Maker's Faire

Last Saturday I went to the Maker's Faire in Queens. Rachel Wise, who is a third-semester student and the editor of Pavement Pieces, edited my piece this week. Here it is with her comments:

NEW YORK- Imagine being able to step onto a life-size version of your favorite board game, ride a bicycle disguised as a fish or grow grass on your car.
       Meet the Makers.  These artists and inventors capitalized on their do-it-yourself attitudes to make their dreams- no matter how silly they might seem- a reality. From across the country, they traveled to Queens this weekend for a celebration of craftiness and creativity at the New York Hall of Science.

        “The Maker Faire is about curiosity, creativity and inventiveness. That’s the crux of scientific discovery and at the heart of the Maker movement,” said Margaret Honey, the President and CEO of the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI).

        The event has been held in San Mateo, Calif. since 2006 and this year expanded to Detroit and New York. Both visitors to the Faire and the Makers themselves embraced the do-it-yourself attitude. Exhibit booths were decorated with reminders to recycle and children worked at craft stations making bird houses from bottle caps. 

      "We just want to crush things," said Kelly Detorent of Oakland, Calif., a Maker who has been traveling with the Life-Size Mousetrap across the country. He explained that the fair is more about the ingenuity of ideas rather than their practicality.  

        Nim Lee, a Brooklyn-based scientist and artist, was at the Faire showing the Fish Bicycle, a bicycle decorated with pink sparkling spandex and surrounded by a wooden frame the size of a car. She originally designed the costume with her husband for the New York Aquarium’s Mermaid Parade, held every summer in Coney Island.

        “We’re both avid bike riders and we got a really good response from it,” she said as visitors lined up to ride her bike.

       Lee acknowledged that a costume for your bicycle is not very practical, but she is still working on getting a patent for her invention. She said that she hopes it can be used by conservation agencies to attract attention to causes such as the environment and recycling.

        Amy Caterina, a photographer from Santa Cruz, Calif. traveled to the Maker Faire to show “Pseudo-Sod Car Cover,” a knit car cover that she hand-knit to look like grass. 
       Catrina spoke to how the project developed out of her close family ties.  She designed the cover for her Toyota Echo, the first car she owned and that her father bought for her shortly before losing his job at a company that went out of business. She learned to knit from her grandmother and was inspired to make a grass-like car cover by her longing for a lawn after moving from her home in Niagara Falls to dry southern California.
       “This is about the do-it-yourself movement. I teach photography and I always have students who want a studio.  I tell them they don’t have to spend a ton of money.  Go to Home Depot, get some boards, clamp them together.  That’s a studio,” she said. 
        She added that one of the most rewarding parts of the Faire was watching children rest their heads on the knit car cover and seeing visitors interact with the pieces. 

        One of the most popular was sponsored by Martha Stewart Living and featured cardboard cut-out butterflies for visitors to make.  They could be spotted sticking out of backpacks and resting on tables besides heaping plates of paella and watermelon smoothies.

       Sasha Mace-Abdelgelli, of New Jersey, tucked her butterfly into a hat she made herself from cardboard and a paper bag. It looked fantastic as she watched the giant mousetrap crush a 10-year old taxi.

       “I couldn’t find any sunscreen,” she said. “So I went to this recycling craft station and made myself a hat.”

And Rachel said...

Rachel:

Overall, a good Daybook article. You have a nice writing style that is clean and organized. And I can tell you did a great job reporting/interviewing.

Some things to keep in mind: Read your AP Stylebook and memorize some of the key things you use most often. But what’s even more important that style is consistency. Even if you mess up, it’s better to have only one version instead of multiple. It’s important to pay close attention to the little details. 

This is also a bit too long for a Daybook. I cut out a few grafs that didn’t really add anything to the story. 

One small thing most editors will tell you: Don’t put two spaces between sentences. Whether your copy is posted to a website or printed in a paper/mag, an editor will have to go in and remove every extra space. So it’s helpful if you work on breaking that habit now.

Also, I think your structure would have been stronger is you led with the details. Put the info about the quirky projects up front. Lead with the examples, and then go into what they were and who the artists were. That would keep people more interested than starting with general statements about this movement.

Keep up the good work! -Rachel…

Photos!!!!

 New York Science Center. This is where the Maker's Faire was held and the site of the 1960 World's Fair.

 I met this guy at the giant mouse-trap and he was really enthusiastic about bacon. His tie (which you can't see because of the wind) has pigs getting slaughtered on it...

 Some bottle caps that a little kid spilled on the ground....

 These flags were near the fish- bicycle...

Got my first and very own press pass! Yay!

Central Park

On Monday I traveled to the Upper West Side to report on the U.N. summit. I talked to a few people and took some pictures. Then I went for a walk in Central Park <3 and practiced my photography... 

Boring.

 Slightly less so.

 Mixing it up with a shot not at eye level.

 The first leaves to change color. This made me SO HAPPY! Love love love Central Park <3.

 View of the lake and the skyline from the jogging track.

 Every time I'm here I think about how much I miss running. So I try to be artsy ....

 Sometimes it works.... sometimes not so much.

I think this is the hotel where John Lennon used to stay? Not sure but its close to Strawberry Fields.   

Sukkah City

      Saturday was a gorgeous fall afternoon and after consulting Daybook and debating between Billy Elliot auditions on Broadway and the Sukkah city competition, I decided to explore the sukkah, mostly because it was at 5 p.m. (as opposed to 9 on a Saturday morning). I was really proud of myself because I decided to bike the 5.85 miles to Gowanus Studio Space in Park Slope and saw so much! Yay exercise. I didn't even get lost on the way! I also avoided the G, which is the worst. Subway. Ever.
       I also got my camera fixed this week. Yay! So I was able to practice taking pictures- mostly in my apartment- still need to work on remembering to take the camera with me. I also got a recorder, which makes a world of difference in conducting interviews. It was a huge relief to not have to be scrambling to take notes and I was able to focus on talking to my subjects. It was also really helpful for me to hear and remember the interview questions I asked.
      I had a great time reporting this week's assignment but I'm a little frustrated with my writing. I didn't quite make deadline, which is supposed to be 12 hours after the event. I had a bit of a time lapse between going to the art studio at 5 p.m. and Union Square at 9.5o. During this time (meant for transcribing my interviews...) I decided to get drinks in the Village with some friends and then headed over to Union Square to watch the rest of the installation. It was really cool to see the crowds that the exhibit drew in Union Square around midnight!  Here's the story....

      NEW YORK- What may be built on top of a camel, cannot be made of food and must provide more shade than sunlight in the daytime? 

Over the last five months teams of architects from around the world sought to find out by designing traditional Jewish huts called sukkahs, simultaneously exploring the parameters of ancient law and modern New York building code. 

In its first year, Sukkah City is an architectural competition drawing over 600 entries from around the globe, 12 of which were installed Saturday night in Union Square and which will be auctioned off after a week long display to benefit Housing Works. 

“There’s two sets of rules, one Jewish law, halacha, which has got a lot of whimsy, its like, ‘can be made out of the side of a whale, can be made in a tree,’ and then there’s the other law, the Department of Building of New York City. Its two sets of laws, both of which we treat as if they were given by God and the architects love the constraints,” said Roger Bennett, co-organizer of the competition and the founder of sponsoring organization Reboot. 

Traditionally, the sukkah is a hut built by Orthodox Jews for the fall harvest festival of Sukkot and commemorating the wandering of the Israelites in the desert.  The contest’s keeping with Jewish law was a challenge welcomed by the architects, who saw a chance to push the limits of innovation. 

“When there are too many rules, there are no rules. There’s room for interpretation.  The sukkah can be built on a river’s boat, but what is a river’s boat? A river’s boat is just a shell, a closed natural shape,” said Marc Fornes, a Brooklyn architect and finalist in the contest. 

Fornes said his participation was part of research he is doing on complex geometries. He produced a network of nodes that he described as a sort of upside down tree with unique branches interwoven into three roots reaching towards the stars. 

The piece is delicate, made of paper-thin strips of wood that it took volunteers ten days to assemble.  The team, mostly twenty-something hipsters, worked frantically yet cautiously to dissemble and load Fornes fragile piece, which has no name, onto a truck for transport to Union Square on Saturday.

For young architects, the contest is a learning forum and a chance to work with some of the best in the field, including a panel of world-renowned jurors. 

Mengchan Tang, who graduated from the University of Toronto’s school of architecture last year and now works in Manhattan, said he was excited for the chance to collaborate with Fornes, who is originally from France and is known for his innovation in conceptual design. 

“This specific piece isn’t functionary, but it’s a manifestation of his idea; an experiment to see what works and what doesn’t,” he said. 

Using architecture as a forum, the contest keeps in mind the mission of Reboot, an organization that Bennett says is trying to engage new generations in Jewish rituals. 

The design team of Bobak Bryan and Henry Grosman explained how the Jewish law inspired them. One of the rules is that at night one must be able to see the stars from within the sukkah. 

Their piece, titled ‘Fractured Bubble’ and made of plywood and hemp rope, was assembled by student volunteers for transport to Union Square, a place that despite being the heartbeat of downtown Manhattan, will become the forum for testing the rules of ancient Jewish law.

“In New York City you don’t really get to see the stars, but one of the things we were thinking about is how the city itself functions as the stars. If you can go somewhere and stop, which is really hard to do in New York, you can find that same sense of wonderment,” said Bryan. 

“It’s kind of the same as being in the desert and looking at the stars and feeling really tiny,” added Grosman. 

It’s an interesting interpretation of the rules, but pretty accurate judging by the crowds of people gathered in Union Square around midnight on Saturday and staring in wonder- not at the stars but at the architects and teams assembling their sukkahs. 

The photos: 

I didn't get lost!

BK. 

This was one of the two sukkahs being prepared for transport from Gowanus Studio. It was super delicate but the architect still let me touch it! His name was Marc and he was French. Tres cool. 

A view of Brooklyn through the "Fractured Bubble." 

"Fractured Bubble" being loaded for transport to Union Square. This is also the photo that I decided to use with the story, mainly because the people give a sense of scale to the sukkah.

These flowers were the victims not only of my negligence but also photo experimentation ... Sorry mom. 

Some art I bought in Union Square....

Where it all goes down. 

And this is what Jim said....

Hi Rachel,

       Everybody got off to a good start at finding their own events this week, getting in place and interviewing people. That's not always as easy as it sounds for students who are new to the practice.

      Your piece is full of interesting observations, but the order is very difficult to follow.

      Your photo was clear, with a simple juxtaposition of the people vs. the sukkah, but your story left me wanting to see more, and to see people engaging with them, maybe working on them or carrying them, or whatever more they were doing.

      You brought a lot of information this week, but it will have a lot more punch with a little organization.

      This was an improvement, but we want to improve at least as much every week.

Cheers,

Jim

September 11th Memorial

      Last weekend was the 9th anniversary of September 11th. Covering the memorial is always the first assignment for students in Reporting New York and Reporting the Nation. I was surprised at how difficult it was to talk to people here because I didn't realize how fresh the tragedy still is in many people's minds, especially in New York. I was happy with my story but concerned the topic was too superficial/ light-hearted. I also want to work on my interviews and ask more in depth questions. Here is the story and Jim's (my professor/ editor's) editing job and critique.

My story:

      NEW YORK- Saturday morning was just a taste of what months of training and thousands of miles of traveling meant to a select group of Americans and Australians who began making their way to the September 11th memorial about a month ago in Santa Monica, CA.

“It was an unbelievable, humbling experience that I was very honored to have,” said Nic Beattie, a firefighter and Tour of Duty team member from New South Wales, Australia. “It’s been an amazing journey and I think I can honestly say there’s not a firefighter in the world who wouldn’t love to have done what we did.”

Tour of Duty is a running team of service personnel- firefighters, police officers, military and their families, who finished running 4,500 miles cross-country by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and coming into Battery Park this morning before the memorial service at the World Trade Center site.

The team was organized to commemorate September 11 victims as well as the victims of Black Saturday, February 7, 2009, the date of a series of deadly brush fires in Australia, and to bring representatives of the two nations together to remember.

The idea came to Paul Ritchie, an Australian firefighter, about five years ago. When a series of bush fires swept through southeastern Australia a bit over a year ago, his brigade in Victoria, which dealt directly with the fires on Black Saturday, decided to do something.

“I’ve been a firefighter for twenty years, and I just have a passion to commemorate, to support what these people do in both the U.S. and Australia” he said. “Why not support each other?”

Over the course of the last month, the team has been running across the country, covering a total distance of 4,500 miles. On average, team members ran for 6 hours a day followed by a twelve hour break and another 6 hours on the pavement.

On the road the runners started every day at 8:46 am - the time American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower in 2001- by reading the names of 16 servicemen and women who died at the site. Over the course of the day they read the name of individual victims every 1.5 miles- eventually granting a moment’s silence to each of the attack’s roughly 3,000 victims.

Stops along the way included Las Vegas, where the Main Strip was closed to cars for the runners; Chicago; and the Pentagon, where the team laid a wreath in memory of September 11. They spent September 10th in rural Pennsylvania, at the site of the plane crash in Shanksville.

"[September 11th] is one of those things firefighters at the time felt instinctually about. At the end of the day, it was a lottery. It could have happened anywhere in the world," said Beattie. He said that although he knew no one directly affected by the September 11th attacks in America, as a firefighter he felt connected to American servicemen overseas and that commiserating with them was only natural.

“Obviously we are here to commemorate September 11,” said Sandy Prifitis, a supporter of the team who traveled with them on the road but did not run. “However, one-hundred and ninety-seven people died on Black Saturday. Our idea was to get Americans and Australians together because we’ve all suffered,” she said.

“As a first responder I’m always up for a challenge,” said Tony Martin, one of the team’s captains, when asked how his legs felt. “They’re pretty smashed though,” he added in his Australian accent.

The photo: Couple looking over the memorial.

I was happy with the composition, but photo is one of the things I really need to work on. I need to get to know my camera so I don't run into these problems with lighting! I also ran into some technical difficulty when my camera (despite having fully charged batteries) died before I met the runners! I really like this picture though, so I chose it even though it doesn't really relate to the story. As far as feedback goes, it was positive! My professor said he really liked that the photo captured the human touch- something to look for when you are taking photos.

What Jim said:

Hi Rachel,

      The first thing I noticed is that you met the deadline and came in close on the word count. These details matter to editors for obvious and practical reasons, and I am glad to see that you delivered.

      On Monday, I am planning to talk to the group about some reporting basics, which I suspect many will find useful, and I am looking forward to hearing about all of your experiences as well.

      Also, I plan to look over some of the photos together, and there will be opportunities for all who wish to further discuss your words and pictures individually.

      Yours was one of the cleanest and most professionally crafted stories I have seen from the group, but also one of the least emotional. You are the first I have read that didn’t concentrate on this year’s conflict, and that makes me curious about your story selection process. I would like to hear what you were thinking.

      For now, I will make some specific suggestions below.  Don’t panic. Many of the other reports had some of the same shortcomings, or others. The goal is to bring everybody around to the same professional standards.

Cheers,

Jim