Shelbyville

Blogging from the new iPhone

So this is Shelbyville sliding coolly into the iPhone revolution - my first blog post tapped out on this tiny 2" x 3" screen...
What, no pictures??
Hmmm, that could be a slight issue...

Bookbinding class at Newtown Berkelouw

Next Monday night (28th Sept 2009) I've organised to run a friendly bookbinding class in the cafe space upstairs in the Newtown Berkelouw bookstore. Monday's class will be focused on making the miniature handbound books (60mm x 45mm), with the materials, instructions and templates all provided on the night. The class costs $40 per person and will likely be about 2-3hrs long. BYO cutting mat and tools if you have them (available for sharing if not). The full details are emailed to you when you RSVP.

There are still spaces available, so if you think you might be interested in learning to make one of the miniature books (as shown in the pics), then please RSVP to the email address indicated in the flyer below:

If you're unable to make Monday night's class, I'm also planning a second class on a Sunday afternoon in mid-October. The second class will be focused on a slightly different binding technique and will involve making an A6-sized leatherbound notebook. Again, if you're interested please RSVP to the email address in the flyer, and I can get back to you with all the details when the date/time/location is confirmed.

Hope you can make one of the classes - they're very fun, and the little books make delightful presents :)

Cut+Paste Festival finds

Where on earth does the time go? All week I've been meaning to post about the fabulous Cut+Paste Festival I visited last Sunday, and next thing I know, the week's as good as gone, and I haven't even downloaded the photos off my camera yet. Oh well, nevermind, I do eventually get to these things (even if it's last thing Sunday evening).

So yes, Cut+Paste was a one-off weekend-long festival held at the Red Rattler venue in Marrickville, and it aimed to showcase sustainable handmade goods created by local artists and designer-makers; organic fair-trade foods + treats; and a range of workshops about crafting in the context of environmental and economic concerns. All good stuff.

 
^ The event flyer, and some delightful stencilling on the interior walls of the space

 
^ Inside the converted warehouse space that is the Red Rattler venue

While I wasn't able to attend any time other than the Sunday afternoon, this did still give me the chance to sample the goodies at the crafty market (and the organic chocolate cake, yum), and I was so chuffed to see some new friendly faces behind the stalls and some new products on offer. Some of these included:

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Helen Edwards
http://helenedwards.blogspot.com/

I was an instant fan of Helen's gorgeous fruit-box collages and cardboard cards!

 

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Cigdem Aydemir

I've no blog or website details for Cigdem, but if you're interested in her amazing fabric brooches and bowls I do know she can be contacted at [email protected].

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Chi Chi
[email protected]

A lovely lady I've shared time at many a market with, Chi Chi has recently added some new 'feathery' fabric hair acessories to her range.

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A Life So Peachy
http://alifesopeachy.blogspot.com

Jess is a fellow Brown Owl gal and she's both crafty and eco-savvy. Jump over to her blog and leave your 'eco tip' comment (before Sept 23) for a chance to win her giveaway prize of an upcycled hessian coffee sack bag.

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Pearl & Elspeth
www.pearlandelspeth.com

As the sign says, Annie Werner lovingly handcrafts sustainable, ethical and unique clothing and home/accessory pieces. I loved the skirts, and loved the kiddie's bibs, but I just had to buy one of the wrist-held zippered purses made from upcycled vintage tea-towels (it was the perfect colour for a friend of mine...).

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Wife
www.wifeimitatesart.etsy.com

Nicole Barakat, the crafty lady behind Wife, was a key mover and shaker in getting together and organising the Cut+Paste Festival. Her colourful market stall table stocked loads of things from textile assemblages and wearables to book-page wallets. And I must admit, I've truly appreciated the stitched storybook 'travel wallet' that I bought from the Wife stall at a previous Finders Keepers market - it's gorgeous and it's been super practical on my travels.

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Some others that I didn't get photos of, but who are just as worthy of mention because they're doing wonderful things:

Maaike Pullar furniture resurrection (funky upholstery 'by whim or commission')
Dear Plastic (eco bags, collage necklaces, handmade paper postcards)

Gosh, how I do love a good craft market populated with such friendly people!

Callout for the Penny Black Project

A lovely and dear friend of mine, Joanna (from the blog + zine called Little) has proposed a very exciting creative project that she's cleverly titled the Penny Black Project. As the name may suggest, it's all about creating postage-stamp sized art, and Jo's currently calling for participants. I've already put my hand up to be a part of it, and just in case you might be interested too, below are all the details, as sourced from Jo's blog:

Do you want to be more creative but find you’re short on time? Start small by joining the Penny Black Project. Six projects, six weeks apart. Create a postage stamp for art.

For each project you will be sent;
· Denomination (what that stamp will be worth)
· Feature colour
· Stamp size/proportions (so you can work bigger and shrink down)

Submissions can be made via hard or soft copy and will be published at www.pennyblackproject.blogspot.com and at the project's end, will be compiled into a zine.

Interested? Send to [email protected]:
· Photo/avatar (for the blog)
· Contact email
· URL (to plug)
· 25 words (or less) bio

Applications close OCTOBER 15

Spaces limited!

Urban games

Friday evening I was at a Historic Houses Trust talk at the Justice & Police Museum, 'Mobile Histories', where three speakers presented examples and spoke about the scope and variety of urban games that are emerging as tech devices begin presenting opportunities for some really innovative ways to 'play' with the urban environment. 

I'm a big fan of urban games (also known as location-based games) mainly because I love love love discovering new ways to experience the city environment, so I'm of course fascinated by these real-time urban adventures that also throw in some tech wizardry (GPS, mobile phones, digital cameras, wireless internet, bluetooth, etc) to really enhance the experience.

One of the speakers, Richard Fox, talked in depth about his current project, Razorhurst, an urban game that we were fortunate enough to experience back in July when we were researching for our own game, CSI: Creative Science Investigation (see my previous two posts).

Tonight is the last night that the game is running, so if you're quick you have a chance to play it for yourself. Otherwise, Richard indicated that he is looking into ways to have the game downloadable from the website in the near future.

 

Razorhurst is a location-based media game featuring images from the Historic Houses Trust collection. It is based on historical events in Darlinghurst during the 1920s and 30s when there were gang wars over illegal alcohol, known as "sly grog". Some of the most terrifying criminals in Australian history lurked here with cut-throat razors, earning the area the infamous title of Razorhurst. 

Razorhurst is an interactive (real-time) mobile device (hand-held PC) game utilising GPS (global positioning system) satellite technologies. 

The game interface combines video re-enactments with actors, archival photos, animation, maps, ambient sounds and voiceovers. The player's movements are tracked by satellite and dynamically updated in the virtual world of Razorhurst.

The mobile devices are collected from the East Village Hotel (formerly the Tradesman's Arms) in Darlinghurst. From this central location players venture to destinations marked on their map to collect bottles for return the Tradesman's Arms. En route they encounter gangsters and other characters from the world of Razorhurst which are triggered by player's physical location. The interface also displays the player's position on the map, game statistics and time remaining.

Whilst the game is steeped in local histories, it's primarily about fulfilling the mission of collecting bottles to return to the Trademans Arms Hotel. Players have to be quick on their feet to get away from virtual danger, and they have to wear comfortable shoes because the circuit covers a lot of ground in the real Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo and Surry Hills precinct.

Game time is about 1 hour, and winners return to the pub for a well-earned drink. Losers on the other hand, could be delayed at the original site of St Vincent’s Hospital recovering from a virtual "attack" acquired from the dark, gritty streets of Razorhurst.

The game runs until the 13 Sept 2009 (5:30-9:30pm) 
East Village Hotel, East Sydney
Bookings: [email protected]

Richard Fox's Razorhurst website: http://www.razorhurst.com.au/
d/Lux MediaArts website: www.dlux.org.au

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David Cranswick, the director of d/lux MediaArts, worked with Richard in the making of Razorhurst, and was also involved with the production of another wonderful urban game called Ghostgarden, which ran as part of the Sydney Festval 2008.

Ghostgarden took its participants on a surreal journey through Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, using handheld Pocket PCs and GPS to explore the Gardens as they were in the 1800s (a zoo and parklands) while engaging in the cinematic tale of Jack and Lucy and their impossible love.

During the Mobile Histories talk, David showed some lovely, evokative images from the Ghostgarden game - those featuring the illustrative talents of Australian artist, Anita Fontaine, and Canadian artist, Mike Pelletier -a hint of which can be seen here.

 
Images borrowed with thanks from the Ghostgarden website.

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A few other examples of urban games were also mentioned in the talk:

Geocaching
Considered the most prominent example of an urban game, having built up a very large online community of 'geocachers' around the world since it began in May 2000 (when GPS first became accessible to the general public). Wikipedia defines Geocaching as an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container (tupperware, film canister, ammo box, etc) containing a logbook. Larger containers can also contain items for trading, usually toys or trinkets of little value. Geocaching is most often described as a "game of high-tech hide and seek", sharing many aspects with orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking.

Uncle Roy All Around You
A mixed-reality and locative-media game produced by UK-based Blast Theory in 2003. Street Players used handheld computers to search for Uncle Roy, using the map and incoming messages to move through the city. Online Players cruised through a virtual map of the same area, searching for Street Players to help them find a secret destination. Using web cams, audio and text messages players worked together to find Uncle Roy. The game also used phone boxes on the street and a limousine.

REXplorer
A mobile, pervasive "spell-casting" game designed for tourists of Regensburg, Germany. The game used location-sensing to create player encounters with spirits (historical figures) associated with historical buildings in the urban setting. A novel mobile interaction mechanism of "casting a spell" (making a gesture by waving a mobile phone through the air) allowed players to awaken and communicate with a spirit to continue playing the game.

Ghosts of a Chance
The Alternate Reality Game (ARG) Ghosts of a Chance ran from July 18 through October 25, 2008 as a collaboration between the Smithsonian American Art Museum and CityMystery. The game was based on two young curators who have been possessed by spirits, and saving them involved deciphering codes, following treasure maps, sending text messages, and uncovering hidden objects in order to complete three quests before time ran out.

 < Deciphering codes in Ghosts of a Chance

You Are Not Here
You Are Not Here was launched in 2006 as a platform for urban tourism 'mash-ups'. It invited participants to become meta-tourists on simultaneous excursions through multiple cities, i.e. a walking tour of Baghdad played through the streets of New York City, and Gaza City through the streets of Tel-Aviv. Passers-by stumbled across the curious You Are Not Here signs in the street. The YANH street-signs provide the telephone number for the Tourist Hotline, a portal for audio-guided tours of one place on the streets of another. Through investigation of these points and with or without the aid of a downloadable map, local pedestrians are transformed into tourists of foreign places.

 
^ Screengrab of the You Are Not Here website

Rider Spoke
A more recent urban game created by Blast Theory, Rider Spoke came to Sydney in February 2009 as part of the British Council's Creative Cities programme. Participant riders were invited to take a cycling journey through the streets and lane ways of The Rocks, either in their own bike, or one provided as part of the event. Equipped with a touchscreen computer mounted to the bike's handlebars, riders searched for an undiscovered hiding place, recorded their thoughts and reflections in response to questions posed by the artists, and listened to intimate reflections from other participants.

 
^ Promotional pic for the Sydney event of Rider Spoke

Check out the Wikipedia article about urban gaming - it has plenty of links and examples not already mentioned here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_gaming

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But I'm barely scratching the surface - there is just so much activity humming around this innovative little subculture at the moment, and the potential of urban games is only just beginning to be realised.

As the technology continues to develop and more and more people have access to iPhones, pocket PCs, mobile internet, GPS devices, digital cameras, etc, the development of urban games will be sure to follow. Exciting times ahead!

CSI: all played out

On Saturday the 29th August we ran our urban game event at the Ultimo Science Festival, and to our delight we had more than 35 families and groups take part, double what we'd anticipated! The day threatened rain and storms, but the weather gods smiled down on us, and it was sunshine that triumphed in the end.

The game, CSI: Creative Science Investigation, was played out as a hunt for scientific clues across Ultimo starting in the ABC building, continuing through the UTS and TAFE campuses, down Harris St, and culminating at the Powerhouse Museum where the world-changing scientific project was revealed to be the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the international radiotelescope for the 21st century, and where the kids got to make their own radio dishes to add to the "mini array".

Here's a few snaps taken of the game on the day:

 
Many of the clues were to be found within the Science Festival exhibits.

 
The 'Data Collector' did double duty as the game-map. Clue 4 used the sequence of posts in the courtyard behind the ABC building.

 

 
Some of the gamesters with their Data Collector alongside one of the chalked clues on the sidewalk of Harris Street.

 
Finishing at the Powerhouse Museum, the SKA project was revealed, radio dishes were crafted, and whole bags of Milky Ways and Mars Bars were consumed.

 
And the radio dishes were added to the 'mini array', despite the havoc caused by the gusty winds.

 
The CSI design team (l to r): Janine, me, Rachel, Eve (Jana was gallavanting around Germany at the time)

Sidenote: Never under-estimate the authority and intelligence one can enjoy feeling when donning a lab jacket! Don't believe me? Try it someday, and see for yourself. Instant respect from complete strangers!

The rest of the CSI photos can be found on my Flickr site here (soon).