Author Archives: Jacqueline Ashby

Here are a few images capturing my visit to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH). During my excursion, I met Mr. Steven Trimmer who was preparing for an evening performance at the MAH. Mr. Trimmer is researching “new interfaces between plants and digital media using calcium ion sensors” at the University of California Santa Cruz. He designed this amazing cybernetic sculpture, Hidden Stream, that “uses bio-sensing to sonify and visualize the hidden inner processes of plants.” These processes are interpreted as musical patterns that are then expressed through a custom-made electro-acoustic lyre. It challenges conventional thinking and I love it! Imagine if we attached sensors to our houseplants! We could wake up to a symphony every morning. To learn more about his work, click here @ The Leap Year. Here’s a short video:

Numerous articles have chronicled the slow death of the enclosed mall. The malls I frequently visit seem to experience difficulty in retaining retailers and customers. Stores transition quickly and many spaces are left dark and vacant. It reminds me a bit of the broken window theory. A closing of one major retailer signals to customers and surrounding retailers that there’s a disorder in the space. This “signal” results in a decrease in usage and greater retailer turnover.

The Atlantic describes how some have repurposed and retrofitted these large boxes into schools, universities, and medical facilities. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Capitola Mall, located in Santa Cruz, California, now has a children’s Museum of Discovery and a Learn to Discover MakerSpace! The educational exhibits are interactive and fun for both kids and adults. I thoroughly enjoyed the Air Wall with all the plastic tubing. Insert a few handkerchiefs and watch them scurry along in a race to the finish. It’s a great learning environment that intersects both art and science. Check out the photos below:

THE BUCKET BOARD from mac premo on Vimeo.

“Once there was trash and now there is skateboarding!” Learn more here @ thebucketboard.org

On my last day in D.C., I attended VentureWell’s workshop on Maker Spaces Reinvented held at D.C. Incubator 1776.

1776 is a global incubator and seed fund helping startups transform industries that impact millions of lives every day—education, energy & sustainability, health, transportation and cities.

The place exuded patriotism and a desire to create social change. Inspirational quotes and vibrant images lined the walls. Repurposed doors and windowpanes symbolically represented passages to new opportunities and alternate frames to view the world. This was my first experience working in an environment that spoke to me on every surface and around every bend. Here are a few photos of this co-working hub that I captured before the workshop began:

This is fantastic. Cycling made safer.

Can’t believe I fell for it! Ha! #SmartSeats #AprilFooled