iPix 365: iPhoneography for February 2010
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
It’s hard to believe that February has already come to an end. Speaking to that, here is my collection of iPhone photographs for February.
All of the images in the following collection were photographed using an iPhone and edited, toned and processed with the device as well.
If you missed January’s collection, point your browser to iPixs 365: iPhoneography for January 2010.
Tags: Art & Design
How To Roast Coffee With An Air Popcorn Popper
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Maker, Museums, Work
As mentioned in a previous post, (How To Make Turkish (or Arabic) Coffee), the Arab American National Museum is currently hosting an exhibition entitled From Mocha to Latte: Coffee, the Arab World and the $4 Cup. This exhibit explores coffee’s Arab cultural roots, the global institution we know as the coffeehouse and the consumption and production of the beverage in today’s marketplace. In addition to the exhibition, we are planning a series of fun and engaging public programs. Speaking to this, we’re having some fun creating online tutorials on coffee roasting and coffee brewing. Further, these tutorials are meant to encourage our audience to participate in maker culture.
Our first tutorial focuses on roasting coffee beans with an air popcorn popper. The following short video will walk you through the steps and set you on your way to a better tasting cup of Joe. Stay tuned for a forthcoming tutorial on brewing coffee with a siphon!
- Devon Akmon
The Quest For The Best Homemade Za’atar Bread Recipe
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Food
For the past month or so Dharma and I have been baking our way through the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. All in all, our impression of the book is favorable. Admittedly, I was somewhat surprised to discover a recipe for za’atar bread. I suppose this speaks to the popularity of the Mediterranean diet. Although my family still cooks many traditional Lebanese dishes, they tend to steer clear of baking. Thus, I’ve never been taught the art of baking those delectable Arab breads that I’ve come to love.
I was mentioning this to my work colleague, Anan, while we made a quick stop to a local Arab market recently. I was on the prowl to locate a good za’atar mix so that I could begin experimenting with bread recipes at home. My colleague kindly told me to hold off on purchasing the za’atar; she assured me that she had a huge quantity that she had brought home from Jordan and that she would be happy to share some with me. I was surprised to find a nice big sack of the mixed herbs on my desk the following day. So, now that we’ve finished off our batch of pumpernickel, we’re ready to start exploring various za’atar recipes. Here are the four versions that we’ll try:
- Za’atar Flatbread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
- Sesame Herb Bread (Manakeesh Bi Zahtar) from Feast from the Mideast: 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible
- Thyme Bread (Manaqish Bil-Za’tar) from Mediterranean Street Food
- Mana’eesh Zahter (Thyme-Sumac Pies) from Sahtein
We’ll share with you our favorite recipe in the comments section when we finish this little experiment. I suspect we’ll try one recipe per week. If you’ve tried making homemade za’atar bread, or you have a favorite za’atar bread from a local bakery, please do share! And, if you live in the Ann Arbor area, please do not pay $4.00 for a single loaf at one of our overpriced local grocery stores. You could buy a dozen for that price from an Arab baker, so save your money and try the real stuff.
The first loaf, from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. So good!
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Food
The Implosion of J.L. Hudson’s Flagship Store in Detroit
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
At 5:47 PM on October 24, 1998, the iconic J.L. Hudson’s flagship department store in downtown Detroit was imploded. As I recall, there was much controversy surrounding former Mayor Dennis Archer’s decision to bring down this _______ (eyesore; historically significant structure; reminder of better days in a tired city; etc.). Sadly, to this day, nothing has been built upon this massive footprint in the city. Almost twelve years have passed and I can’t help but wonder what could have happened had that magnificent building been restored, rehabilitated and/or adaptively reused.
As a young art student with a love for the city – most of my creative work focused on Detroit – I made a point of attending the destruction of this icon. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the smartest move I’ve made in my life. Who knows what I inhaled in the plume that engulfed the city following the implosion that day (I’m sure I lost a couple years of my life). I remember feeling both exhilarated and depressed, simultaneously. I documented the destruction I saw with my 35mm SLR camera. My goal was to eventually do something with the series of images.
Originally, I planned to print a series of nine images showing the collapse of the structure. However, after further thought this didn’t seem appropriate. Later, I thought about screenprinting the series on Hudson’s store bags. The name of the series was to be 13 Hour Sale! (yeah, it’s satire for those familiar with Hudson’s). In the end, my ambivalence and personal confusion over the building prohibited me from finishing the series.
Today, I’m snowed in and feeling a bit nostalgic. I recently located some scans of the images on an old Zip disk (yes, the quality of the scans is poor). I thought I’d share them here with you today. Only a handful of friends and family have ever seen these images. If you have recollections of the building or old Detroit, please do share your thoughts in the comment section below (or email me if you prefer to be private).
Hudson's Implosion 01
Hudson's Implosion 02
Hudson's Implosion 03
Hudson's Implosion 04
Hudson's Implosion 05
Hudson's Implosion 06
Hudson's Implosion 07
Hudson's Implosion 08
Hudson's Implosion 09
Other resources:
- Here is a video of the implosion.
- The Detroit News: How J.L. Hudson changed the way we shop
- Check out the book Hudson’s: Detroit’s Legendary Department Store (Images of America)
- And, if you can find a copy, check out Gary Glaser’s documentary The Hudson’s Building
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
Maple Trees: From Sap to Syrup, Pt. One
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Gardening
It’s that time of the year. With daytime temperatures rising above freezing and nighttime temperatures dipping back below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, maple trees are being tapped for sap! We have two silver maples in our yard and this year we’ve decided to try our hands at making homemade maple syrup. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing how this project progresses. Hopefully it will end with some quality maple syrup!
I recommend checking out TapMyTrees.com if your interested in trying to produce your own homemade maple syrup. We purchased the starter kit with plastic buckets. The kit affords you to tap up to three trees.
To get started, the first step is to identify your maple trees. This is a much easier task when leaves are on the tree, but it is possible to determine the type of tree in the winter too. The most commonly tapped maple trees, in order of both preference and highest level of sugar content, are:
- Sugar Maple
- Black Maple
- Red Maple
- Silver Maple
Once you have identified a healthy maple tree, you’ll need to use a 7/16 bit to drill a hole 2-2.5 inches deep into the trunk. Drill at a slight angle upward. I recommend drilling the hole three to four feet from the ground on the south side of the tree. It is possible to have more than one tap per tree. According to the Cornell Sugar Maple Research & Extension Program:
A healthy tree 10-17 inches in diameter (31-53 inch circumference) should have no more than one tap. A tree 18-24 inches in diameter (57-75 inch circumference) should have no more than two taps. A tree larger than 25 inches in diameter (79-inch circumference) should have no more than three taps.
Once the hole is drilled you can now gently hammer the spile with hook into the tree. Next, hang the collection bucket and lid (I highly recommend using a lid!). Finally, hope for ideal weather conditions and wait for the sap to flow. The sap collecting period should last anywhere from four to six weeks. The sap should appear clear and you can expect to collect anywhere from 5 to 10 gallons of sap per tree. Keep in mind that it takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make make one gallon of syrup!
Drill a hole 2.5 inches into the trunk.
Install the spile and hook and hang the bucket with lid.
A detail of the spile
The final package. Hope for sap!
We’ll share more as things progress. If you live in the Ann Arbor area then I also recommend reading these two articles on tapping maple trees:
- Ann Arbor Chronicle: Tapping Ann Arbor’s Sap
- AnnArbor.com: Wildcrafting – Maple sugaring in the city and the country
Good luck!
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Gardening
Hipstamatic iPhoneography Photo Contest
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design
It’s time for another iPhone photo contest. This one is for images taken with the Hipstamatic application and it’s brought to you by iPhoneography.org. Entries will be accepted through March 2, 2010.
Contest details:
The Hipstamatic iPhone app is creating quite a buzz in the world of iPhoneography. Do you have a hot Hipstamatic shot? Submit your Hipstamatic images for a chance to be one of three featured iPhoneographers on iPhoneography.org.
You know the drill: check out the rules and then enter as many images as you want. Be aware that the option for voting on images requires you to create an account.
Here are the two images I submitted. If you get a chance, please vote for Downtown A2 and Campesino. Thanks!
Campesino
Downtown A2
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design
How To Build A Simple Interpretative Panel For An Exhibit Pt.1
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Maker, Museums, Work
Outsourcing the design and fabrication of exhibits is not a new trend in the museum industry; this has been happening for quite some time. However, the current economic downturn is altering how we approach the design and fabrication of exhibition materials. A recent article in the publication Exhibit City succinctly explains the current trends in exhibit building:
Today, exhibit houses are under pressure to alter their business strategies. These pressures are spawned by the current economic downturn and competitive influences. Clients are demanding more from their exhibit houses but wanting to pay less. Custom builds and refurbishing services are down while rental exhibits are increasingly popular. Storage, drayage and shipping costs continue to escalate, and general service contractors (GSCs) bundle services to make it more difficult to compete.
The prevailing economic winds show no sign of letting up anytime soon, at least not in Michigan. As indicated above, this means more museums are trying to get by with less and, in turn, exhibit builders are floundering. Of the two large firms based in SE Michigan, one has gone out of business and one has greatly reduced its scope of services.
A couple of years ago, when the economy started going south, we decided to look at our exhibit building options. Clearly, for medium to large scale exhibits we knew that we would need to hire a firm. However, we also realized that small exhibits and “permanent exhibit” modifications could be handled in-house. For example, our web designer has been handling more print design. Our IT staff have been identifying new ways of building/modifying interactives (an Arduino, an mp3 player and some LEDs can go a long way and save some serious cash!). And our curatorial department has been creating more with so much less.
Speaking to this, I will walk you through the steps of creating a very simple exhibit panel. This is very basic, not hard to produce and the final project will look clean and professional. There are numerous modifications one can make, so play with it to meet you needs. Normally, the panel I show below would cost a couple of hundred dollars to have made. However, this one cost us under one hundred dollars to produce.
Step One: Create the Graphic
The first step is to draft the text for your panel. After you’ve proofread the material and are comfortable with the language and length, drop the text and any supporting graphics into a graphics application such as Adobe Illustrator. I won’t spend too much time discussing accessibility standards, but I will mention a few general guidelines one should follow:
- Avoid the use of colloquial and complex English, jargon, and technical language
- Use the active voice
- Use a sans-serif or simple serif typeface
- High contrast for type and background
For more information on sign and label standards, visit the Smithsonian Guidelines For Accessible Exhibition Design website or check out the Standards Manual for Signs and Labels from the American Association of Museums.
The text and graphics should now be laid out and the graphic panel set to its final dimensions. I generally use Adobe Illustrator to create my template. Before saving the final version, I “select all” and then “create outlines” of all the text. This helps to ensure the correct font type when printing the graphic.
Create the graphic.
Create a Proof
One could create a proof in-house if a quality printer is available. However, we generally send our templates to a high-quality printshop. We prefer to have the graphic created on a Lambda or LightJet machine. I would recommend using the Pantone Matching System to ensure the print colors meet your specification. Once your proof is ready, I highly recommend taping it to the wall at the panel’s final location. This helps to see what the panel will look like under the current lighting arrangement and, if there are similar panels nearby, it helps to ensure that the print blends in with those in the surrounding area. If the results satisfy your needs, it’s time to move on to building the substrate.
The proof of the graphic.
Prepare the Substrate
There are numerous substrates one can choose to use. However, we generally choose medium-density fiberboard (MDF). It’s cheap, durable, readily accessible and easy to work with. Mark out your dimensions on the substrate, measure again and make the cut. Be sure to cut your panel exactly to size. If a power saw is utilized then be sure to compensate for the kerf.
Once the panel is cut to size, use 600-1000 grit sandpaper to clean up the edges and surfaces of the substrate. Then, dress up the edges with several coats of paint that complement or match your graphic. I recommend at least four or five coats of paint. Don’t worry too much about the surface of the substrate; the graphic will cover one side and the other will face the wall. Once the paint dries and meets your satisfaction then you’re now ready to move on to the next step: putting the panel together.
The substrate.
Tune back in a couple of days for the second part of How To Build A Simple Interpretative Panel For An Exhibit. We’ll discuss the final steps in putting together a simple exhibit panel.
- Devon Akmon
Paczki Day (aka Fat Tuesday)!!
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Food
If you’ve lived anywhere near a sizable Polish community in the United States then you must be familiar with Pączki! In addition to being such a fun word to pronounce (go on, say “POONCH-kee”), these little devils are delectable. Growing up in metro Detroit and having attended Catholic school as a child, Fat Tuesday was something we looked forward to each year; it meant we would have fresh pączki delivered to our school straight from Hamtramck.
So, for the newbies, you must be wondering what are pączki and where does this tradition come from? First of all, pączki are essentially deep fried doughnuts filled with sweet filling (think jelly doughnut) and covered with powdered sugar or icing. So, how do these differ from the more common jelly doughnut? Pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and sometimes milk. In other words, bakers throw in everything but the kitchen sink (remember, Fat Tuesday marks the coming of Lent).
Pączki have a long history in Poland dating back centuries. However, pączki are traditionally consumed on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent, in Poland. Here in the US the tradition takes place on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning on the Lenten season. As explained on Wikipedia, “the reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed due to Catholic fasting practices during Lent.”
Hamtramck has long been the center of the Detroit Polish community (although, the small Detroit enclave is much, much more diverse these days). This is the place to go for pączki. People have been known to drive great distances for these treats, especially given the large Catholic population in metro Detroit (think Italians, Polish, Irish, Lebanese and Iraqi Chaldean communities). The long lines leading out of the various bakery doors are quite common on Fat Tuesday. Last year I visited one bakery with some work colleagues and we waited close to two hours to buy our pączki! This year I’m heading to Hamtramck a day early to buy my dozen to share with family and friends.
So, how decadent are pączki? According to this Detroit News article, a typical 5-ounce pączek contains about 420 calories and 25 or more grams of fat. If you’re a newbie and not quite sure where to buy pączki, then head over to Chowhound and take a look at what’s recommended. Me, I’ll be heading to New Palace Bakery as usual!
Packzi Day 01
Packzi Day 02
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Food
All About Bees!
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Gardening
Listen up, listen up, all you locavores, gardeners and apiculturist! My friend Joan and her husband Rich Wieske of Green Toe Gardens (Wild Detroit Honey) are putting on a one-day, natural beekeeping workshop on March 6 in Detroit. The workshop, All About Bees!, has been designed for the novice to the expert and will feature many well-known speakers from around the Midwest. The workshop will include sessions on:
- Beekeeping 101
- How to Build a Beehive
- Honey Tasting
- Meadmaking
- Bees and Spirituality
- Biodynamics
- How to Develop a Honey Coop
- Bees and City Hall
- Apitherapy
- Bees as Part of Community Development
The fee for the workshop is only $20 and includes a light breakfast (bring or buy your own lunch). Stay tuned to http://www.citybeesdetroit.com/ for updates (the official site should launch tonight). Also, be sure to check out Kim Bayer’s Edible WOW article on Rich and his urban beekeeping operation. Hope to see you at the workshop!
All About Bees!
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Gardening
Digital SLR Pinhole Camera, Part 1
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Art & Design, Maker
I recently checked out the handbook Hacking Digital Cameras from the Ann Arbor District Library. I was happy to find within this book instructions for building a pinhole lens for a digital camera. I’ve been wanting to build a quality pinhole for quite some time. However, I didn’t think I’d be making a digital pinhole camera.
The project was really quite simple. I ordered two new body caps for my Canon EOS digital camera (the second was in case I screwed up the first!) from B&H Photo. In addition to the body cap, the only other supplies you’ll need for this project are a very small drill bit, a cordless drill and a needle or shirt-pin.
The first step is to measure the body cap to locate the center. Once marked, grab you’re drill and small bit and slowly start creating the hole. Don’t drill all the way through the cap! Go slowly until you have created a small dimple on the opposite side (front) of the cap. Finally, create the pinhole using the needle. Be sure to carefully run the needle through both sides of the cap. I used some 1000 grit sandpaper to gently clean up the hole.
Pretty simple, eh? Below you will find my first pictures taken with the pinhole. Yep, they’re pretty unremarkable. Currently, I’m taking things one step at a time. My next few experiments will focus on varying the size of the pinhole, trying to build a “closed pinhole” and maybe even working with some zone plates.
As a side note, if you’re looking for analog pinhole cameras, check out Eric Renner’s Leonardo cameras or this handmade wooden pinhole camera from Zero Image. Also, here’s instructions to other digital pinhole projects: $0 digital pinhole camera via Make or this one from Instructables.
I think I am going to finish one more project from the book before returning it to the library: hacking an old point-and-shoot digital camera so that it can create infrared pictures!
DSLR Pinhole Image 01
DSLR Pinhole Image 02
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Art & Design, Maker
