Kristen Baumlier

My TinySplash BigView blog and newsletter focused on finding interesting articles and posts to share that focused on food, sustainability, creativity, and social justice.  Over the two years I did the blog, these topics were discussed and featured increasingly in the media and online, and at a faster pace.  It made sense to move to social media, and I still spend quite a lot of time posting and sharing on Twitter.My account is @kbaumlier, and I currently have 1511 followers.

Many people I talk to do not like Twitter (If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone tell me they hate twitter…) but I  enjoy the sharing and engagement with others over topics that we are mutually interested in.  I have learned about some great artists, non-profits, and social justice groups through social media.  Twitter for me is different than Facebook, which focuses more on friends and people I knew/know.

Food Font and Social

For my project Food Font, I started using social media regularly for the first time five years ago using Twitter, Google +, Facebook, and a local food board.  I learned how to tweet, started to use Buffer for scheduling, and tried to some focused social campaigns around the project, especially in Twitter.

I learned a lot, but found that the audience I wanted to reach (teachers, educators) were hard to connect with.

Last Fall I took a class to earn a certificate in Social Media at NC State University.  The class was great and I highly recommend it.

Part of what I learned is that I did not research my audience enough.  For my class project, I focused on how to get teachers to learn about and engage with the project.  We did a 360 review, where you do research on your audience, competitors, alliances, and others like you.  I interviewed my neighbors who are/were elementary teachers, and learned where they get creative ideas for the classroom and for home.One thing I learned is that teachers do not use Twitter for ideas, they use Pinterest!  I also learned that I had to create pages that had more directions, learning objectives, and were a ready to go (not figure it out) format.

As an artist, I had originally thought that if I put it out there – and suggested how to use it, that others would figure out how to creatively use  the alphabets.  What I learned is that most teachers, parents, event planners and others like to have a info sheet or packet.

For the class I developed a strategy and plan, and also expanded my Pinterest presence  for Food Font and myself.

A Last Hurrah

Though I have been developing a new project over this year (Working name is Bliss: Salt, Sugar and Fat), I decided that I wanted to “honor” Food Font and all the work I did over the last 5 years, and work to implement my plan to get the project out and reach the audience of teachers and families.

In the past two months, I created a new Teacher page with actual activity pages.  I did photo shoots of the activities in process.  I developed some bulletin board examples and ideas, set them up and photographed them.  I took pictures of my nieces and nephews using the Food Font alphabets and flashcards.

I created templates of the alphabets with grid lines, making them easier to cut by hand or with a cutting board.  I refer to these as “printables”  sometimes on the site, a term that teachers and parents use for things that you can print.  (I remember Jon once asking me, “What the heck is a printable?” haha)

I’m going to be hiring someone to create new pins with all the images and pictures, and to promote the new  pages.   I’m pretty proud of the Teacher Resources, Parent Resources and Event Resources areas that are on the site. This year 5 new alphabets were created, and they are up on the site.

Though this is not my main project at this time, I don’t consider the project over. I wish I would have built this earlier in the heyday of the project – but you only know what you know when you know it.

The Food Font project is officially launched and promotion to let people know about the project has begun.

Here is information from the official press release:

Want to play and write with your food? Ever wish you could express your thoughts and ideas in kale, vending machine food, or in summer vegetables? Food Font is an interactive art project where people can make alphabets out of food, take pictures of each letter, and later use these and other food alphabets to make images and designs.

Baumlier intends for the Food Font activity and tool to be used by a variety of groups. “This is something that farmer’s markets, community gardens, teachers and students in the classroom, restaurants, and a group of friends or family can do,” Baumlier noted. The project supports dialogue and builds community around food, health, and sustainability.

Food Font’s Beginnings

In the past 2 years, Baumlier has done over 15 public events at various locations in Ohio, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New York where visitors created letters out of local in-season ingredients. The artist behind the project is Kristen Baumlier, an interdisciplinary artist who is based in Durham, NC. For several years Baumlier has been doing projects that explore food and sustainability. When asked how the project started, Baumlier said that, “I was doing work in my studio where I was photographing words and letters out of food. I realized that this process had potential to be fun and an interactive way to promote discussion and build community around food.”

How It Works

On the Food Font website there are resource materials for organizing a Food Font event; materials for teachers; and resources to help you make a food alphabet or organize your own Food Font event. The Food Font alphabets are free and available for anyone to use in the form of printed .pdf files, editable Microsoft Word files, and as jpeg file that you can use with free online collage tools. Baumlier hopes that the images will be used to create images, posters, signs, and other printed materials that promote discussion about food and health.

Over 1200 letters have been created so far and include a letterform set made of kale, French fries, tomatoes, vending machine food, and fresh summer vegetables. When a food alphabet is submitted to the Food Font site, an alphabet name and event information is inputted. This information will visible to users who will be able to use their own food alphabets as well as those made from about other individuals, groups, and businesses.

Food Alphabets are Free to Use

“I’m really excited to see what people will make,” said Baumlier. All Food Alphabets files are licensed with Creative Commons, which is a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The Food Font images use the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows anyone share, adapt, and use for any purpose, even commercially.

The Food Font alphabets have already been used by a variety of non-profit groups that include a hospital in the U.S., a cooking magazine in Turkey, a community garden society in England, and by a Danish food bank. Artists and entrepreneurs have also used the alphabets. Artist Shannon Castor used the Food Font letters to create t-shirt designs for her Etsy shop that includes a t-shirt that says “CORNY” on the front, made of the Food Font corn alphabet made by visitors to the Ingenuity Festival in Cleveland.

Baumlier is currently sharing the project with educators, farmer markets, non-profits, and others who might want to participate in either making a food alphabet that would become part of the project or would want to use the Food alphabets in creative ways. She also is scheduling some Food Font events for 2015.

For more information, goto FoodFont.com