Sheron Long's Blog, page 44
April 22, 2013
Claudio Garzón’s Recycled Art: It’s Full of Trash
Claudio Garzón carefully paints one of his sculptures.
© Claudio Garzón
A Creative Idea for Ocean Plastic
Claudio Garzón cherishes the waterways around his home. He walks along the L.A. River nearly every day and collects things that catch his eye. But he’s not picking up colorful rocks or interesting shells—he’s picking up plastic garbage.
Ocean Plastic Facts
Most of the trash in the ocean and on the beaches is plastic. Unlike paper or wood debris, most plastic never completely biodegrades. Instead it breaks into smaller and smaller and smaller pieces until it isn’t easily seen. But it’s there.
Garzón picked up this plastic from the banks of the LA River—in one day.
© Claudio Garzón
Fish can ingest the plastic debris, and, since they cannot digest it, it stays in their stomachs. Sea creatures can become entangled in plastic...
April 18, 2013
Guns & Boston Bombs: Is There Safety in Numbers?
Can we find the “safety pin” that keeps crowds and marathon runners together on our streets?
© Thinkstock (pins, runners); © Ingram Publishing (crowd)
This Week’s “Oh, I See” News Moment
The no vote on gun violence legislation collided with the terror attack at the Boston Marathon. Their coincidence tore at my sense of staying safe and left a rip waiting to be mended by something more than safety pins.
Playing the Odds on Terror Attacks
It used to be that we could step out in the world and expect to stay safe. But now there are questions:
Can my friends and I take in a movie?
Can kids go to school?
Can citizens stand in a peaceful parking lot to hear their elected representative speak?
Can spectators cheer runners at the next Boston Marathon?
Events of our day in Aurora, Newtown, Tucson, and now Boston make me think,...
April 15, 2013
Sunny with a Chance of Cherry Blossom Petals
cherry blossoms in San Francisco’s Japantown
© Janine Boylan
The Beauty in Japanese Traditions
This time of year, many families in Japan are not checking weather sites for weather but for sakura, which are cherry blossom forecasts. This is the season for hanami, or picnics under the pale pink blossoms.
The Cherry Blossom Custom
Centuries ago, emperors and elite began the practice of cherry blossom viewing. Over the years, more and more people adopted the custom, and, in the 1700s, Shogun ruler Tokugawa Yoshimune planted cherry trees specifically to encourage the tradition. Now viewing cherry blossoms is a deeply-rooted part of the Japanese culture.
Like many of the Japanese customs, viewing cherry blossoms is meant to be an appreciation for beauty and detail. It’s the same attention to detail that is required for other Japanese arts, such as complex origami,...
April 11, 2013
Creative Inspiration Springs from “Seeing” Differently
Blind photographer Flo Fox heard birds and footsteps and “clicked.” A perfect fleeting moment.
Jury Award of Merit © Flo Fox
Seeing Is About Much More Than Sight
When OIC Moments asked the question—”Can you see without sight?”—we were vividly reminded that creative inspiration is fed by exploration within and without.
You can feel the warmth of the sun and know which way the shadows will fall.
You can touch a wall and follow its patterns and textures.
You can listen for voices or footsteps or crashing waves and know where something interesting might be happening.
You can just close your eyes and let your imagination lead the way.
The Challenge of Seeing without Sight
Using imagination (and all the senses!), an artist can produce some powerful results.
The highly original work of photographers Bruce Hall and Pete Eckert ...
April 8, 2013
Landfill Harmonic: Sounds of Life-Changing Experiences
Recycled Orchestra members Maria, Nohelia, and Tania
© Landfill Harmonic
A Story That Goes Beyond Film
Last fall, a documentary trailer about the Paraguayan children’s Recycled Orchestra went viral. The musical group is made up of youth who were raised on the Cateura city landfill; their music teacher is using brilliantly-designed recycled instruments to provide them with life-changing experiences.
If you haven’t seen this trailer, you must take a few minutes to do so. If you have seen it, it is worth watching again.
If video does not display, watch it here.
Without Favio Chávez, the orchestra leader, these children might be caught up in a continuous whirlwind of alcoholism, drugs, and crime on a garbage heap. Instead, these talented, devoted children have a chance to rise from their bleak backgrounds and travel the world to share their skills.
Tania...
April 4, 2013
A Paris Cultural Experience: Auctions by Candle
Paris auction “by the candle”
© Meredith Mullins
A Melange of Centuries
Many of us have a soft spot for nostalgia. We may admire the work of artisans who make quality long-lasting products with loving hands, or we may marvel at how early cultures invented what was needed to survive and sometimes made their tools so beautiful in design that they became, for us, works of art.
We can appreciate the elements of the past that make us slow down and focus on the simpler things in life.
The Oh, I see revelation, for me, is that the most rewarding moments are when nostalgia can be interwoven with modern life so that we have the best of all worlds. A cultural experience that is lost in time.
A Starbucks birthday toast to Notre Dame (happy 850th!).
© Meredith Mullins
Everyday Life: The Old with the New
In a city like Paris, so richly layered with history, I have...
April 1, 2013
Not a Hair Out of Place in These Optical Illusions
Publicis Communications Schweiz AG, Zurich for L’Oréal Suisse (Switzerland), Garnier Fructis
Photographer: Billy & Hells
Clever Ads That Make You Look Twice
This time it’s your turn to have an Oh, I see moment!
What do you see in these photos?
Hint: Never take anything at face value.
Publicis Communications Schweiz AG, Zurich for L’Oréal Suisse (Switzerland), Garnier Fructis
Photographer: Billy & Hells
Don’t tear your hair out!
Publicis Communications Schweiz AG, Zurich for L’Oréal Suisse (Switzerland), Garnier Fructis
Photographer: Billy & Hells
Did you say, “Oh, I see“?
This clever ad campaign by Publicis for L’Oréal Switzerland for Garnier, Fructis relies on a simple optical illusion: a woman with beautiful flowing hair is positioned perfectly in front of each burly man to look as if her hair is his...
March 28, 2013
The Yin and Yang of Crossing Cultures
A creative way to represent the yin-yang symbol
© Thinkstock
Embracing Different Cultures
Often the first taste of another culture is through its food or music or fashion, something like “hello.” But people who find a way of crossing cultures—stepping inside the culture’s traditions, language, history, attitudes, and beliefs—are forever changed by the experience.
In the Taoist yin-yang symbol:
The outer circle represents the “everything,” an indivisible whole.
The black-and-white shapes inside show two opposite but interdependent energies that are constantly transforming each other, much like a kaleidoscope.
Night and day or birth and death are examples. They are opposite but interconnected; one cannot exist without the other.
In much the same way, two cultures can seem to be opposites and yet make up the indivisible whole...
March 25, 2013
A Color-Saturated Cultural Tradition: Playing Holi
A young boy laughs with glee during Holi.
© Nitesh Chakravarti
Painting the Town Red (and Yellow and Green and Blue . . .)
Not long ago, richly-hued photos of people rejoicing during Holi, a Hindu tradition, caught my eye.
What is this crayon-colored holiday all about?
After some research, I learned that Holi is celebrated to welcome spring (this year it is celebrated on March 27). It is observed primarily in India and Nepal, but its popularity is growing world-wide. And it has been celebrated for centuries.
A centuries-old cultural tradition that I knew nothing about? There has to be an Oh, I See moment in this!
How Is Holi Celebrated?
In most areas, Holi lasts two days. On the first day, people gather around a public bonfire, lit near midnight, to sing and dance. They smear the ashes on their faces as a protection against evil.
This tradition is linked to Hindu...
March 21, 2013
Creative Inspiration from 365 Superheroes
Superhero #68, Mulch, takes on the world.
© Everett Downing
Getting Inspired . . . The Superhero Way
When I was eight, I thought I could fly. Turns out I couldn’t. (One of the more brutal “Oh, I see” Moments of my life.)
I jumped joyously from the top railing of our porch steps, waiting for my arms to become wings. But soon after liftoff, I found myself in a crumpled heap at the bottom of my launch pad.
I had been so sure. So sure I could fly. After all, I had role models like Superman, Peter Pan and Wendy, Captain Marvel, the Flying Nun, and Dumbo.
The creative inspiration was there. But, regrettably, superpowers don’t come easily.
Limelight—Superhero #162
Superpowers and Superheroes
We all wish for superpowers. Flight. Invisibility. X-Ray Vision. Extraordinary strength. Mind control. Ability to Time Travel. Healing Prowess.
And...
