sixth post.

social networking and digital communication:

  Social networking sites have been around for a number of years now, and over time their popularity has grown to unbelievable figures. With Facebook recently hitting half a billion users, it is easy to see that a lot of the world see Facebook (as well as others such as MySpace, Twitter and Bebo) as a normal, everyday, part of their lives. 
  There are many positive social benefits of social networking. People can communicate with their 'friends' at the touch of a mouse, can create and consume information, such as photos, videos, and music, and can connect with people from all over the world. 
  Alongside the benefits, there are many negatives factors which go alongside social networking. People can use these sites to interact with people, in an almost artificial way, instead of seeing these people in person, in a real place with activities going on around them, they are sitting in front of a screen belittling their relationships. 
  Social networking has and still will be changing people's relationships. To befriend somebody that you don't know, have only just met, or have known most of your life all mean the same thing via social networking sites. The majority of Facebook users (as an example) have hundreds, if not thousands of friends, which just simply isn't real outside of the cyberworld. For me personally, probably only 70%/80% of my Facebook 'friends' i have met and interacted with in the real world, or have mutual friends with.
  
http://thomas-fletcher.com/friendwheel/showwheel.php?site=facebook&name=Emily%20Curtis&userid=1250312023&pass=12eb5a6639&monthno=01&xmlwheel=1
This link (above) shows a wheel of my Facebook friends, which when you mouse over their separate names, connects mine and their mutual friends names together with lines. In my case, the people with the most connections (i.e. mutual friends) are the ones that i know the most, excluding my siblings, who have different groups of friends to me.

Social networking, as well as the rest of the internet, allows you to instantly access almost any information without much effort. This overload of information affects people's ability to process information. Most people when reading a text via the internet, will only scan through the information, not even coming close to reading the numerous facts and figures, and instead getting what they need within moments, possibly missing out on vital info.  

 Other than social networking, one other form of digital communication which has affected my life and made the biggest impact is texting. The ability to find something out, get hold of somebody, arrange something, or anything else, within minutes is something I really take for granted. I don't know quite what i could do to the same extent if texting did not exist. I know that letter writing is hardly as efficient to use in a long term way. I spent the last year communicating to one of my best friends who was sectioned and in a hospital that i couldn't travel to, just using letters, and waiting a week for a reply was hardly easy, as by the time each of us recieved the other's letter, a lot of things had changed, and the letters became very repetitive. This is why i love being able to text so much, because it's simple, quick and instant. 
  The future of networking is something a lot of people are worried about. In 2004 Facebook was a simple college site and in only 6 years it has become a ridiculous thing, with roughly a 12th of the population having an account. I am not too sure what the future might consist, but I'm sure sites like Facebook will have plenty more members, and I can assume that there will be more sites, with more new and interesting things to do on them. Despite a lot of people being sceptical about the future, I welcome it with open hands.

 

fifth blog (print + publishing)

 Relief prints.

 To make a relief print: 

• Find any suitable objects (for example, i used a lego block, a magic wand, small pegs and a hair brush).
• Using a roller apply a little water based ink over the specific object.
• Press the object, ink side down onto your paper and with an even amount of pressure, push it to relieve all the ink onto the paper.
• For a distressed effect, repeat this, without adding any extra ink so that the print is lighter and more patchy. 
• Continue this with the rest of your objects until you have your desired print.

fourth post (print + publishing)

This is the print I made using this technique.

During the lesson I made an Intaglio print called an etching. I did this by using a scribe (or compass) to scratch my design into the thin rectangle of acrylic plastic. Because the plastic was clear it was easy to trace any image onto it. The next step was to soak a piece paper in a water bath for a few minutes. The paper should be thick, good quality (the higher gsm, the better) and larger than the size of your plastic. Once the paper has been soaked for long enough, hold the paper up above the bath until it has completely stopped dripping and then weigh it down inbetween blotching paper and under a heavy piece of wood. While the paper is being blotched you can move onto the next step. Using gloves to protect your hands, cover the dabber in a little oil based ink. Put a sheet of newspaper under the plastic, with the scratched surface facing up. Apply the ink by rocking the dapper from side to side until the whole thing is covered. Next you get a scrim and using your hand at one end as a barrier, clean the ink of from the plastic, ensuring it stays inside the etched lines, repeat this by turning the plastic around and wiping in the other direction. Do so until all the ink has been removed. By now your paper should be blotched enough for use. Place your plastic onto a piece of scrap paper insuring the scratched side is facing up, then place the paper which has been soaked and blotched carefully on top of your plastic design. Then onto this lay a thin sheet of tissue paper and slide it up to the edge of the intaglio press roller. Pull the blankets over the layers of paper, carefully sorting out any bumps or creases. Finally turn the wheel until the load has come out at the other end. Remove the blankets and peel away the tissue paper. Slowly lift your paper and you will find your design in mirror image printed on to it. WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED? Intaglio prints work because the damp paper under the pressure of the roller is squeezed into the lines that you previously scratched out.

third post (print +publishing)

different types of prints:

Intaglio

Etching is one of the intaglio techniques. It was first developed in the early sixteenth century, after it was discovered that acid could be used to incise an image into a metal plate. Rembrandt van Rijn, Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, amongst others, have used the technique to create some of their most important works.

Etching is essentially a linear medium, in which the composition is constructed by a network of lines.

How to etch:

1. 
   
   
   
   Apply a waxy, acid-resistant “ground” to a metal plate.
2. 
   
   
   
   After the ground has dried, use an etching needle to draw through the ground. The needle will scratch through and expose the metal.
3. 
   
   
   
   The plate is then submerged in a pan of acid. The acid will eat into the exposed lines, creating an incision. The acid-resistant ground protects the other areas.
4. 
   
   
   
   The plate is removed from the acid bath when the incisions are deep enough. The ground is removed with a solvent. The plate has been incised with the artist’s composition.
5. 
   
   
   
   The entire plate is inked. Often a dabber is used in order to push the ink into the incised lines.
6. 
   
   
   
   The surface of the plate is wiped clean, leaving only the incised lines filled with ink.
7. 
   
   
   
   The plate is placed face up on the bed of an etching press. A sheet of dampened paper is laid on top, padded with a blanket, and run through the press. Pressure forces the paper into the etched lines to pick up the ink.
8. 
   
   
   
   The paper is lifted away from the plate. The image has been printed in reverse. Because the paper is larger than the plate, an indentation is left by the plate’s edges; this is known as the “plate mark..” 
   

   Relief

Relief printing is a process in which ink is put onto the original surface of the matrix. Techniques include, linocut, woodcut, woodblock, metalcut, and wood engraving.
Artists that use this method include:
Katsushika Hokusai - a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printer of the ‘Edo’ period. In his time, he was Japan’s leading expert on Chinese painting. He is probably best known for his ‘wave’ picture. 

Albrecht Durer – a well known German relief artist form the Renaissance. He worked not only as an artist, but as a printer, so his prints were known as far as Europe.

Stencil

Where the stencil forms the negative of the image or impression – including screen-printing and pochoir.
Artists that use this technique include:
Takashi Murakami – a prolific contemporary Japanese artist. His works include:

Andy Warhol -  an American print maker and a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art.

Planographic

Planographic printing is where the matrix retains its entire surface, but some parts are treated to make the image.



Edvard Munch - an artist who uses planographic printing to create expressionistic art. He is also a Norweigian symbolist painter.

second post.

A blog is an online diary. Many people use blogs for many different reasons, blogs can be specialised, or for general use. Blogs can also be used in promotion, such as the XFactor blog, where viewers can discuss recent news and gossip. The most well-known blogger and to some, most influential, is Perez Hilton, who has made millions from re-telling the news, in his own satirical way on his blog. http://perezhilton.com/

To embed an image from a site such as facebook into your blog:

• save the required image onto your computer, 
• then look at the tool bar above your text entry box, 
• click on the picture icon, 
• then browse your computer for the image you wish to upload

To embed a youtube clip into your blog:

• once on youtube find the required clip,
• below the video will be the words <embed>,
• click this button and to the side a long code (called html) will appear,
• (this text should already be highlighted),
• copy the code, (if on a pc, right click on the mouse and press 'copy', if on a mac, press the 'cmnd' key and 'c'),
• then go onto your blog,
• above the text input box is the toolbar, and in the top corner of this it should say 'edit html' click this,
• paste the code into the text input box (pc - right click mouse and 'paste'. mac - 'cmnd' key and 'v')

In an email CC means carbon copy, which means an exact copy to be sent to a second person (or third, or fourth...) BCC meand a blind carbon copy, which is basically the same, except the recipients email address is concealed from other recipients (hense the use of the word blind).

An RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication) is a collection of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works, such as a blog.

today i added RSS readers onto my google account. i added BBC news, Perez Hilton, and the mirror's TV and entertainment :)they are on the side bar to your left if you want to read any news or gossip.

The End!

first post.

This is my blog for Interactive Media. I'm Emily and I like Marmite on toast and sleeping all day. Oh and also, sometimes i knit :) I'm a very cool person obviously.

  This is a video of Russell Howard, he is a pretty funny guy.