tonette time

what a bad-ass: Ai Weiwei

2013-05-17T08:36:00.002-06:00

An artist with superb craftsmanship, timing and most of all for me, a witty and seemingly constant sense of humor, Ai Weiwei is the biggest bad-ass artist working today.

detail of Ai Weiwei sculpture installation

It's not just that he critically examines his Chinese government; he critically examines all government and demands accountability. It's his persistent clear voice that cannot be denied. And ultimately, thanks to his poetic images and objects that quietly and relentlessly declare better of humanity, he'll always have the last word.

Detail of Ai Weiwei installation, Straight, commemorating school children

One Ai Weiwei sculpture is displayed in front of the Sol Lewitt mural on the main wall of museum first floor, making it delightfully easy to consider relationships of minimalism, light and form between the two works.

Ai Weiwei sculpture in front of Sol Lewitt mural

Walk around the works spanning more than 20 years of Ai Weiwei's "According to What?" exhibition and let his insight make you shake your head, nod your head and giggle a few times.

I did.

Near that mural is a separate gallery space loaded with thousands of photographs rotating on multiple screens. Be sure to spend a few minutes in there and see some of the ongoing themes in Ai Weiwei's work.

My favorite is the only piece he made when he lived in New York in 1988. It's the most modest in scale but so simple and clever of a sculpture that you have to appreciate it. When you go, look for it and let me know what you think of it.

And let me know if you think he's bad-ass, too. Or if you don't, what artist would you name as a bigger bad-ass?

On view at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through July 21, 2013 (click here to go to IMA website).

Click here for more info and images of the exhibition. Be sure to see the list of events associated with the show, too.

me at the entrance of the IMA

waking up

2013-02-07T17:11:00.001-07:00

I felt it happen on Sunday evening. I came out of hibernation. The world isn't as blurry and I'm feeling hungry. More to come...

run with turkeys

2012-11-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

Instead of running with bulls, how about turkeys?

Missoula is a body-conscious, athletically competitive town. The amount of time one spends on the slopes or on the river is worn like a badge. These rugged people are real mountain killers, seeking out another peak to check off their list. It seems that every month there is an opportunity to run around town with others to celebrate, in the most basic form, your individual athleticism alongside others in the community. It's fabulous, really. For the athletic. So what if you aren't athletic?

I'm not a runner. I ran as a kid, of course. I ran break-necking around the brick corner of my childhood home, feeling wind on my face from my own speed, to reach the Oak tree in the front yard and touch 'home base' in a game of Ghost in the Graveyard. I can still hear the swishing of my brother's bell bottom jeans as he chased me. It was fun and I smiled when I ran then. I remember that sense of wild freedom with each stride that propelled me forward. And I ran at school. I ran a teeny bit of track and I ran the required laps when training for Varsity tennis, but by the time I reached my teens, I didn't love it. It never felt quite right.

I quit running when I was still a teenager after a bought with pneumonia and a diagnosis of severe allergies and asthma. Many more battles with pneumonia to follow, I never started running again and I don't really want to run now. I enjoy a walk or a hike instead and it's plenty for me (as long as I do it). My asthma is well managed since living in Montana and I know that I could probably take up running if I want. I'm surrounded by runners, a truly supportive bunch of athletes, by the way, so the possibility is on my mind regularly.

Regardless, I make a great spectator at Fun Runs. I cheer everyone on when they take off and I am ready, camera in hand, for their return (unless I'm keeping warm in a coffee shop and miss it, oops). Sure, I shake my head and say they must all be crazy (which I am not taking back yet). I complain about getting up early on a Saturday or going out in the cold, but watching the camaraderie is a treat. It's inspiring even without running, especially when they are fundraisers.

It was flipping COLD for the the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis, so cold that I declared my presence for the event was an indication of my true love to Bruce. Many people came out to show their support for the cause running for friends and loved ones. I'm really impressed by the people with arthritis who run, too. Right on! (I learned a lot about Arthritis because of this Run.)

Runners are given bells to tie to their laces.

Others add more color and creativity to the event with silly costumes. I always appreciate dressing up in costume! Of course, you need some reindeer in a Jingle Bell Run.

It's Missoula so dogs are often welcome, even at a run. (I saw four inside the Ace Hardware yesterday.) Proper doggie attire required for a Run, of course!

A man with arthritis walked his arthritic horse in this Run which I thought was pretty sweet.

Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis, Missoula, 2012

~ ~ ~

My favorite Run to watch in Missoula so far is the Annual Turkey Run on Thanksgiving. It's such a day of sloth and abundance in our culture that a big run brings some balance in perspective, even if I only walk around as an observer. It was a beautiful morning along the river for it this year with a dusting of snow.

Costumes abound in this Run, too.

And dogs, plus strollers and babies (for sure in the 3K, and I saw at least 3 strollers cross the line for the 8K, too.)

Yep, even a turkey! This one was pretty dang fast, too.

I had my eye on number 496.

So even though I do not run, I have decided that I like Fun Runs. The sight of Marathons freak me out. People lurching, collapsing, and limping their way across the finish line illustrates how seriously intense a Marathon is. A few naturals reach the end like a gazelle making it look easy, but most runners in a Marathon look like they are miserable and in pain. Way more people are smiling in a Run.

My take away message to date?

A Marathon is for maniacs, but a Run really does rhyme with Fun.

Follow this link to the Arthritis Foundation.

Follow this link to Jingle Bell Run.

Follow this link to Run Wild Missoula.

Follow this link to see the Turkey Run results.

Whenever you might visit Missoula, I would bet there's a Run happening. And there is of course, the Missoula Marathon in the summer (click here for more information).

the last weekend of the season at Holland Lake Lodge

2012-11-11T16:34:00.004-07:00

We are always coming and going and living a busy life, but this year especially has been full of busy travels. We are fortunate to travel, but the trips aren't always true vacations and it's become clear that we need to make room for breaks.

Living in Missoula, luckily we don't have far to go for a retreat in the woods. Even so, we compete with the tourists and everyone else living here for reservations. We have friends who are Masters of tracking availability of the best Forest Service cabins, getting in the rotation for reservations a year in advance and watching for cancelations. We, however, are not such dedicated retreat planners. We schedule trips for work or family visits, and vacations for ourselves are sandwiched into the calendar. And for a trip to the woods, I've grown more and more into a Princess about amenities. It doesn't have to be deluxe, but simply put: I prefer having hot showers and a bed. Plus, if we venture into bear territory, (Hello! We live in Montana and bears live here, too), I won't sleep a wink if I'm laying in a tent. The older I get, the further my camping days are behind me if I get to choose.

So what's the easiest getaway solution for people like me?

1) Cabins & 2) OFF SEASON.

Holland Lake © Toni Matlock. 2012

In the middle of October, we slipped away to Holland Lake Lodge for a low-key weekend of rest and relaxation. Even with rain and fog, perhaps even more so because of the weather, it was a beautiful and romantic, getaway weekend.

We stayed in the cozy Griz Den cabin. (Cabins are limited and coveted, so it's best to reserve them far in advance. We got lucky calling only a week in advance for the last weekend of the season.)

Bruce at the Grizz Den cabin, Holland Lake Lodge, 2012

Our misty view from our cabin.

If we had wanted a camp fire, there's a fire pit in front of the cabin on the Lake's edge.

I do enjoy cooking and even welcome the sparsity and challenges of camp-cooking, but I also appreciate after a hike and a shower to simply stroll up to a Lodge with a good restaurant for drinks and dinner. At Holland Lake Lodge I can expect to enjoy a simple menu of well-prepared food and a decent glass of wine. The Lodge is an intimate structure originally built in 1924 with additions and remodeling from the 30s. It's not overdone like the casino- or resort-style 'western' lodges scattered around the Rockies. For this Goldilocks, it's 'just right' comfort in the woods. You get the luxury of a well prepared meal while nestled into a gorgeous setting with a fire crackling nearby. (You can also get a room in the Lodge.)

Holland Lake Lodge on a rainy day, October 2012

If you go, be sure to say hello to our new friend, Gary, a toad we met on our first night along the path by the Lodge gift shop.

Gary, the Toad, Holland Lake, 2012

Walking around the Lake, look for birds of prey waiting around in the top of a snag, like this eagle.

You can hike an easy couple of miles up to the Falls, which looks something like this.

See Bruce? He's the tiny figure wearing a blue jacket in the lower left portion of the frame. He went ALL the way up to within a few feet of the falls.

You can sit on big rocks and look at the falls or turn around and have a view of the Lake.

Nothing to sneeze at, eh? As the clouds shift the sunlight in and out, we took a few snaps to commemorate the rejuvenating weekend.

Then we scrambled back down this path to the Lodge for drinks and a delicious dinner.

Studio Note: Holland Lake is one of the primary locations for the art video that I made titled 'you don't hear me'. A sample of that video is on my art website, ToniMatlock.com, (click) here.

Full disclosure: We are friends with the owner of Holland Lake Lodge, Christian, so we we can't help but have a behind-the-scenes appreciation of the Lodge's history and its operations.

For more photos of the Lodge, go to their Facebook fanpage, or follow their blog. Visit the HollandLakeLodge.com website for reservation information for next Spring or Summer.

capturing velocity shooting days

2012-11-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

My sculptural video installation, titled capturing velocity, was included in the Montana Triennial this year. In the last week of the exhibition, my friend Doug Ness documented it for me.

The final installation in the Missoula Art Museum looked like this.

The projection of the video into the granules of salt made a slightly reflective and rough texture that looked something like this.

***

I shot the video footage over the course of 30 Spring days in Missoula, Montana.

When it didn't snow or rain, shooting days usually looked something like this:

To follow posts of my artwork, see ToniMatlock.com.

See my earlier post on the making of capturing velocity by clicking here, it's titled knocking myself out.

See Doug Ness' photography website, too.

a cool little town Columbus, Indiana

2012-10-17T13:18:00.000-06:00

We've been getting creative with how we spend time closer to my family in Indiana. Last Spring we stayed in Columbus, Indiana about twenty minutes south of my hometown, Franklin, on US 31. And let me tell ya, it was super faboo!

In many ways, Columbus is like a lot of Midwestern small towns. It has a walkable downtown with long and tall brick buildings and a groovy old movie theater past its hey day (and yes, I fantasized I would move back to Indiana so I could fix up this one).

Because it's Indiana and the heart of Limestone country, you'll see carved limestone architectural details in much variety on residential and commercial buildings all around town, if not an entire building. You just don't see quite as much of that out in the Rocky Mountain states where I live now.

Columbus' downtown has the buildings, vintage signs and details to keep that nostalgic Midwestern small town feel.

But beyond the classic Midwest vibe, Columbus has a bit more to distinguish it.

First, there are several downtown restaurants that are bustling with people day and night, inside and out on the patio. I took this photo of Tre Bicchieri in the morning before they opened.

The alleys that fan out from the main street are groomed with detail and some actually lead somewhere worth going, like the Soup Market down this one. They only sell soup, simply and thoroughly with a selection of several kinds every day, including sides like bread and crackers.

Alive and charged with energy, the city of Columbus has dedicated considerable attention to public spaces including public art.

This summer you might even have heard a segment on NPR featuring the architecture in Columbus, particularly Mid-Century Modern. This is the cities' most obvious bragging rights. Some of the greatest architects of the United States are represented in Columbus and quite well.

How about an I.M. Pei library?

I.M. Pei, Columbus public library

A large Henry Moore sculpture stands in front of it.

Across the street from the library is the First Christian Church designed by Eliel Saarinen.

First Christian Church, Eliel Saarinen

The playground is sunken and framed by the back end of the church. With details like these outdoor benches integrated into the structure.

I was really taken with these cement and glass windows in the tower.

First Christian Church, Eliel Saarinen

Columbus' claim to architectural fame is mostly thanks to a truly generous and civic-minded Cummins Engine Company Executive, J. Irwin Miller.

"Whatever you do in this world, you've got a responsibility and a privilege of doing it the very best way you can. And whether it's architecture, cooking or drama or music, the best is none too good for any of us." J. Irwin Miller

Amen, brother Miller.

Cummins Headquarters downtown Columbus, Indiana

Tours of J. Irwin Miller's house, built in 1957 and designed by Eero Saarinin is open to the public by appointment. They didn't allow photographs, so see the Indianapolis Museum of Art's site for touring the Miller house to fill in the visual blanks.

*** Note: Two Photos of the Miller House added after the original posting, compliments of the Columbus, Indiana Tourism Bureau. ***

Some highlights for me:
1. The Miller house was the first to have Eero Saarinen's signature modernist "conversation pit".

First 'conversation pit' design, architect Eero Saarinen, Miller House, Photo © Indianapolis Art Museum

2. Integrated and personalized rugs, drapes and upholstery by Alexander Girard are colorful and thoughtful in how they relate physically, aesthetically and symbolically to the architectural surrounding and the family that would be living there.
3. The subtle natural light in the interiors that gently creeps down the marble interior walls. A quality not well illustrated in photos and must be experienced in person.
4. I am also interested in the problems with the design. The challenge of the skylights in a flat roof is no small one. A great conceptual idea for the subtle natural light but is also problematic in its application since the roof leaks to this day. *
5. The bumpers and terrazzo floor in the driveway. An excellent detail worth repeating in a space where many of us cut corners. *

*You'll have to go in person to see those last two since they aren't standard photography highlights.

Miller House, architect Eero Saarinen, Columbus, Indiana, photo © Indianapolis Art Museum

Beyond the Miller house, there are more Primo architectural specimens to be found in Columbus. I am only touching on a few. Definitely see the Visitor's Center for maps and tours. I especially liked the self-guided cell phone tour that comes in a stack of post card sized descriptions of each point on the tour with a number to call for more details about the building.

It's not just the Mid-Century Modern architecture that's worth attention, either. We stayed in a sweet little Victorian that we found on VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). It was only a few blocks from downtown, so we walked everywhere everyday.

Living room of "The Little Pink House" in Columbus, Indiana

If you stroll the neighborhoods and are a fan of architecture, you'll find many structures, proportions, materials and details worth noticing.

One of the more classic homes is the Italianate Irwin house built in 1864 that is now an Inn. Even though it's spendy, I would really like to stay there sometime. Here is a glimpse of it with some pictures I awkwardly took through the fence.

Photo taken through the fence of the Gardens at the Irwin Inn, Columbus, Indiana.

Holy smokes they were paying attention to detail when they built this place. I walked by it several times and noticed something on every pass. On about the fifth round, my sister, D, noticed that each of the carved limestone faces on the ends of this window sill are different. One has sunflowers and the other has some kind of ivy pattern.

Copper drip edges and gutters, slate shingles, wrought iron fencing, gardens, and so on and so on. The place has it's share of craftsmanship to appreciate. These curved windows in this copper-trimmed bay window are outstanding.

It's not just the bay that is rounded. Look closely. So are the windows and the glass in them.

As I said, from the street the photo opportunities are limited. One day I will go back and take the full tour of this place.

I'm barely touching on all the reasons why we enjoyed staying in Columbus, Indiana. We met friends downtown almost daily for coffee, lunch, dinner or drinks. We took my parents downtown several times and of course you can't go far in most parts of southern Indiana without someone knowing my Dad and stopping to say hello, as happened here as well. But more than that, we wanted to be there. The Columbus community felt welcoming and exciting with people of all ages eating, visiting and socializing. Sadly I cannot say the same for enough of the southern Indiana towns I (re)visited that hardly have any activity in their downtown anymore. Not beyond a bar or two it seems. Anyway, I won't pretend to know the secret but Columbus appears to be doing something right.

So if you go to Columbus, Indiana, keep an eye out for two of the finest unofficial Ambassadors of Columbus: One of my pals from Franklin College, Morlock, and his fiance Erin. (Since Erin works at the Columbus Visitor's Bureau I guess that makes her official, but even if she didn't work there, I bet she would still bubble over with pride for Columbus.)

Here's Morlock in front of their mid-century modern home. He might try to wring my neck for posting this, but let's see if he ever notices.

And one more thing about visiting pretty much anywhere in the southern half of the state of Indiana. Whenever you see local produce, get it. From tomatoes to these pie cherries, you won't regret it.

Fresh picked pie cherries, Columbus, Indiana

Be sure to listen to the Weekend Edition NPR segment on the architecture in Columbus, Indiana (click here).

See images of the Miller House on the IMA website (click here).

Get information from the Columbus, Indiana Visitor's Bureau website (click here).

Information to stay at The Inn at Irwin Gardens in Columbus (click here).

*** Note: Two Photos of the Miller House added after the original posting, compliments of the Columbus, Indiana Tourism Bureau. ***

remembering still feathers

2012-08-13T10:00:00.000-06:00

Near the end of working on one side of the Good Bones remodeling project, a cedar waxwing crashed into a kitchen window.

It hit the window so hard that some of its feathers stuck to the glass of the window.

I turned to a fellow artist, Stephanie Frostad, for solace and she made a painting in honor of the sweet bird.

Stephanie currently has an exhibition of her art titled 'Natural Circumstances' on view in Seattle, Washington at Davidson Galleries until September 1st. Be sure to visit the show in person if you can.

the mini polaroid friend-maker and gift box

2012-08-12T07:30:00.000-06:00

Many years ago I participated in a large art event in Seattle and as a contributing artist I attended the opening gala event. I hardly knew anyone. I'm not afraid of people and no one would consider me to be a shrinking violet, but making myself meet a lot of new people at once takes me a lot of energy and I don't feel that I'm very good at it. But that time, I was armed with my newest toy: a mini-polaroid camera that hung by a strap from my wrist. The pictures from this camera were about as long as my thumb. As I stood in lines or lingered on the edge of groups of people, I offered to take a photo of others. I gave them their instant party documentation and while it developed we visited. The instant camera was an ice-breaker and the gesture of giving out photos helped put me at ease. It was an excellent socializing prop for me.

The lesson stuck with me. An instant photo became one of my favorite gifts. They work for any occasion. In the midst of a casual dinner gathering, an immediate and even awkward photo from an instant camera can offer a modest, tangible token to remember a moment. Hardly anyone is immune to the charm and magic of holding the photo in hand as the polaroid processing works and checking it now and then to see the image emerge. What's more, is that there's no digital back up. It won't be on Facebook or Flickr. That's it. The clumsy photo of you with a paste-on moustache that fits in the palm of your hand becomes more precious. Now I have a little collection of instant cameras and keep one handy in the kitchen. I definitely break it out for our salty snack studios release parties.

Last year, I took my Fuji Instax Mini to a good friend's wedding and let it help me introduce myself to my friend's other friends. It was a no-gift wedding with many friends contributing to the event - flowers and photography and all - as their gift. I gave away many instant photos to guests but I also made sure to save a stack of the small humble snapshots for the bride and groom.

Later, I made an instax mini photo keeper out of a metal band-aid box to give my newly married friends. I kept the decoration simple and lean using spray paint, washi tape and ribbon on the outside.

I made a ribbon pull to help ease the photos out of the box.

I left the photos loose, so they could be held, shuffled and rearranged like a deck.

To soften the landing for the photos as they get tossed in and out of the box and for a festive little surprise, I glued tiny pom-poms inside on the bottom. And on the outside bottom, marked the year for the photos.

Of course, the mini polaroid gift box isn't a substitute for a proper wedding photo album, it's such a big special occasion and the quality of the instant photos can be so hit or miss, but it does make a humble compliment to it.

celebrating the raucous artist of the kitchen, Julia Child

2012-08-11T14:17:00.001-06:00

Last night I celebrated Julia Child's 100th birthday at Pearl Cafe in Missoula, one of 100 restaurants hand-picked around the country to participate in the nationwide homage. And the only one in Montana. I appreciate how Julia fearlessly encouraged our country into confidently exploring and preparing food at home. I also adore how thorough she was in her research and how vibrant she was as a character. Had we ever met, I'm certain we would have been fast friends. Many of us obviously feel this of her, which insured her success. I think the Julia Child Restaurant Week is a fab idea and we should celebrate her this way every year.

From the prefix menu, I chose the pork pate´ first plate, the lamb stew and the lemon tart dessert. I chose well and enjoyed every bit. I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to take any photos until dessert, a sloppy quick shot with my phone and after digging in, but remembered to toast Julia for her culinary leadership!

lemon tart, Pearl Cafe, Missoula, MT, 2012

Here's a link to the Missoulian article about Julia Child Restaurant Week and an interview with the owner of The Pearl in Missoula.

The celebration continues until next Wednesday. My friend and I got lucky and squeezed into some empty spaces at the bar, but I recommend calling for a reservation.

Here's a link to a website with the list of the participating restaurants around the country in case you aren't in town.

The actual date of her birthday is August 15th. If you appreciate raucous dinner parties too, remember to raise your glass to the queen of them, Julia!

knocking myself out

2012-07-27T19:31:00.001-06:00

We have all said it, right?

Knock yourself out.

It’s meant as a phrase of encouragement but mostly casually and without much pressure. Right?

Well this past spring, I said it to myself and accidentally did a doozy, literally. It happened in the midst of a studio project. I have been working on a series of art works that contemplate wind. The series began when I received an artist’s residency at Jentel in Wyoming in 2011. (Click here for my posts on the Jentel residency.) Each work in the series is a study of wind and the human relationship with it.

In the spring of 2012, I set out to document the wind activity in the Missoula valley. I packed a video camera and a portable windsock and hiked up a ridge where I was confident I would collect good wind activity and have a visually strong shot of the windsock. I wanted to collect a visual representation of wind. I wanted to study its patterns and habits through the lens of a camera. I set out to do so roughly every day.

In the first few days I explored the perimeters for the collection. What would be the boundaries for the piece? Would the location always be the same? How long would I shoot each day? Which way would I point the camera? Would it be the same every time? First, I decided that the camera must always point to the West. Simply, I preferred the aesthetic of the shot when pointing west. The windsock looked most alive to me in this direction. And I always shot in the afternoon, between noon and five o’clock. Then, in an effort for economy, at first I only shot for 30 seconds, but it felt incomplete, like I was interrupting the shot – interrupting the wind. In the middle of a gust of wind, with the windsock popping around chattering about the speed and shifting directions, I looked at the time and after 30 seconds were up, I clicked off the record button. It felt like I was being rude. The windsock continued bobbing around but I wasn’t capturing it. I had gone out there for more than this, so I changed my own rule and decided that each day I needed to record a complete thought - the wind’s complete thought. (Or my perception of it.) I would watch and listen and feel whatever I concluded that would be. I let the wind be as expressive or quiet as it appeared it wanted to be each day. I shot up to 10 minutes in a day as long as I recorded a single ‘complete thought’ from the wind. I did it for 30 days.

So there I went, each day in a routine of charging camera batteries, loading the camera and its supporting parts into my pack, strapping a tripod to the back of it, heaving the entire bundle onto my back and carrying the 2-piece metal portable windsock in my arms like a baby. I never hiked very far, but I always went uphill. Each day, after placing the windsock, setting up the camera and selecting the frame of the shot, I sat with the wind. On beautiful clear days, when the wind was low or still, I wished for it. I longed for the slightest breeze. I made note of the different birds that I met. I paused to enjoy their chatter. I peered across the valley and measured the clarity of the air from one day to the next. On cold, rainy, tumultuous days, I hid under raincoats and fought the wind to cover my camera and protect it and simultaneously rejoiced the dynamic performance of the windsock. I also wondered, repeatedly on cold or wet days, who the hell’s idea is this? Why am I sitting out here with a storm rolling over? Oh, right. I decided to do this. Steady on.

On one particularly crappy day, I hastily packed my gear. The tripod dangled a little too high off the pack. When I reached the location where I wanted to shoot and started to take off the pack, I forgot to unclip one clasp low on my waist, so the load fell back and all its weight pulled hard at my waist. Instinctively I shifted forward and launched the load up on my back again. In doing so, the dangling tripod went too far and cracked me in the back of the head. I went black and dropped to my knees. One knee landed hard on a pointy rock. Without thinking, I quickly stood and unleashed myself from the pack and let it drop to the ground as if it were a bomb from which I needed to distance myself. I sat down again on thorny weeds and rocks. Everything slowed down. The chirping of birds distorted like I was under water. When I heard the train huffing along below me in the valley, I laughed out loud. I just knocked myself out. I looked around but no one was there to see what a silly thing I had done. I felt like a cartoon without an audience.

Eventually, I forced myself up and continued with my shoot. On that wet, cold, and windy day I wondered more than most other days what brought me to this place - this place of working out conflict and connection with a camera. When I finally hiked off the mountain, I felt my questions answered and yet persisting more than they had been before.

I’m sharing this story partly because I think it’s funny. It’s funny in that it reveals how confusion and mistakes can give way to clarity and humility right when you need it. At least it reveals that to me.

The culminating video, a compilation of the 30 days of shooting, is four and a half hours in length and titled “capturing velocity”. I present the video as a projection into a white porcelain-enameled cast iron sink filled with salt. You look down into the sink, to watch the video on the grains of salt. It is on view at the Missoula Art Museum as part of the 2012 Montana Triennial exhibition until August 26th. To find it, enter the Museum, go up the stairs, turn left, go left again and up more stairs. The piece is in the far corner. MAM is open every day this summer.

I’ll also be giving a brief talk about the piece and my process at MAM during First Friday on Friday, around 7pm August 3^rd. Please come on by if you are in town.

A sample of video from "capturing velocity":

creative pollen between Smetanka and Rossellini

2012-07-04T14:22:00.004-06:00

As a fan of Isabella Rossellini (especially her green porno series), I'm tickled to post her recent Burt's Bees project that includes animation by a local Missoula artist, Andy Smetanka. Andy is a delightful, talented and positive artist in this community and the video is a clever and fun tribute to bees.

Enjoy!

good things come about

2012-04-18T10:56:00.000-06:00

Today I'm contemplating how sometimes good things just come about. Opportunities arise. Projects emerge. And without even trying, often our role in a project or in the world just presents itself. You just can't see what all might be coming and there are true rewards in being open to new possibility. Having some flexibility in your plan can pay off.

It's inspiring to consider for a moment. So I am.

This short video of Bill Wallauer explaining how he became a filmmaker with the Jane Goodall Institute is a good example of it. The smile on this guy's face as he talks about it says a lot.

making systems and perceptions for sharing

2012-03-19T09:53:00.000-06:00

Being an artist:

From skateboarders to geekery, their collaborations are based in the basic human impulse to play. An interview with the artists Hellicar & Lewis on their goals and inspirations for interactive media works. Taking something real, making it virtual and putting it back into reality for others to enjoy.

what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?

2012-03-16T14:33:00.001-06:00

Friday Flick:
What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?

Watch this one here and now. It is one of Martin Scorcese's short films when he was a student at New York University. He obviously understood how to pull together a great team even as a student. They used almost every film technique they could, like many students do, even so the film still has Scorcese style written all over it. It's about art, writing, critique and jumping into the unknown.

For more: I came across this little gem and other first films by famous movie directors on Flavorpill.

fear of writing with Jacques Derrida

2012-03-05T07:11:00.001-07:00

Being an artist:

from tomes to taps; getting your feet wet with apps

2012-03-02T12:05:00.002-07:00

*The following article was previously published on young adult author Laura Elliott's website, Laura's Magic Day. I met Laura at Wordstock in Portland last fall. She is a super dynamic individual, so you should check her out.

So you are thinking about publishing an eBook? Maybe you have a book in ink and paper already published and want to get in on all this App action. Or maybe you haven’t been published yet, feel empowered by the self-publishing option and think the App rage looks like easy money. Where do you start? How easy or hard is it?

A few years ago my friend, artist and author Carol Bolt, called me up and asked if we at salty snack studios could and would make an App. As a happy coincidence, my partner, Bruce Tribbensee, and I make movies and had just started making iPhone apps. Carol’s books were already on our list of apps we wanted to make. And Carol was on our list of people with whom we wanted to work.

Carol has written and published several books starting with The Book of Answers™. The Answers series began as a large one-of-a-kind hand-bound artist’s book. Many people wanted to buy a copy. She had it published and it snowballed into one playful theme after another (Movie, Love’s, Literary, Mom’s, Dad’s, Soul’s) in multiple languages and countries. The books draw on the ancient wisdom of bibliomancy, the art of fortune telling through using a book. As a divination tool, it provides guidance to any yes-or-no question. You hold the book closed and concentrate on your question. While visualizing or speaking your question, you stroke the edge of the pages. When you sense the time is right, you open to the page where your fingers landed and, “Voila!” There is your answer. It’s simple, endless fun.

Carol is a warm and generous dreamer who makes whimsical drawings and sculptures and clearly enjoys the turn of a phrase. While I describe Carol as a dreamer, she’s also incredibly grounded with a deep reverence for objects and things made by hand. Did I mention? She’s also a fantastic baker! Her connection to books and their meaning could not be stronger. Even so, her adventurous forward-thinking spirit led her (and us) into an exciting collaboration.

And as for salty snack studios, we prefer to work on inventive projects that personally and creatively engage us and we welcome a challenge. Working with artful people to help them manifest an idea is what we do. I’m the Producer, guiding projects from their concept and design through production and onto the market. My training is in art and I’m a compulsive organizer. Bruce is also an artist with many years of experience computer programming. He writes code in multiple languages, including for iPhone, Android and Blackberry. He’s also an imaginative and fearless problem-solver.

What kind of App were we going to make?

The three of us set out to make an app for The Book of Answers™. We knew it would not be a proper eBook like you find on a Kindle or the like. We wanted to make a related but different experience to compliment the physical book. The app would be more than a sequence of virtual pages bound together inside a screen. We spent months working through how the user interface would look and feel. Bruce labored over the foundation, the motion and the function. We shared sketches, early design layouts and notes over the Internet. Between Seattle and Montana, we spoke on the phone often. Frequently outside her technical comfort zone, Carol powered through and was in there with us the whole way open to change and suggesting new ideas.

And we did it. We built a native app with a resemblance to a book, with the look and feel of pages, but a book that you don’t properly read. It has the essence of a book but is not an eBook. We used the mobile device’s ability to detect location so when you tilt the device, you get an illusion of weight and object-ness. Sound effects heighten touch features. The interactive thumbing across a book’s end-pages fabricates a window into the ‘magic’ of the app. We built something unique that we are all proud of and that compliments Carol’s printed works.

What’s the moral of Carol’s app story so far? To make an app, 1) you don’t have to be a geek, and 2) you can think of something new. If you are starting with already published material, like Carol, it might be ideal to have an App that compliments your published material rather than duplicate it. Even if you publish, digitally and/or in analog (ink and paper), you might want an app that expands the world of your book. The sky really is the limit. If you can imagine it, someone can probably make it. I’m not even exaggerating.

First, what kind of app do you want to make?

Do you want an eBook, the digital equivalent of black and white print on paper? Do you want an Enhanced book fitted with motion graphics, hyperlinks and interactivity? Would a mobile-optimized website be enough for you? Or do you want a stand-alone native App that operates separately and differently than a book? Should you go DIY or hire someone?

Can you imagine your story’s ideas in motion, with sound? What about with gestures and interactive qualities? What’s really hot right now are Enhanced Books. Before you imagine the CD-ROMs of old, take a look at Enhanced Books. They have so much artful potential it’s mind-boggling. Like pop-up books, they maximize on the interactivity of their medium. By integrating the power of touch screen with sound, motion and more, these books delight and demand one’s attention. The most compelling and visually stunning that I have seen so far is The Fantastic Flying Books.

Can your story be a game?

Can you take the content of your book in new directions from printed words? Can you imagine the characters on an adventure or in a competition? If so, a game App might appeal to you. The entire mobile app world is still young and a bit like the Wild West. The rules are still being made. The most competitive app category is games but it’s also one of the most exciting and liberating.

What if I want to do it all myself?

Whether you are a novice or an established published author, I would first point you in the direction of iBooks Author. I haven’t used it yet, but I took a peek and it looks super user friendly with enough features to have fun and potentially make something on your own that you would feel good about. I’ve encouraged Carol to poke around in there too. Honestly, once she got a taste for the creative possibilities with mobile technology, she’s become a wannabe geek monster! If you want to get started with the least amount of money to produce a simple eBook and you have plenty of time and energy to DIY, I say, “Go for it!” Let me know how it goes for you, too! Be sure to look at ‘pubit’ and other self-publishing tools, too.

The next question is arguably the biggest: what can you afford? If I had a nickel for every pitch I’ve heard from people who think an app (or movie, but that’s another story) costs less than a thousand dollars to make. The next part of that fantasy includes lounging on a beach while the dough rolls in. Don’t let those 99¢ price tags fool you. To build an app from code up is not a cheap venture. And know right now that what you consider ‘simple’ might not be so simple to make. A ‘brand quality’ native app costs at least $30,000 to design, code and launch. If that knocks you back into a dusty library in shock, consider why you want the app in the first place. If you are publishing yourself and you want to easily share your work with a young contemporary audience on the most popular platform of our time, 30 grand might be reasonable. Also keep in mind that maybe you don’t need a native app. Perhaps you can have a mobile-optimized website built for a bit less and it will fit your needs. Maybe iBooks Author or pubit software is plenty for you. Explore your options.

Did you read the fine print?

Apple’s take is 30% of sales and so is Kindle’s. Barne and Noble’s ‘pubit’ takes more or less depending on the price of your book. They are all operating somewhere between old school publishers and booksellers. They give you a storefront, but they don’t help with editing, design and marketing. Conventional print publishers take upwards of 90% after an advance, and theoretically they promote your work. It’s up to you to decide if their take is worth it or not. Be sure to carefully read the contract. It might say that you can’t take your material that you just published and put it on another platform. You wouldn’t be able to go from Apple to Android for example. I highly recommend that you have an intellectual property lawyer advise you so you understand your situation.

What is the best platform for my app?

An App on one mobile platform will not work on another. You can’t simply plop the binary of an iPhone App into an Android. They are completely different languages and the screen sizes for images are different dimensions. Within Android devices, there are several screen sizes. I’ll save the raging debate over which is better between Apple and Android for the tech sites. The debate keeps shifting and both platforms are powerful. Personally, I prefer the cleaner aesthetic of the iPhone but I also covet the larger real estate of some Android platforms. If you can afford it, I suggest you do both. If you can’t afford both, you just have to pick and not look back.

What can I do to about discoverability?

There is a sea of apps and eBooks out there. The App stores (for Apple and Android) are behemoth imprecise places. It feels like you need an experienced librarian and a card catalog to guide you. How do you get yours noticed? Marketing Apps and eBooks is unpredictable and changing fast right along with technology. If you can get your app in Apple’s App Store promotions, you’ll have significant results. Success stories come from all angles, not just the top down, so be patient and tenacious. Ideally, you should hire a marketing person. After you’ve invested so much in your work, don’t drop the ball now. Use all of the free marketing tools and social networking that the Internet makes available to you (Facebook, Twitter, Blogger reviews) and use the paid ones, too. Advertise. Pull out all the stops as soon as you can.

First steps to your App development:

1. Do your research. Study eBooks, enhanced books and game apps to understand the differences. Get an idea of how your material could best be represented digitally. You’ll probably discover many ways, which is exciting, so then decide what is the best one to start your App Adventure. Make lots of notes and sketches of what you imagine your app could be.

2. Figure out how much money you can spend. Some people might say this should be the first step, but I recommend one dream first then roll up their sleeves.

3. Build a team. Find an App Developing Firm with people you trust, whom you can talk over ideas and with whom you feel comfortable. Not every studio works as collaboratively as Bruce and I do, either. Maybe you prefer to pass off the material and have someone get it done. When shopping for your ideal App Dev team, the best might not be the biggest hipsters and the worst might not be the cheapest. They just need to make a good match with you.

4. Be open to change. Show the team your sketches and notes but keep an open mind for different ideas. There is no one way to make an App.

5. Consult with an Intellectual Property Lawyer before you sign and submit your material to anyone – iBooks Author, Kindle, pubit! or app developers.

6. Study Internet marketing and pay attention. Spend time on different App review sites, and find reviewers that reflect your content and style.

7. Make friends wherever you go (virtually and in reality.)

Our collaboration with Carol was so satisfying that we went on to make The Love’s Book of Answers™ iPhone App with her and this year we will release an Android version of The Book of Answers™. Look out, cause Carol has jumped head first into animation software and you’ll be seeing many more clever things out of her.

Enjoy this short movie by one of our interns, Cassandra James, featuring The Love’s Book of Answers™ App.

Want a few more details?

For more information on the costs and creativity with apps and eBooks, I recommend these:

3 Things no amount of code can fix. by Carisa Kluver, August 18, 2011

http://digital-storytime.com/wp/?p=616

Are Reports of the Death of the Book App Premature? by Edward Nawotka, January 31, 2012

http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/01/are-reports-of-the-death-of-the-book-app-premature/

This is an excellent detailed article on the cost of app development and more:

“The development of the typical app cost $35,000 and the median paid app earns $682 dollars per year after Apple took its cut.”

Full Analysis of iPhone Economics - it is bad news. And then it gets worse. June 22, 2010

http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2010/06/full-analysis-of-iphone-economics-its-bad-news-and-then-it-gets-worse.html

9 Truths About ePublishing, Submitted by Emma Wright on Tue, 02/07/2012

http://futurebook.net/content/nine-truths-about-e-book-publishing

The digitization of the music industry vs. the book world: the ultimate overview (part IV), Submitted by Timo Boezeman on Thu, 11/17/2011 http://futurebook.net/content/digitization-music-industry-vs-book-world-ultimate-overview-part-iv

What’s the difference between native apps and mobile-optimized websites? See:

Is Developing a Mobile App Wirth the Cost? By Aaron Maxwell, Mashable, Feb. 24, 2011 http://mashable.com/2011/02/24/mobile-app-dev-cost/

Self-Publishing Services, Statistics and more links through Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/pod/

Pricing and Payment Terms, Pubit! By Barnes & Nobles, http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=support

the 2012 Big Sky Doc Film Fest Trailer

2012-02-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

The 2012 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Trailer

the artist is present kicks off the Big Sky Doc Film Fest

2012-02-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Remember my post, the body as medium, Abramovic with a clip from the documentary about the artist, Marina Abramovic?

It plays for FREE (sponsored by HBO), TONIGHT at 6:30 PM at the Wilma Theater in Missoula, Montana and blazes the trail for a fantastic line-up of films at this year's Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

I'll be posting a few of my own picks on salty snack studios' Facebook page and on Twitter (@TonetteTime) as the fest progresses.

See the schedule (click here) and GO. You won't regret it.

just ask love's; the movie

2012-02-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's from salty snack studios

a short movie by our fabulous intern from the University of Montana,

Cassandra James.

fantastic flying books

2012-02-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

App on Tap:

If you have fears and concerns with digital technology destroying the book, creativity and any art of the hand, you must spend some time with The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore on the iPad. The creators call it an 'interactive storybook,' that also fits into a fast growing trend called enhanced books. This one, though, absolutely leads in raising the bar for interactivity and art direction in apps. It's visually stunning for starters. And it's creatively inspiring.

The app-book evolved in conjunction with a short animated movie by the same creative team, Moonbot Studios. Morris Lessmore is "Inspired in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, "Morris Lessmore" is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor." Once you have the app, be sure to watch the 'Making Of' video to get a glimpse into some details and concepts of the craftsmen behind the finished work, including the 1/6 and 1/12 scaled sets. Morris Lessmore is the vision of a passionate collaboration of artists, indeed.

And the film? The short animated film is also a warm, elegant tribute to culture and humanity. They'll get my standing ovation when William Joyce and Moonbot Studios takes home an Oscar for outstanding achievements in animated shorts this year! Bravo!

Here's a video clip of the iPad app.

To get the app, it costs US$4.99 (click here).

The HD short movie is currently free through iTunes or Vimeo.

remember your 8 track iPhone case from 1972?

2012-02-08T15:10:00.001-07:00

We remembered ours!

Last weekend we went to the Missoula Art Museum's Annual Benefit Auction. It's MAM's 40th anniversary, so the party was 70s themed.

Here we are decked out in polyester with our friend and Brink gallery owner, Jenn Leutzinger. The 70s Maxi dress fashion is nothing if it isn't comfortable!

We both carried custom 8 Track iPhone Cases, handmade by Bruce.

Here's mine:

The Osmonds Phase III 8 Track iPhone Case by Bruce Tribbensee

He had a different Donny and Marie case. Sing along if you like, "I'm a little bit country. And I'm a little bit ..."

This year's event was a huge success and our props were the best accessories ever! Some fangirls were trying to get Bruce to sell the cases on Etsy but he's way too busy with writing code these days.

Maybe in the Spring!

fluke the whale

2012-02-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

I had a whale of a dream. Literally. I'll spare you any play-by-play recount of the dream (so I'm not one of those people), but I'll have you know that glorious creepy adventure in my sleep made a deep impression on my conscious self. Since I woke up I haven't stopped thinking about it. I've been trying to replicate the main character, a cartoon baby whale, in drawings but I just can't. I can still picture him standing on a dock, but he's un-drawable. What I dreamt and what I draw can never match.

It's just how it is.

Fine, I say. It hasn't stopped me from making my wonderful whale friend more tangible for myself anyway. I've reinvented him, see:

With such a boxy head, apparently he's a Sperm Whale. I can't decide if he should be blue, yellow or green. In the dream, he was a rich glowing polychrome, but I don't feel my cartoon of him needs to be. I'm leaning toward green at the moment. What do you think?

Oh, and in case you are dying with curiosity for some details of the dream, let me just say it ended with a bumpy treacherous drive in the water's edge along a narrow strip of beach with people leaping out of the way (my brakes had gone out) until I hit a rock and came to a stop. When I opened my car door, I felt a huge pang of fear that people were hurt, but everyone was gone. Then a big beach towel unfolded like a magic carpet in the sand in front of me with a spread of all different kinds of chocolate bars. No doubt melted in their wrappers as hot and sunny as it was. A happy ending nonetheless.

I'm not sure where my cartoons of Fluke the Whale (yes, I even named him) will lead, if anywhere, but like my dream, I'll keep watching and see.

not too silly or wild

2012-01-30T06:57:00.007-07:00

Friday Flicks:

This week's Friday Flick is really Flicks plural. I want you to know about Art Babble, a website of short videos designed to educate on specific paintings. Many are specifically arranged for children to tour artworks from collections in different art museums and galleries around the country. The analysis is pretty basic and a great way to encourage and compliment a youngster's interest in art (or yours).

For example, below is a video on on Post Impressionist, Vincent Van Gogh's 1889 self-portrait.

It's not all dead white guys either. They also have some videos on some contemporary art and artists as well.

Here is Polly Apfelbaum installing "Blossom."

Certain works are specifically part of the Children's Video Tour, like this one:

Jan Steen's "The Dancing Couple" from 1663.

The style of the educational videos vary in the editing, the verbal aspect - lecture vs. thought-provoking questions - and music, so if you don't like one, you may still like others. You can select specific channels on Art Babble's website to help guide you in your interests, too.

This Friday Flick is not too silly or wild for turning over a new year, but hey, it could be. Who knows where it could lead?

Check out Art Babble and Play Art Loud (click here)!

double dare

2012-01-27T11:59:00.001-07:00

Friday Flick:

Double Dare stars Jeannie Epper and Zoe Bell. The movie shows the strength, warmth and resilience of the women stunt doubles behind characters like Wonder Woman and Zena. Super heroes of their own kind, watch them totally kick ass and beat new paths in a male dominated industry while smiling and laughing along the way.

The Double Dare website (click this).

Watch Double Dare on Hulu (click here).

p.s. I did my own stunt work for a short movie we made on film. We did several takes that didn't end up in the final bit, of course. It was a total blast but I didn't know what I was doing. I'd like to do more stunts and before I do, I plan to learn about proper stunt work. Ouch!

shoes; a love story from salty snack studios on Vimeo.

snaps in the snow

2012-01-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

We've gotten bundles of snow lately - a foot fell and accumulated over a few days.

Because of it, I've been mostly huddled inside and peeking out the door.

Bruce lures me out for quiet walks in the snow.

The backstreets are still and it's a short serene walk to downtown.

Our house looks smaller and cozier, like it's been carved out from under the snow.

The best walks are at night,

...when the snow glitters under the eerie blend of street and moonlight.