Silk is an interesting app that lets you create art with your mouse. There are several ways to control what happens on your screen. Plus you can share your work as well. Give it a try!
(Playing with this is somehow intriguing and relaxing at the same time.)
According to the About info : "Silk was created by Yuri Vishnevsky as an experiment in generative art. He is currently working on his degree in Computer Science and Linguistics."
Hey, Peeps! Here is a nifty, creative contest that can bring in some money for you & your school if you happen to be going to prom this year. (AND you follow all the rules and are 14 years of age or over, etc.)
The folks at ShurTech Brands, LLC are giving away 20 scholarships in celebration of their 10th anniversary to couples (and their schools!) who make their prom dresses & tuxes out of Duck Tape, make it to the top ten and survive 5 weeks (& 3 days) of online voting. Sweet!
Here are the prizes that go to each individual member of the prom couple and the school that hosts the prom:
First Place - $3,000
Second Place - $2,000
Third Place - $1,000
Seven Runners Up - $500
If you are a bibliophile living in Central Pennsylvania and have not heard of the Midtown Scholar Bookstore & their Famous Reading Cafe you are going to want to sit down for this.
The Midtown Scholar Bookstore is part warehouse (stocking over one million academic & general interest books) which you can browse & order from online. (Note: if you are local you can request to pick up your purchases at the retail store thus avoiding shipping fees.)
The retail store (all six floors of it!) houses over 100,000 used & rare books, a great coffee shop & art gallery, plus is host to regular contemporary folk concerts & other interesting programs.Check out the website for info on book groups, readings & signings, writing groups & more!
Be sure to sign up for their mailing list or keep track of Midtown Scholar on Facebook & Twitter.
The store is located at 1302 N. Third Street across from the Broad Street Market in what was once a 1920's theater.
In fact, Miss Bun spent a lovely Saturday afternoon lunching at the market and then browsing at the book store where she found all kinds of delightful surprises on the very well organized shelves!
Midtown Scholar has been voted the region's "Best Independent Bookstore" for seven years. When you visit you will know why!
Hi Peeps! It's been a really busy week in Library Land ... hence the lack of posts ... BUT ... here is a site from Canon (the technology company ... I'm sure you've heard of them?) that really is a bit of heaven for papercraft enthusiasts.
Canon Creative Park is an amazing site with amazing projects that are all free.
Here are their categories for all sorts of things to do and make with paper and a printer: Gift & Card, Paper Craft,Scrapbook, Art, Calendars, and Photo Gallery.
There is everything from the very simple to the complex, from one dimensional to 3D and beyond! I have to say there are some very talented people out there designing these projects.
Creative Park gives users a choice of five languages. Each project has author info, release date, recommended paper & printer settings as well as download-able pattern and assembly instructions.
So limber up your phalanges and click on over to (the aptly named) Canon Creative Park!
Ok, so hibernation time is just around the corner (You're feeling very sleepy...) and in case you were wondering what that's all about take a look at this very good website created by a group of 5th graders for a competition put on by ThinkQuest (see below):
The Deep Sleep Did you know there are four different ways animals deep sleep? Check it out!
What is this ThinkQuest I speak of?
ThinkQuest is a protected, online learning platform that enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their classroom curriculum and students to develop 21st century skills. It is provided as a free service to K-12 schools around the globe by The Oracle Education Foundation.
On the ThinkQuest site you will find the project area (here you can take a tour of ThinkQuest...fyi); a competition space where the technology contests happen and the ThinkQuest Library that houses all the projects and is a pretty nifty learning resource.There is also a professional development program for teachers.
School administrators must enroll their schools to participate in a project or competition but anyone can access the ThinkQuest Library and check out the competition winners.
You can search the library by age group, country, and subject category. There are over 7,000 websites created by students from around the world and they are amazing. Enjoy!
The Rare Book Room is a fascinating site that gives viewers access to high quality resolution images of some of the world's greatest books from some of the world's greatest libraries.
Who or what is behind this endeavor, you may ask?
Why, that would be Octavo, a company from California, whose " purpose is to use the best in advanced technology to uncover and enhance the seminal ideas of the past in ways that will provide inspiration for the present and future. Through our published editions, Octavo facilitates preservation and enables discovery for a wide range of audiences." There are about 400 books (all that have been digitized to date) that may be searched by category, author, or library.
These include works by Shakespeare, Ben Franklin (Poor Richard's Almanac & Experiments and Observations on Electricity), Galileo, Lewis Carroll, Charles Darwin and more!
This is NOT your average quiz. Get ready for lots (100+ questions) of twisted logic, humor, luck and total randomness when you play.
The rules are simple: you have 3 lives in a game; wrong answer = life lost; run out of lives & the game ends.
Be prepared to "die" . . . a lot . . . and when you do you will have to (annoyingly) start over at the beginning.
You can accumulate "skips" which let you skip a question and breathe a little easier . . . for a second or two. (Whoa! Very thoughtful on Splapp-me-do's part! BTW (by the way), he's the game's creator, is evidently 23 & hails from England. )
The charm (if you can call it that) of this quiz is that you never know what's coming at you. Most questions have multiple choice answers but what you have to do to arrive at the correct one is the challenge.
Beating this game is quite an accomplishment but Miss Bun wonders what exactly that accomplishment might be? (But then, again . . . who cares?)
Ok, Peeps, go forth and get your Impossible Quiz on!
Hey, Peeps, I don't know about where you are but where I am last night was a full moon AND it was a gorgeous night to watch it! (Gotta love this time of year!)
Here you will find tons of info & great links (be sure to check out the links) on this site created by one Keith Cooley. (It looks like a labor of love to Miss Bun.)
Mr. Cooley evidently loves astronomy and the web. There is no "About Page" on this site and it's not clear if the site is being updated but we suspect not. Still, it's definitely worth a look see.
The Moon in Art & Literature (Wikipedia) is also interesting and touches on topics ranging from theater to music to animation and a few things in between.
So get on out there and look at the moon tonight if you can and ENJOY!
Hmmmmm.......where does the week go? Things have been really pretty busy here what with school starting, state budgets stalling ad nauseum, patron use going up and library budgets flatlining. (Who knew there was this much drama in Library Land?)
Not to worry, though! Today we can forget our troubles and play with Create Your Own Flowers which is a cool little app by Ze Frank.
In case you would like to know more about the man and his creative genius click here: Ze Frank. Ok, Peeps, go be creative and don't forget to stop and smell the roses! Enjoy!
While you are there take some time to look at the rest of this unique blog. Find out a little more below:
Art is Fun! is a great little art blog by Thaneeya McArdle that evolved from the many questions she was asked on her personal art website www.thaneeya.com
From the About Page: "On this website, I provide a background and overview of many aspects of art, organized by medium, subject matter, and style. Using mainly my own paintings and drawings as examples, I cover topics such as:
art supplies/materials used
thought process behind the art
actual process of building the artwork
the basic elements that make each piece "work"
Accessible, low key, and passionate are words that work for this site.
Collage Machine II is a nifty app that lets you create your own collage (Yes, that's my moment of creative Zen above) and print it if you like.
There are several such apps on the Web (just use the search term "collage machine" to find them) but I liked this one because it gives more opportunities to play with the images. (Although I think it could use a lot more images....maybe even a way to upload your own?)
So go have fun today.....be happy....and make some art!
The Book of Numbers is an animated altered book which reminds Miss Bun of Monty Python. (Yes, Peeps, librarians sometimes have surprising eclectic tastes.)
The people behind the work are the Polish Multimedia Designers at Bubbly Numbers, Artur Stefanski and Kasia Michalska.
Bomomo is a drawing application that lets you do some really nifty things with your mouse. (One of the most interesting things about it is that everything is dynamic and moving.)
What you will see when you click on the link above is a blank canvas with moving circles. These circles will act in different ways depending on which drawing tool you have chosen at the bottom of the screen.
All you have to do is hold down your left mouse button and move your mouse to start the fun. Colors are randomly generated.
You can save what you create to use as wallpaper or wrapping paper, etc. (Those buttons are on the bottom right.)
On the About Page it states that this way cool app was " created by Philipp Lenssen 2008. Internet Explorer version by Nikolai Kordulla. Feel free to share any image you create in any way you like... it's yours! We may also save and republish a copy of images you save."
Ok, Peeps, go forth and create a masterpiece for yourself today!
Their catch line: Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.
Needless to say that caught my attention because: 1) I like to hear interesting people talk and 2) I like to share ... so a site like this is a little bit of Nirvana come my way. (I hope you will think so too.)
Here's the concept: TED stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design" and is actually an annual conference that was started in 1984 to bring together folks in these three disciplines.
Since that time, the scope of the conference has broadened and the annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
TED's mission: Spreading ideas.
They do this by making the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. More than 400 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. All of the talks feature closed captions in English, and many feature subtitles in various languages. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.
There is a TED blog, you can subscribe to TEDtalks with an RSS feed, you can join (for free) the TED community and save your favorite talks, discuss your ideas, get the newsletter and more.
You can search TED by themes, speakers, talks, and translations. Each of those categories has several ways to limit results including things like: "rated jaw-dropping" and "most discussed".
Here is a talk I listened to that has forever changed the way I will look at the art of crochet, coral reefs, and geometry. Check it out:
Here is a site that will inspire you to try your hand at sculpting with this artistic (and low budget) medium.
Ultimate Paper Mache is the creation of Jonni Good and has wonderful instructions on how to make several animals (including the dragon above), a mask, and Christmas ornaments. Currently she is working on a horse.
Be sure to look at the recommended books on the "About Paper Mache" page.
On the "About Tab" she says: "I created this blog about paper mache sculpture so I'd have an excuse to make some wonderful messes with paper and paste. I'm enjoying the projects that are shown here, and I hope you do as well. Enjoy!" I have to say that I enjoyed this site very much!
This is another example of the generosity and creativity of folks on the Internet.
They are "the world's only museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms" and "bringing the worst of art to the widest of audiences"is their mission
PORTRAITURE #1
Lucy In the Field With Flowers
Oil on canvas by Unknown 24" x 30" Acquired from trash in Boston
This single painting planted the seed that grew into MOBA.
Your task? Enjoy yourself on this Fun Friday! Browse through the online collection, join the Friends of MOBA, sign up for the newsletter, buy the book....in other words.....go crazy with bad art!!!
And while you're there take at look at the gallery of contests past as well as the current entrants for this year.
Here are their categories for all sorts of things to do and make with paper and a printer: Gift & Card, Paper Craft, Scrapbook, Art, Calendars, and Photo Gallery.
There is everything from the very simple to the complex, from one dimensional to 3D and beyond! I have to say there are some very talented people out there designing these projects.
Did you know there are four different ways animals deep sleep? Check it out! 
On the ThinkQuest site you will find the project area (here you can take a tour of ThinkQuest...fyi); a competition space where the technology contests happen and the ThinkQuest Library that houses all the projects and is a pretty nifty learning resource.There is also a professional development program for teachers. 
There are about 400 books (all that have been digitized to date) that may be searched by category, author, or library.
Then you'll want to give The Impossible Quiz (1 & 2) a try.
know what's coming at you. Most questions have multiple choice answers but what you have to do to arrive at the correct one is the challenge.
Cubescape is an intriguing site for those of you who like creating through graphing.
also interesting and touches on topics ranging from theater to music to animation and a few things in between.
Hmmmmm.......where does the week go? Things have been really pretty busy here what with school starting, state budgets stalling ad nauseum, patron use going up and library budgets flatlining. (Who knew there was this much drama in Library Land?)
art blog by Thaneeya McArdle that evolved from the many questions she was asked on her personal art website www.thaneeya.com
Go a little crazy today & have fun!
Collage Machine II is a nifty app that lets you create your own collage (Yes, that's my moment of creative Zen above) and print it if you like.
Bomomo is a drawing application that lets you do some really nifty things with your mouse. (One of the most interesting things about it is that everything is dynamic and moving.)
ou save."
MOBA: Art Too Bad To Be Ignored.......is their motto.
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