Posts by Bridgette
Getting to Know Evelyn
This is from a blog I am doing for my client on this project. The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center Sculpture Blog.
Reference
Yesterday, my client was kind enough to take time with me and allow me to thumb through old photo albums. It is interesting… I’m looking for photographs of my subject, but it is seeing the family photographs, hearing the stories, this is what makes me feel bonded to my subject.
I’m trying to not only capture a likeness, I’m trying to find Evelyn. Watching her playful side in photographs, some that I have never even taken as reference, hearing about her parents, my clients and the relationship to them, even talking about death. All of these things add an element to a sculpture that you can’t get by just “doing the work.”
I once heard an artist say, “posthumous sculpture is just another commission.” It is so much more to me. This is a life lived. It is someone’s mother and wife. It is a person whose life made a huge difference and will continue to make a difference. How can I honor that? Who are you Evelyn?
My client also took time for me, and posed in a similar sweater like Evelyn is wearing in the key photograph. I needed to see folds all around. Folds are so important. In a recent sculpture of a young man playing ultimate frisbee I hired a young man of similar size to be my model. He spent an hour jumping up and down in the yard of my studio while I took video. Photographs were impossible as I could never catch the folds I needed when he was at the high point of his jump. So I filmed him, and then took stills to use as reference.
I could have had a friend pose for me, in a sweater like Evelyn’s, but even this little detail of having someone she knew and love pose, this makes a difference. We are cocreating. This is not just “my” artwork it becomes “our” artwork.
I’m becoming intimately familiar with the stature and physical nuances of Evelyn. I study the photographs. There are photograph from many different ages. Some are taken at 20- 50 even 70 year of age. This process is much easier at this age. Once I had to do a sculpture of a little boy who had passed away, the reference photographs I had spanned from ages 1-4 and 7. A child has huge changes in facial and body structure at that age. This is not so much with a grown person.
helps me to see elements without a
lot of visual distraction.
I’m spending time today tracing some of these photographs. I can set them over my digital sculpture image the way I would use them comparing them to shape and form traditionally in the studio. Again this process is giving me the general shape of Evelyn, so that I can have it enlarged for an armature to put on the clay. Tracing these images helps me to see the basic shape without a lot of visual disturbance.
Length of Skirt
My client helped to confirm the length of the skirt. We changed the length and, as mentioned in a previous post, the height of the figure. Much more to do on this model before sending it off. My goal is to have it to the enlarger before I leave town at the end of the month. That way, if I am lucky, the armature will be waiting for me upon my return.
on details for my armature and model.
I can’t wait to get my hands dirty.
All of the digital preparations are nice,
but I long to be with the piece physically.
Thinking
I’m looking at the pearls and wondering, where did she get them? My husband gave me pearls. I don’t wear jewelry, not even my wedding ring. It is hard to wear jewelry when you have your hands in goo most of the time. But pearls are all I wanted, a simple strand to wear when we go out. So, I think about these intimate details as I work on the sculpture.
Some of my thoughts, broad back, slight overbite, questioning her earrings, thinking about how she brushed her hair, who did it for her?
This is the Christmas Card From the University
How nice. Thanks for sending it to me Dr. Talley
A Sculpting Project for the New Year and The Jewish Community Center of Houston
Some of my friends in Houston may have noticed that the JCC is no longer called just the Jewish Community Center, it has a new name- The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. Here is an article in the Jewish Herald Voice describing the entire new renaming. I am thrilled to finally be able to announce my newest commission of Evelyn Rubenstein for the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. I always love doing posthumous sculpture, this one is a treat, as I have the honor of sculpting a very strong and influential business woman! She will be in this stance, from a family photograph, even with this suit on. My contract was received last week, and I’m beginning the process of working on the armature—
digitally in the computer. The life-size bronze sculpture will greet individuals as she stands inside the front door of the building. More updates to come.
Editing Closed Captions in YouTube
I am moving some of my favorite podcasts and incorporating them into You Tube. I talk about the reasons why, in a previous post titled New direction for me concerning YouTube and I talk about my process in Moving your Podcasts to YouTube. Now I would like to talk about closed captions.
I don’t know where I have been, but I am so thrilled to see that YouTube is offering Closed Captions. Once I loaded up my new long podcast, created as an Imovie, and loaded to my YouTube account, I wondered where the closed captions where. I think there are several settings in your account at You Tube that you have to activate. Under your account name in the top right hand corner of your You Tube account you will see a drop down arrow. Click on it and go to “settings” Under “Playback Setup” in my account this is what I have selected. I hope it makes sense, and it seems to have worked.
I noticed it took some time for Closed Captions to show up after loading my video. To see them click on the little red CC in the bottom of the screen. Once they do show up you will see that the automatic transcription that YouTube provides is not that great. It is however a start and better than typing in all of the copy yourself. As I am editing my transcriptions I feel I am providing a service to the deaf community along with helping my own marketing.
Before I go on to tell you how to edit your auto transcripts let me point out a few great things about these closed captions.
- They are searchable by Search Engines because they are text.
- There is another service that they provide in that someone from another country can also use the CC and have your video played but the closed captions on in their language.
- They offer you another audience, the deaf community.
EDITING
Once your movie is up go to the “Video Manager” from the drop down menu at the top right corner of your YouTube account. When this comes up there will be a little arrow next to “Analytics.” Click on this and go to “Captions and Subtitles”
You will see on my image here I have two green sections. I only had one when I started but I have uploaded a new version of the machine transcripts that are edited. I have only edited them up to about 6-7 minutes at this point. It does take a little time to go through them all. You should have a download button on your screen when you get to this screen. Download the transcripts to your computer, and load them into a simple text editor.
Change only the words and not the time settings and upload the file back to your you tube account.
When I originally got to my page showing the closed captions I noticed if I hovered my mouse over the word “English” a pencil came up for editing. I was then brought to the editing screen where I though I could editing them right on you tube. But it does not work that way. I had to download them and edit them and then put them back up. But if you do click on the editing pencil and then click on your movie you can listen to it and watch where it is reading from and this helped me to edit my downloaded version. It would be great if you could edit right there from your YouTube account. Maybe you can on a PC, or maybe YouTube intends on making this a part of the admin process at a later date. It certainly would make it easier for individuals like myself to edit their transcripts and making them available to a wider audience. I could go to my account when I wanted to take a few minutes from my work day and do a little bit at a time, until a video was transcribed properly!
That is it. I hope these tutorial have helped.
If you like this you might want to see the others pertaining to this post.
New direction for me concerning YouTube
Moving your Podcasts to YouTube.
My first podcast in You tube
Moving Your Podcasts to YouTube
To move my podcasts to YouTube it is a little time consuming but here is my process.
CREATING Please note: I work on a Mac
I already have the audio created for the podcasts because they are published. The prepublished audio clips are in my itunes on my desktop. I drag them into I movie. Imovie, itunes and garage band, which are used to edit my podcasts and movies are all free programs that come standard with any Mac. The green bands in I movie is the podcast. (Click on the image below and you will see a larger image. Note the picture on the right of the screen is what you see when the curser is over a particular section in the movie. The upper window holds previous clips from a different project. The main Imovie rests in the larger screen on the bottom of the Imovie window.) Now, I just have to add as many visuals that I can to take up the time on the movie. I have opted for a photograph of both my guest Robin Brande and myself. I have put our names on the top of the screen, because I was afraid that they would get lost when closed captions were used. I also put photographs of my sculptures, our sponsor is God’s Word Collectibles and this gave me a place to show off the collectibles. Something I don’t get to do with an audio podcast. She mentions another author’s book and I found an image of that and put it in there as well. I felt that trying to break up the continuous photograph of her and I was better. The blue line that you see in the track above the photographs is really the copy that is placed over the images.
GETTING THEM TO YOU TUBE
As I understand it YouTube has allowed longer videos to be loaded . For a long time it was only minutes then it went to 10 or 15 minutes. This was a huge thing for me because my podcasts, at minimum are 20 minutes and this one is much longer. I think there are ways that you can become a partner and get them to allow you to put up longer videos, but in my search I heard that if you have had an account that is in good standing, which I think means that you actually own the material you are putting up and get hits, then you “might” be able to put up a longer video. I went ahead and created it, crossed my fingers and uploaded and indeed, I must have an account in good standing, because it allowed me to do it.
You can see this video on my Sculptorwriter you tube channel or in the previous post New direction for me concerning YouTube
YouTube now offers closed captions, and this is very important. To see the importance and how to edit closed captions please see the next post Editing Closed Captions in YouTube
New Direction For Me Concerning YouTube
The other day I wanted to listen to a lecture on the neurology and faith/ belief, yes that is what I do in my spare time. Actually it is research for yet another book. I always have a couple of book projects going. Anyway, there was a podcast that I found on YouTube and it hit me, yes there were neural connections in my own brain that began to fire and I wondered, Can I do that with my podcasts?
I have three different podcasts— the Art and Technology Podcasts covers a wide range of interests for me concerning my endeavors with bridging the gap between the traditional sculpture studio and new technology. I expect to do more podcasts on these subjects in the near future as I am going to start a new book on the topic, more on that later.
The Creative Christian Podcast and the Inspirations Generations Podcasts are two podcasts that I have been doing, 3 a month, since 2008. At first it was a dialogue between my mother, my daughter and I, as well as interviews with special guests like Ruth Graham, Dr. Gary Chapman, and Scott Hamilton. Then it changed. It always seems to reflect my life events. When mother died we covered a lot on grief and mother loss, when beginning my novel I added the Creative Christians Podcast and talked to authors and writers. The topics range from atheism to publishing with Christian publishers like Zondervan.
I was intrigued with the idea to put a podcast on YouTube. I have had a Sculptorwriter YouTube page for a few years and yesterday I put up my first podcast. Note:
- Video is much more viral than podcasts.
- My gift line God’s Word Collectibles is the sponsor of the series. Video allows me to show the work.
- With the new closed captions that are now a part of YouTube, the podcast is also searchable by search engines, which helps me with my marketing. I also love the idea that deaf people will have access to my podcasts.
- You tube offers auto transcriptions- I have wanted to transcribe all of the podcasts, but it is very difficult and time consuming and not an investment that I am willing to make right now.
So here is my first podcast that I created as a YouTube. If you would like to see how it was done and the details on using and editing your closed captions please look at the next posts titled Moving your Podcasts to YouTube- and Using and Editing Closed Captions in YouTube
Please note, when you watch this video, if you turn on closed captions- by pressing the cc on the bottom of the screen, I have only edited the first 5-7 minutes of the captions. After that… well let me just say that the automated transcriptions that YouTube closed captions provides leaves something to be desired, but it is a place to start and I am thankful for Google and YouTube for thinking of it.
Upside Down Christmas Party
It is becoming a tradition. The invitation says we have been doing this since 1993, not every year, but it is definitely becoming a regular happening of late. I suppose we are committed to doing it each year as people ask, “When is the Upside Down Party?” They want to be sure to put it on their calendar. It is true it is getting bigger and better each time. This year was no exception.
First… Why do we call it the Upside Down Party? It is named that because we hang the tree from the ceiling, and we have been doing this long before it became fashionable to do so. Yes, it is a real tree. Regular attendees know— our guests decorate the tree with anything …. on their person, in their car or found. So walking around the tree to see what has been put on it or on the garland that we have strung on the wall to accommodate the extra ornaments is very intriguing.
My favorite ornaments this year were a baby shoe with a message, a beer bottle, a receipt from the Renaissance Festival, and the destuffed dog toy that was in the yard.
Along with the tree there are other interesting and fun things to see, starting with the magical land of the Upside Down Christmas tree, which many say is transformed, contains fairies, and is like nothing they have seen before. Twinkle lights are lit ,the fire pit is going, and people are eating, and mingling all over the studio, yard and around the ponds and fire.
There was a contest for the most creative Christmas outfit (or ugly Christmas sweater) This coveted title was won by not one person but an entire family who had their own twinkle lights that blinked as they came through the party.
Another hit from the party came from Diliberto Photo & Design (www.dilibertophotoanddesign.com) who not only was showing their work, but provided a live photo booth for the event. What is a live photo booth? Think red carpet, lights and props. One guest said they felt like a star. To see all of the photographs from the live photo booth visit their Facebook Page . And take note that they are having a contest and choosing a New Year’s Eve party to shoot, it is free. Check out the details here.
There were many artists showing their work or hosting this years party, of course I was there
Bridgette Mongeon (www.creativesculpture.com)
My lovely husband didn’t show work this time, but he did host the party and deserves a mention here Mike De La Flor (www.mdcommunications.com)
Lloyd Ernstes was showing jewelry. Sorry we don’t have a website for Lloyd.
Bruce Foster (www.paperprops.com) had his pop up books that as Christina Sizemore described, are “pop up books on steroids.” His work is incredible and his newest book “Puff the Magic Dragon” has just been featured in the New York Times
Kit Allen (www.kitskids.com) was exhibiting some of his painting.
My favorite part of the night is the time when I can sit down and enjoy the fire, but that didn’t happen until very late.
I certainly don’t know how we will top this party next time. Guess we will have to see how that happens.
Graduate School Loans Are Cut By Government
Where have I been? I’m glad I have finished graduate school, but I am so sorry for those who are in the midst of their studies and have this extra financial debt. As I understand it, the debt deal that congress has come up with is cutting subsidized loans to graduate students. What exactly does that mean? There are both subsidized loans and unsubsidized loans that have been offered by the government. An unsubsidized loans begins to collect interest while the student is still in school. A subsidized loan does not collect interest until six months after the student graduates or if they stop taking a full class load. Basically the government is doing away with the subsidized loans for grad students.
Another thing that is going away, is a credit that is given to students who have made one year of on time payments.
My Life is lived Through Podcasts!
It is true. I have been podcasting for 3 years now. I have 3 different podcasts that I record.
The Creative Christian Podcast and the Inspiration Generations podcast gives me a chance to focus on different things that I am interested in, especially those that relate to my faith. Because I am also a writer I focus on writing topics in these podcasts as well.
I thought I would include links to some of my most recent podcasts
CHRISTMAS SEASON
Malcolm Guite
Poet, singer and Songwriter Malcolm Guite has podcasted with me before. In this podcast he talks about the the ” The Great O” Antiphons and Advent.
The Advent Conspiracy
I have been very interested in doing Christmas a bit differently this year and thought about how that would look. Apparently I’m not the only one as The Advent Conspiracy is a movement that is taking hold throughout the world. I enjoyed talking to Tony Biaggne about this in our 109th podcast
LOSS AND GRIEF
I recently lost my father. This was my last surviving parent and has put me into a position of being an adult orphan. When I heard the term I thought it was a stupid and strange label, but as I enter this time in my life, I realize it is a transformative time. I’m spending time with other exploring this. Alicia King is also an adult orphan and has written much about grief. In this podcast number 108 we share our experiences and talk about this transformation.
ART AND TECHNOLOGY The Art and Technology Podcasts have been on hold for a while. They were used as part of my gradate study. I do believe I will ramp up the Art and Technology podcast again after the first of the year, as I am going to focus on a new book project. More details on that later.
If you are interested in seeing the Art and Technology Podcasts you can see them on the Digital Sculpting.net website.
Panther- The Unveiling
What a great ceremony for the unveiling. They did a good job installing it and we are so glad it is done. I’m also elated that the school says it is female. We did not actually “show” the gender. Having it female adds some specialness to this project, you see it was all women who worked on it. Here I am with two of my girls who helped me on the piece- Shirley, and Allison. I call them my Towanda girls. Lots of female energy in the piece!
I was wondering what the sculpture would look like at night. I was a bit concerned that it was being lit from below and it really should be lit from above. I had to fight to keep the eyes the way that I sculpted them and I did so for this reason. The sculpture has intensity.
We did it! I can’t wait to hear what others think about the piece. Please feel free to send me your comments, or post to the blog. And go back to the beginning of this blog to check out the progress, from start to finish. Oh yes, If you pose with the sculpture send me your photographs and I’ll be sure to post them on the blog.
I would like to thank photographer Bill Petty for sending me these photographs.
