Uncategorized

A Review Within a Preview of a Possibility

Posted by kbs

While finishing a print series, I test my Meta Ray-Ban glasses as a studio tool.

.

..

NOTES: Best viewed in Full Screen. Click the icon in the lower right next to the sound icon.)

.

 Losing my central vision sucks.

Fortunately, there are now many excellent electronic aids that assist with this and other disabilities. Unfortunately, they all require learning new skills.Thankfully, I became technically proficient before losing my central vision.

As an artist at TIME magazine in the 1990s, I worked on the front lines of the digital revolution when the Electronic Age took over. It was a very exciting time. Inevitably, as so many tools and resources became available, digital expression became a goal for me (see MEDITATIONS).

Being able to magnify up to 1600% has made my computer and 32” monitor indispensable visual aids—along with my iPhone and iPads, of course. Yet, I miss my studio. Creating there is as instinctive to me as cooking in the kitchen is for you. Paint, pencils, pastels, paper, brushes, etc.—these are essential to my artistic identity. They are second nature, though because of Stargardt’s, I still cannot see where the pencil meets the paper. No, that has not changed despite all the new assistive software. I still have the talent but have lost essential control. Even so, I want to be in the studio while exploring and adapting new methods—ergo, INSIGHT.

Perhaps my Meta Ray-Ban glasses, with their built-in camera, can help. In the video above, I test them while completing an edition of prints for a client. It just might be a new recipe.

 

.

Amazing! I Can Read!

Posted by kbs

One small step for me. One giant step for the visually impaired.

We went out to eat with friends, and for the first time in five years, I was able to read the menu.

Amazing!

the restaurant menu

How? By using the META RayBan glasses. That was in early December and since then, I have been learning how to use them.  Here is a summary.

The glasses use a camera built into the frame that connects to META artificial intelligence from the internet via my iPhone. With the glasses on, I picked up the menu and commanded, “Hey META, what am I looking at?” I heard a camera shutter click and  three seconds later, “You are looking at a menu from a restaurant or cafe. It appears to be a brunch menu, with various food and drink options listed.” (See the full AI exchange below.)

Fantastic!

As I understand it, the camera takes a picture, sends it to META.AI, who processes the data and reports a summary of that image.

Wonderful!

It has taken me time, but I have learned some prompts to use to proceed past summary and have it “read” to me. I have also learned there are limitations as to stability, connectivity, and how much it can process. But when it is working, I can listen to music, take photos, videos, send text messages and make phone calls, as well as search the internet, all hands free.

Me taking a photo with my Ray-Ban glasses

I take it to museums to read the wall text. I use it to read package labels and some mail. I take it with me when shopping, where it explains the labels.

But there’s more. META has also partnered with Be My Eyes.  This is a free app that uses the phone to call a volunteer who assists me based on whet they see from my camera. I used it for the first time last week at Trader Joe’s when I had four items I could not find. The speakers are built into the frame and sit right above each ear. The quality is excellent and surprisingly private. 

Fantastic

All of these features result in a HUGE advancement in accessibility for me and the VIP community.

And this is just the beginning.

EUREKA!

My AI sessions are recorded on my iPhone META View app.  (Screenshot below You can’t read the screenshot? Okay, here is a recording made with Voice Over.)

.

cafe menu
Screenshot of the MetaView app settings page.

.

.

EUREKA!

Posted by kbs
Listen
Four paintings: Epsilon, Beta, Mu, Nu
11″ x 17″ mixed media on paper

Since I no longer have central vision accuracy, I need a new approach to making art. I began this series of paintings layering gesso, watercolor washes, oil stains, varnishes, markers, gauche and acrylics on top of printed graphics. This was done with the goal that the viewer would “read” the layering history and ‘feel’ the contrasting textures, as they explored the intuitive compositions. Though I infuse the work with my intent, each viewer brings their own interpretation. 

 BRAVO! They talked to me. Observed in situ, I was very satisfied with the results. That is until I photographed them for my book and website. Reduced to a flat image, their sensuousness was lost. This was a serious concern as print and screen are  primary modes for exhibiting my efforts. This affects all future INSIGHTs. The Medium is the Message.

Then, about two months ago, I discovered a solution… of sorts. Instead of photographing the work with traditional balanced lighting, I found that using a stronger light on the right, cast shadows that emphasized the three dimensionality. EUREKA! I started adding shallow objects, wire, string, thread and, as Summer arrived, pieces of nature. This is an important improvement. Maybe only a slight one, but I am grateful. It seems Evolve and Adapt is a theme for my limitations.

INSIGHT: the movie

Posted by kbs

Experimenting with some interview footage


This might be a trailer. Or reel of Casting Call Outtakes. I have recorded most of my ophthalmologists sessions. They been a great help to me in understanding Stargardts Disease. But entertaining or educational? You be the judge.

NOW! (so be it)

Posted by kbs

1. Every Saturday,Vera drums with Tiyumba.
First is the drumming class, then she stays to lend support for the dancers.
I took my camera last week to get new images. for the upcoming June Benefit. Silent Auction.
< Left is a video of just one routine led by the incomparable Fatawu who founded Tiyumba twenty years ago.

2. How can I describe the experience of being there?
Time spent with this community is magical and spiritual. 
Let’s pause and silently dwell on the intersection of those two.

(INSIGHT: Currently, my efforts are making art expressing that.)

3. Yesterday, I worked  many hours making this clip. Creating expression was  a joy.
Today, I wonder if my additions only subtract from the NOW.
The dance and drums radiate.
Transcend.

4. Three hours ago I watched a program on Walt Whitman and am NOW still feeling  
I sing the Body Electric
Transcendent.

Mother and Sliders

Posted by kbs

081704-10am1200 The page Mother is a gallery of images of, well, you know who–Emily. When talking with my friend Roslyn last week, she mentioned that she was taking a new drawing class and asked me some questions about line drawing. I told her I had once done some drawings with pencils of  multi-colored lead. Also some with bright or florescent ink pens. I sent her a few lo-res files I had but was very unhappy with the scans. The color just did not pop as I thought it should. I took another look at the Photoshop files and  felt I could improve on them. I think I did.

I like these drawings. And it was a good chance to connect with mom. It will be ten years since she passed in June of 2005. That seems like a long time. But then… that is another blog post. I see the last drawings were done in January. I can feel her decline. Just looking at the images brings her and those moments back. They were all done in the Bethesda Homes for assisted living in Aberdeen. Drawing, water color and photography were a great way to pass the time with her in those last years. My sister and I alternated going to visit. I was driving to see mom on the morning of September 11, 2001.

This also gave me the opportunity to test sliders –the coding which makes fancy web slideshows– not New England sandwiches. First is Word Press Slider Plugin which I discovered while making some graphics for A Way to Garden. There are many slider plugins. Finding the best one will be an on going search. This one has many features my previous plugin did not. Coding the page to be responsive has been successful so far and given me a good test for managing retina images. I will post updates here as I explore other changes.

UPDATE: 01.29.15 Checking with WPMU, I found Meta Slider has great ratings. I will take it for a test.