Day 100/365

     Sorry today's entry is a bit late; I put in a full day at my internship and then went out for a bit, and before I knew it it was midnight! Today's photo is from my first shooting experience at my internship. Where our newsroom is located is also where the city of Saginaw, Michigan retires its old historical neon signs after the businesses they advertised have gone out of business. Today, the historical Gables Rooms Motel neon sign was added to the collection. I haven't worked a night shift yet, but I'm really interested in seeing how all of the signs look lit up!

Day 82/365

     I was commissioned to put together another multimedia piece involving Jerry Schmidt, (the welder/sculptor I did a project on a few weeks ago). Jerry teaches a welding class once a week to a group of four or five guys from a training center for developmentally disabled adults. The project I was commissioned for is a general synopsis of what the guys usually learn in class, and how they've progressed through the past four years they've all been working together. I'm hoping to have it all edited together before I leave for my road trip this Sunday. 

Day 59/365

     Today's post is my last preview for my multimedia project on Jerry and Tyler Schmidt. I'm currently editing it all together now, and it should be done sometime tonight! I'll post a link to it once it's finished if any of you would like to check it out!

Day 58/365

     Today's post is another little preview of my project on Jerry and Tyler Schmidt, the welding father-son team out of Collinwood/Cleveland. I first introduced this project back on day thirty, and its backstory can be read here. This project is really coming along, and I think I should be finishing it up soon. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Day 30/365

     Today's entry is also a kind of "sneak-peek" to a new multimedia project I've just begun. A few years ago I did my first multimedia project, (which can be seen here), on Jerry Schmidt, an ironworker and welder/sculptor out of the Collinwood/Cleveland area who ran his own gallery, Waterloo 7. When I first did that project, I hadn't learned how to edit video yet, so the project is comprised of audio clips set to photographs in a slideshow. Now, two years later, Jerry's closed his Waterloo 7 Gallery and has opened Branches Art Space, a gallery co-op run by Jerry and other local artists with the mission to help support local art and offer classes as well as a gallery space for artists to exhibit their work. Today's entry is a portrait I took of Jerry and one of his sculptures when I visited Branches for the first time this afternoon.

     When I did that earlier project on Jerry, I went into it thinking I'd be doing more of a profile on Jerry and his art form. While the end result was of that nature, the more I interviewed Jerry the more I found out that, not only is he a strong support system for the local art community, but that the art of welding and sculpting has been practiced is his family for multiple generations. Jerry's grandfather was a "tinner" who helped put some of the finishing touches on Cleveland's Terminal Tower, and  Jerry's father was also an ironworker and welder who was the first to introduce Jerry to the trade. Now Jerry's current apprentice is his son, Tyler Schmidt, who is quickly making a name for himself in the local art community as well. In this followup to my 2010 project, I'm hoping to go more into that father/son/artist relationship and how ironworking has become a trade that's connected the family for the last four generations, as well as add the video element to the project. We'll see how it goes!