Weekend Reading: poolside

photo by Helen Corbett

Lisa Sonora Beam at Hacienda Mosaico, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
The Creative Entrepreneur Workshop

Fogo Island residencies

Applications for 2012 are already closed, but you could definitely put this on a creative adventure wish list!

The Fogo Island Arts Corporation Residency Program aims to bring contemporary artists of international caliber to live and work on Fogo Island and Change Islands.  The program encourages the participation of artists working in a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to: visual arts, new media, design, music, dance, writing and film.  Four of six studios are already built.  We expect to have all facilities up and running by the end of 2012. 

issue 12: Tonja Torgerson

photo from Tonja's blog

photo from Tonja's blog

Issue 12's major theme is "creative adventure". Obviously a broad theme and open to interpretation, a creative adventure can be as extensive as a trip to a foreign land, embarking on a new area of study or simply looking at your immediate surroundings in a new way.

Artist Tonja Torgerson's creative adventure was an artist's residency on the Fogo Islands. I receive her email newsletters and this is how I found out about her creative adventure. I asked her to write a recap about the experience. You can read the full article in the current issue and browse her blog to read her posts from the residency.

alt: the inspiration

So how did the idea for the plexi drawing panel photobooth come about?

I have a 22 month old boy and we have watched this Sesame Street video many times! I think it had worked its way into my subconscious. During the planning stage, I also took a large poster to get framed and that's where the plexiglass notion came about. Here are some of the videos that I shared with Ryan and Elana at Squarespace to communicate my concept...

This is an animation I made quite a few years ago in my gallery.

Collaborative Doodling from UPPERCASE gallery on Vimeo. 

Drawing Techniques & Ideas -- powered by ehow

source

alt: Squarespace + UPPERCASE party video

alt: shop sweet lulu

photo by Jessie SeneseJessie of Shop Sweet Lulu was a tremendous help and excellent conference buddy. She provided the lovely polka dot cups that we used as tea light holders (easily and stylishly covering battery-operated candles that were scattered on the tabletops).

Candy cups

Paper straws

The photo area backdrop, made of tissue paper garlands, was also sourced by Jessie.

Looking for party decorations or something special for Valentine's Day? Look no further than Shop Sweet Lulu.

alt: handwritten by you

The party table runner graphics were made by some of the bloggers that I know who attended the conference. Squarespace had provided their handwritten slogan as a starting point, so the intent of asking more people was to have more a diversity of voices represented. Thank you:

Eva Jorgensen / Sycamore Street Press

Lisa Congdon / A Collection a Day / Today is Going to be Awesome

Erin Loechner / Design for Mankind

Alyssa Yuhas  / We like We Love

Jessie Senese / Shop Sweet Lulu

Brooke Reynolds / Inchmark 

I asked them to just scribble the theme "handmade by you" on a piece of paper and make whatever doodles came to mind. Had I had more budget for digital printouts, I would have liked to use more of the graphics, but I settled on the various interpretations of the words, making a wallpaper design out of it.

alt: centrepieces = necklaces

Assembling the concept in my studio prior to the event
left: photo by Rambling Renovators, right: photo by Lindsay Thompson

from the Alt photo stream

For the mini party centrepieces, I wanted something colourful, simple, and something that could become an activity in itself. It also had to be compact and easily fit into my suitcase! After perusing the aisles at Michael's for a considerable amount of time, these wooden beads spoke to me. I thought they'd look so appealing en masse and would make a fun activity for the (mostly) gals attending Alt. I also bought some packages of the classic cube uppercase letter beads. Stringing together beaded necklaces is something I would like to do at a party!

(I pretty much designed a party that I would like to attend—one that would feel comfortable and entertaining. Something inclusive of everyone, a fun place to hang out, pretty but not too fancy as to be exclusive. Basically, a party for introverts!)

alt: tweets and pics timeline

{ Just discovered Storify which allows you to compile social media into stories. I've been needing something like this for a while. thumbs up! }

alt: mini party PICTURES!

Here are the edited photos from the party. Watch for a video soon. Visit the Squarespace Alt mini party blog, too.

To download your photo, you can do so from the Flickr set.