NEWS

Food Font Design Tool : an Update from Development

Food Font Design Tool : an Update from Development

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Recently a couple of messages have come in from people who are excited to use the Food Font design tool and do events in the future.  Some people also have been asking when it will be ready to use.

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 in a fun, free, interactive online design tool. The project supports dialogue and builds community around food, health, and sustainability. Currently the design of the interactive design tool is underway.

One person contacted us last week and wrote, “I am so excited about the launch of the design tool! I\’m a community nutritionist and am forever trying to make flyers look interesting, so this will be a fantastic way to do that! Thanks so much for doing this. I think I might pull my camera out and try and make some food letters out of Christmas food!”

Another person who helps markets organize activities and community events wrote,”  I have been the manager for the Vashon Island Farmers Market for the past year, and in that capacity was always looking for food education opportunities, especially one that is as engaging as this… I will figure out a way to organize a FOOD FONT day for our summer season (when the variety of foods is at its greatest.)”

The official launch date for the Food Font interactive tool is Winter 2013.  An exact date?  There is currently not one, since development time can vary.  I can report that the design document that outlines all functions and visual componants of the tool is in the work.  This tool is then given to the programmer that we are working with – who then does the programming and assembly of the tool.

With my Winter break, I am able to dedicate more time to the project, so I will be posting some in-progress images as they are in the works.

Just imagine, by this time next year everyone will be able to send, print, and post holiday messages out of food!

Links:
www.foodfont.com 

Oyster Beds in the East Bay – Daniel McCormick at the Headlands

Oyster Beds in the East Bay – Daniel McCormick at the Headlands

Posted on by Kbaumlier

I recently got an update from the Headlands Center for the Arts, a artist residency center located in Sausalito, CA.  I was an artist in residence at the Headlands in 2005, and it is interesting to learn about current projects and events.  This year a new Alumni New Works program was created, where past artists in residence could apply to do a project for a month.

One of the recipients of this program is Daniel McCormick, who is an environmental artist.  In his recent projects, he has collaborated with scientists, conservation organizations, and regional regulatory commissions to create sculptural pieces that improve watersheds and locations of water.

McCormick is a former student of James Turrell and has a degree in environmental design from UC Berkeley.  Some of his past work has been in the form of woven basket forms made of green willow and found materials that are placed in eroded gullies and on the banks of rivers.

These sculptures are designed to “fit into the curves of the streams and gullies where they fill with leaves and twigs, collecting sediment that would otherwise suffocate the salmon and steelhead eggs in their spawning areas.”

At he Headlands, he will be installing some innovative San Francisco Bay native oyster beds throughout the East Bay Regional Park System and Merritt Lagoon.   By adding oyster beds, it is a way to help restore the bay’s ecosystem.  Oysters have to be grown in the top third of the water, where there is sunlight and oxygen.  After being installed, oyster beds need to be serviced in order to prevent algae growth which can kill the oysters.  Project updates will be posted on his website.

Image Source:
http://www.headlands.org 

 

Links:

http://danielmccormick.blogspot.com/

 

Cheesy Nachos and a Yogurt Fruit Plate – A Lunch Date at a Grade School

Cheesy Nachos and a Yogurt Fruit Plate – A Lunch Date at a Grade School

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Earlier this month, I was able to go to my niece and nephew’s grade school and meet them for lunch.  This was the second time I have met them for lunch at their school.  Each time I go, I have fun meeting their classmates, being the visitor at the table and I also get to learn more about school lunches, at least at their school.

Coming to the school lunch is kind of like being a minor celebrity; everyone asks who you are and also asks you to open their packaged food.  My niece and nephew usually pack a lunch, but if there is something they want to get on the lunch menu, they buy the school lunch.  The day that I visited, both my niece and nephew bought the school lunch.  My nephew, who had the earlier lunch, got the Cheesy nacho and beef, and ate a big pile of nachos with meat and cheese, and also had an apple.  He must have passed on the cucumber cup that was part of the lunch.  Last year when I visited, it also happened to be a Cheesy nacho lunch day.  This year, his Cheesy nacho lunch seemed like a more appropriate in size for a kid, and also the side of French fries had been replaced with the green vegetable choice.

My niece also got school lunch, and was excited to get the Fruit and yogurt plate that was an option this day.  She ate a yogurt, orange slices, and some graham cracker snacks.

I later spent a little time reading about the provider of their school lunches, which like all school lunch program has to meet the federal nutrition standards.  One new food choice that their lunch program has done is add a new “Balanced Choice” lunch, which has a lunch that is no more than 200 total calories, is no more than 35% calories of fat, and has no more than 35% of sugar for any packaged foods.  They also now have lowfat milk, and smaller portioned juices.

Overall, it seems like the school lunches at the school are more healthy, but you can still get your fill of chocolate milk (but now it is fat free milk.)

 

Links:

www.chartwellsschools.com/ 

Kellohalli: A New Active Foodspace in Helsinki

Kellohalli: A New Active Foodspace in Helsinki

Posted on by Kbaumlier

In Helsinki, a building that was once a slaughterhouse became the “Kellohalli,” a food venue that hosts events, food festivals and workshops.  The site is at the core of the food and cooking revival in the city and integrates local food, urban gardening, and pop-up restaurants.

The center is part of a urban revival initiative by the City of Helsinki.  In the new Kellohalli, any businesses that make and sell food can find a home, and groups that want to try out new food related ideas are encouraged to use the space.  This Fall a series of food and design events were hosted in the space as part of the World Design Capital Helsinki  2012 event, where events related to design happened in the city throughout the year.

In the Kellohalli, there has been a “pop-down” restaurant, a food eatery which was located 1000 feet below ground in an old mine.  Food in Helsinki often is comprised of mushrooms, fresh herbs including dill, salmon (the most fresh fish I ever have eaten) and many other ingredients that grow in the woods.

As part of the center’s programming, there is a courtyard where flea markets, plants swaps, block parties, and exhibitions were held this past year. The city has a “food culture strategy, ” which includes a goal that 50 percent of the food at the city’s day-care center are local and organic by 2015.

Last weekend at the Kellohalli, there was a Farmer’s Market and “Culinary Treasure Market” At the market, food from twenty food producers were for sale including mushrooms, jellies, cheeses, condiments, juices, breads, vegetables, knives, wool and Christmas trees.  At the Culinary Treasure Market, everyone in the community was welcome to sell things food-related which could be recipes, pans, pots, cups, aprons, and food treats.

Next time I am in Finland I plan to check out the Kellohalli, and nibble on mushrooms and berries maybe at a event, exhibition, or in the pop-down restaurant.

Images:
http://www.teurastamo.com/en/kuvagalleria.html

 

Links:

http://www.teurastamo.com/

 

 

The Idea Truck: A Truck That Sells Ideas

The Idea Truck: A Truck That Sells Ideas

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Lorri Deyer had a great idea.  Well, let’s say she had a number of great ideas. Deyer is an artist and storyteller whose work incorporates everyday materials and settings.  Past projects have included creating interesting garden hoses, and sending out postcards to announce a pot hole.

Her latest project, called Idea Truck is a platform to engage others in creativity in their daily life.   For the project, Deyer decided to drive the Idea truck (which is an actual taco truck,) and sell only ideas for six monthes around Los Angeles.

To participate, visitors  can order from a menu of ideas, but in order to get this idea you have to write your own idea down first.  The idea is for ideas to become currency, and to exchange.

The menu includes Tuesday’s Surprise Special, Half-Baked Idea, and also ideas left by other visitors.  The ideas are half-price if you recite the idea out loud.   You can contact the person who left the idea via email, and also add to the idea.

On the website it gives this example as an idea,”…space ships should be purple elephants with rockets for feet (one idea already donated to the inventory).  Why do they have to be aerodynamic anyway, there’s no air in space?  Disagree?  Want to elaborate?  Then contact the idea maker directly from the email he or she leaves behind.  And on that note—what is an idea?  Are they a dime a dozen or are they a unique stamp of who you are?  Is an idea enough in this consumer-driven object making world?”

The ideas and project are being livestreamed, and Twitter updates and posts are updated as part of the experience.  Online voting for Idea of the Week, and a project outcome of a Idea Truck book are part of the project.

Can anyone have a good idea?  Can a bad idea be as interesting as a bad one?  Check out the Idea Truck project online, and check out how the project has been going since it was funded on Kickstarter.

Image Source:
http://ideatruck.tumblr.com

 

Links:

http://ideatruck.tumblr.com