas. Something that I am very proud to be a part of.  (via ………T A N T………)

I was very proud to become a TANt Associate on Friday, as I co-presented issue #0.3 = #0.1Cymraeg of TANt as part of a World Book Day event at Chapter. 

The issue essentially comprised a presentation of my interpretation of the platform, in Welsh. And what, pray tell, is my interpretation..?
Well; 

TANt is a decentralised network and platform for independent voices. 
It is an experiment in form and believes that discussion & reading are valid modes of production. So, it follows that discussion events are also issues of TANt. TANt seeks to explore ideas around collaboration, and naturally through this notion ideas around translation, interpretation and meaning are also explored. TANt is multi-lingual, already having produced issues in English and Japanese, and now Welsh. 

Far more that simply being a publication of interesting ideas, TANt is forming a network of thinkers and participators in the production of ideas. Something that I am very proud to be a part of. 

(via ………T A N T………)

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good: Recently, a female GOOD staffer was commiserating with a male journalist about the dearth of female bylines in major American magazines. She suggested a solution: He should speak to the editors of these magazines—people he knows personally—about how awesome she is. She was on the phone with a highly regarded editor within a week, discussing the possibilities for freelance work. Reading big statistics, it’s easy to place yourself in a bystander role. You acknowledge that women are underrepresented in your industry—particularly if you work in media, design, or tech. You know that they are far less visible, and probably paid less, than men of equal experience. You’re frustrated at how difficult it sometimes seems to fill your workplace or panel discussion with enough women. But what have you ever done about it?  PROMOTE WOMEN. It’s time to stop lamenting and start doing. Here’s how: 1   Think of three women in your industry who are underpaid, underemployed, or under-noticed. Women who are rising through the ranks more slowly than their male peers. Women who are really great at what they do but haven’t been recognized as up-and-comers yet. 2   Think of three powerful people (of any gender) in your industry who you know personally and who are in a position to hire or assign to women. 3   Compose an email to each of those powerful people individually and recommend a specific woman they should meet, hire, or otherwise work with. 4   Email those women and tell them you’ve recommended them. We haven’t provided a form email by design—a genuine, original email is what counts. Put your email where your mouth is. Use your network. Endorse women today. Then boost the signal. Women, share your stories about infiltrating male professional networks. Facilitators, submit your own accounts of giving women a leg up. Submit your stories here on GOOD’s Tumblr, on Twitter with the #promotewomen hashtag, or in the comments on our site. We’ll compile your stories and publish them as inspiration. We have the power to end the gender gap. Take five minutes and send three emails to do something about it. ^^ This is wonderful! You should do this for some of the amazing women that you know.

good:

Recently, a female GOOD staffer was commiserating with a male journalist about the dearth of female bylines in major American magazines. She suggested a solution: He should speak to the editors of these magazines—people he knows personally—about how awesome she is. She was on the phone with a highly regarded editor within a week, discussing the possibilities for freelance work.

Reading big statistics, it’s easy to place yourself in a bystander role. You acknowledge that women are underrepresented in your industry—particularly if you work in media, design, or tech. You know that they are far less visible, and probably paid less, than men of equal experience. You’re frustrated at how difficult it sometimes seems to fill your workplace or panel discussion with enough women. But what have you ever done about it? 

PROMOTE WOMEN. It’s time to stop lamenting and start doing. Here’s how:

1   Think of three women in your industry who are underpaid, underemployed, or under-noticed. Women who are rising through the ranks more slowly than their male peers. Women who are really great at what they do but haven’t been recognized as up-and-comers yet.

2   Think of three powerful people (of any gender) in your industry who you know personally and who are in a position to hire or assign to women.

3   Compose an email to each of those powerful people individually and recommend a specific woman they should meet, hire, or otherwise work with.

4   Email those women and tell them you’ve recommended them. We haven’t provided a form email by design—a genuine, original email is what counts.

Put your email where your mouth is. Use your network. Endorse women today. Then boost the signal. Women, share your stories about infiltrating male professional networks. Facilitators, submit your own accounts of giving women a leg up. Submit your stories here on GOOD’s Tumblr, on Twitter with the #promotewomen hashtag, or in the comments on our site. We’ll compile your stories and publish them as inspiration.

We have the power to end the gender gap. Take five minutes and send three emails to do something about it.

^^ This is wonderful! You should do this for some of the amazing women that you know.

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Without a shadow of a doubt, this Cabinet of Dreams site is the best fundraising project I’ve seen in years and years and years! I can’t remember who was slagging off your typical fundraising activities to me recently, but this makes all those crappy sponsored runs feel even more irrelevant and lacking in imagination, doesn’t it?  (via Women’s Aid)

Without a shadow of a doubt, this Cabinet of Dreams site is the best fundraising project I’ve seen in years and years and years! 
I can’t remember who was slagging off your typical fundraising activities to me recently, but this makes all those crappy sponsored runs feel even more irrelevant and lacking in imagination, doesn’t it? 

(via Women’s Aid)

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I made some new year’s resolutions this year… So, unsurprisingly all things resolution-related are on my mind right now. Seems I’m not alone, having just seen this To Resolve Project, which is all about helping you keep your new year resolutions, and having just read about this Resolutions for Good project, which is about encouraging people to do good stuff for others. Yay for more of that :) 

I made some new year’s resolutions this year… So, unsurprisingly all things resolution-related are on my mind right now. Seems I’m not alone, having just seen this To Resolve Project, which is all about helping you keep your new year resolutions, and having just read about this Resolutions for Good project, which is about encouraging people to do good stuff for others. Yay for more of that :) 

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I just think this project is genius: Teddy bears at first appear trivial. They are toys—playthings for children and symbols of innocence, comfort, and nostalgia. But the teddy bear is also a metaphor for the way humans manipulate the natural world to our own ends. The teddy bear is an idea: a docile, cute, friendly invention far removed from the wild animal that inspired it. I create teddy bear anatomical specimens with a pretense of realness to emphasize the artifice of a familiar but unconsidered subject.   To create my teddy bear natural history pieces I start with found teddy bears and reverse engineer the physical ‘evidence’ of their biological history in needle-felted wool: a material perfectly suited to representing fuzzy and soft yet firm and structural bones and tissues of stuffed animals. My process and technique add to believability: the actual production of felted wool is difficult to discern through observation, and I borrow heavily from real anatomy. Like museum collections my work aims to educate, classify, and make sense of the world around us by presenting information in a rational and scientific way, but the teddy bear is an irrational and emotionally loaded subject by design. The anatomy of the teddy bear is wholly planned by its creator to appeal to the biological response of human adults to care for their cute, round-featured, helpless babies. The manufacture of teddy bears is a blueprint for bioengineering trends that are taking place today—without the biology.  But the sharp canine teeth in a teddy bear skull serve as a reminder that nature can only be tamed to a point. My teddy bear anatomical specimens hold a mirror to the collective human conceit that we can and should improve on and re-shape the natural world to suit our desires.(via NEVVER )

I just think this project is genius:

Teddy bears at first appear trivial. They are toys—playthings for children and symbols of innocence, comfort, and nostalgia. But the teddy bear is also a metaphor for the way humans manipulate the natural world to our own ends. The teddy bear is an idea: a docile, cute, friendly invention far removed from the wild animal that inspired it. I create teddy bear anatomical specimens with a pretense of realness to emphasize the artifice of a familiar but unconsidered subject.   

To create my teddy bear natural history pieces I start with found teddy bears and reverse engineer the physical ‘evidence’ of their biological history in needle-felted wool: a material perfectly suited to representing fuzzy and soft yet firm and structural bones and tissues of stuffed animals. My process and technique add to believability: the actual production of felted wool is difficult to discern through observation, and I borrow heavily from real anatomy. 

Like museum collections my work aims to educate, classify, and make sense of the world around us by presenting information in a rational and scientific way, but the teddy bear is an irrational and emotionally loaded subject by design. The anatomy of the teddy bear is wholly planned by its creator to appeal to the biological response of human adults to care for their cute, round-featured, helpless babies. The manufacture of teddy bears is a blueprint for bioengineering trends that are taking place today—without the biology.  But the sharp canine teeth in a teddy bear skull serve as a reminder that nature can only be tamed to a point. My teddy bear anatomical specimens hold a mirror to the collective human conceit that we can and should improve on and re-shape the natural world to suit our desires.(via NEVVER )

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I’ve been excitedly watching one of my very good friend’s projects taking shape over the last few months. TANT is transnational free press/creative platform designed and produced by a collection of people comprised of artists, designers, writers and philosophers. TANT is now inviting people to both write and/or design pieces for print. Welcoming wide-ranging multidisciplinary content, scholarly and irreverent, avoiding reviews, news etc.  

I was with Rowena tonight, and while we were talking about TANT’s progress she showed me some of the submissions. I was blown away to see that Cat has submitted the fantastic collage pictured! Teeny tiny Cardiff, eh?! :)

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I love this. Sparked is along the lines of what I assumed @thinkARK was before I did my homework and found out that social design is different again entirely! That said, I’d still bloody LOVE to see something like this here. I believe passionately that the third sector would do much better for itself if it stopped using volunteers to ‘design’ posters/flyers/newsletters etc using shit like Word, clipart and comic sans. FFS! (via Swiss Miss)

I love this. Sparked is along the lines of what I assumed @thinkARK was before I did my homework and found out that social design is different again entirely! That said, I’d still bloody LOVE to see something like this here. I believe passionately that the third sector would do much better for itself if it stopped using volunteers to ‘design’ posters/flyers/newsletters etc using shit like Word, clipart and comic sans. FFS!

(via Swiss Miss)

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