get creative

My project is pretty simple. To spread creativity! Living in Irvine, I often get suffocated by the never-ending monotony of school work school, the business tie too tight around my collar. I don't see enough uniqueness and creativity running rampant in the world. Thus the need for creative chaos.

My project is called getCREATIVE. These are the items you'll need:
-Glitter
-Small plastic bags (preferably jewelry bags)
-White adhesive labels (same size as bags)

First, fill a ridiculous amount of bags with glitter. I only filled mine halfway, but feel free to stuff them til they burst.
Next, gather a number of meaningful quotes on creativity. The ones I used are as follows:
"Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts."
~Rita Mae Brown

"The chief enemy of creativity is "good" sense."
~Pablo Picasso

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun."
~Mary Lou Cook

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
~Jack London

"Trust that little voice in your head that says "Wouldn't it be interesting if..." And then do it."
~Duane Michals, "More Joy of Photography"

"When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."
~Tuli Kupferberg

Taking your quotes, print them onto the adhesive labels. Be sure to print enough for each bag to be labeled. Stick these onto each bag (neatly, please!)
Next, grab another sheet of labels. These go on the back of the glitter packets, and they're going to be printed with the link to the website I created for this project:
http://www.wix.com/dropsyfox/getcreative
I also added a signature pawprint on the labels, but you can either replace it with your own signature clip or go without it completely.
After you print these labels out, stick them on the opposite sides of the bags. Your weapons of artistic chaos are now finished!

Now, place them anywhere. You can put a number of them in a small box with a "take me" sign, or you can just place each bag conspicuously in a random spot where someone will find it (and hopefully take it home).

Once finished, sit back and let creativity and chaos spread!

Colour Me Your Colour

I am greatly influenced by beautiful & simple lyrics from songs because they can either go straight to the point or have a deeper meaning within them. For the final project, I wanted to create a happy message that can brighten anyones day. It is simple itself but I felt the message can relate to anyone with an open mind and willing.

I took a photo of a friend holding balloons over a sky and cropped it as a square. I am intrigued by balloons because I feel that there is life present within them. The colors are just so vibrant and I felt this was perfect with the lyric I chose. One day when I was driving to San Diego, I was listening to Blondie and the song "Call Me" went on. The first lyric was stuck in my head and I immediately knew this is perfect text for my photograph. The lyric is "Colour me your colour". This message can go anyway you want it to, but for me I felt that this single lyric by itself can mean to have an open mind and to understand different sides of people. I myself try to listen to other people and their ideas and it becomes a bit of inspiration to my work.

I wanted to initially create a sticker, but I felt that is a bit simple so I went over to Office Depot and found these window decals and I knew they were perfect because I like the idea of putting my work on a clear surface that can be facing with the sun.

I wanted to create something cheerful and hopefully everyone will take this message as much as it has affected me.

:] Charlene Fulgencio

I uploaded a PDF version online, you can download it here:

COLOUR ME YOUR COLOUR

1. Buy window decals at Office Depot (10 for $13) or use regular paper if you want.

2. Download PDF.

3. & Print!!!!

Write a Letter

>

In this day and age, it is rare to receive a handwritten letter in the mail from a friend. Everyone is so caught up in their hectic daily activities so we make a habit of texting and emailing to stay in touch. We never actually take the time to sit down and write out a thoughtful note to the people we love. In my final project, I want to make people think about their friends and loved ones in the place that most reminds them of keeping in touch, the old fashion way.

I want to inconspicuously post my piece at different mailboxes. I have chosen a variety of quotes by famous writers about friendship that I hope will make people reflect on the importance of their relationships. I printed out these quotes on shipping labels so that they could be stuck anywhere on or near a mailbox. I chose to have them be clear so that they wouldn’t stand out so much at first, but over time, they would be seen, like the importance of a friend.

Although the quotes I used are by famous writers, I didn’t want this to simply be about a quote on a wall. I wrote out the quote, and then I ended it with a closing valediction such as “Yours Truly” or “Regards”, followed by the author’s name. Instead of using the commonly known name of the writer such as William Shakespeare, I have changed it so that the name sounds more like an everyday person, like Will S. I want people to read the quote as if it is a short letter, so that they may get the idea to sit down and write a letter themselves, then send it in the mail.

Things You Will Need:

• Ink Jet Shipping Labels

• Printer

• Quotes

In the name of Art

For my textual intervention final I chose to make stickers that have a very direct message yet was actually quite vague. My basic stickers say "FUCKART" and are made in the most resourceful way. I feel as though the stickers can be placed in just about any place or setting and are able to coexist with the surroundings in which they are place. I feel as though the viewer's response to the text (based on the location) will have a different interpretation so in a sense it is still Art.

How To:

-Adhesive paper, preferably pre-cut label stickers
-Black ink stamp-pad
-Gel or rubber letter stamps

Use the rubber stamp letters to create a text on the adhesive label and gently seal the message wherever is desirable to you.

Useless Information Enclosed.

For my final art project I was inspired by checking the mail today. I love getting meaningful mail, which also means I despise getting junk mail that I end up throwing in the trash- a lot of this junk mail ironically says "important information enclosed" or something to that extent. I think it's wasteful of environmental resources and energy, and wasteful of the time it takes to open it and throw it out. I decided then, to create junk mail.

I purchased a box of envelopes from the nearest Kinkos, the type of envelope with the clear film strip to see the addressee's name. I decided that I wanted to have the junk mail come from UCI, so I looked up UCI's logo and funnily enough they put all of them on a webpage for you to choose from. I downloaded a simple logo, shrunk it down to size, and printed out 40 envelopes with the logo on the top left hand side. Then, I took 40 sheets of regular printer paper and typed "Fellow Anteater" in the middle, as the addressee. I don't want to ruin the project by saying what I wrote inside and why I addressed it from UCI, so I'll leave that for tomorrow. My reasons for what I wrote inside are also to be revealed tomorrow. After I folded up all the papers, I put them in the envelopes and distributed them out into the real world. I live in VDC Norte and there are little clips on the doors where Norte puts up notices, so I put four of my envelopes on four different doors. Then I took two to Norte's mail room and two to the post office at the University Town Center.

My project is a mechanical reproduction of the junk mail we see in the physical world via standard snail mail as well as online, digitally in the form of junk email/spam.

HELLO my name is… Health and Exercise

In today’s busy society, it is easy for you to forget about the simple things in life that actually will help you out in the long run. Holding down a job or two, attending college, playing sports, and spending time with family are more than enough to fill up your entire schedule. However, it is necessary to take care of yourself before you should help others. Taking a few minutes out of your day to relax, get some exercise, or make a healthy home cooked meal can be all that it takes to stay healthy and in shape. For my text intervention project, I am promoting good health and exercise by labeling water bottles, (obviously you can’t get anymore healthy/ necessary/refreshing than that!) with motivating quotes to get you off the couch and into shape. If you are interested in contributing to this project, here is how I have done it.

1.Buy some water bottles (It is usually cheaper to buy a whole case at stores like Costco, Albertsons, Fresh and Easy, etc)
2. a. Purchase some printable name tags (If you go to Office Depot you can get a pack of 160 stickers for $8, if you buy the Office Depot brand)
b.Or you can go online and buy a pack of Avery name tags for $3 in a set of 100
3.If you buy the Office Depot name tags you will have to download the template of the specific packet you have bought on to Microsoft Word, and then cut and paste to Adobe Illustrator and use the pen tool to trace the Avery: Hello my name is… badges.
4.After getting the template for either brand of name tags, set up and type in the word “Health” or “Exercise” as the name, and include a corresponding quote to go with the word.
 Here are the quotes I have selected:
o If it weren't for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn't get any exercise at all. -Joey Adams
o People say that losing weight is no walk in the park. I beg to differ.
o The speed at which stress can’t keep up, is simply forward motion. But it has to be self-propelled. Note that people in cars are still stressed. -Jef Mallett
o We do not stop exercising because we grow old - we grow old because we stop exercising. -Dr. Kenneth Cooper
o The health of nations is more important than the wealth of nations. -Will Durant
o Every human being is the author of his own health or disease -Buddha
o The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not. Mark twain
o Living a healthier lifestyle will only deprive you of poor health, lethargy, and fat. –Jill Johnson
5. Then take the extra badges and type of the words, “Commit to be fit.” In circles that are the same size as the water bottle cap.
6. Cutting out the badges and the circles, place the stickers onto your bottle.
7. Lastly, spread the word of exercise and health by placing the made water bottles in public areas. Feel free to take pictures of it and post it to this blog or email me at: aschlack@uci.edu
I would love to see how far this project can go!

Here are some examples of the locations I have placed my water bottles:

Stamp It Out

"Ohh, UCI, good school. What are you studying?"

"Art."

"...Ohhhhh...."

As an art major we hear it constantly- this less than impressed reaction in learning what we've decided to do with our lives...or to them, decided how to throw it away.

But why are art, drama, dance, music, women's studies, psych, etc, majors looked down upon?? Because they're not a sure-fire way to a successful career? But what is a successful career? One that brings the highest income? Or one that brings the most happiness?

Don’t take it anymore. Change our culture’s way of thinking. Make a stamp.

I carved many different stamps, the main one stating "It's okay to be" with various other stamps stating things normally taken with a grain of salt, as something negative, as something strange, etc.

List of Supplies

• Any old eraser (White art erasers are best, but traditional pink erasers work too. The eraser should be at least 1” by 1”, or bigger)
• A cutting tool,anything with a sharp edge. (This can be a razor blade, and X-acto knife, a sharpened pencil, a creepily filed nail, anything that can cut through eraser!)
• A marker, or stamp pad (to ink up your stamp!)

Step 1. Pick a message! What do you want to say? Your message can be nice, rude, loud, impacting. In my case, I used a more friendly approach by making an “Its okay to be…” stamp initially, then smaller stamps that read “art major, happy, nerd, etc.”

Step 2. Whatever message you want, pencil the mirror image of it onto your eraser (this is necessary so you don’t stamp it backwards! …I did this many a time, don’t be ashamed.)

Step 3. It’s carving time! Following your pencil marks, carve out this gray part from the rest of the eraser.

Step 4. Ink it up!

Step 5. STAMP! Spread your message wherever you want- the arts plaza, ring road, the unsuspecting hand of someone passing out flyers, anywhere!

I placed my stamps all over the arts plaza, in the hopes that those with "lesser majors" would take notice, and question all the scrutiny society has for the arts.

Terrible Toilet

Imagine you had to urgently take a giant dump. You race over to the restroom and, without looking, you sit down, laying a fat poo simultaneously. As your skin touches the porcelain you realize that the seat had been wet and that the water that had splashed upward due to the force of your feces had already been occupied. FML.

This is an exaggerated story, but I am sure this, if not something close to this, has happened to you the reader or someone you know. I have never personally experienced such an event, but I have walked into a restroom stall only to find it occupied by urine on the toilet seat and/or crap inside the toilet (this happened many times in CIELO freshman year... shout out to my lil cieloers this year.. YEE YEE) I am then forced to hold my "junk" until I find a cleaner restroom, or if urgent, forced to clean and flush myself.

THIS MAKES ME ANGRY! Honestly, how hard is it for you to aim inside the toilet? Unless you have a dragon in your pants or are fighting a bear inside the stall, it shouldn't be too hard to hit a giant target from inches away (if "piss on toilets" is happening because people are practicing their long range shooting... -__-x just pray I will not find you). Also, how lazy do you have to be to not want to flush your own toilet?!

In order to stop this madness, I have created stickers to remind people to aim inside the toilet when doing the number 1 and to flush as you leave.

"AIM BEFORE YOU FIRE" should be placed behind the toilet as you walk into the stall. That way when people walk in, it will be in their faces (ladies, unless you girls pee facing the toilet standing up, this shouldn't be a problem).

The "DONT RUSH, PLEASE FLUSH" is meant to be placed behind the stall door, so that when someone sits down on the seat they will see the sticker on the door for as long as they are doing their business.

You may copy and paste the above images onto whatever program will allow you to print onto paper. I used packaging stickers and printed the images onto those. Once you have created the stickers, place them in any restroom you please. TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Know Your Roots.

Background:
For my intervention project, I decided to expand from my collections project and use the tree made of aluminum wire. My purpose in doing so was to relate the attributes of a tree to a quote that I have always followed by - "Know Your Roots". I decided to expand on this quote and add a little bit more to make it my own by adding onto the second half of the quote - "For humility is the seed to success". I decided to use a deeper and more meaningful message rather than a witty or sarcastic one. I'm a big believer in humility and being humble, so I wanted to emphasize this through my art.
My purpose in making this statement is that I have encountered many people who are talented and have been very successful in their hobbies or occupations. It truly is a shame to see that such a talented person can be so cocky and boast about their skills rather than being humble. For a lack of better words, it's a turn off and is very unappealing. With this quote, I want to reinstate the idea that everyone should appreciate their background and their roots.

Process -
Expanding on the wire tree from my collection assignment, I decided to make forty smaller wire trees and attach a note to each of them. Attached to each tree is the quote:

"Know your roots, for humility is the seed to success."

Take pride in your background, and remember how hard you have worked or what you have done to be where you are now. Acknowledge it. Embrace it. Otherwise, your ignorance will lead to your downfall.

I placed my wire trees in the eight following places (I wanted to place it in areas that I know people will see it):
1) Mesa Court
2) University Town Center (Focus Dance Center)
3) The UCI Bookstore
4) UCI Student Center by the ATMS
5) Cyber A
6) Near the Dance Department office
7) Bren Events Center (Hopefully it's still there for commencement)
8) By the Theater on the Student Media Newspaper stand

How-To

Materials needed:
1) Aluminum wire
2) Wire cutters
3) Paper
4) Printer
4) Tape

To complete a similar intervention, first cut out ten pieces of aluminum wire of roughly the same length. Group together the wires and pull out a few strands on the bottom (used later to mold roots/branches). Take another piece of wire and securely tie together the ten sticks of wire. Once secure, prop out the bottom of the bundle to mold the roots; to ensure that it will stand, make sure there are at least 3-4 roots. Begin to create the branches to your liking. Once you have completed the tree, attach a note (can be of any type - funny, sad, hopeful - and of any font [I used Copperplate Light]) to the trunk of the tree. Place your wire tree in an area in which many people can encounter your intervention.

Add/Drop Education

Thoughts:

So for my intervention project I wanted to critique the educational system here at UCI. I wanted to get to students that their education is exactly that “their education”. Students take classes sometimes merely for the fact that they need a course with expectation that it is easy. Students need to realize they need to take the class to learn something. Unfortunately in our society education is not free and students pay a premium to receive it and yet many students do not treat it as so. I believe the UC system has also forgotten the fact its purpose is to teach. By raising tuition and making education inaccessible to individuals who are willing to learn our society suffers. We all suffer by our lack of knowledge and responsibility. Through my work I hope people can find these and take a little time to reflect on education and what it stands for to them.

Process:

The process for which I intended to intervene was by taking add/drop cards from the main office and writing witty statements to make students second think what they are about to do. Whether it is adding a class or dropping one we all need to stop and think. Are the classes we taking important to us or are we just taking them to fulfill a requirement, do we want to genuinely learn or simply pass, do we have control of our education or are we being sold what take. I made my message through filling out the information side of the card and attempted to make them plausible in terms of filling them out.

How-To

To replicate this intervention one needs to get any formal forms that are used at their school such as add/drop cards. Look at what information is required to fill the form and come up with clever and amusing ways to complete it while critiquing the institutions they are focused on. Be creative. Be direct.

Note:

Due to bad timing and the coming of the digital age Add/Drop cards were removed from the office as most course corrections will be done online from now on. I no longer was able to place my work in the designated boxes but instead left them around campus in hopes people would read them and still have the same effect.

Intervention project

For my intervention project I took a quote from Jean Baudrillard's The Stucco Angel to create my message. I used the quote," there is no such thing as fashion in a society of cast and rank, since one is assigned a place irrevocably, and so class mobility is non- existent." This article talks about the feudal order during the time of the Renaissance. It talks about how there is no social hierarchy since rank is already taken place when a person is born. It talks about class- mobility as non- existent. It made me think on how everything is already ranked today in society. We are so influenced by our culture that it makes us rank everything. I wanted to create my project in the form of a flier. I made the document through microsoft word. I changed the page set up into landscape. For the image I took the picture vertically and set the camera as Digital macro. It gives off a green tint throughout the image without having to edit anything. After uploading the image, put the picture onto word, taking up only have the page. then go to the tab insert. After selecting it look for an icon Word Art. Select it and choose the eighth style. It should be light blue in Times New Roman font. After selecting it type out the first message "there is no such...." it should be in font size 36. After pushing okay, take away the shadow and make the fill white. So the wording itself completely disappears. Then you drag the text over to the stairs image. Place the wording on the first step. You are going to do these steps for the rest of the message. However, the font gets smaller as the stairs descend. The only part of the message that does get bigger would be the ", and so....". Make sure the spacing of the text is just right so it fits on the steps. Also make sure you rotate around the text so that it doesn't look too awkward on the stair steps.

1B Intervention Project

Intervention Project: Making bookmarks and planting in different libraries.
By: Vida Liu

Why bookmarks?

I love libraries. People who go to libraries are usually quite open-minded, eager to learn. I hope that my project can reach people when they check out a book and find my bookmark in it.

Here is my philosophy:

“As for men, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field. The wind blows over it and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.” Psalm 103:15-16.

Memento Mori, a Latin phrase, means that one day every life must come to an end. I hope to use my art to remind us that we are mortal. People who manage to live life to the fullest and appreciate every moment despite the difficulties life throws at them inspire me.

There are a lot of pessimistic people in my life who always complain, even the smallest obstacle frustrates them and they give up easily, wasting much of their lives thinking of the glass as half empty.

My artistic objective is to demonstrate that each precious moment should be appreciated by each one of us. In response to my inspiration, I wanted to make bookmarks. Originally I wanted them to say: Make a “mark” in this world. But after discussing this with Professor Civin, I realized that the book mark should say: Make a __________ in this __________. This allows the viewer to linger longer, and to participate with my art. They can plug in their own words, and I think that is more meaningful.

Materials and Equipments:

1) Computer software: In Design
2) HP Laser printer
3) HP Laser papers (good quality)
4) Camera for documenting the distributing process

Target libraries to distribute the bookmarks:

I plan to leave 2 bookmarks in each of the following libraries:

1) Santa Monica Public Library, Santa Monica.
2) Donald Kaufman Public Library, Brentwood.
3) UCI Langston Library, Irvine.
4) Marlborough School Library, Hancock Park.


My secret recipe to make the bookmarks using In-Design:

InDesign CS4:

1) File > New > Document
2) Page Size > Letter > Orientation : protrait
3) Select: Rectangle Tool > click within a white space> width :7.5”,
height :2” > Click “OK”
4) Drag the rectangle to the center of the page and arrange it on the upper portion of the page(inside the printing area)
5) Select: Type Tool and select font: Chalkduster, 30pt, regular
6) Type “Make a ______ in this ______.” in the rectangle
7) Highlight all the text
8) Align the text in the center and click “enter” 3 times to place the text in the center of the rectangle
9) Select: Selection Tool
10) Select all texts and the rectangle
11) Press “Alt” and then “Shift” keys to copy and align your original design, and make a new copy under the previous one.
12) Repeat 3 times to obtain 5 copies on one page
13) Select the original design
14) Double clicks: Fill Tool and change RGB to select colors:
Yellow- R:255, G:242, B:0
Blue- R:39, G:224, B:247
Violet- R:255, G:191, B:255
Green- R:25, G:239, B:33
Orange- R:255, G:139, B:0
15) Repeat step 14 every time when you change a color
16) File > Save > Filename
17) File > Print

Last words:

I want to use my art project to remind people that we should make use of our life to make a difference in this world while we are alive. However, the viewers are welcome to plug in different words and change the original meaning as well. I would be interested to know what words they plug in. Please feel free to post a response on this blog or email me at vhliu@uci.edu on what your choice of words are.

Take care and have fun using your own imagination to complete my art piece. It was an honor to be in 1B with all of you. I have learned tons of precious knowledge from Prof. Civin and all of you guys. Thank you all, and have a great summer!


Best regards,
Vida (=

Spreading the Word

I was having a hard time figuring out what to do for my final project. Then while I was washing my hands in the bathroom, I saw someone walk out with out washing theirs'. I thought that was disgusting. So when I went to use the door I made sure to use a paper towel to touch it to try to avoid getting any fecal matter on my hands. So what I want to do is spread the word like that oh so gross fecal matter and tell people to wash their hands, lest they spread poo everywhere.

In order to create awareness, you start out using Word or Photoshop. You center the text in the middle of the page using about size 16 or 18 font, your choice. Then you write "Wash your hands, no one wants fecal matter everywhere." Make sure to keep it relatively centered in the paper. Also do not forget to put "Go to http://springvisualculture1b.blogspot.com/2010/06/spreading-the-word.html to spread the word" lower than the other text in size 8 font. Then print it out. The next step is to cut the paper into the shape of dog poo while keeping the text in the center. You can now put the 'poo' on the inside of a bathroom door using duct or masking tape or whatever tape you have. Enjoy!

Labeled Sense

Click. :)

Pictures will be up by Wednesday.

Be happy.

INSPIRATION:
While I was struggling to figure out what to do for this final project, these Buddhist monks came into my History 70B class to talk about their ways of life. I was born into a Buddhist family, but never really took it as seriously as I should've... and this is because I realized that Buddhism isn't just a simple religion, but a way of life that everyone, Buddhist or not Buddhist should at least take from. When I was sitting in class noticing the awkward placement of these Tibetan Monks in a modern classroom of 100+ students, one of the monks said something that has been said over and over again, but the way he said it, made me really think.
He said that people in our society today let the smallest things irritate us; it's not that the person is annoying, it's just that you, as an individual, find them annoying. Someone else may find them inspirational. I can't remember the exact words, but he made me realize that we all dwell because our coffee is too hot, our food doesn't taste good, the person on the bus is being obnoxious... we make these into our problems when little kids in Darfur are struggling to find clean water, walk around barefoot, and constantly witnessing warfare.
So for my project, I made stickers and taped them onto a lollipop.

HOW TO:
I bought Avery address labels from target for about $5, downloaded the template for Microsoft Word, and typed my quote right onto the template and printed it out from my computer. I bought two bags of Tootsie pops and on each Tootsie pop, I placed the label perpendicular to the stick of the lollipop right over the end of the wrapper, and stuck both ends together. I took a paper plate and left it in the Langson Library for stressed out students to take.

PURPOSE:
My quote was "Right now, you may feel like your problems are endless. But you also have a choice to strive for eternal happiness. Be happy, it'll do wonders :) Enjoy!"

My audience was obviously these college students who are cramming 10 weeks worth of material in one weekend before their final exams. When I get stressed, I tend to feel like it's the end of the world, and I sulk about my problems and let them disrupt my focus. I'm sure that many of my peers feel the same way. I want to send them a similar message to them that the monks sent to me: Be grateful for what you have instead of being unhappy about what you don't have. Don't take those most important for granted because chances are, when you allow yourself to be happy, you'll be in a better mood to study, be optimistic about your finals, and start the summer with good grades. Just remember that many people out there are suffering way bigger problems, and being in this university alone is something we tend to take for granted.

The lollipop reminds me of childhood, and when I think about childhood, I think about how blissful our lives used to be. We were never that short tempered, and candy always made us feel better. There's my final project for you!

Final Project: "Grow your own ideas."

Our world has changed dramatically over the years and people seem to no longer be individuals. We live in a society where everyone seems to follow instead of lead. For my final project I wanted to make something that shows people that individualism is extremely important today and one must be able to have their own ideas and input on what is going on around them.

I decided to make thirty eight potted plants consisting of a variety of different flowers and colors for my final project. On each of the pots there is a printed note that reads, "Grow your own ideas", to further convey that having your own beliefs is of the upmost importance.

Making this project was not extremely difficult, but rather very time consuming and not to mention expensive. I had to put soil and seeds in each of the pots, water them daily, and give them enough sunlight to help them grow and flourish.

Although my idea seems rather simple, I feel that the message being conveyed is rather strong and provides people with a different look on individualism. Hopefully it sways people to go to the beat of their own drum and stop following others in what they think is popular or right.