Kbaumlier

Author: Kbaumlier

Kristen Baumlier’s work spans the full spectrum of interdisciplinary media, including performance, interactive installation, video and audio works.

Workshop Weekend: Learn to Pick a Lock, Make Ricotta, or Solder

Posted on July 1, 2012July 3, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Want to learn to pick a lock, make your own ricotta or make a camp stove out of two soda cans? If you live in Oakland, California you might have attended Workshop Weekend this past weekend and now can do some of these things. The two-day event was organized by two MIT-schooled brothers, Gil and J.D. Zamfirescu who helped organize the weekend of learning and sharing.

Participants paid $30 as an admission fee to take one class or to attend as many as they wanted during the whole weekend. On the website, the event is described as a “community-centered weekend buffet of low-cost, low-commitment mini classes to discover something that you are passionate about.”. The short, hands-on workshops ranged from crafting to engineering to gardening, and were taught by local, instructors with years of passion and experience in might craft. Some of the classes from the May workshop weekend included a 10-minute bread workshop, How to solder, a Distillation workshop, PCB layout design, and Sewing with Electronics.

The event was designed to be as hands-on as possible, and many of the participants tried soldering, making felt, reading astrology, and other skills for the first time. In total, a few hundred participants attended the Workshop Weekend.

The format of the event seems to be inspired by “unconferences” or “barcamps,” which have short presentations where anyone can present. I increasingly am interested in this short workshop/presentaiton model and I plan to see if we can do something like this where I live. If you are interested in working on creating a open workshop/unconference event in Cleveland,OH that focuses on art, Open source technology, DIY culture, collaboration, and innovation, let me know.

Image Source:
workshopweekend.net

Links:
workshopweekend.net

Food Font – New Website and Two Upcoming Food Font Events

Posted on June 28, 2012July 10, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Ok. I usually wait until everything is done and perfect to launch anything. Since I will be doing a Kickstarter campaign started in mid-July for part of the project – it is recommended that I start to get the word out about the project early. (This also gives me a chance to get over some of my perfection issues. )

My new project Food Font has a new website that I will be continuing to build this summer. Food Font is a project comprised of design workshops, font making activities and the use of the interactive online design tool FoodFont. The project supports education, interaction, and communication about food, health, and design. With the Food Font project, people make alphabets out of food and later are able to use these and other food alphabets in a fun, free, interactive online design tool.

For the project, people make an alphabet (also called letterforms) out of any kind of food. A set of letters could be made out of one kind of food, or several types of food. Some Food fonts that have been made include a kale font, holiday dinner font (made of food from a Christmas dinner), a French fry font, a vending machine food font, a packed lunch food font , and a chopped vegetable font. The letter making activity is a great way for individuals and groups to have fun and to interact and talk about food.

At the Food Font event, each letter created is photographed. These are later edited and loaded into the online Food Font interactive design tool. With this tool, individuals can load up the food alphabet that they helped create as well as use the other food alphabets in the system. You can type in words, choose backgrounds, resize and rotate elements, and do basic layout techniques to make images that can be saved, shared electronically, and also printed. The tool can be used to make images, posters, signs, greeting cards, and other printed materials.

The project is meant for anyone to do, which includes community members at Farmer’s market or at a community garden, teachers and students in a classroom or by a restaurant, by “foodies” and people who love food , or by you with your friends and family. It is a fun, creative activity that anyone can do of any age, and in any size group.

To get the word out about my project I am currently scheduling a number of Food Font events during Summer and Fall of 2012. With the events, I hope to get the word out about the project and to inspire others to make their own food alphabets. So far I have a event scheduled in Buffalo, NY on July 28^th, and one that is being finalized for the Lakewood Farmer’s market in Lakewood near Cleveland, OH. If you have ideas about where a Food Font event should happen let me know. I am booking gigs now.

Links:

http://foodfont.com/

Food Font – New Website and Two Upcoming Food Font Events

Posted on June 27, 2012July 31, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Links:

http://foodfont.com/

Jane Mcgonigal – The Game That Changed My Life and Super Better

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Jane Mcgonigal is known as an ambassador for the gaming industry and games for social change. As a writer, game producer, and speaker, she has helped spread the word about games being good for you. I was able to hear her speak in person at the Games For Change conference in New York that I attended last week, where she was the opening keynote speaker.

Part of what she shared was that almost two years ago, she suffered a debilitating concussion. It affected her sleep, her eating and her social life. She tried doctors and resting, but nothing seemed to make her feel better. That is, until she made a game of her recovery. In this game she became Jane the Concussion-Slayer (modeled after Buffy the Vampire-Slayer) and found that through the form of games that she could feel better. The outcome of this is her new project, a game called SuperBetter, which was originally designed to treat concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries but has been used in its tests by people with cancer, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, and other illnesses.

Since the project started, SuperBetter has been developed as a system that can be used to feel better, faster through any injury, illness or chronic condition — including asthma, diabetes, migraines, depression, chronic pain, quitting smoking, and rehabilitation for sports-related injuries. For the game, she partnered with four universities, which includes the University of Berkeley, and Ohio State University. The game has been submitted, and is waiting for approval from Apple so it can be available on the Itunes store.

In her talk, Mcgonigal started by talking about what games for change. 4 days before the Games for Change Conference, she tweeted the question, “ What do you think games can change?” Comments ranged from answers like, “games change my bad mood,” “games change our willingness to trust and get me to try new things, “ “games can change my mind, brain map, and structure of my brain,” “my social confidence and family relationships,” “my self image and perception.”

Mcgonigal summed these answers up by saying “ Games basically can change your life.” She went on to talk about the need for proof and research, and that her website www.showmethescience.com has all of the papers, citations, and research for everything in her talk.

She went on to show some research done with hospice workers, which surveyed people who were close to dying about their regrets. The research showed that there were 5 regrets most people had. These included, “ I wish I would not have worked so hard, I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends more, I wish I’d let myself be happier, I wish I had had the courage to express myself more, and I wish I’d led a life true to my dreams and not what others expected of me.

Mcgonigal went through each of these regrets – and related each one to aspects of gaming. After she went through the list – it was clear that gaming and playing games addresses each of the regrets in the study.

She then shared her personal story about how she hit her head and got a traumatic brain injury. She had mental fog, could not work, and had constant pain. She was told that she had to rest her brain, and for the first time in her life she felt a sense of hopelessness and that she had no reason to live.

She then got to the idea that I’m either going to kill myself or I’m going to make a game out of it. Being a game designer – she decided to view he r situation as a game. She worked with her husband to make a list of enemies – or things that made her feel worse. She then made a list of allies, which were things like cuddling with her dog, which made her feel better. One frustration she had is that she felt that friends and family did not understand her challenges and experience. By having them play the game with her, she felt that they could better understand how she felt and the challenges she faced.

She found that after a few days of trying this game, the depression went away. She went on to make a video called Jane the Concussion Slayer – which eventually became Super Better. She had other people try the game, and others with cancer, Crohn’s disease, and diabetes felt that the game helped them feel happier, and they felt understood by friends and family better.

The symptoms were still there for a year, but she mentally felt better and braver. For the game, challenges are called power ups. If you reach your goal it is called an epic win. Power ups are the things that make you feel better. Players can set a goal which might be to sleep at least 4 hours a night, to get your sugar level to a certain number, or to lose ten pounds.

To have us understand the game, Mcgonigal had us in the audience try some challenges in the game, or play the game of super better. We had to hold our hands in the air for 5 seconds or take 3 steps forward. This was to power up our physical resilience. Next we had to snap 50 times or count from 100 to 7 backwards which was for mental resilience.

She talked about the research that shows that tackling a tiny quest even small will increase your willpower. Next we were to look outside the window or look up your favorite baby animal, which would power up our emotional resilience. Research shows that if you can experience three positive emotions to one bad one we have more emotional resilience.

The final challenge was to shake hands for 6 seconds for someone or to send a thank you email or text to someone. This was for social resilience.

Mcgonigal talked about Hope Lab, a group that made a remission game to teach about chemotherapy did some research about why people who played the game had better chemotherapy adherence, in that they would stay with the directions and dosages that they were supposed to do. They also found that the chemical in the body were 20 percent higher. Their research showed that active gameplay activated the brain. What was interesting about the research is that it showed that the main time that the brain was activated was in response to pursuing an outcome and waiting to see the impact of the action, such as firing at something and waiting to see what would happen.

In her closing remarks she talked about games can change our lives, destiny and that we can measure that change. She then showed us her research that by doing the super better exercises during her talk that our lifespan had been increased by seven and a half minutes.

I strongly recommend watching the video of her talk, which you can see through the Games For Change livestream online page. It might just give you seven and a half more minutes to your lifespan, and tell others that games are good for your health.

Images:
Jane Mcgonigal – Keynote Video on Livestream
Jane Mcgonigal website and blog

Links:
Jane Mcgonigal – Video of The Game That Changed My Life, Opening Keynote Video on Livestream

Jane the Concussion Slayer, Ep 66 – Youtube Video

Jane Mcgonigal website and blog

Super Better – the Game website

SuperBetter – updates from Jane Mcgonigal website

Show Me the Science – research, citations, and papers from Jane Mcgonigal’s talks

Beautiful Possibility Elixir Social at the West Side Market

Posted on June 27, 2012June 27, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Do you feel worried about the future? Do you experience depression, insomnia, exhaustion, or anxiety? No – this is not an advertisement for a new drug, but an art project that explores “Americanitis.” “Americanitis” is a condition that was first diagnosed in 1869 as a nervous condition resulting from rapid modernization. This condition was later exploited by medicine shows that peddled “Americanitis Elixirs” that claimed that they would relieve stress and calm the nerves.

Artist Alison Pebworth is bringing awareness to Americanitis with her cross-country tour of her project Beautiful Possibility. The show is a traveling exhibition in the form of the 19th century American Traveling Show. The project’s goal is to engage people about what it means to be American. For each tour stop, Pebworth creates a display of hand-painted posters that are in the style of Side Show/Wild West posters to re-tell American history. She also is interviewing people across America on their thoughts about “Americanitis.”

For the Elixir Social event, Pebworth partnered with some local farms in Cleveland including farmers from City Rising Farm, Erie’s Edge Farm, Gather ‘Round Farm, Let It Bee Gardens and the Possibilitarian Garden Project. Each farm made a special “Cleveland Elixir.” The elixirs were being served from 10 am until 6 at the West Side Market, with different farms serving their elixirs throughout the day.

I stopped by the Beautiful Possibility Elixir Social event in the afternoon and found the show and Elixir social setup in a stall at the end of the produce section of the market.

At the outside of the market, I was greeted by the first Possibilitarian garden and puppet theater, which had setup a full sensory elixir. There was a cardboard structure, shaped kind of like an old-school phone booth, which you were invited to enter once you drank their elixir.

I was given a tiny handmade ceramic cup, which was filled with a pinkish drink that looked like juice. I was directed to try it with a rose petal and to enter the booth. The elixir tasted kind of like and herb flavored cherry juice, and it was slightly sweet. I entered the booth to find some pictures and dried herbs attached to the walls. I could hear some music that sounded like a piano that was far away. I have to say – I felt different when I exited.

I talked to Diana and Daniel, the farmers from Possibilitairan garden, who had made the full sensory elixir. Diana said in making it, they were thinking about the Americanitis project and wanted to use some calming herbs such as sweet woodruff in the drink. The elixir was made of many ingredients, which included kombucha, mulberry juice, lemon balm, sweet woodruff, clover, nettles, spinach, strawberries catnip, thyme, and other herbs. She told me that eating the rose petal and drinking the elixir made a thick cinnamon flavor.

Diana and Daniel have a farm and puppet theatre in the Buckeye neighborhood in Cleveland. I really liked the booth that they made, and I learned that the music I heard was from a small music box that someone cranked and made work while I was inside. Lots of people at the market were interested in trying the elixir, and many would talk with the farmers about the elixir and project.

After experiencing this elixir, I entered the vegetable market area, where there were some of the posters hanging from the Americanitis project. Some of the full color tour posters were hanging, and there was pleated red, white, and blue fabric on the tables. One of the posters that I liked featured a cowgirl trying to balance two baskets. One basket held Dick Cheney, and the other held an Indian. Over the image “Dangling Man, the American Challenge. CLAIM YOUR DEMONS” was written. The posters and setup gave it a world fair/ sideshow look and feel.

There was another farm serving elixirs, and I met members from Let It Bee Garden who had made a Community Service Berry Potent Potion, and also had several other elixirs. I was given another small ceramic cup, and tried the Community Service Berry Potent Potion, which tasted like berries and tea. The label on the elixir said that it was made with passion and love, and was made for patient possibilities. Julia, who is one of the farmers, was wearing a great hat that had various flower petals that covered the hat.

There were lots of people that stopped by to look at the posters, try the elixirs, and talk to the farmers and the artist who was there with the Americanitis surveys. These opinion surveys were available for people to fill out. Some of the questions include, “ Although the term has fallen out of use, do you think Americanitis still exists today? Are there new causes that may contribute to contemporary Americanitis? Who in American society do you think suffers most and least from Americanitis?” There also were sections where you could circle the causes that you believe may still contribute to Americanitis, and what symptoms might still stem from the condition, which listed anxiety, poor digestion, exhaustion, insomnia, and others.

I talked to Pebworth for a few minutes, and she told me about the other elixirs that had been served earlier in the day. Earlier in the day, young people from City Rising farm had created a Mulberry Thyme” elixir, which was a thyme and mint sun tea. They added fresh mulberries as they served it, which made for a lively (and messy) elixir event.

To start the elixir social, Erie’s Edge Farm had served a Stretch Your Roots Sunrise Elixir from 8-9 am that was made from roots. They had been weeding their gardens, and had found lots of roots from carrots, beet, and other veggies. They pulled these out, dried them, roasted them, and then ground this into a fine powder. The hot elixir that they served had a chicory/ coffee like taste

Do I feel any different from the elixir event? I think so. It was really great to meet the farmers and to see so many people trying the elixirs and interacting with each other, with the artist, and with the farmers. It is also nice to know that others are thinking about the stresses of life, and our pace of life today.

Alison Pebworth is in town through June 23, 2012. Check out SPACES gallery website to learn more about the project, and the times that you can see the exhibition.

Image Source:
Kristen Baumlier

Links: