CREO Summer 2010 by CREO Magazine

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2010 wanderlust

twenty years from now you will be more

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Front and back cover image by Flickr user love4loaded

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Image by Flickr user Smath (left)

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brie hiramine

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jennifer

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emily maehl

Share your perspective.

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CREO latin for to create • a quarterly, online magazine that explores visual culture from the student perspective • on a mission to create real-world opportunities for burgeoning artists to explore the collision of art and culture • dedicated to empowering students to interpret their world, cultivate discussions, and inspire others while sharing their own work • a venue for students to be active participants rather than passive recipients of their world.

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4. Slap some glue or adhesive on the back and share the love!

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this project, fully believe that activism doesn’t have to be an entirely serious, depressing ordeal. (When we hear the word “activism,” don’t we all just imagine angry people yelling with picket signs?) It can be fun and pretty, and it should be. You can just wear a shirt with message— that is how we can enter discussion, and maybe that discussion will effect change. 00

Melding design and social consciousness, Part of It prints T-shirts and tote bags adorned with artist-created graphics and messages. The sales of these products benefit a charity of the artist’s choice, with the belief that the greatest change can be made when the cause is held close to the artist. Christopher Sleboda and Kathleen Burns, the founders of

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Before the days of the Internet, creative types had to make do with what they had—even if it was only a Xerox machine and their own ideas. Due out this summer, Touch and Go: The Complete Years (Bazillion Point) is a tribute to the one of the more popular punk music zines of the late seventies and early eighties. The book contains all 22 issues of the fanzine Touch and Go, plus essays written by contributors to the zine. Maybe it will inspire you to create your own projects—the original zine led to the famed record label of the same name, home to bands like Minor Threat and the Misfits. issue

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For therapy on a whole new level, check out Marijn van der Poll’s Do Hit Chair. Droog, the company that sells this DIY piece, will ship you a large metal box and a hammer, but the rest is up to you. Hack away to your desire and produce your own unique chair.

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One of the greatest tragedies of Polaroid film is that the film eventually yellows to the point that you can’t see the image you once took. The solution? Screenprinting. Or, if you’re not so industrious, you can purchase Phillippe Roucou’s pricey but awesome Polaroidadorned scarves; they are equal parts chic and whimsical works of art.

If you’re less physically inclined, create your own font for free—no special program downloads needed—at fontstruct.com. The site is easy to navigate, though creating your own font is, admittedly, a bit cumbersome since you have to create all the characters that you would see on your keyboard. But here’s a bonus if you’re bilingual: you can even make fonts for other languages, like Bengali or Japanese.

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Aided by their Polaroid cameras, Nicole Kenney and KS Rives are embarking on a new sort of cultural study. The concept: take a Polaroid picture of someone; ask them what they want to do before they die; write it on the picture and post it online; wait five, ten, or twenty years; then ask the person “Did your dream come true?”

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It’s a study in humanity—what we value, how we motivate ourselves to make our dreams come true, how our ideas on mortality vary. The Before I die I want to...project is international, divided into the sections USA, India, and Hospice (including both hospice patients and staff). Some wishes are quirky, others simple or touching. It feels like a more intimate version PostSecret: you see the faces behind the dreams.

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Baseball season is upon us, but even if you’re not the type of person who likes to be taken out to a ball game, hopefully you can still appreciate Peter Schuyff’s baseball bats. With intricate weaving designs, the bats almost look like corkscrews. The sports and art worlds don’t often overlap, but these carvings may just be a big hit (no pun intended) in both spheres.

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With the tough economy, fast food restaurants (I use the term “restaurant” loosely) are doing better than ever, selling guilty pleasure food at ridiculously inexpensive prices. Sometimes, though, we all want to dress up our dinner a little bit. Enter Fancy Fast Food (fancyfastfood.com), a self-proclaimed food humor blog that makes gourmetlooking meals solely from fast food menus. The creators have made dishes like Seared Pollack Cake with Southwestern Ramalan Sauce and Chicken with Pineapple Mango Salsa from fast food staples like McDonald’s Filet ‘o Fish and Jollibee’s Peach Mango Pie. The jury is still out on whether or not these concoctions taste good. But one thing is for sure—they sure look more appealing than any $0.99 burger.

unusual matter

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Cardboard furniture is the current material du jour for making furniture. Vendors like Cardboarddesign and Karton-art Design supply all sorts of pieces, from filing cabinets to beds. Leo Kempf is pretty much a master at the art; his work includes a fully functional “Wiggle Chair” and a Speech Bubble Discussion Coffee Table (it is in the shape of a speech bubble). Thankfully, because cardboard is so easy to acquire, you can even make your own furniture with an X-acto knife and some time. Check out foldschool.com for children (or small adult) furniture how-tos—if you need a bigger size, make a bigger, rough approximation of the pattern and get to work! issue

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As a society, we love babies dressed up in bunny suits, towels folded into intricate designs, and erasers that look like ice cream. Most things are just more intriguing when they are gussied up as something else, which is probably some of the appeal of origami. It has the possibility to be anything at all. A plane, a crane, a bird, a dog? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. So it’s no surprise that Zim and Zou’s origami menus are so enticing—it’s a tactile version of a lobster or a star right at your fingertips, somehow, almost mysteriously, made from paper. The same can be said for the origami neck pieces made by Hungarian fashion student Anna Daubner. They are lovely and unique, looking like the modern girl’s version of armor…or an accessory from a Lady Gaga video.

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written and designed by Brie Hiramine

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Coming out this fall is the new reincarnation of the Monopoly game, Monopoly Revolution: electronic, circular, and reminiscent of a Sit â&#x20AC;&#x2122;n Spin. Maybe this is perfect for the next generation of tykes, born into the age of the iPhone and the Kindle, but it will be hard to part with the paper money and physical play pieces (electronic banking cards and hologram-like versions of the hat, car, etc. are some of the new features). Though it is an interesting take on the classic board game model, this â&#x20AC;&#x153;revolutionâ&#x20AC;? may just be a bit ahead of its time.

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Both Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever and After, released June 18 and May 21, respectively, may be meant for children, but they deal with some scarily adult-like issues. In the third installment of the Toy Story series, Andy leaves for college, abandoning old friend and discarding (literally) other ones. All seriousness aside, the movie will introduce a host of new and adorable characters—and, because this is a Disney movie, a whole bunch of heart. Likewise, Shrek Forever and After sees Shrek as a father in a mid-life crisis, pining for the days of yore when he scared the villagers and acted like an ogre. It also involves an alternate universe, but that’s probably only a universal issue if you’re in a Back to the Future movie.

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is a call to action. How can you use your creativity to inspire change? Each issue will pose a design challenge. The goal? To create a solution that promotes awareness in your own community.

This issue we’re promoting the efforts of poster for tomorrow’s call for universal abolition of the death penalty: death is not justice. “We believe the death penalty is a violation of human rights and that it has no place in modern society. And that’s what we want to change in 2010. We hope you’ll join us. One poster is a start. But hundreds, thousands, become a movement that cannot be denied.”

image & logo by poster for tomorrow

poster for tomorrow is an independent, nonprofit international project whose goal is to encourage people, both in and outside the design community, to make posters to stimulate debate on issues that affect us all.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thanks to Study Abroad programs every year thousands of students get out of their classroom routine and get immersed in a different culture..â&#x20AC;?

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By Silvia Viñas | Designed by Emily Maehl

The Aegean><Center for the>Fine Arts>

Young and talented artists are not usually the wealthiest of people; affording that trip to Paris to see the Mona Lisa face to face is quite difficult. Thanks to study abroad programs, every year thousands of students get out of their classroom routine and get immersed in a different culture, learn about their chosen field from a different perspective and gain life-changing experiences along the way.

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Universities usually offer their own programs, but if you are still in high school or your university doesn’t offer the program of your dreams, you can participate in independent centers or schools that specialize in your field of interest. One such place is The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, headquartered in Paros, Greece. Silvia Viñas dug deeper to find out what a student really experiences while studying abroad.

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Shanoor Seervai is a 21-year-old student studying International Relations at Brown University. She grew up in Mumbai, India and spent the last two years of high school in Canada at an International School in Victoria. After two years studying politics, economics, history and anthropology at Brown, Shanoor started missing painting and drawing, “it was something I hadn’t done since I went to school in India” Shanoor explains. She took a visual arts class at Brown, and although she enjoyed the class, she realized something was missing: “I felt like my teacher didn’t spend enough time teaching me about technique, and I felt she didn’t spend enough time telling me this is how you draw something, this is how you paint something. I feel very strongly about learning technique, and learning traditional methods of drawing and painting before getting into the creative expression angle of visual arts.“ Shanoor shared her frustration with a friend who told her she had attended an art school in Greece that focused heavily on technique. When her longing for art in her life reached its peak, Shanoor called her friend to find out more about the school. With no previous formal art training, Shanoor applied to the Aegean Center and was accepted for the 2009 Fall session.

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John Pack, director of the Agean Center since 1985, said about Shanoor: “I believe her experience here at the Center was quintessential, archetypal in that she passed through many of the transformational and metamorphic passages that imparts subtle and profound change. You see, this happens to almost all the students.”

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reality bytes Month> <in> Italy>

The fall session at The Aegean Center takes students to Italy and Greece. In Italy, they spend a month in Pistoia, a town located 30 kilometers northwest of Florence. Students live in a villa where they share a room. Shanoor took several day trips to classical art meccas like Florence and Pisa. Shanoor comments, “The philosophy of that is to really learn from the masters and to really learn from the best painters and best sculptors in the world by seeing what they did.” Last year, the Center celebrated the 20th anniversary of this three-week session in Italy. When asked about the reason behind the session at Pistoia, Pack says, “The motivation was an almost obsessive desire to expand our in situ aesthetic education, the idea of Classical canon for teaching art, best read the Creative Process, to yoke the Classical with the Renaissance. Of course one must go to and reside in Italy, Tuscany, in order to realize this tethering and build the bridge between the two epochs I wished to build.”

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Pack continues to say that this month in Pistoia adds a valuable encounter with art that students won’t find at a college lecture hall: “So be one month in our villa in Pistoia and our wonderful and mad pace at seeing and experiencing the great art in the place for which it was intended and sprang forth; not on a white wall in a lecture room with rows of auditorium seats.”

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The rest of the program takes place on the Greek island of Paros. Pack explains that Paros is the perfect place for this program because “it is importantly far enough away from the cultures from which most of our students come, as well as environmentally different in the most material and crucial of ways. The beauty of the location and our position in the town of Paroikia, our facilities all feed into the intensity of the experience and are in many ways the largest change agents in enlightening the students.” Here, students live in an apartment complex where they each have a private, fully equipped studio apartment. Students can eat out at the local restaurants—although Shanoor warns that they start closing in November, at the end of tourist season—or take a five-minute walk to the grocery store to purchase food they can prepare in their own kitchens. Shanoor confessed she preferred cooking for herself to take advantage of the quality, nutritious choices the store offered. “We all ate really well and really fresh, good food.”

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Students spend a lot of time together outside of the classroom; inevitably, strong friendships are formed thanks to the physical closeness at the Center’s facilities and the student’s shared interest in art.

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One of the sponsored activities that Shanoor especially enjoyed was what she called ‘the Friday hikes’: “Friday we would all just get up and go on this hike and experience the natural beauty of the island. That was amazing because it was so different from all the creative work we were doing the rest of the week and it was so important to get out there and see the island and spend time in nature.” Pack gives further insight into the reason behind these hikes: “Ah, the hikes.. I myself am an avid walker/hiker/lover of nature and discovered very early in my life what an extraordinary teacher nature is. In my life it has always been nature that has helped me through difficult times and allowed me to realize possibilities and my own personal potential. There is some talk these days about yet another disorder, but in the case of what they are calling ‘Nature Deprivation’ I must be an advocate. The main purpose of the hikes is to allow them the opportunity to discover this for themselves and allow them to understand just how crucial the landscape is to the evolution of a culture.” In the middle of this feast of deliciously healthy food, eye-opening Friday hikes, and relaxing dives in the Aegean Sea, students participate in their chosen courses.

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The Aegean Center offers twelve different courses: one in singing, three in studio art, two in photography, one in printmaking, one in creative writing, three in art history and one in classical literature. The Center aims to give students as much one-onone experience with their instructors as possible. Shanoor was very pleased with this aspect of the program, and said that each student received a lot of personal attention: “There were 23 students in my section and, as a result of that, every teacher knew every single student, they knew your work really well, they spent time with you outside class time. My painting teacher would come to the studio on Saturday to talk about my work. They were always available, always accessible”

He continues to explain that students learn from the examples they see, and not necessarily because the staff wants to actively preach a certain lifestyle: “What they see is a group of adults who have made conscious choices of how they wish to live simply and the happiness with which we do so. They see that there are truly alternative ways in which they can imagine themselves living. This in itself is life changing for most. Even if they don’t choose to go to the same extremes they know they can incorporate elements of such a lifestyle choice and create their own hybrid. It is amazing to see how relieved many are at this revelation.” Shanoor experienced precisely what Pack describes; thanks to The Aegean Center she realized that art would always be a part of her life, no matter what she goes on to do professionally. She says, “The Aegean Center broadened my perspective and reminded me of a different part of myself. It has given me a sense of balance and it’s reopened my world and reminded me of something I love.“ With a clear hint of emotion in her voice, Shanoor finishes her thoughts on her recent experience at the Center: “I can safely say that those were the happiest months I’ve had in my life, and really spending so much time devoted to appreciating beauty is just such a valuable and important lesson on how to live. “ All images courtesy of The Aegean Center & Shanoor Seervai. Visit www.aegeancenter.org for more information.

However, Shanoor’s praise for the instructors was not only related to their art pedagogy skills, she says that “beyond the studio art aspect I feel that John and the other teachers are not just art teachers, they taught us about life and how to live.”

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Pack responded to Shanoor’s comment by humbly saying that the staff at The Aegean Center are “simply living our lives” and that they have only realized this part of the experience by the feedback students have given them throughout the years: “We are not hypocritical when it comes to the aesthetics of our teaching, our art making and our actual day-today existence. We do not separate our personal life philosophies from our work as teachers and artists, The fact is there is virtually no degree of separation that can give rise to a disparity, hence hypocrisy between the two, and they know there is no pretension or artifice, no false virtue. This may be the most liberating part of their whole experience at the Center.”

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As you welcome the long days this summer and take off on your many adventures, keep the creative juices flowing by following one simple rule: Keep your sketchbook close, but your camera closer! issue

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sketchbook Wonder-rooms and curiosity cabinets appeared in the 1500s, as wealthy Europeans displayed objects and specimens collected during trading voyages and exploring expeditions. You can do the same by documenting items you find as if they are scientific specimens. Categorize them by color, texture, shape or whatever you’d like. Photograph the grouping and keep the image in your sketchbook for reference.

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Going on a staycation this summer? Follow our rule and keep your camera handy to play Noticings. Discover, or notice, interesting things when you’re out and about. Snap a picture and upload your photos to Flickr, tagged with ‘noticings’ and geotagged with where they were taken (a GPS comes in handy, but isn’t necessary). Players are awarded points for things like spotting the first thing in a neighbourhood, or noticing something every day for a week. The folks at Noticings say, “Cities are wonderful places, and everybody finds different things in them. Some of us like to take pictures of interesting, unusual, or beautiful things we see, but many of use are moving so fast through the urban landscape we don’t take in the things around us.” Visit http://noticin.gs/ for more information.

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Images by Noticings players (top left) mattymatt, (bottom left) memsphere and (right) somesmokingmonkeys

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Sleevefacing (v.) One or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion. Started by British DJ Carl Morris, Sleevefacing has flourished into a website and book that includes photos of people sleevefacing across the world. Visit sleeveface.com to watch an instructional video, learn how to submit your photos or check out other sleevefacers from around the world. (clockwise from top) Images by Scott and Tora, Amir Weinstock and Johanne Grossenbacher.

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Looking back to the past has always inspired artists and designers alike. A trip to your local museum might give way to a new series of paintings. Or a vintage advertisement might be the basis of a color palette for a website. We feel connected to generations before us when we pay homage to our histories. And lately there seems to be a brewing trend to keep the past alive with the help of good old fashioned snapshots.

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Collect some old photographs - they can be yours or some you picked up at the five and dime around the corner. Call up some friends and recreate the history. Ideas to consider: family photographs (then and now), on location (past and present) or fine art reenactments.

back to the future

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has held a summer program and has established a Teen Council to develop the museum. While it continues to move forward, the organization is still working toward its goal of a physical space. The organizations are great examples of the development of such programs, one still in its developmental stage and another that has achieved success and continues work on its long term goals.

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generation of citizens of Belfast to live in relative peace after â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Troubles.â&#x20AC;? The organization has used a variety of means from fashion to sculpture to poetry to bring the community together, regardless of political or religious affiliation. It has achieved great success and continues to grow as it looks forward to its second decade. The Chicago Teen Museum (CTM), relatively young in comparison, has been working since 2006 to create a physical museum for teens and teen culture in the city of Chicago. So far it

Art is a force to be reckoned with. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s used in political protest, religious practice, or personal expression, art has ways of making messages heard, bringing about action, and empowering people of all backgrounds. In this issue we look at two different organizations and how they have benefitted communities, particularly the youth of those communities, in different ways. The New Belfast Community Arts Initiative was founded ten years ago with hope of bringing together the first

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Northern Ireland has come a long way in the last two decades. Fifteen years ago public bombings in the British Isles were not uncommon. The city of Belfast was sharply divided based on political affiliation; Unionists were relegated to one side of town while Nationalists another. Security systems were in place throughout the city center. Cement walls, known as the Peace Lines and reaching up to 25 feet high, were constructed to provided physical barriers between groups of people. The colors green and orange symbolized affiliation with different belief systems that many were willing to die for. Many did.

alive, other groups within the city have contributed to the cause as well.

Violence has played a pivotal role in Northern Ireland’s history. The struggle between Catholics and Protestants has existed for hundreds of years. Most recently during a time known as “the Troubles” that ranged from the 1960s to the late 1990s, violent acts were carried out in Belfast and throughout Europe. In 1998 the violence significantly declined as a result of the Good Friday Agreement, an agreement signed by British and Irish governments and receiving wide support from multiple political parties that placed an emphasis on negotiating through peaceful means.

The link between art and politics has always existed, and even though the political violence associated with Northern Ireland has ceased there is still a strong link between the political future and art in the city. One group that continues to combine the two is the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative. Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative works to bring community members of all backgrounds together through art. The Initiative began as a way to bring together citizens of both political sides through common creativity. It has been supported by a number of individuals and organizations, including the Belfast City Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

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Today the streets are much quieter. The metal detectors are gone from Belfast’s center. Catholics and Protestants can cross both the visible and invisible barriers that used to segregate parts of the town. While many political steps have been taken to keep the relatively new peace

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Art has always played a special role in Belfast. On the Falls Road you will find entire rows of buildings covered in intricate murals expressing the Nationalist’s view of their struggle. Images of Frederick Douglas and Bobby Sands add color to the area while reminding viewers of the strong political opinions of the neighborhood. Similar murals are found on the Shankill Road, only these come from the Unionist perspective and depict the violent acts of the IRA.

The program has found success by looking at art not as a way to affect only one aspect of Belfast, but as a way to shape social, political, and cultural ideas in the area. They make

The Initiative also sponsors This Is Me, a program where participants of different ages and backgrounds produce multimedia projects addressing issues in their culture or as a way to encourage positive activities they find important. Trash Fashion, another program, teaches students how to design clothing with environmentally friendly materials. The program has been in place since 2003, and culminates in a catwalk at the end of the workshops. Credit toward training in fashion is possible for students who are 16 and above

While political differences remain a primary focus of the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative, they consider other issues that can be addressed through art as well. In the upcoming years they hope to continue to bring together different political backgrounds and, after a rise in racist attacks, include the growing number of minorities. The environment is also becoming more important on their agenda. They plan to raise awareness by educating people and encouraging creative solutions. With past success, an eye toward the future and the addition of new issues to tackle, the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative continues to bring peace to the area and encourage a cohesive, creative culture in Belfast.

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The New Belfast Community Arts Initiative offers numerous programs that allow individuals to participate through poetry, design, photography, and dramatic arts, as well as through other media. One of their most successful programs, Poetry in Motion, focuses on developing creativity through the use of poetic language. The program is divided into two sections, one for students and one for the community. Since 2001 approximately 8,000 students have had their work published. Starting in 2008 students began to create audio recordings of their writing, taking their poetry to a new level of performance. In the community over 550 poetry posters have been placed around the city, reaching an estimated audience of 100,000.

as well. Other projects include Belfast Wheel, a public sculpture program, and Masque, a dramatic arts program involving performance as well as costume and set design. With the number of programs to choose from, the New Belfast Community Arts Initiative offers something for everyone.

an effort to stress inclusion regardless of gender, age, abilities or sexual orientation. In so doing, they have reached their goal of creating a citywide dimension to their work by having over 20, 000 participants.

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When Erin Dragotto was completing museum studies courses at the Art Institute in Chicago she was left with a lingering question that would eventually inspire her to take action. “I was continuously asking myself, ‘How can these great museums speak to a more contemporary audience?’ And, ‘How are we going to bring these wonderful and cultural institutions out of the archaic rut they sometimes find themselves in?” Dragotto remembers.

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She soon found the answer in a 2005 Museum News article entitled “Where’s My Museum?” The article focused on the variety of artistic programs for teens, but the lack of museums to display their works. After researching if any such museum existed and finding that none did, Dragotto decided that it was time for that to change. She recalls, “I did a little research, and found nothing

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to back that question, so I decided to start one of our own with the purpose of combining both the collection and main stakeholder… Teens/youth would be the ones that drive the content, exhibits, themes and educational aspects for the museum.” The Chicago Teen Museum was founded in 2006, placing a focus on teen culture from a museum perspective. Since then the CTM has partnered with the Girls and Boys Club on the South Side of Chicago, After School Matters, and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. They have had about 50 teens from 13 to 19 participating in activities so far. The organization has several short and long term goals. On the short list, Dragotto hopes to “create opportunities for teens to express themselves creatively and

artistically; preserve teen cultures through demonstrations, exhibits and programming; provide teens with professional experiences; and link generational gaps and culture divides.” Long term goals include, “foster a positive understanding of teen culture while cultivating a respect and understanding for museums; provide opportunities for educators, parents, and teens to develop a greater sense of identity; and enhance research of teen culture through study of and collaboration with teens.” Dragotto and the others at CTM have led projects to see the fruition of these goals. In the summer of 2009 CTM put together its first summer program where teens met for four hours a day Monday through Friday. The teens worked to create a new definition of a museum and its purpose through creating their own

For more information about the New Belfast Community Arts initiative visit newbelfastarts.org. For more information about the Chicago Teen Museum visit chicagoteenmuseum.org.

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It’s clear to see that there are many organizations throughout the world that focus on enhancing lives through the power of art. The New Belfast Community Arts Initiative, now beginning its second decade, shows how successful a hopeful idea can be, even while facing multiple obstacles. The positive affects the program has had on the members of the Belfast community will be felt for years to come and will only

increase as the program continues its work. The Chicago Teen Museum, while still young and developing, has collaborated with several other organizations in the Chicago area to better serve teens. Hopefully in the coming years they will continue to develop and fill the void of a teen voice in the museum industry. Whether it is trying to bridge gaps after generations of political unrest or just giving teens a place to document and preserve their culture, art is the common thread that can tie people, particularly teens and young adults, together.

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In the fall of 2009 ten students, including a few of the members of the summer program and others from a variety of backgrounds and eight different Chicago neighborhoods, continued to develop the idea of “Teen Space.” The Teen Council worked to take the ideas and exhibit from the summer and create a framework for the future creation of the program’s goal of a physical museum for teens.

They were responsible for creating a mission statement, criteria for exhibits, target audience, function, and community outreach for the museum. They also consulted with other organizations, including the Art Institute of Chicago’s Teen Lab, Pros Art Studio, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The council will continue to develop its role and work on the process of founding a physical address.

multimedia projects inspired by other contemporary artists. The group was given the task of discovering what “teen culture” meant to them, often delving into social and political issues. As they completed their projects they received group critique and participated in many off-site visits and talks with professionals in the industry, including artists, exhibit developers and curators. The result of the program was an exhibit curated by the teens called “Teen Space.”

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Upcycled Flowers

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cut

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bend your petals to so they fan out...zap your bloom with a heat gun so the petals get curly (lightly - and outside, of course!)...paint the flowers with acrylic paint made for plastic...create faux mercury glass by spraying them with mirror paint...paint a whole bunch with glow-in-the-dark paint and attach them to a wall...put them in a bowl instead of fruit...create a light fixture...wire them together to make a wreath...string them together to make a garland...use them for jewelry...sneak some in your house plants...float them in your pool during a party!

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some assembly required shape

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then...

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The term wanderlust (appropriately enough an import from Germany), originally meant to enjoy hiking, wandering or strolling. The German word has since become outdated and replaced by “femweh”, which translates as “an ache for distance.” This ache, yearning, or calling to explore what is unfamiliar often occurs at this time of year, when seasons change and wildlife springs back into action. Almost everyone has had that desire to just pick up and leave everything behind for something issue

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new and foreign, even if just for a while. It’s easy to see this manifest itself more and more in our everyday lives as cultures become closer, whether studying abroad for a semester, ordering coffee from South America, decorating with home décor inspired by Eastern cultures, or indulging a certain fetish for French music. Different worlds seem to blend together as we become more and more globalized; but the need to learn of what is outside our own world cannot be satisfied through simple imports. It is

wanderlust by researching online or buying clothing or other trend items from abroad, as Brie Hiramine points out in Colliding Cultures, it is not the same as exploring a new place first-hand. Let this issue’s student work transport you somewhere unfamiliar, and inspire you to explore on your own. There is no better time than the present.

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By Sarah Duzyk

a powerful longing that can affect people on a personal level, often through art. Artist Danita’s work is often inspired by the very far away place created in Alice in Wonderland, showing her own interpretation on the rather nonconventional dream world. Chrissy Angliker left her home in Switzerland at 16 to pursue her art in a foreign country, and is now always inspired by where she has come from and where she is going. While today it is easier than ever to learn about foreign cultures and to “experience them”

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Most creative time of the day: Either early afternoon or three in the morning. | What shapes your inspiration? Lately my creativity has been sparked by words and phrases. Phrases from songs and random words in conversations inspire images to pop into my mind. I have to stop everything

“The Machine” Acrylic on wood Shalimar, FL Savannah College of Art & Design

I’m doing to right the idea down or sketch out a composition. | Why is your subject interesting? I like images that are open for interpretation. I know what she’s thinking about but it’s more interesting for the viewers to experience the image on their own. Visceral reactions are the best ones. | Number of hours spent each week making art: I honestly down know. | Color inside or outside the lines? Why? Both, art is not about impressing other people. I think when you stop trying to shock people or create something aesthetically pleasing to everyone and allow yourself to focus on what you want to see and how the art makes you feel, then you will be about to respect yourself as an artist. | Top of my playlist: Flyleaf - Momento Mori, Bob Marley - Greatest Hits, Circa Survive, Alexisonfire, Santigold, Breaking Benjamin - Dear Agony. | At what age did you realize you were an artist? I didn’t realize I was an artist until I was around 12, everyone around me suspected as much when I was 3 or so. | Favorite

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historical figure: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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“Eating Prayers” Digital photograph Winston-Salem, North Carolina Savannah College of Art & Design

Most creative time of the day: Late at night/early morning | What shapes your inspiration? Music, people in my life, other artists, movies | Why is your subject interesting? It’s really versatile and very personal | Number of hours spent each week making art: At least 30 | Color inside or outside the lines? Why? Both. Sometimes uniformity and realism is nice, but breaking out and being different and letting your feelings go is also beautiful. | Top of my playlist: Bon Iver, Blind Pilot, Lady Gaga, Explosions in the Sky, Brand New | At what age did you realize you were an artist? High school, I had always liked art and been “creative” but in high school I really branched out and started acting on that creativeness, now here I am at an art college pursuing an art career. | Favorite historical figure:

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Ghandi and Mother Teresa.

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Most creative time of the day: Usually during the middle of the day, or at night. | What shapes your inspiration? The world and cultures around me, and artists such as Whit Brachna, Jaime Jones, and the Hudson River School Artists. | Why is your subject interesting? I try to replicate nature in a painting. Nature is always changing, so it’s always a challenge to make something look realistic. | Number of hours spent each week making art: Over 30. | Color inside or outside the lines? Why? I’d say outside the lines, because I enjoy creating and looking at art that includes suggestive qualities. | Top of my playlist: Drake, You, Me, and Everyone We Know, and Blind Pilot. | At what age did you realize you were an artist? I really got into art around my 9th grade year, so 14 or 15. | Favorite historical figure: I don’t really have a favorite. Everyone from our past has impacted us, whether positive or negative, and they practically shaped our culture today because of it.

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“Trees” Digital painting Richmond, VA Savannah College of Art & Design

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Most creative time of the day: Mid-

that’s like making art in your head! | Color

morning | What shapes your inspiration? inside or outside the lines? Why? Outside. My family and friends, home, travel, personal

If you always stay inside the lines, how will

and global environment, love....past, present, you ever know what lies beyond them?? | future! | Why is your subject interesting? Top of my playlist: Brett Dennen, ‘Fig Tree’; It is always changing! I surround myself

Chris Dorman, ‘Family Farm’. | At what age

with interesting people that I love and I am did you realize you were an artist? As constantly exploring and learning, meeting

long ago as I can remember. Probably from

new people, and trying new things. With the time I was dextrous enough to draw, I travel, every place is different, it’s constant

idolized my artist sister and tagged along to

surprise. You never know what’s going to her art class. Growing up on a farm, my sisters happen! | Number of hours spent each

and I really used our imaginations as children,

week making art: 24/7 - When I’m not

needless to say we made a lot of ‘vegetable

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physically making art, I’m daydreaming and art.’ | Favorite historical figure: Jesus.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Contained Desireâ&#x20AC;? Brass, sterling silver, resin, maps and found objects Deep River, CT Savannah College of Art & Design

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(left) You can take me in, but please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pinch me (right) The Doomsday of Slumberland Savannah, GA Savannah College of Art & Design

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Most creative time of the day: It’s usually will pass by looking at my coloring page from late afternoon to dinner time, and

and think, “This child knows how to color,”

I’m not sure why, but I think it’s because

just because it is neatly done. | Top of my

that’s about when I can recollect what has

playlist: I listen to all kinds of music, and

happened in a day but not too tired to go

never get too deep into it. But apparently

to sleep. | What shapes your inspiration? my iPod says that I played Beyonce’s “Halo,” Looking at cool pictures or designs will never

Michael Buble’s “Everything” and the “500

be equal to actually making one, but I really Days of Summer” soundtrack about 10 times like spending lots of time lurking people’s

more often than other music that I equally

blogs or random sites to get inspired,

like. | At what age did you realize you

a.k.a. procrastinate. Lately I interviewed

were an artist? Ever since I was a child, I

my friends about their most memorable,

loved trying to become an artist. I felt it the

weird, frightening dreams to find inspirations

strongest when I was doodling on the back

for a series of drawings. | Why is your

of my dad’s floor plans and reports. They

subject interesting? I often make art about were four-inch thick, tabloid size booklets surrealism, nostalgia, and daydreaming. I use and he used to dump them on my desk so my own perspective to narrate the subject he could recycle them (and also not spend or the story in a drawing...the door is open a penny on buying sketchbooks). | Favorite for others to respond freely to the subject. historical figure: I can’t think of one specific I like how people try to figure out what person for now, since I admire many for all my drawings are trying to say, and I like

different reasons. I haven’t found one person

it even more when they make their own

who has everything that I can look up to

interpretation. | Number of hours spent

in one life. I don’t think anyone can live a

each week making art: Depends on each

life that I exactly want to have, since no

day. Sometimes I do absolutely nothing, and two people can live a life (or want to live sometimes I’m so into it I feel I can just poop

a life) the exact same way. But I can say

out art. | Color inside or outside the lines?

that when I was in middle school I used to

Why? As much of a free spirit as I am, I also

be super obsessed with a series of novels

like to stick to lines. As much as I remember called Royal Diaries, a semi-fictional story I never colored a princess’s face with red or

about real princesses written from their

blue...To this day I go to a family restaurant, perspective. For some reason I just loved get a kid’s menu and color it with only three reading teenage princesses’ complaints, colors, so precise and perfect. Then I like to drama, misfortunes and struggles of being a

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bird trapped in a cage.

think about how funny it is that some adults

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“Meaderings of a Misspent Mind” Digital photograph Atlanta, GA Savannah College of Art & Design Most creative time of the day: My creative juices flow the most in the late afternoon and early evening hours when the sun streams through my apartment windows in bright beams across the floor. | What shapes your inspiration? I am often drawn to the messy, the dark and the abnormal. I try to look at things from unexpected perspectives and create work that reflects this viewpoint. | Why is your subject interesting? My subject is an exploration of where we wander when caught up in our own thoughts and ideas and the rest of the world kind of melts away. | Number of hours spent each week making art: As many hours as I can cram in. Creation is my escape, my hideaway. | Color inside or outside the lines? Why? Outside. Often my best work results from a messy happy accident. When I feed into the freedom of what comes to me in this manner my creativity ends up being at its highest point. | Top of my playlist: My playlist is constantly on shuffle, so I never know what’s going to play. Since my music ranges through every

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genre it’s always a pleasant surprise.

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Most creative time of the day: In the mornings when I’m in the shower. It’s the easiest for me to think with no interruptions. | What shapes your inspiration? Anything from books, music, dreams or movies. Mostly fairy tales and mysteries. | Why is your subject interesting? Because you can create your own world with just one image. Something that’s not an everyday occurrence can become a reality if you want it to be. | Number of hours spent each week making art: I think I spend more time of the week coming up with ideas to make art, and I would say that’s the majority of my week. | Color inside or outside the lines? Why? I could never color inside the lines, even now I can’t. I wish I could though, because I think it looks better that way. | Top of my playlist: Anything Lady Gaga | At what age did you realize you were an artist? Since I bought my first camera at the age of 14 I’ve wanted to be a photographer. | Favorite historical figure: Hieronymus Bosch, because he was one of the first conceptual painters. I love his crazy hidden innuendos.

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“Boarding School” Digital photograph Norcross, Georgia Savannah College of Art & Design

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(left) “Poof” (right) “Noise” Chromogenic prints Dallas, TX Savannah College of Art & Design

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Most creative time of the day: Definitely the remaining objects are, which creates when the sun starts to set because I have

age did you realize you were an artist?

a more unique composition. | Number of When I was 16 and took a photography

subconsciously soaked in things throughout hours spent each week making art: I go class. From then on, I have been expanding the day that, at night, will start to stir

to art school so I am constantly making art. into different art mediums and would have

ideas. | What shapes your inspiration?

I probably spend up to 20 hours a week

never learned as much as I did unless I

Books that are related to any art form making some form of art. | Color inside or took that first step at picking up a 35mm and the artwork that my friends create outside the lines? Why? Metaphorically

speaking, it should always be outside of Frida Kahlo. She is an amazing artist and

I like using color palettes that are limited

or explore different ways to make art never be compared.

to 3 or 4 colors maximum, and in my work

if you stay within parameters. | Top of

simplicity is key. I find that the more objects

my playlist: Andrew Bird, Beirut, Laura

I can remove from the frame, the stronger

Marling, Jonsi, Max Richter. | At what issue

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an amazing woman. Her personality could

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work. | Why is your subject interesting? the lines. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never learn new techniques,

are what inspires me to come up with new

film camera. | Favorite historical figure:

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(left) Untitled (right) Untitled Gelatin print on fiber paper Lexington, KY University of Kentucky

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Most creative time of the day: Late

making art: Usually around 15-20 | Color

evening and very early morning, from inside or outside the lines? Why? I have around midnight to 4am. | What shapes the attitude that everywhere on a piece your inspiration? Anything that I find

of paper is both inside and outside and I

myself becoming intrigued by for various have ability to decide which I would prefer reasons - lately it's been fetishes and survival

it to be that day. There is no reason for me

horror video games. I incorporate these to be placed in a group of people when I interests into my own work by exploring have the ability to grow and change as a and researching aspects about them that real human being. Limiting myself to just one could be successfully brought onto film. | of these choices would hinder that ability Why is your subject interesting? I always to change. | Top of my playlist: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Crash 'N' find humans to be fascinating, which is why

Burn Victimsâ&#x20AC;? by Moving Units | At what

I primarily always use them in my photos. age did you realize you were an artist? I believe others are drawn to humans in While I may have been doing art since I art because it is something recognizable was a young child, I doubt I ever thought I and easily identifiable. With that, you could be an artist until high school. | Favorite already have the attraction in which to tell

historical figure: Teddy Roosevelt. If I really

your story. Every one seems to imagine if need a reason, I suggest every one research they were that person inside the photo. | him to see; there are just too many reasons.

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Number of hours spent each week

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00WRITTEN BY BRIE HARAMINE

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Image by Flickr user Kevin Dooley (CC).

global

In the eighteenth century, Western countries didn’t think of China as a place to procure inexpensive goods or to eat delicious, exotic dishes. What they really wanted? The ceramics. Like the Louis Vuitton logo purses and Harry Winston jewelry of today, those high-quality blue and white porcelain pieces of art were the ultimate symbols of Western wealth.

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That Western fascination with art from abroad isn’t a unique event in history. At the start of the twentieth century, the rich, bold prints and sculptures from African art influenced modern artists like Matisse and Gaugin. Considered avant-garde, they were quite unlike the traditionalist paintings of the time. Picasso was not immune to the magnetic pull of this thenunrecognized style of art; in his

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artwork he referenced masks from the Dan region of Africa, coupled with the emotional intensity he derived from the tribal aesthetics. Granted, part of the exotic appeal came from exaggerated tales of cannibalism and wild action— but this fascination, however misguided, was what fed the trend. To them, it was an unheard of way of looking at and reacting to the world. Like Picasso and Matisse and Gaugin, we, as humans, are drawn to the mystique of “something new.” Other cultures seduce us with their foreign tongues, customs, and food—art is no different. When we swing too far to one side of the artistic spectrum, we’re always looking for something else to drive us in a different direction.

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(top to bottom) Images by Flickr users Nicki Varkevisser and Windell Oskay. Creative Commons licenses attached to all images.

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lomo

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(left to right) Images by Flickr users Bradley Kurtz and Kevin Dooley. Creative Commons licenses attached to all images.

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Though art fads are nothing new, the weight of that particular trend as a part of our pop culture is a modern-day construction. The state and power of Lomography cannot be attributed just to Russia or just to Austria, and that is representative of the state of our cultural environment—global in focus.

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In a time when everything was shifting and changing, Viennese artists were able to shift and change as well, reflecting the break from the rigidity of the Soviet Union. By 1994, the first Lomography website was up and running, and the movement has been gaining momentum ever

since. The Lomography Society International says Lomography has always been a “creative approach to communicating…and capturing the world.” Even major retail store Urban Outfitters is in on the action, selling Lomographic cameras. Now, when someone hears “Lomography,” a particular country doesn’t automatically pop into their head; they just see it as a widely used style.

Now, with the wonderful miracles of the Internet, we can get this foreign stimulus with much more ease. For instance, the popularity of Lomography really hit its worldwide stride thanks to the World Wide Web. The trend began a few years after the fall of the Soviet Union when some Austrian students found an old Russian Lomo Kompakt Automat camera in a Prague shop. This style has helped cultivate cross-cultural interactions ever since.

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manga Let’s look at manga, for example. Traditional comic books are becoming rarer as these Japanese graphic novels take hold. Maybe you’ve heard of Death Note, Fruits Basket, or even the new Twilight manga that has recently been released. When was the last time you remember a new Americanstyle comic book really taking hold in popularity like that? The interesting thing is that the manga you see in bookstores today is quite different than what it used to be—the images used to take on a purely Japanese style. Though sequential art existed in Japan as far back as medieval times, modern-day manga only appeared after Japan emerged from its seclusion and became a part of the global community in the late nineteenth century with artists like Rakuten Kitazawa pioneering the East-meets-West look. That’s part of the reason why manga often manages to look foreign, yet partly familiar—it represents a melding of cultures.

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Image by Flickr user D.C.Atty (CC).

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Did this foretell the slow death of country-specific trends? Have localized fads come to an end? Or is this globalization just the start of a new form of integration—of each country taking something of another country and making a new incarnation? Well, it sure seems to be heading in that direction.

very supply of creative lifeblood that provided us with our inspiration in the first place—if we become too homogenous of a global community, then individuality suffers. In the future, we run the risk of being exposed to many international influences, but limiting ourselves only to the ones we can easily access online.

No land, no style, no fashion is untouched by outside influences. When we log on to the Internet, we see the trends, what other people have deemed as “cool.” Although three-quarters of the world have yet to go online, for the rest of us, the Internet has proven to be a dominating source of information, the true “superpower” of the world.

Let’s not be rash. There’s no need for us to drastically decrease Internet relations and international contact, but we must at least make an effort to preserve our individual cultures for the sake of diversity, for the sake of inspiration. Nothing can replace the physical act of exploration—of traveling, experiencing, and discovering your own brand of foreign inspiration, not just a distilled version of popular trends.

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Go explore. You can Internetexplore all you want, but you may only see what other people want to you to see. And that would be a serious loss.

Perhaps the entire global population will get permanently tangled in the web of the Internet. The horrible irony is that by focusing all of our attentions online in order to attempt to create a community of worldwide interactions, we could cut off the

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interview: c

chrissy angliker Artist and designer Chrissy Angliker has lived and studied in numerous places across the world, and continues to blend together the inspiration of place with both painting and functional objects. Her work has been featured in magazines across Europe and Asia, showing the global appeal of her work, and has won her many awards in recent years. Whether its painting destinations, designing furniture or hand crafting her Swiss mask pendants, time and place continue to be major influences on her work. While preparing for a show in California, Chrissy took some time to discuss her designs and paintings, inspiration, and how traveling affects her work.

By Sarah Duzyk | Designed by Jennifer Thomas

What came first for you- design or painting? I started painting at about age twelve. I painted and drew and sculpted before that but at age twelve I started to seriously study watercolors, technical drawing and all the basic stuff. I then went from watercolors to oil painting and later to acrylics. I took a break from painting to study design in college. Three years after my studies I started painting again. Now I do both. Do you prefer design work or painting? If someone held a gun to my head I would say painting. Why? Because I’m not held back by function. Painting has always been my passion, but don’t read too much into this…I love design! My friend and fellow designer Daniel Licalzi and I just founded our own little design company called design since inc. What are your plans for the company? Design since will be focusing on creating products that have the relationship between people, product and environment in mind. The nice thing about having both art and design is that they balance each other out, one inspires the other.

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How did you develop such a diverse range of interests? I wouldn’t describe it as such a diverse range of interests but a diverse range of ways of

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expression. My interest is always the same one: to honestly share my thoughts through my work. What ends up looking so diverse is the different mediums I end up using to express it. Sometimes all I need is paint to express a thought or an emotion. Sometimes to get my point across I need function through a product that people have to interact with. On your website you mention the incorporation of your “political, spiritual and humanitarian perspective.” How have you included these and how do they impact your work? The work I create is about what I understand the world to be and my commentary on it. Different works in art and design touch upon different subjects, as the ones mentioned above.

artist interview

(left) Apples, 2009, 26”x40” on paper; (previous) Untitled #2, 2009, 26”x40” on paper.

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How did you like working with him? I loved working with him. I remember that I couldn’t really understand his German because of his heavy Russian accent, so we would just

What did you learn from that experience? Living in the States without my family forced me to become aware and responsible of my actions, independent and at the same time it gave me room to really get to know myself, to start to be introspective. Those three years at art high school were very defining years.

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You have lived and studied in different places and institutions. How have your studies varied with the different locations? I grew up in Switzerland where my curiosity of art first started. When I was little I was always out in nature exploring and creating things out of stuff I found in the woods. When I got a little older I got very interested in learning how to represent nature through drawing, painting, and sculpting. That’s when I started to take drawing and painting lessons from Russian artist Juri Borodachev, who became my art mentor up until I left for the States.

communicate through the work. What that taught me is how much communication power art actually has. Unfortunately besides Juri and my parents who were supportive, school teachers and parents of friends would be quite discouraging about me wanting to become an artist. They all were trying to steer my passion into just being a hobby. I was not feeling that. I convinced my parents that it would be the right thing for me to go the U.S. to this art school that family friends had told us about. They were supportive and let me go. I was sixteen when I left Switzerland to go study art at an art high school outside of Boston. There I got really into oils.

What inspires you? At this point all things that can’t be controlled but that can be influenced. That relationship interests me.

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Where did you go next? Then it was time for college. One of the schools I was interested in, Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn looked at my portfolio and suggested that I should study industrial design. My parents liked the sound of that more than I did. Those involved did some good convincing because I ended up studding ID. I knew that this was going to be a huge shift in my life, so I decided to stop painting for the sake of focusing all my energy toward learning what would be a new tool of expression. It was a tough transition, but it paid off because now I can think in terms of design and art.

“

How have your travels influenced your creativity? Different places give me different inspiration. In Switzerland my work was usually a little bit on the safe side. As soon as I got to the States my paintings grew in size and became bolder and louder in their subject matter. It did feel like “America, the land of the free” when I first arrived. Now I see Switzerland as the place where I go to refuel my energy and where I reflect on things that then turn into inspiration, which I bring back to Brooklyn. Brooklyn represents work for me. It’s where I create. I don’t see much beauty in Brooklyn, I crave nature when I’m here. But longing makes me work.

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“

The work I create is about what I understand the world to be and my commentary on it.

Do you find that place is reflected in your work? Yeah, that is hard to avoid. To me all my work is about the reflection of my present surrounding and state of mind. So I’m in Brooklyn painting the Swiss Alps- it’s a painting about me painting about the Swiss Alps in Brooklyn. It’s about all the things that are going on in my present surrounding and present mind.

(from left to right) Self Portrait #2, 2008, 19”x24” on paper; Moni at the Beach, 2009, 36”x36” on canvas. N o. 04

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paintbrush with black ink on it and brought it to the upright canvas to paint my eye ball. As I was painting the dot for the eyeball the biggest blackest drip dripped down at the same time. Black on white, a total disaster. I had such a big reaction to that drip, which I perceived as being a total mess up. And then I realized that I haven’t had such a big gut reaction to something in I don’t know when...So I started thinking about what that drip really represented to me. Then I carefully started to work with the drips in the safety of my self-portrait. Once I got more comfortable with the technique I moved on to painting friends portraits, animals and landscapes.

I am particularly drawn to your paintings. How did you decide on your technique? I started to develop this technique in the spring of 2008. Design and art are not the same thing. They both have lovely elements about them, but you just can’t strait-up replace one means of expression with the other. So I decided to go home for a month and see what’s up with painting. It took me about a week to finally make myself set up the gear. It was so scary. I was so long gone from this medium that I didn’t even know what colors I wanted to see and what marks I wanted to make. So I figured to just start at the very beginning again, with a self-portrait...I picked up the

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How would you describe the relationship between planning and chaos that exists in your paintings and in real life? The painting pretty much reflects the way I perceive life these days, which is a balance between control and chaos. As people we have intentions, but must anticipate the intervention of outside forces beyond our power. What I’m trying to say is that we only have control over our own actions and intentions and all we can do is influence but never control anything or anyone else. When I paint I place intentional marks, each time creating a free falling drip. I anticipate the drip, and I got conformable enough working with the drips, that I can influence them to a certain degree. The beauty in my opinion lies in making room for chaos to take place, to keep things real. What are your future plans? I want to keep painting and designing and share the work with everyone interested and make money so that I can keep doing exactly what I’m doing now without worrying.

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Do you have any advice for students trying to pursue art? Just do it! The thing is, if you have the need to make art you sooner or later will. I do think it is helpful to learn some basic skills and techniques because those can help a lot down the line, even if you end up creating abstract work. Also make sure you define to yourself what art really means to you and don’t feel limited by how you should express it. Photography, music, dance, design, a mix of those…whatever floats your boat and nobody else’s.

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(from left to right) Measuring Lights, 2006, redesign release spring 2010 by design since inc.; Measuring Lights (detail); Gretch Furniture (in collaboration with 3E Studios), 2008. All images courtesy of Chrissy Angliker. Visit http://www.chrissy.ch for more information.

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artist interview

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By Silvia Viñas | Designed by Emily Maehl

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In this interview we explore her career and her work as a mixed media artist, and her latest collection based on the theme Alice in Wonderland. issue

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Danita

Danita has a distinctive style that is exposed in everything she creates. Her characters are similar to each other in their overall shape, but their facial expressions capture their unique personality and their various emotions. Danita’s work is colorful and feminine; but despite the soft lines and delicate details, her female characters reveal a feminist edge.

in Wonderland

Self-taught artist Idania Salcido – better known as Danita Art, her artistic name – was born in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. She studied Business Administration in the city of Chihuahua, got married and moved to Juarez where her career as an artist took off. Danita is a mixed media artist; she makes jewelry, dolls, paper goods, paintings, art boxes and more.

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I’ve always been inclined towards creativity, since early childhood I wanted to draw and there’s proof of my artistic abilities on all my father’s encyclopedias at his home. When I was in school I loved presentations and graphic stuff where I could draw and explain

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When did you begin your career as an artist? What was your artistic background before that?

I started working office jobs that drained my life. I painted from time to time at home and sold my stuff on eBay. It was nice to see that I was recognized but I did not have the time to be a full-time artist. I wanted more out of life and one day I realized that being caged in an office cube I would wither and die. So, shortly after I learned that I was pregnant with my daughter, I quit my job and made art my life. It was great because I could care for my child at home and do what I loved the most: Create! I opened my Etsy store, my blog and slowly started to gather followers. One thing led to another and now I do what I love all the time!

How it all began

things in pictures, but being a BA Major, I did not really have a chance to explore that side too much.

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You have a very distinct style. How did you develop that style? What artists inspire you? I think I’ve been influenced by a lot of artists and crafters, like Frida Kahlo and Remedios Varo. My style has been evolving from the day I started to today and I think it’s in great part because of all of the great art that is out there. We are all works in progress and I can’t say I will have this style forever, but right now I’m loving it. You have developed the character of Frida extensively in your work: What inspired you to paint Frida in the first place? What attracts you to her? Her ironclad personality, her character is one of great strength, she is a woman who will not budge on hardship and the many painful things that to happened her. Her ability to channel her pain trough her painting speaks to me on many levels. Does Frida inspire you in the same way that Alice does? No, Alice speaks to me of a dreamworld where everything is possible and nonsensical. Frida speaks of womanhood and strength, and her perseverance and endurance are what move me, and I love using flowers and bright colors when I paint her. Is Frida in any way like Alice? Do you see any connection between these two women?

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Well, they are both very strong characters and very independent, and both are an inspiration to me in their own way.

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artist interview

Alice in Wonderland collection You just finished a collection inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Why did you pick this theme? Oh I love Alice! This is not the first (or the last) time that I paint her and the rest of the characters. I just had an article published in the Somerset Studio Magazine in the “With one palette” section and it was all about Alice. I love her because it’s not your every day night time story. I love that it’s not a love story. She’s a dreamer and she’s a woman! (well, a child but is a she). Her world is like a dream full of nonsense and craziness, it’s a place where everything that is not is, and what is, is not. It’s perfect for me because I can get lost daydreaming, just like Alice, and without knowing, I am in my own wonderland. What do you think is the importance of this story in our society/culture?

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I’m not sure about that…I know that Alice’s adventures have inspired me to create a lot and I love the fact that in her story there are no princes to rescue helpless Alice from anything. She is powerful in her own way and does everything by herself, and that I believe is an empowering message. You really don’t need a prince or a cookie cutter story to have an adventure.

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Apart from paintings, what other items are part of this collection? Well, there’s art trading cards, jewelry, art boxes, dolls and prints based on the paintings. I usually work that way when I have a collection in mind. I have a set of images that will inspire a myriad of other items that are inspired by or utilize the same imagery, colors and style from the paintings that originated the collection. Out of all these items, what did you enjoy making the most? What do you think turned out the best? The Mad Hatter! That one is definitely one piece I am very proud of…When I like a painting so much, sometimes I even have trouble believing I made it…hehehe. This one I like it THAT much.

Is this your first collection based so heavily on one theme? Do you like focusing on one theme as you did this time? If so, why?

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No, I have released other collections before based on a theme…Valentine’s Day, a series of girl portraits and many more. I also have ongoing themes, like the very popular Me and My Animal…That one started out as a few paintings and they were so popular that the collection has been expanding slowly. I work in bursts, I tend to get very exited and focused on a theme for some time, and I focus all my energy on that particular line while I create. But since I get bored easily, that phase can last only a few days or can be extended for weeks at the time if I am really interested in the theme, like the latest Alice collection…Except for my very favorite themes like Frida, Alice and the animal couples, once I get bored with a subject, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll never see something like that in my work again… that may be the reason why I release collections without even realizing it, and the reason why my art is always evolving into something different. I’m a restless child!

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artist interview Are you going to keep working on art based on the Alice in Wonderland theme? If not, what are you going to work on next?

Well, the event on the store site was to release my latest Alice In Wonderland collection just before the new movie opened the day after the sale. I had worked on the paintings, the jewelry and I’m still working on more stuff based on ideas that came after I saw the finished works. Releasing preview images helped to build momentum and getting everyone curious. And the opening event was wonderful, people raided the store and most of the stuff sold within a few hours…All I can do is thank everyone for the wonderful response!

All images courtesy of Danita Art. Visit www.danitaart.com for more information.

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Tell me about the premier that took place in March. How did it go? What was the result of it?

The classic story of Alice in Wonderland has received a lot of attention this year thanks to the release of Tim Burton’s acclaimed version; in the midst of this, Danita’s collection stands as a testament to her creativity and uniqueness of style. The pieces have Danita’s signature all over them. Her style is recognizable in the colors, the shapes and facial expressions in her characters. Danita’s experience proves that formal art training is not a requisite for creating quality artistic work nor for developing a unique and distinctive style.

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LONG time since I dreamed it, I really don’t keep track of that because my process is incredibly impulsive. I had Alice on my mind for some time now…The most difficult part is always to come up with the ideas. You should see the rate at which I go trough moleskines, it’s scary. And that part can take up months. But then one day the images start to build in my mind, and one day they crystallize into the perfect idea and I know it’s time to create. It can take me weeks to decide on the perfect paper and colors for a specific painting. But once things are made in my mind, a few sleepless nights will complete the process that started before, and sometimes in just hours of furiously intense work I complete the painting, doll or jewelry that I had in mind.

I still am creating Alice art…That’s one theme I cannot grow tired of for a while. You’ll see that after this Alice collection, I may not revisit her for a good time. As to what’s coming up next…I wish I knew! I never know what mood I will be in, or what will inspire me next to create my next work, so it’s always a surprise, even to me.

How long did it take you to finish this collection?

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bot issue

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Show some bot you love them and while youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at it spread the Y to the tin man, too! Say what? Turn the page for Ideation, a participatory art project, that starts with a single image. The idea is that everyone uses the same picture to create a new piece of work.

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This issues image comes courtesy of our very own Emily Maehl. Do her work proud and share your derivative with our new Flickr group (CREO Magazine).

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