Workshop: Navigating Image Databases

ARTstor is one of the largest art image databases available through the library website.

How often do you use Google Images for your art and design projects? It is easy to turn to Google Images when we need a photograph, graphic, or drawing of something specific, or even of something vague. Google’s search technology is probably the most highly developed of its kind out there. But as we have learned in previous Creative Centre workshops about copyright and citing images, what is found on Google is not necessarily legal to use for the purposes of SOUAD students, staff, or faculty. For this reason, the Jack Chambers library at SOUAD has always made available databases of images that are safe for our community to use. While these are all readily available on the library website, it can be difficult to know which are best for different purposes. We have some databases that cover press photos from throughout the last century, and others that focus on paintings and images of art.

In the final Creative Centre workshop of the term, we will be introducing students to our image databases and to free image databases available online. This is part of our series of workshops about art and design research, which will continue in January…future topics include appropriation, patent law, citing images, and more! This workshop takes place on Friday December 6^th, 2013, from 4:30pm-6:30pm in the Creative Centre. Find more details at the workshop page on our library website: www.souad.ca/library/workshops

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The Latest issue of Architectural Digest is Now Available Through Zinio Digital Magazines!

Attention all you aspiring architects out there it is time to pick up the latest edition of Architectural Digest from the JC Library’s Zinio Digital Magazine collection.  Architectural Digest is “is the world’s foremost design authority, showcasing the work of top architects and interior decorators. It continues to set new benchmarks for how to live well—what to buy, what to see and do, where to travel, and who to watch on the fast-paced, multifaceted global design scene.”   Architectural Digest has been in print since 1920 and publishes 12 issues per year.  Here is a sneak peak at what is inside the December issue;

• The High Life – A fixture of the fashion jet set for decades—and the author of a captivating new memoir—Giancarlo Giammetti opens the doors to his ultrarefined, art-filled Manhattan aerie
• Advanced Studies – Neil Bingham’s new book reviews a century of architectural drawings and the artistry behind them
• Spot-On – Yayoi Kusama’s signature polka dots are on view at David Zwirner for her highly anticipated New York return
• The Next Generation – Some are more established, others are just emerging, but these 20 artists—selected by savvy collectors and advisers—are headed for even greater heights

The JC Library is encouraging all students to sign up and take advantage of our Zinio Digital Magazine collection.  As a SOUAD student it is always important to keep up to date on the latest news and information in the art, design, and architectural worlds, and Zinio Digital Magazines is a fun and easy way to do just that! So during your winter break be sure to cozy up to the fire and relax with Zinio digital magazines!

End of Term is Fast Approaching!

You can tell by the chill in the air and the snow on the ground that the end of the Fall term is fast approaching!  The JC Library would like to remind all students that our library and our Creative Centre will be once again extending our hours of operation for the end of the term rush.  We at the library know that there are many assignments due at the end of the term and that students will need a little extra time and space to complete them.  That is why the JC Library will be open 24/7 starting on Sunday December 1^st  and running until Saturday December 21^st!

Whether you need a quiet place to study or an inspiring space to create, the JC Library has you covered!  We will also have additional staff members present in order to best serve our students during this bust time.  And don’t be afraid to ask us any questions, whether it be about our collection, borrowing equipment, help with citing a paper, or even where the washroom is located!  We hope that everyone can take advantage of the extended hours and additional help that the JC Library is committed to providing, as we strive to connect, inform and create.

Graduate Talk: Biomimicry and Graphic Design

If you are a SOUAD design student, you have probably encountered the term “biomimicry,” which refers to how designers can take inspiration from nature, mimicking its systems to create more efficient designs for humans. This most often makes sense for industrial design and designed objects. But what does biomimicry have to do with graphic design? SOUAD graduate student Ashley McCoy has focused on biomimicry and graphic design and will answer this question at a talk at the Creative Centre. She will discuss her research and host a forum where other students can contribute ideas from their own work.

 Join us at 6:30pm on Thursday, December 5^th for her talk and forum, as well as complimentary refreshments, at the J.C. library’s Creative Centre.

Checkout the Latest Issue of BlackFlash Magazine!

The JC Library has the latest issue of BlackFlash magazine available to view through Zinio Digital Magazines! BlackFlash magazine is “filled with critical ideas and opinions about contemporary photography and new media art. Each issue will give you interesting and insightful perspectives’ on the latest trends, the hottest artists and thought provoking art.”  BlackFlash is a Canadian magazine first published in Saskatoon in 1983.  The magazine produces three issues per year that are “dedicated to promoting photo-based and new media art in Canada.”

The latest issue features;

• Artist Project: Jayce Salloum
• Rules of Engagement: an interview with Linda Duvall by Sanda Fraser
• Illusion Keeper: Jen E. Norton’s Layered Works by Sue Stewart
• Walls Between People by Lindsey Sharman

In addition to the latest issue of BlackFlash, the JC Library would also like to announce that we now offer back issues of all Zinio Magazine subscriptions.  So if you have missed an issue of your favourite magazine, or if you would like to read an article that was printed years ago, you can now access these issues via the JC Library!

Copyright workshop at the Creative Centre

Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853 – 1890)
Irises, 1889, Oil on canvas
Unframed: 74.3 x 94.3 cm (29 1/4 x 37 1/8 in.)
Framed: 94.9 x 114.9 x 11.4 cm (37 3/8 x 45 1/4 x 4 1/2 in.)
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Chances are, you know the artist who created this painting, but do you know whether it is legal to reproduce the image online? In this case, the Getty Centre, an organization in Los Angeles that owns the painting, by Vincent van Gogh, has deemed the image “open content” and allows anyone to download it and use it for any purpose, even commercially. Why is this true for this painting but not for other works by van Gogh? What if you publish your own art or design work online? What are your rights? We will answer these questions at an upcoming workshop at the Creative Centre in the SOUAD library. Learn the basics of Canadian and international copyright law and how it applies to your current work as a student, and in the future as a creative professional.

The workshop takes place next Thursday, November 28^th, from 4-6pm in the Creative Centre. It is part of our series of workshops about art and design research…future topics include appropriation, patent law, citing images, and more! Find more details at the workshop page on our library website: www.souad.ca/library/workshops

GreenThumb Permaculture Workshop: DIY Terrarium Herb Garden

Why buy fresh herbs from the supermarket when you can grow your own? Want to get started with a planting project but don’t want to wait until spring? In this Creative Centre workshop, part of our GreenThumb series, participants will learn, from local landscape architect Meredith Hoskins, how to use permaculture concepts indoors to create a small herb spiral in a terrarium that will fit most apartment kitchens. Cost is only $10 for SOUAD students and all herbs and supplies are provided for.

What is permaculture? According to the permaculture institute (www.permaculture.org) “Permaculture is an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavour. It teaches us how build natural homes, grow our own food, restore diminished landscapes and ecosystems, catch rainwater, build communities and much more.” Permaculture gardening is normally associated with managing outdoor ecosystems, but our workshop leader Meredith will demonstrate how these concepts can be transferred to indoor gardening suitable to urban dwellers. In herb gardens, one of the most important concepts from permaculture is to pair complementary herbs beside each other. Besides helping you to save some money on food, creating and tending to a garden using these principles is an excellent way of exploring avenues of creativity outside of your regular artistic medium.

This workshop will take place on Tuesday November 26^th at 4:30pm in the Creative Centre. Space is limited to 15 people so register now! To register, visit the information desk at the Creative Centre or email us at library@souad.ca