From the Front

Who ever thought being unemployed would make one so busy?

The job search continues, but some progress has been made. I have been talking with Jason again, and we now have not only a concept, but two installation spaces already lined up. Networked chimes to be shown in Stockholm and Oslo.

International... this is the big leagues.

We're aiming for NIME in May. Lichty will be in on it too.

I'll update when I know more.

It is time.

Feeling kind of torn today.

I am comfortable here in Chicago. I have a wonderful apartment is a gorgeous neighborhood, and am surrounded by great friends.

But I feel like I am being called away. I don't know where to...

It scares me. 

Growing up, I was moved around a lot. School to school. State to state. I never went 4 years without a major life change.

It's that time again...

photos

So my photo section of my site is finally back up.
Check it out.

www.finesense.net/photos

Hello again.

My apologies for the long pause in posts.

I am now finished with the sailing job. I will post more on that later when I have had time to really write it well.

I am 90% sure I have another job lined up, but I will not say for sure until I know.

The real reason I am here today is to share this:

http://thesmallishthings.blogspot.com/2010/10/dalai-lamas-18-rules-for-living.html

This is my aunt's blog. She is not only an amazing person with a lot of insight on life, but also a fantastic writer. Take a read. This specific entry is just something everyone should read.

Titles are for the awake...

Good Morning all.

To catch you all up, I have a job. I am teaching sailing for the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program in conjunction with the Chicago Parks District. The goal of the program is to open sailing to people with disabilities. All they need to have is a willingness to learn and the ability to float comfortably and safely in a life jacket for 5 min.
So far, I've met all sorts of wonderful and amazing people. It's a very different experience from teaching children,  but it is just as rewarding. Seeing a blind person sail, or someone who can barely walk... It gives them a new freedom and sense of confidence. It's a fantastic program.

And on a side note, check out the amazing progress of the World Opera Project, the project that Jason is working on.

A New Chapter

Pardon the cliché...

Well, my time at Columbia College Chicago is finished.
It was fun. It was painful. It was amazing. It was heart-wrenching, mind-blowing, time-consuming, head-first-learning, life-sucking, best-rollercoaster-ride-ever kind of time.

Now it's time to do that portfolio so I can get into grad school.

This summer, I will be looking for a job, and doing projects such as:
- finishing cuddleBots
- 3D printing gauges
- talking to the Chicago Landmarks Committee to see if I can get a grant to do my QR code thing...
- and just for fun, the CTA crossword.

I get to assign my own homework now...
Yay?

4 more days...

Black Tide is done and installed. It looks really wonderful... Thanks so much to everyone who helped!
Morgan Robertson
John and Jean Thompson

Matt Green

Dave Gerding

Patrick Lichty
Pumping Station: One

and dedicated to Jason Geistweidt; For everything you taught me and all the work you set before me.

And, I graduate in 4 days.
Then it's all over.

Until I try to get into Media Lab...

Oh April...

It's a wonderful month. Spring is fighting it's way through the Chicago weather, which is no small feat...
The tree outside my window blossomed only on the side close to the building. Everything is finally turning green and gorgeous.

Qeej Hero is done. The MFA thesis show at UIC, where it will be shown, opens on Wed. this week.
I have 16 days to finish my Manifest piece, and the dance center thing... let's just say it's gonna be close. I don't even have the sensors in yet.
So... hopefully April's beauty and relative warmth will see me through this month.

"progress" over break...

Project Updates:

Black Tide: Ordered 4 PING))) sensors, a meatgrinder spiral, and Morgan (my lovely boyfriend) has been working with the electromagnets. He found that using a computer power supply gives much better amperage for cheap, since they're lying around all over.
The setbacks are that there's only one junkyard I could find in this city that sells junk back. ...and it's in Humbolt Park. Also, I'm probably going to have to get the table fabbed for me. That's not gonna be cheap...

Qeej Hero: The controller works with the wireless adapter, and when I screwed the boards down, I stripped the screws... and now I realize that the sync button is now screwed face down to the wood form.... fantastic.

Dance piece: ... don't even ask.

I'll be lucky to make it through this semester alive...

Interactivity_is

Tomorrow and Wednesday: My definition of interactivity is up for discussion.


Check it out at http://iam.colum.edu/ahicks/interactivity_is and post any tweets to #interactivity_is

Thoughts on...

Interaction:
- ever so useful
- fascinating
- beautiful
- my chance to change the world

Technology:
- Exciting
- Terrifying
- so much work
- a chance to change the world
- fascinating
- beautiful

Careers:
- your life's passion
- your chance to make a difference in the world
- always work. Changing the world is not going to be easy.
- fascinating

Graduation:
- Terrifying
- Exciting
- so much work
- A chance to make a difference in the world

Life in general:
- Exciting
- Terrifying
- always work
- your chance to make a difference in the world
- fascinating
- beautiful

Common sense:
- no longer common
- ever so useful
- your chance to show others that it is still alive and usable
- beautiful

Grammar:
- USE IT
- makes one look more professional
- no longer common
- your chance to make a difference in the literary world of the internet
- beautiful

Drama:
- far too common
- ever so high school
- not useful at all
- Terrifying
- neither fascinating nor beautiful

Thoughts:
- beautiful
- fascinating
- Exciting
-Terrifying
- very common
- always work
- ever so useful
- should be used long after high school
- USE THEM
- your chance to change to world

... I sense a trend here.

Compiling...

Hello world.

For those of you who have just tuned in to our broadcast, let me bring you up to date.

I am Laura Thompson, Interactive Media Artist and Photographer. A Nutmegger, Michigander, and now Chicagoan, who will be graduating from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Interactive Arts and Media in May of this year. I have experience in many different fields of art, ranging from 2D to 3D, singing to drawing, glassblowing to ceramics. I also am a certified sailing instructor, a firedancer, and an American Sign Language enthusiast.
As for what I do, I build things. Interactive objects, to be specific. I have worked on interactive installations, games, robots, books, and live performances. Some examples of my work are as follows.

Cubes 2009 - An interactive sound installation composed of 5 cubes. Each cube contains an Arduino board, an array of tilt sensors, and XBee radio, and LEDs. The sensors tell the cube what side it is on, and therefore, what sound to play and what color to be. This creates a conversation between the music, the space, and the users. The piece was a collaboration between Gary Kupczak (concept, sound), Jason Geistweidt (programming), and myself (hardware).
The Cubes were featured first in Columbia College's Manifest. There they were found by the Columbia College Dance Center and used in 5 separate performances. We then submitted to and were accepted as the Festival Installation for the EMM Music Festival of 2009.

A QR History: Chicago - An interactive QR Code book created for, and 2nd place winner of, the 17th Annual Hokin Honors Exhibition. The book contains pictures and codes. When scanned, the QR Codes will take you to a site detailing a short history of the monument pictured beside it. The codes can be scanned with any smartphone that has a QR Code scanning application.

Human Circuit - An interactive team building game created while in the McCarthy Technologies Bootcamp. The device I built is a modified Drawdio, made by LadyAda. It takes the current naturally given off by humans and converts it into a sonic tone. The device has two handles with conductive tape on them. When held by a circle of people, no matter how many, the tone will sound. But if the circle breaks, the tone will stop.
This project was presented to a panel during the 2010 CAA Conference by Janell Baxter and myself.


These are just some samples of what I have worked on. My website, www.finesense.net, will detail more.

Thanks for tuning in. I've enjoyed having you and hope to see you again. Until then.