Over five years ago, I designed and created my own version of magnetic poetry.  It took a full Sunday looking though the dictionary to select the seven hundred words that ended up being  printed and cut into individual words that very same day.

So now, I’m sharing both a 1600×1200 and 1024×768 desktop in honor of that day and this fabulous tutorial on Technical Advisory Service for Images [TASI] that features my photograph of Magnetic Poetry under the Creative Commons license.  The tutorial explains in great detail how to find images on Flickr.  It also provides links to some interesting third party Flickr search sites.  My favorite is Color Fields, which allows you to search simply by selecting a color of interest.  In addition, it featured some color selection tools that limit your search to certain search terms such as flowers, urban decay, and stock images.

I was surfing today and came across the website of Leonardo Solaas. I have to say that I am quite impressed at how he uses interesting techniques of visualizing data to create artistic images. One of his nifty projects, Dreamlines, allows users to enter search terms and then the application uses Google’s image search. Pixels become data values which are then compiled to form a constantly changing and shifting image. I used the search term “surrealmuse” to create the images here in the post.

Another project, Migrations, takes two completely different sources and smashes their data together. The first source consists of random fragments of The Quixote, the second comes from randomly selected words from the world news of the day according to the BBC. The words from both sources tangle with one another to form an interesting visual set. Salaas says that “…letters migrate between them to show the simple fact that, in spite of all their distances, they are made of the same stuff. The foundations of our culture, the accounts of the world we live in: all is language.”

His site has quite a bit more fun applications and is definitely worth a visit.

[Leonardo Salaas]

Check it out! In just a couple of hours, I created my own profile in the TalentDatabase that features 18 selections from my soft pastel portrait portfolio, a couple videos, even some photography. In addition to offering a free online portfolio, there is a section for my bio, artist statement, and exhibition history.

The database features 8 different types of listings from talent to fan across 20 channels ranging from art to film to writing so you’re bound to find a way to get yourself listed. Not to mention, it’s a great way to network and get connected with fellow like minded individuals.

Talent Speaks, an online resource to artists, envisions the database becoming:

The creative industry’s new comprehensive talent search engine and artist directory. The free web-based registry is similar to a global Yellow Pages designed to connect the creative class with enthusiasts around the world. The database takes the guesswork out of where to find top talent and industry contacts on the web, and creates a searchable listing that allows users to sort through artists profiles spread across twenty diverse talent categories.

So check it out and get yourself listed today!

One of my readers, Steph Palallos, writes in her online blog, “Steph Disturbs the Universe“:

I’ve never done anything like this before. A couple of months ago, the ingenious Filipino fashion designer Vic Barba asked me to make a handful of wire sculptures for the preview/exhibit of his new boutique at Greenbelt 5. The building is not even up yet (the shop opens in October), but the developers wanted to start announcing the stores that were going to open there. He wanted something different—he didn’t want to display the actual clothes or photos of his previous work—so he asked me to recreate (make my own interpretation of) his designs. It looked like an insurmountable, incredibly intimidating task, a challenge to my sculptural and artistic skills. I wanted to run the other way, but, of course, I accepted the job. I immediately prayed to all the gods of creativity to help me figure out how to make this happen.

Go check her absolutely amazing priceless wire sculptures and show her some love.

[Featured photo is one my favorites, “Original heels”.]

Words are a very inefficient method of communication, as far as accuracy is concerned. Connotation, cultural bias, etc. Our first use of communications technology were the collection of grunts that eventually became the spoken language. Since humans are visual creatures, we also learned to communicate via the use of visual representation of objects. You know. Pictures. And eventually came text. Text worked well. And now, we have added smilies. And video. WOW.

Now, this is probably a slight bastardization of the history of human communication. Just work with me here for a moment. Think of the impact that art has on someone. It usually conveys an emotional sense that is somewhat greater than words can express on text. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

We’re no longer communicating via simple text or a strange vocabulary of grunts. We’re communicating visually, audibly, tactilely in a thousand ways every day.

The concept of a Digital Ethnography is being explored by Kansas State University to create an idea that the internet is a communication playground for everyone that cares to tap into it, and that communication is the ultimate equalizer in the race to promote open and honest discussions about the nature of the human psychology. And using this information, maybe we might just be able to build a better tomorrow.

Visit the site, there’s some interesting things going on there showing the future of Web 2.0.

Personally, I believe a new language is evolving right under our noses.

Digital Ethnography @ Kansas State University

One of my favorite things to do when it comes to creating art is studying the works of other artists and trying out their style. While the idea of recreating a masterpiece in might seem near impossible, just keep in mind that the idea is not so much to painfully paint line by line, dot by dot, but to find a piece of artwork that you connect with, and then, let yourself get lost in the feeling of recreating the piece.

My own personal study of Picasso's Blue Nude is a perfect example in finding this balance in time and creativity. To start off with, it's a piece that is great to study, but doesn't take a terribly long time to recreate. The piece essentially took one quick sketch to outline the nude. The rest of the time was spent painting away.

So if you're ready to find inspiration, here are a couple sites that feature online galleries of interest:

Olga's Gallery- While the name and site design might lead you to think it's just another attempt to make a personal website at geocities, the content is
worth an extended visit. The site contains over 10,000 works of art, which are organized by artist, country, & movement along with a search feature. One of the things that sets this sites above most archives is the navigation on the artist pages. As an example, Van Gogh's gallery consists of two pages and yet contains a total of 122 thumbnails that link to decent size images. On top of all that, the main page includes a list of the top 20 artists that will get you brainstorming on different artists to study.

Online Picasso Project-Comprehensive illustrated catalogue with 9,030 works catalogued, 6,274 biographical entries,173 listed museums & collectors, 2,170
selected references, & 3,165 archived articles…in other words, this online project is amazing beyond words. I just wished there was one of these on all of the famous artists out there.

National Portrait Gallery - If the latest round of cool art sites inspired you to create a self portrait piece of art, this site contains over 10,000 portraits to study and ponder.

According to Wikipedia, the first known photoblog started back in 1995, but it wasn't until seven years later that it started to become popular. Over the years, there has been an explosion of photo sharing sites, photo memes…even photo themed sites with one of my personal favorites being concept of "Photo a Day", sites that make a commitment to posting a new photo everyday. It's definitely not an easy feat…many of these sites get started only to find themselves postless after the demands of life take over. But there are several that manage to keep going day after day. So here's a collection of those sites for your viewing pleasure. Maybe they'll even inspire you to start your own….

50Prime365.com - a creative self-portrait a day site that was aiming for 365 shots…made it to 279, and then just recently decided to have an open call for submissions so you can partake in the fun

09h09 - another self-portrait a day site that commits to taking a photo everyday at 9:9am since september 2002

daily dose of imagery - a beautiful collection of daily photos

Miskan - a recently completed 'Photo a Day' site based in Kuwait that started on the night of his wedding (11/14/04) and continued for 365 days.

Paris, one photo a day - a location themed site that includes links to other city based photo a day sites

The Human Clock - while not quite a true 'Photo a Day' site, the concept is definitely interesting with new photos posting every minute of the day.

All Info About Art Swap: A site dedicated to trading and exchanging art. If you enjoy exchanging art forms that include Artist Trading Cards (ATCs), Altered Books, Altered Playing Cards, Art Dolls, Assemblage Art, Art Journals, Collage, Mail Art, Zines, Decos (decorated friendship books), Chunky Books, Greeting Cards, Tags, and other paper crafts, you’ve found the right place.

Art swaps are a great way to use mixed media and papercrafting skills to exchange art with others.

I don’t normally do this…feature just one cool art site at a time…but I just came across a fun little site that deserves it’s own intro…Modern Living…it’s just one of the many animations you’ll find at the site. enjoy.

If you are ever curious about the latest art trends, you may want to check out PSFK, a site that tracks all sorts of trends including art. One of the lastest trends, Secret Wall Tatoos, is about, “People going from hotel room to hotel room, taking down the ‘art’ on the wall, putting their own art underneath and then replacing the original ‘art’.” This movement in art reminds me a bit of Found Art in a sense, but who would have ever guessed you might discover some really cool artwork behind the typical boring hotel wall art?

Another interesting site to check out is JMG Artblog, which reviews current art events with his most recent post on Tyler Green, Modern Art Notes, who issued a challenge his readers to name their favorite painting. Definitely something fun for you art bloggers to try out.