The above object from the recent Design Science symposium held here at RISD gives you a sense of the wonderment we all observed together. -JM

Last year I met the multi-talented Amanda Koster in San Francisco where I did a short interview with her while waiting to speak at Web 2.0. I was so impressed with her story of how she created her own category of photojournalism participation in a way that is only possible today. I saw her again this year, and she kindly introduced me to her new book. I never podcasted the interview before (along with many other things I haven’t had the time to organize) so apologies for the delay. -JM

Prof. Ellen Driscoll, Department Head of Sculpture, recently closed an exhibition in Brooklyn using her unique approach to reusing plastic bottles and transforming them into delectable organic installations of white geometric forms. I caught her speak at the sabbatical presentation last year in November and was excited to receive the above photo. The exhibition will be covered in Art in America and specially featured in Sculpture Magazine. -JM

I caught the opening of Prof. Rachel Berwick’s installation entitled Zugunruhe at the David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown. I was absolutely mesmerized by the glass needle that sits in the anteroom to the “aviary” hidden in the large room behind. It runs from now until Feb 14, 2010 so if you are in the area I invite you to check it out. Prof. Berwick is the department head of our Department of Glass. -JM

Prof. Kyna Leski fresh off her appearance at Pop!Tech points us to an interesting symposium from this weekend at RISD. -JM

In a few days we remember the many men and women that have given their lives in service of our country. It is a sobering thought. Especially in these times when global conflict continues without relent. We all know that the peace we feel in may of our locales is thanks to the many military personnel stationed here and overseas that peace can prevail in pockets of our world. I first came into contact with the veteran perspective here at RISD through Steven Bailey and have encountered it throughout my experience with students, faculty, and staff that have personally served in the armed forces, or else have family or other loved ones so engaged in service of our country or in service of one of our partner nations.Last week in Chicago upon the suggestion of longtime friend of RISD Marti Belluschi, I visited the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum which is soon to be renamed as the “National Veterans Art Museum.” There I had the honor of meeting Mike and Jerry who are both veterans and artists. They let me record some of their thoughts on art, war, and human nature in this short 10-minute podcast which should be available on the iTunes servers shortly. -JM

The other day I spotted one of our Digital + Media grad students carrying around a pizza-like object. It was heartening to see a spaghetti-ish, old-school protoboard setup. That evening I heard from Prof. Mark Milloff that his team taught class with Prof. Clement Valla that their students experimental Foundation Studies work was on display, and that I should check it out. As described by Prof. Milloff, “The assignment, given and done in 1 week, began by building an image in Processing, exporting and printing the image, and then reacting/responding to the image with paint or pencil.” A true marriage of digital and analog! Lastly, that evening I caught the nighttime mood of our much revered Edna Lawrence Nature Lab and freshmen getting their hands waaaay dirty. -JM

Keith Campbell BARCH ‘78 hosted a reception for President Maeda at RTKL Architects in Chicago last night.  It had been some time since the Chicago alumni had gotten together, and the air was full of the energy created by alumni and parents connecting with each other. The President shared some of his thoughts about his paths of discovery as he looks to articulate RISD’s core beliefs, and his experiences meeting new alumni, many of whom do not fit into traditional molds - words that resonated with many of the alumni in attendance, among them an artist residency administrator, a painter and fashion designer who teach in an after school arts program, and an architect turned architectural photographer. Proof that a RISD education allows for endless possibilities!

Photos by John Weinstein ‘77 PH

If you’d like to make a visual statement about the importance of our need to green the US, be sure to contribute to the open-source poster archive at makeusgreen.com – a collaboration between GD alum Aaron Perry-Zucker and some global thinkers at the Davos WEF. -JM

I caught the Foundation Studies exhibition in the Waterman Gallery with work by students of Prof. Alba Corrado (left) and Prof. Thomas Mills (right). It was an excellent juxtaposition of three-dimensional work and two-dimensional work. What struck me most deeply was the RISD emphasis on process such that the critical thinking and critical making on display was absolutely sublime in both 2D and 3D representations. -JM