Wing Luke Museum Call for Artists

I wanted to share this interesting gaming/art exhibit opportunity:
Asian American Arcade
The Wing Luke Museum's call for entries is due September 30th, 2011.
One artist who came to mind is Michelle Higa. I think her work is very interesting.

ATC Cards Using Swap-Bot

I am excited to participate in my first ATC (Artist Trading Card) project. The project is designed by Arts Educator Nic Hahn in Minnesota. I have been follow her blog after seeing this video announcement of her Swap-bot/ATC project: http://minimatisse.blogspot.com/2011/07/anyone-else-interested.html

She created a second mini-trade which I am participating in. The theme is "What I did this summer." Below are both sides of my first ATC card. The side on the left includes a QR code linking to some images and info about an exhibit at a Museum I visited in Seattle. (check out the amazing QR codes you can make with Microsoft Tag!) This card is made from a Japanese candy box, Chinese preserved fruit wrapper and chopstick wrapper. I visited Seattle a few weeks ago for the Microsoft Innovative Educator Forum and I visited the Space Needle (that's what the thing on the right is supposed to be) and the Wing Luke Museum which focuses on the Asian Pacific American Experience. Below is a detailed image of the QR code I created which links to an exhibit page at the Wing Luke Museum: http://www.wingluke.org/exhibitions/yellowterror.html . The QR image was created from an image I found on flickr with a creative commons attribution licensing from the amazing graphic and illustration resource site 50 Watt. more images here:
http://50watts.com/1102202/Taking-Tiger-Mountain-By-Strategy
Below, my first MicrosoftTag QR code image:

Plastic Bag Collection for Sub Zero Festival Project

I have begun collecting plastic bags and bottles from schools and a creek clean up. Above are some of the bags. I will cut these and link them into strips to create "yarn" for visitors to weave into diatom shapes.
This poster below went out the sculpture art classes at Lynnbrook High School in Cupertino. I will be visiting James Lick in East San Jose as well. I have been collecting from Stevens Creek Elementary and will also solicit from Horace Cureton in Alum Rock.























I know no one at James Lick, but will be contacting their art department to at least talk with them. I am curious to know more about their art program. It is such a busy time for schools right now. They are wrapping things up, there are tons of events going on and I expect I will be lucky to get a handful of bags from each school. Happily I just got a bunch of produce netting in the mail from The Wing Luke Museum. I also get a lot of this netting from mom friends and teachers at my son's school, Stevens Creek Elementary. I will be using this plastic in the banners, too.

Below: some of the plastic used on the base banner tapestries. Not a great shot and I have two here stacked as I need my building board for the third banner.
























I have been researching semi permanent installations and light festivals. I found this. I think the beauty of the installation is partly in the lovely old buildings:
http://www.valgusfestival.ee/eng/hansaflux.html

















I also found this and was pretty excited.
http://www.valgusfestival.ee/eng/virmalised.html









































The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textile activity for the Sub Zero Festival will also use plastic bottles. The visitor will be using only the bottoms of the plastic bottles, decorate them with colored permanent markers and attach them to the banners. Some of these plastic "diatoms" will light up with led lights I got at IKEA. I had hoped to purchase the solar powered led lights but they are completely sold out everywhere. I was surprised but I guess I shouldn't have been. They were well designed, simple and elegant. Below are the small battery powered led lights I purchased instead. I will just have to switch these on during the festival. I had really wanted solar powered led lights and will keep exploring that for future illuminated outdoor projects. This initial disappointment in not being able to get these led me to research light festivals and how others incorporte light into their semi permanent art.