MediaMix

Moment of Silence

March 1, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

[su_dropcap]I[/su_dropcap]n today’s world, it’s just about impossible to find a quiet spot, and that’s because noise pollution has rapidly increased and expanded over the last decades, affecting wildlife and causing serious human health issues.

Gordon Hempton is a ‘sound tracker’, and he travels the world in search of vanishing sounds, including silence. In the short video documentary, Preserving One Square Inch of Silence, Gordon takes us to a small, quiet spot he discovered in Washington Hoh rainforest, and talks about his commitment to its protection.

Casper Rolsted is a visual artist based in Roskilde, Denmark. His ‘Silence Project’ is an effort to create a series of films that capture authentic moments within nature by combining soundscapes with visuals, and share the work so that people have a chance to escape the every day stress and noise and to experience natural sounds of silence in beautiful, undisturbed environments. The Silence of the Dolomites is a video created for the project. Headphones recommended.

A Zola favorite by The Head And The Heart — Let’s Be Still

Information/Resources:
Environmental Health Perspectives – Noise Pollution in the United States (Feb 1, 2014, Monica S. Hammer, Tracy K. Swinburn, and Richard L. Neitzel)

Watch and explore Natural Beauty, an On2In2™ collection of short videos featuring breathtaking views of the natural world–
Free to watch, on-demand

Visual Soundscapes: PLANET EARTH Video Series No commentary on the videos in this series, only breathtaking sights and sounds of nature: Island Sounds, Mountain Sounds, Jungle Sounds, and Desert Sounds. FREE to enjoy, on-demand

Forest Therapy: Discover how a short walk Among The Trees can lift spirits and restore health, and tree climbing provides a feeling of rejuvenation along with a bird’s eye view of the forest

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this article, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy (unless you’re a robot).

Feature photo is courtesy of Daniel Bichler/Pexels CC0

Art Transforming Trash

February 29, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

“The opposite of beauty is not ugly… it’s indifference.” — Richard Lang

There are many complex issues involved in the elimination of pollutants from the environment, but there’s at least one problem easy to identify and understand — trash. Take just one walk on a beach, and you’ll quickly see the ugly truth.

More than 8 million tons of plastic makes its way into the Ocean each year, and the stuff doesn’t go-away or disappear. Just one plastic bag takes 1,000 years to decompose. Much of this garbage can be seen floating on top of the ocean surface. Between California and Hawaii, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is more than double the size of Texas, and it’s just one of many similar floating debris patches.

Ray Ives, a retired Royal Marine and commercial diver, saw even more during his 40+ years of deep sea diving,……“You can’t believe some of the things people dump in the sea. It’s like the biggest rubbish dump in the world”.

Artists are using their creative talents in amazing ways to help make positive change as their works of art bring attention to the plastic pollution problem the world faces and inspire all of us to “rethink plastic”.

Gyrecraft is a short film about crafting objects at sea, in the past with whale’s teeth and in the future with plastics collected from Ocean waters.

Studio Swine went on a 1,000 nautical mile journey through the North Atlantic Gyre, from the Azores to the Canaries, collecting plastics as they sailed. (The North Atlantic Gyre is one of five large systems of circulating ocean currents. The vortex of currents traps man-made marine debris into a large, dense floating debris zone called the ‘North Atlantic Garbage Patch’.) Using a specially designed ‘Solar Extruder’ machine, the plastic pieces collected during the trip were melted on board ship with heat from the Sun, creating a ‘sea plastic’ material used to create art works.

In the short video, Sea Chair, watch as a stool is built on a boat from the plastic collected in a fisherman’s nets.

Since 1999, Richard and Judith Selby Lang have been visiting a special spot at Kehoe Beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, collecting plastics that have washed up on shore. The Lang’s then take their treasures home, wash and sort the items, and create works of art. Over the years, they’ve collected tons of the stuff, learned a lot about ocean pollution, and discovered each little bit of found plastic has an interesting story to tell and provides an insight into human culture.

Aurora Robson is a multi-media artist known for her work with waste materials, and the founding artist of Project Vortex a collective of creatives who work with plastic debris as a medium and support organizational efforts to reduce the amount of plastic littering the oceans and shorelines of the world. She has said the intention of her art is “to take something negative, try to change the direction it’s going, and turn it into something positive”.

Inspired to create your own “environmental art”, but not sure how to start? David Edgar creates marine life art forms from plastic bottles, and his instructional fish project video is a how-to guide for beginners. In the demonstration, you’ll learn that creating a sculpture requires scissors and a couple of simple tools, and reshaping plastic can be accomplish with heat from a hair dryer. Really, the possibilities are endless because unfortunately, so is the trash.

Information/Resources:

Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, supporting a large diversity of species throughout the food chain and ecosystem.

One Plastic Beach The Lang’s offer workshops, presentations, art sales, commercial and residential artwork commissions

Aurora Robson See more art and media

Washed Ashore – Haseltine Pozzi, an artist and longtime art teacher, made it her mission to collect garbage that washes up along the Oregon coastline and use it to create large art sculptures in an effort to bring awareness to the enormous amount of plastic pollution in oceans and waterways and inspire change.

Project Vortex is an international collective of artists, designers and architects creating art works with plastic debris in support of projects that intercept plastic waste in innovative ways and help water cleanup efforts.

Plastic Ocean by Tan Zi Xi – an inspired art installation simulating the environment of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch created the experience of being immersed in a space covered with trash.

Healthy Seas – a joint venture of non-government organizations and businesses dedicated to cleaning ocean of litter and recycling it into new products such as socks, swimwear, textiles and carpets.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated annually the third Saturday in September.
(Save the Date: September 21, 2019)

Plastic Oceans Foundation – a non-profit organization with a mission to engage people through education and media projects, campaigns and global partnerships

You’ll be surprised to see what lies
beneath the waves – Art Underwater

Our Oceans are suffering from many decades of
abuse and neglect, but each of us has the power to help heal it

We’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to comment on this post, join the conversation, or share your inspiration, and you have not yet registered as an On2In2™ playmaker, please sign up via the ‘Engage page’. Don’t worry, it’s pretty quick and easy.

Feature photo is courtesy of Free Stock Pro/Pexels CC0

Digital Art

February 28, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

“The advantage of digital is obvious: You don’t have to clean anything up”— Pat Scott

Digital art is a new media art category of art works that have been created or presented by the artist using some form of digital technology – these are the electronic tools, systems, and devices that generate, store or process data, such as computer programs, mobile devices, online games and applications.

The early days of digital art, at times called ‘computer art’ and ‘multimedia art’, can be traced back to the late 1960’s when engineers Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer joined artists Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman to form a group called Experiments in Art and Technology (EAT) with a mission to promote collaborations between artists and engineers. The result was a series of innovative installations and performances using emerging technologies, and as technology evolved over the decades, so did the art.

Since those early EAT experimental days, digital technology has revolutionized the way art can be made, distributed, and viewed. Instead of traditional art materials such as paint, brush and canvas, artists can now paint with light, sound and pixels on a screen or multimedia projection, and the resulting creative works of art are simply amazing.

You’ve got to meet Pat Scott. She’s a talented, tech-savy digital artist, and BTW, Pat is 98 years old. All her life, she has created art, but after moving to an apartment in a retirement community, Pat became concerned her paints would make a mess. So, she decided to try something new–digital art. Now, Pat enjoys using Photoshop and apps to draw portraits and create greeting cards.

Watch as Pat tells her inspirational, joyful story of a life enriched with creativity and innovation in this short (3 minutes) documentary “Try Something New: Digital Artist Pat Scott” from Julie Caskey.

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

In Try Something New, Pat Scott mentions she was inspired after reading about David Hockney using digital technology to draw and paint, and looking at his iPhone Drawings, it’s clear the reason for that creative spark.

David Hockney iPad Art, ‘Fresh Flowers’ © David Hockney

David Hockney (born in 1937) was an important contributor to the 1960’s pop art movement, and today, he’s considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. He began sketching flowers on his iPhone in 2009, and later on an iPad, experimenting with the variety of brush techniques and colors of a painting app, Brushes*. His ‘Fresh Flowers’ exhibit (2010-11) included 300 iPhone and iPad drawings viewed on mounted devices and projected screens. Later, Hockney included iPad landscape drawings in both the 2012 “A Bigger Picture” and 2013-14 “David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition” exhibits. Learn more about the artist and 200+ works of art via the Tate website. See a list of current and upcoming Hockney exhibits → here.

Continue the creative art inspiration by watching→ Art Works and Digital Arts video channels, On2In2™ collections of videos FREE 2 WATCH, On-Demand

*Editor’s notes:

It was fun experimenting with colors and brushes using digital art tool Brushes Redux app. — “My Yellow Boat” Zola’s first digital art sketch experiment

♦ The Brushes app (updated & renamed “Brushes Redux“) is designed specifically for iPhone and iPad, and can be downloaded free from the App Store. Inspired by Pat Scott, I gave the app a try, and discovered it’s really a lot of fun, and only a little imagination, not art or tech expertise, is needed to create a work of art. There are many other art drawing and painting apps available for Apple products via iTunes as well as android apps for smart phones and tablets via Google Play. So cool. Recommend you give one a try, too. You’ll also want a digital art brush/stylus for drawing on the screen of your phone or tablet. Amazon has a variety at prices starting at $10+ for you to check out here → SHOP Digital Art Brush Stylus (Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via the Amazon SHOP link. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.)

Not ready to go digital? Try coloring books!
We’ve got freebies for fun here→ Art Therapy

The digital art feature photo is a still shot from the video “Try Something New: Digital Artist Pat Scott”

Swim Competition

February 28, 2020 By Zola Zeester 1 Comment

Recreational swimming can be traced back to prehistoric times. It became a competitive activity starting in 1830s England, and today, competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports.

In competitive swimming, the goal is to break personal or world records while beating competitors in an event. There are varied distance individual events in competition, including the butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, and individual medley as well as freestyle or medley relay (teams of four swimmers), and each swim stroke requires specific technique with rules governing the acceptable form. There are also regulations concerning athlete’s swimsuits, caps, jewelry, and injury tape and competition pool requirements. The international governing body for competitive swimming is the Fédération Internationale de Natation (“International Swimming Federation”), aka ‘FINA’, and there are a large number of recognized national federations throughout the world.

Training for competitive swimming requires many hours working out in the pool (usually twice a day, 6 days a week) and outside the pool (serious gym time lifting weights, running, yoga, pilates, etc). Prior to a competition, athletes typically decrease their training workload in order to rest their bodies.

The TYR Pro Swim Series is one of the most competitive events series on the USA Swimming calendar, attracting between 400-600 of the world’s top swimmers, including USA Swimming National Team members, National Junior Team members and top-50, world-ranked swimmers.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville event, there’s still time watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below or select from ‘Event Posts’ in top right corner.

If you missed watching live as the best swimmers in Europe and overseas race sprint distances at the 2019 International Swimmeet in Italy, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts (top right corner) located on the media player below ↓

WATCH 2019 Artistic Swimming Canadian Championships

Can’t swim? Why Not Learn Now? Find inspiration and information on where and how you can learn this life saving skill and have fun doing it!

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

Voyageurs

February 27, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

This “More Than Just Parks” video, Voyageurs 8K, is a Pattiz Brothers Film, produced by Sea Raven Media. It was filmed during a few weeks time spent at Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota USA. The views are breathtaking, and will take you to a wonderful place. Watch in full screen and use earphones for the ultimate experience.

After eight decades of public and legislative contention, 218,054 acres of the lake country of northern Minnesota were established a US national park in 1975, Voyageurs National Park. The name of the park is in recognition of the legendary French-Canadian “voyageurs” canoe men hired by trading companies to transport trade goods and furs in the area during the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s a beautiful park with landscape, geology, wildlife and history creating an exceptional outdoor setting for an awe-inspiring visitor experience and year-round recreation.

There are 30 park lakes (40% of the area), providing open water for boating, canoeing and kayaking from mid-spring through mid-fall, and fishing throughout the year (ice fishing in winter). The eco-rich landscape and diversity of wildlife offer opportunities for hiking, birding (over 240 species, including bald eagles and osprey), and nature walks while the northern latitude location and dark skies make for excellent stargazing and a chance to see the Milky Way and northern lights. During winter months, the park becomes a frozen wonderland—perfect for snowshoe and cross-country skiing as well as snowmobiling over 110 miles of maintained trails.

Voyageurs National Park Information/Resources:
“The Heart of the Continent“, Voyageurs – National Park Minnesota
Voyageurs National Park Association

More Fun in the Parks: There are more than 400 US national parks available to everyone, every day. Most are free to enjoy, and the 117 that charge an entry fee offer fee-free days throughout the year. Use the search tools here → Find Your Park to find the perfect place to visit.

FREE To WATCH the Natural Beauty channel, an On2In2™ collection of short videos, including other More Than Just Parks films. It’s a great way to escape for a few minutes, and start planning your next outdoor excursion.

Located on the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island) in the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Kīlauea is one of the most active volcanoes on planet Earth, and the fire goddess really puts on a big show. You’ve got to see it.

See the historic natural beauty of Bears Ears National Monument
in the high desert country of southeastern Utah.

The feature photo is a screen shot taken from the “Voyageurs” video

Activist Arts

February 24, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

[su_quote cite=”John F. Kennedy “]If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him… We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.[/su_quote]

[su_dropcap]T[/su_dropcap]hroughout history, art has been created by people for many different reasons and purposes, both non-motivated (no specific-purpose other than a basic human instinct to create) and motivated (e.g., the artist intends to communicate a specific emotion, comment on an aspect of society, or bring about political or cultural change), and works of art have often been controversial for a variety of reasons, provoking intense debate, criticism and indignation as well as influencing new ideas and shifts in prevailing sentiment.

An art movement is art with a specific common goal among a group of artists for a certain period of time (months, years or decades). There have been many diverse art movements during the 19^th and 20^th centuries, their meanings and objectives explained by the artists involved in the movement or art critics and historians.

In the US, the ‘60s were years of social unrest and cultural change, and contemporary artists responded to the turmoil and addressed the issues by producing creative works of activism. The Black Arts Movement (1965-75), aka Black Aesthetics Movement or BAM, emerged when a group of African American artists were inspired by the Black Power movement to create expressive works of poetry, novels, visual arts, and theater that reflected pride in black history and culture and explored the African American experience as a means of arousing black consciousness. Although it began in New York, BAM spread across the country and influenced a generation of artists.

In Southern California, the Black Arts Movement generated new forms of artistic and cultural expression and the development of community-based arts organizations in an effort to end discrimination in entertainment industries and focus attention on the conditions within black working class neighborhoods.

In her book South of Pico*, MacArthur winner and Columbia University professor Kellie Jones explores how artists in Los Angeles black communities during the 1960s and 1970s created a vibrant, engaged activist arts scene amidst racism and social upheaval. Building on her research and work on the Hammer Museum exhibition Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles, 1960–1980, Dr. Jones, along with a discussion panel including UCLA professor Robin D.G. Kelly, will expand your understanding of the history of black arts in Los Angeles and beyond. If you missed the live broadcast of this event, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the post located on the video player below ↓

Creative Perspectives – artists reveal thoughts and feelings about their work and living a creative life in this On2In2™ video collection, available to watch free & on-demand.

Find out how you can help with art history research right from home, and discover the life of an artist using a very cool, free to
use online tool “AnnoTate”

Information/Resources:

Political Change from the 1960’s to Now: Connections Between Arts and Activist Movements by Andrea Assuf (The Public Humanist, Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, October 30, 2009)
On Black Aesthetics: The Black Arts Movement by Candice Frederick (New York Public Library, July 15, 2016)
The Black Arts Movement (blacklist.org)
Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties (Brooklyn Museum)
Wikipedia (Art and Art movement)

*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via the link within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay CC0

Synchronized Swimming

February 22, 2020 By Zola Zeester 2 Comments

Don’t be fooled by the showy costuming, heavy makeup and incessant smiles. Originally known as ‘water ballet’, synchronized swimming is an aquatic sport and art form requiring a combination of exceptional water skills, strength, endurance, flexibility, artistry and precise timing, as well as extraordinary breath control.

In 1891, the first recorded synchronized swimming competition was held in Berlin, Germany (at the time, a male-only event). The sport began to breakthrough in Europe and North America in the early 20th century when it became a women’s sport and popular entertainment at large halls and theaters equipped with big water tanks on stage. Katherine Curtis, an American synchronized swimming pioneer and educator, organized and trained the ‘Kay Curtis Modern Mermaids’, a water ballet act that performed at the Chicago ‘Century of Progress’ World’s Fair (1933-1934), and during the 40’s and 50’s, Hollywood movies starring swimming sensation, Esther Williams, boosted the interest in synchronized swimming with elaborately produced routines.

Six decades following those big synchronized swimming movie productions, the film, Breathless, presents a very different approach with a dramatic story shot entirely underwater. Totally captivating.

Depending on the level of competition, synchronized swimming includes solo, duet and team events, and begins with a “technical” routine or “figures” with predetermined elements performed in a specific order without touching the bottom of the pool. Then, swimmers perform a longer “free” routine, requiring no specific technical elements and allowing more creative choreography (but, again– no touching the bottom). Routines are scored on a scale of 100, with points for artistic impression, execution, and difficulty.

The first Olympic demonstration of the sport was at the 1952 Olympic Games, but synchronized swimming did not gain acceptance as an Olympic sport until the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 2017, FINA, the international governing body for aquatic disciplines, renamed the sport of synchronized swimming to ‘artistic swimming’ for the stated purpose of clarifying the nature of the sport and enhancing its popularity; however, the decision has been criticized by some swimmers and coaches.

Not For Women Only?

It’s a bit ironic that synchronized swimming started out as a male-only swimming competition, and now the sport excludes men.

Pau Ribes, a professional artistic swimmer from Barcelona, Spain, first saw a synchronized swimming show when he was a child, and was immediately hooked on the sport. But, there was a problem. Synchronized swimming was, and still is, considered a sport for women, and men have been excluded from amateur and professional competitions.

Synchronized swimming, however, is not just about competition these days. It’s a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone at any age.

Information/Resources:
Synchronized Swimming Lessons For Adults, Swim England Synchro
The Los Angeles Synchronized Swim Club offers free monthly “Synchro Basic Clinics” and other programs
Why Doesn’t the US Have a Synchronized Swimming Team in Rio? by Vicki Valsik, The Atlantic (August 19, 2016) [Americans once dominated the sport, but things changed after 1996, and you guessed it — money is a big factor]
Synchronized Swimming Has a History that Dates Back to Ancient Rome, by Vicki Valosik, Smithsonian.com (August 12, 2016) – Before it reached the Olympics, the sport was a spectacle of the circus and vaudeville
Wikipedia: Synchronized Swimming

WATCH On2In2™

Canada Artistic Swimming is on a mission — to pioneer the sport of synchronized swimming…. “transform what is expected, what is possible, and what people around the world think about artistic swimming”.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of the 2019 Canadian Championships, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located right top corner of the media player below ↓

More than 225 athletes from across Canada competed in the 2018 Artistic Swimming Canadian Championships (April 24-28) at the state-of-the-art Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre, Windsor, Ontario, all vying for national titles in over 18 events. If you missed the live stream broadcast of the competition, there’s still time to watch video recordings. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓

Don’t know how to swim?
It’s never too late to learn this life-saving skill.

Feature photo by Flickr user, Voxsports Voxer, CC BY-NC 2.0

Why Not Now?

February 21, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Vivian Stancil was 50 years old, blind, weighed more than 300 pounds, and was terrified of water when she decided she would try swimming lessons.

Learning to swim will change your life, and it's never to late to start swimming lessons. — Dad’s two star swimmers at Landa Park pool

I was lucky. I grew up around water — lakes, rivers, streams and a large, spring-fed community pool. The summer I learned to swim I had just turned 7 years old. My dad (a former lifeguard) considered swimming an important life skill as well as a recreational activity. So important, in fact, he took two weeks vacation time from work to give me and my sister an intense course of daily swim instruction after he determined we had not learned enough taking beginner classes.

I did become a confident swimmer after dad’s training, later working as a life guard and swim instructor during summer breaks just as he had done and enjoying water skiing and scuba diving. Even tried windsurfing, but struggled with directional control, resulting in too many wild one-way rides. Boating was a favorite family pastime (also the family business), and some of my best childhood memories are summer vacations at the beach with family and friends.

But, more important than water sports and recreation, I learned from dad to love and respect the water. It wasn’t until leaving my water-centric childhood home that I began to understand not everyone has the same opportunity to learn to swim and so many people have absolutely no experience in or around water.

Somber Stats

A 2014 Red Cross survey found that 54% American adults either can’t swim or don’t have basic swimming skills, and only 56% of those claiming to know how to swim can perform all five basic water safety/competency skills: 1) the ability to step or jump into the water over your head; 2) return to the surface and float or tread water for one minute; 3) turn around in a full circle and find an exit; 4) swim 25 yards to the exit; and 5) exit from the water without using a ladder.

The Red Cross survey also revealed that nearly half of Americans say they have had an experience in the water where they were afraid they might drown, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 10 people die every day in the US from unintentional drowning. Twenty percent (20%) of those deaths are children aged 14 or younger, making drowning the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death for children and sixth for people of all ages.

There are similarly grim statistics reported throughout the world. In both Hong Kong and England (each surrounded by water) – one in five can’t swim. According to government statistics, approximately 60,000 people drown in China every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified Africa (a region where children are taught to avoid the water, not how to swim) as having the highest rate of drowning deaths in the world (8 drownings for every 100,000 people), and Lake Victoria is considered one of the most dangerous spots with an estimated 5,000 drownings each year.

FACE YOUR FEAR – CHANGE YOUR LIFE

For non-swimming adults, fear and access were the main barriers to learning to swim as a child. That fear then carries on through adulthood and develops more issues of embarrassment and disinterest, causing serious risk to personal safety and an inability to enjoy the water. But, these things can be conquered with some inspiration, determination and swim lessons from a certified instructor.

Why not now? It’s a great question, and Vivian Stancil reminds us all that it’s never too late to learn to swim or take on any challenge.

Information/Resources:

Recommended Reading → *Swimming Lessons: Life Lessons from the Pool, from Diving In to Treading Water” by Penelope Niven. [At age 44, Penelope needed a change, and decided to learn to swim.] *Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via this link. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Find local Red Cross ‘Learn-to-Swim’ providers
Adult learn-to-swim instructors – US Masters Swimming search tool
Vivian Stancil Olympian Foundation – Drown-Proof/Swim Clinic (April 28, 2018, Riverside, California)
2014 Red Cross Water Safety Survey Results – study conducted using a representative sample of American adults
Learn to Swim England The Amateur Swimming Association found that 20% of men and 22% of women over the age of 14 in England can’t swim.
Why do so many Africans drown? by Julian Hattem (April 27, 2017) NPR Goats and Soda
8 Health Benefits of Swimming + 5 Tips to Help You Swim Better by Jesse Miller, Jen Reviews (July 9, 2017)
When Death Rocks Your World, Maybe You Jump Out of a Plane by Hanna Rosin, NPR Health (March 9, 2018) – A personal essay on facing “one single deep, visceral, nausea-inducing fear of heights” when her mother asked her to jump out of an airplane.

Synchronized swimming is like watching ballet in the water, but watch closely. You’ll discover it looks much easier than it is, and competition is fierce.

Feature photo is courtesy of Unsplash CC0

Word Play

February 21, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Many of us have felt that urge to write ‘something’ at some point in our lives. Some follow through on the idea, while others never quite get started or start but never finish because creative writing is a challenging endeavor requiring passion and perseverance.

“Creative writing” is described as the process of creating a literary work of any type, including memoir, essay, short story, novel, poetry, and screenplay. While some aspire to write a best seller, the joy for many writers is in the writing process, its practice and development, or they have something to say and hope to have an impact on the lives of others.

The poem “Where We Dwell” was written by Arian Foster, professional athlete and poet. Video from Todd Martin

If you’re feeling it, explore and learn more from these online resources:

⇒ Modern Poetry – FREE to Download This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2007. It covers the body of modern poetry, its characteristic techniques, concerns, and major practitioners. The authors discussed range from Yeats, Eliot, and Pound, to Stevens, Moore, Bishop, and Frost with additional lectures on the poetry of WWI, and the Harlem Renaissance.

⇒ FREE online creative writing courses are offered by Open University: Start Writing Fiction & Writing What You Know

⇒ Wesleyan University offers via online classes that focus on elements of three creative writing genres, short story, narrative essay, and memoir. [Access to some video lectures and assignments are free so that you can evaluate a course offering prior to purchase. If the course fee is beyond your budget, financial aid may be available.]

⇒ Find More FREE Creative Writing Classes – a list of online creative writing courses offered free by top universities and educational websites (provided by learningpath.org)

⇒ 9 Simple Activities to Inspire Your Writing, by Emma Johnson, Writer’s Edit (online literary magazine created for writers and book lovers)

You’ll find creative inspiration from Robert Fullerton’s story of life in the shipyards, how he learned to write, and his creative process, A Thousand Sparks

Take a look at the On2In2™ article Contemporary Poetry. You’ll find both live and recorded readings featuring unique and inspiring literary voices of today.

Feature photo courtesy of Taner Argali/Unsplash CC0

Inspired Photography

February 19, 2020 By Zola Zeester Leave a Comment

Photography is an art form as well as a science with a history of technological development that goes back as far as the ancient Han Chinese and Greeks, and is now used in many fields of business, science and art. Amateur photography, which began in the late 19th century with the introduction of a hand-held camera, has spread widely in the early 21st century with different platforms and equipment, and a cell phone as the key tool for making photography more accessible. However, it’s not always easy to take a good photo despite all the new tech and imaging techniques.

Want to take better pics? Watch and learn from professional photographers sharing their work, inspiration and creative ideas in a series of free-to-watch live broadcasts and video presentations.

Programming Notes:

Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes or technical interruptions in a live broadcast. Please check back for updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.

If you miss the live stream broadcast of a program, a video recording is typically available to watch. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or on the video posts located on the media players below.

WATCH LIVE & FREE On2In2™

If you’re looking for inspirational nature & wildlife photography know-how — this is it!

‘Lessons from the Field – BIRDS AS ART’ is a slide-illustrated lecture featuring hundreds of Arthur Morris’ spectacular photographs of birds. Watch and learn as Morris talks about the birds he photographs, his favorite locations, and the gear and techniques he uses to create his images. Topics include getting close to free and wild birds, flight photography, getting the right exposure, and image design. Exactly what you need to take better photos of birds.

Award-winning wildlife photographer and Greenpeace ambassador, Roie Galitz, travels in extreme conditions to the remotest places on Earth to capture rarely seen animals in their natural habitats. Watch as he tells the stories of his most thrilling adventures and reveals the secrets behind some of his greatest shots, published in National Geographic, BBC and more during his July 2018 live presentation ‘Wildlife Photography Around the World – The Secrets Behind the Lens’. Just click/tap the ‘Watch Again’ button located on the media player below.

Whether you’re planning a street photography trip in Tokyo, or a trek through the mountains in Patagonia, you’ll discover helpful techniques and strategies at Travel Photography: Finding Drama within the Frame, a travel photo workshop by editorial photographer, Katsu. If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below.

Our Journeys Into the Night: How We Found Ourselves in the Dark – Chris Nicholson and Lance Keimig show and discuss the evolution of their photographic imagery over the course of 30 years, and tell the stories of how their careers and styles developed and how they became so intensely focused on nighttime photography.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of Our Journeys Into the Night, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

If you missed the May 10 live stream broadcast of Connecting With Nature, there’s still time to learn what it takes to capture the beauty of nature with a great photograph. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below, and watch as nature photographer Mike Mezeul II shares the stories behind some of his favorite and most challenging images. He also shares imagery from some of his wildest outings, including tornadoes, volcanoes and northern lights.

Michael Halsband’s talk was cancelled. Disappointing as we were all looking forward to it. But, turned out OK because professional photographer Bruce Byers stepped in and discussed his work and methods. Bruce believes that photography is a powerful artistic medium because it can change how people feel, what they see, and how they believe. After seeing his work, you’ll begin to understand. To watch, just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

Whether you are a beginner or advanced in your photography skills, you’ve probably taken some beautiful images. But, do you aspire to take your portfolio to the next level, add to a specific body of work, or even challenge yourself with a new technique or subject matter?

Travel Photography and the Self-Assignment inspires photographers at every level as seasoned travel photographer, Liz Groeschen, shares several short and long-term ‘self-assignments’ she gave herself while living in Seoul, South Korea and traveling through 30+ countries around the world, including her own backyard, New York City. If you missed the March 21 live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

If you missed the live stream broadcasts of Learning To Fly and Exploration for Landscape Photography, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the posts on the video players below ↓

Award-winning headshot photographer, Rod Goodman, shed light on the creation of a headshot in this discussion of both the technical and creative aspects of the subtle art form. If you missed the live broadcast of How to be a Headshot Hotshot, there’s still time to watch a video recording of the event. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the video post on the video player below ↓

Jeff Cable, a 5-time Olympic photographer and popular speaker, understands the challenges of close-up photography. If you missed his live talk on how to take high-quality photos of small subjects, there’s still time to watch a video recording. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or post on the video player below ↓

American photographer Amy Arbus’ work has been published in more than 100 magazines, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and Vanity Fair, and is part of collections located in the New York Public Library and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. She’s also published five books, including the award winning On the Street 1980-1990, The Inconvenience of Being Born, The Fourth Wall, and her most recent, After Images, an homage to modernism’s most iconic avant-garde paintings. The books are available for purchase via Amazon → Amy Arbus Photography

In the presentation “The Photograph Not Taken”, Arbus talks about her instincts, thought process and technique while sharing favorite treasured photographs. It’s a unique opportunity to learn from a gifted professional photographer. Click/Tap “Watch Again” on the media player below ↓, and be patient or fast forward as it takes about 3-4 minutes for the talk to begin.

Photography pros share travel, sports, outdoor photography know-how & more in these free-to-watch info-videos, Pro Photo Tips

Both professional and amateur photographers share their stories, work and inspiration in this On2In2™ collection of selected videos → Watch: Photography

Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0
Photo of camera courtesy of Unsplash CC0

Editor’s Note: Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via the Amazon links within this page to Amy Arbus Photography or the discount camera equipment. This in no way affects the price you pay for a purchase.

MediaMix

Moment of Silence

Art Transforming Trash

Digital Art

“The advantage of digital is obvious: You don’t have to clean anything up”— Pat Scott

Swim Competition

Voyageurs

Activist Arts

Synchronized Swimming

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Why Not Now?

Word Play

Inspired Photography

MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS

MediaMix

“The advantage of digital is obvious: You don’t have to clean anything up”— Pat Scott

WATCH On2In2™

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MUCH 2 SEE

THINGS 2 DO

PLACES 2 GO

PEOPLE 2 MEET

FOOD & DRINKS

JUST LAUGHS