Project 5--Crowdsourcing

Part 1:

 I thought this project was a lot of fun.  It was interesting to participate in different projects, and to (eventually!!) see my work along with the many others that contributed.  I really wanted to do Dear Photograph, but the Submit button was disabled or something--I just kept getting an error message.

The first project I worked on was The Johnny Cash Project.  I am not a Cash fan, but I recognize the song:  it used to be wrestler The Undertaker's entrance music for a while. I clicked on "Contribute", and I was given a choice of frames to work on, which were probably spots in the video that needed to be filled in. I chose the blank one, since I was not really interested in illustrating the sheep frame that popped up, and the other one seemed to complicated, but you could select other frames.  The tools were right on the site to create my artwork, so I created an abstract brushstroke for a frame near the end of the video. Here is my contribution.  It is still awaiting approval, but you can see the whole video here.

For my next project, I did Collected Visions.  It is a site where you can create a photo essay about the photographs people have contributed, or you can just submit an essay, or submit your own pictures.  I chose to write a short essay about one of the photographs on the site because it reminded me of my grandmother:

Grandmothers: A Love Like No Other

Pouring over an old photo album for another project, I came across old pictures of when I was a baby. There I was, 7 months old, and being held by my grandmother. I related to this picture because I have some pictures similar to this one in the photo album, with my grandmother looking at me. This is not my own grandmother, but I can feel the love she has for her grandchild, the way my grandmother loved me. I think it's sad that we enter our grandparents' lives when they are older, and we miss out on what they were like as children, or as young adults. My grandmother passed away when I was in 5th grade, so I never thought to ask what her life was like at 17, when she left Mississippi and moved to California. My mother said she grew up in a home where children didn't ask things like that, so she didn't know either. I think our birth gives our grandparents a second life: a chance to make right the wrong things they did with their children, and a chance to hold a tiny hand, the way my grandmother held mine. My grandmother would always buy us things, including the Holly Hobbie oven my mother made her return. In my eyes, my grandmother could do no wrong: she made potato salad for barbecues, baked cakes on birthdays (nevermind that it was a box mix), prepared holiday meals, and came with us on family trips. I hope the little guy (or girl) in this photo cherishes the memory of his grandmother they way I cherish mine. She will always be in their heart

I have not heard whether or not this was accepted for submission, so I hope it will be. The website for Collected Visions is here.

The last project I collaborated on was Young Me/Me Now.  I thought it was a pretty fun project! You have to find a picture of yourself as a child, then take a picture of yourself now, trying to recreate that old photo.  I had my mom dig out the the old photo albums and found a picture of me, as a very adorable baby, so I used that one.  I don't have anything in that blue, and for sure I don't have any footie pajamas, so I did my best. I have not heard whether or not I was accepted, but this is what I came up with:

Check out Young Me/Me Now here.