Introduction

My creative process is participatory, collaborative, and inclusive with a focus on disability, neurodiversity or history. It is also multidisciplinary, with materials and approach informed by the theme of the project. I have an interest in using digital technology creatively and finding new tools to create art. I am neurodivergent and due to my dexterity, I am always looking for new innovative ways to create art that is accessible to me and others. A big part of my creative practice is finding accessible tools to collaborate with others to create art that doesn’t seem like you are creating art. I have an MA in Inclusive Arts Practice from the University of Brighton and have a background working in museums with young people. I was awarded a place on the Shaw Trust ‘Power 100’ 2018 list of the most influential and inspirational disabled people in Britain. 

A photograph of me, Jess at my University of Brighton MA end of year show. I am standing next to my final piece of work called 'Neurodiversity Museum'. The exhibition walls are painted cream and on the walls are 3 glass cyanotypes and 4 paper cyanotypes. I am leaning against a plinth which is the same colour as the wall and covered in felt tip pens. On top of the plinth is a polystyrene head. The polystyrene head symbolises Percy F. the first person to be diagnosed as dyslexic.

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AUGMENTED REALITY AND DARKROOM PRINTING

I am interested exploring darkroom printing with AR. Furthering on my work from the other week I’ve carried on exploring Anna Atkins cyanotype printed and edited them to create into an AR artwork.

Anna Atkins cyanotype print which has a blue background and white outline of leaves on top.
Anna Atkins cyanotype print which has a blue background and white outline of a plant on top
Anna Atkins cyanotype print which has a blue background and white outline of a leaf on top
Anna Atkins cyanotype print which has a blue background and white outline of a plant on top
Anna Atkins cyanotype print which has a blue background and white outline of 3 fern leaves on top
Anna Atkins cyanotype print which has a blue background and white outline of 9 ferns on top.
“Anna Atkins, Ferns. Specimen of Cyanotype, 1840s, cyanotype, overall: 26.3 x 20.8 cm (10 3/8 x 8 3/16 in.), R. K. Mellon Family Foundation, 2007.15.1”

Vectary

Scan the QR codes to see further AR works.

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One of Anna Atkins leaves created in Adobe Illustrator and Vectary with the Anna Atkins print used as a material. Photograph taken over rhubarb leaves.
One of Anna Atkins leaves created in Adobe Illustrator and Vectary with the Anna Atkins print used as a material. Photo is of the leaf placed over grass with a fence and a dog in the background.
One of Anna Atkins leaves created in Adobe Illustrator and Vectary with the Anna Atkins print used as a material. Photo is of the leaf placed in a bed of dying tulips.
One of Anna Atkins leaves created in Adobe Illustrator and Vectary with the Anna Atkins print used as a material. Photo is of the leaf placed in a bed of little blue flowers.
One of Anna Atkins leaves created in Adobe Illustrator and Vectary with the Anna Atkins print used as a material. Photo is of the leaf placed in a rose bush with one tiny yellow rose that is currently growing.

Adobe Aero

Scan the QR codes to open your Adobe Aero app to see further works.

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A cut out of an Anna Atkins cyanotype that is floating in the air with a garden behind it. If you click on the link it will take you to footage on YouTube of me walking around the work.
Photo of one of the Adobe Illustrator works with a garden behind and a dog in the distance.
Anna Atkins cyanotype that I've edited in Adobe Illustrator is sitting on grass with a garden behind it. If you click on the link it will take you to footage on YouTube where the work in bouncing.
Anna Atkins cyanotype that I've edited in Adobe Illustrator and now in Vectary with the print of the outline of the plant as a material. If you click on the link you should be able to see it in Vectary.

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Minecraft – Videotage

As I was unable to visit Foredown Tower for this residency as it is still closed due to covid. I’ve instead recreated Foredown Tower in Minecraft.

Satellite google maps view of Foredown Tower looking down from a birds eye view. There is a field opposite, then the road and then Foredown tower with houses next-door to the right, on the left of Foredown Tower there is another field.
Satellite google maps view of Foredown Tower
Screen shot taken from Minecraft of the land before I started creating.
Screenshot in Minecraft of the poppy field and dirt path I created.
Screenshot taken in Minecraft showing the sign that says 'Foredown Tower closed due to the pandemic'
Screenshot of the Foredown Tower I created in Minecraft a brick square structure with two large portrait windows and a black roof with further windows going around the edge.
Screenshot in Minecraft of the back of my Foredown tower with grass and flowers.
Screenshot of the back of my Foredown tower a brick wall with a door.
Screenshot of the close up of the door in Minecraft
Screenshot of inside Foredown Tower on Minecraft with brick walls, wooden floor and light coming in from the windows.
Screenshot of the poppy field on Minecraft
Screenshot of a close up of Foredown Tower on Minecraft
Screenshot looking up to Foredown Tower on Minecraft.
Screenshot of the roof of Foredown Tower on Minecraft.
Screenshot of a birds eye view of my Foredown Tower on Minecraft

It took me a couple of days to learn how to use Minecraft. I thought my difficulty was due to my dexterity but was mostly due to my mouse not having a right click and you need a red click to place blocks. I oddly also experienced motion sickness and had to take breaks in between creating.

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Augmented reality and darkroom printing

I am interested exploring darkroom printing with AR/VR. Today I downloaded an Anna Atkins cyanotype to edit and create into an AR artwork.

Anna Atkins cyanotype of a leaf. A cyanotype is blue with the outline of the image being a lighter white colour.

I used Adobe Illustrator to edit the print.

1. Use the image trace tool to turn your image into a vector

2. Use the 3D & materials tool to inflate the vector into a 3D shape

3. Used the eyedropper tool on the original blue colour on the print and added this as the material

4. Export the shape as an .obj file

5. Uploaded to Abobe Aero

Screenshot of Adobe Illustrator with me editing the print.

If you have the Adobe Aero app you can scan the QR code below to see the work in AR. Sadly the material hasn’t transferred over and so I need to learn how to keep the colour when exporting from Adobe Illustrator.

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Edit…

I used Vectary to add the colour and I also used Vectary to create into AR.

Screenshot of my work in Vectary.

Please find another QR code to see the work in Vectary. You do not need to download an app for this.

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Photo of the work without the material in the Adobe Aero app. It is a white leaf on beige carpet with a small indoor plant behind it.
Photo of the work without the material in the Adobe Aero app.
Photo of work in Vectary with its blue cyanotype material. The blue leaf is in front of a door with a window looking at a garden.
Photo of work in Vectary.
Close up photo of work in Vectary with its blue cyanotype material. The blue leaf is in front of a window looking at a garden.
Photo of work in Vectary.

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Art as social practice: technologies for change

Photograph of the book 'Art as social practice technologies for change' in front of a train window with fields and sheep behind.

This week I’ve been reading ‘Art as social practice technologies for change’ edited by Xtine Burrough and Judy Walgren.

I have an interest in learning how to use technologies when collaborating with others on inclusive arts and participatory based projects. In my practice I’ve been learning how to use digital technology tools and how to use them in my creative work. In the future I would like to feel confident enough in my digital technology skills to develop and deliver inclusive arts and participatory based projects using digital technologies with participants also developing new skills through the work. So far I’ve been developing my skills in AR, VR, projection mapping and sensors.

Through reading the book I hoped to of learnt more on how others are using digital technologies creatively for socially engaged practice but most the projects where using already very established technologies such as photography, websites, social media and other forms of visual arts such as clay. Or the artist worked with participants to create visual artwork and then the artist developed the digital technologies aspect by themselves afterwards or beforehand. I would like to learn from more projects that have worked with participants to create the content but also worked with them to develop the digital output.

“I see technology as a tool, an important addition to my traditional, artistic skills, and like materials, to be used to strengthen an idea, and not for the sake of novelty. In social practice, technology allows participants with limited art experience to create beyond their own experience” – Kin Abeles – Valises for camp ground page 56

What I did like was the participation prompts at the end of each essay.

Photograph of text in book which reads: Participation Prompt 1. Make a list of every place you've ever lived. 2. Adding to this list, write down every place your parents have ever lived. 3. Adding to this list, write down every place your grandparents ever lived. 4. Adding to this list write down every place your great grandparents ever lived. 5. Adding to this list write down every place your...have ever lived. 6. In between each pace on your list exists a migration story. What are the forces that pushed or pulled you or your family between each place? Take a few minutes and look back over your list. 7. Pair up with someone and share a migration story that exists between two places on your list. Switch roles and repeat. 8. After a while, come back together with the larger group and share with you talked about in your one-on-one conversations. Feel free to share any other thoughts or connections that arise.
Participation Prompt
Make a list of every place you’ve ever lived.
Adding to this list, write down every place your parents have ever lived.
Adding to this list, write down every place your grandparents ever lived.
Adding to this list write down every place your great grandparents ever lived.
Adding to this list write down every place your…have ever lived.
In between each pace on your list exists a migration story. What are the forces that pushed or pulled you or your family between each place? Take a few minutes and look back over your list.
Pair up with someone and share a migration story that exists between two places on your list. Switch roles and repeat.
After a while, come back together with the larger group and share with you talked about in your one-on-one conversations. Feel free to share any other thoughts or connections that arise. – Mark Menjivar and Jason Reed page 100

“I feel, for one, technology is merely a tool, and it’s really important for me to think in that way. It can be easy, as a technologist, to create projects around technology and the capabilities of the technology. But that’s merely an exhibition of the potential of technology. For me, the questions are: How can I execute this idea that I have, create an experience around it and then what are the best tools to make that happen? – Ari Melenciano page 115

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Further 360 footage of Foredown Tower

I managed to work out how to download the stitched files from Samsung Gear 360 software and I’ve uploaded the four 360 stitched footage to YouTube. You can move around the 360 footage.

Being a 360 recording you can see a 360 view of the area outside of Foredown Tower. There is a dry field, a path next to the field and the road that goes alongside Foredown Tower. Foredown tower is an old water tower and so is a cube shaped made of bricks with a black triangular roof. I am in some of the footage wearing a brown coord jacket, dark blue jeans and a yellow jumper.

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360 footage of Foredown Tower

Screenshot of Foredown Tower. There is a dry field to the left of the image, path in the centre, then the road that goes alongside Foredown Tower on the left of the image. Foredown tower is an old water tower and so is a cube shaped made of bricks with a black triangular roof.
Screenshot of 360 VR footage of Foredown Tower

For my residency I would have liked to been able to visit Foredown Tower a camera obscura in Portslade but unfortunately due to covid they are still closed. I would have liked to of recorded scenes from the camera obscura to create VR piece of work.

Recently I visited the outside of Foredown Tower and recorded some footage with my Samsung Gear 360 camera. I then learnt how to use Adobe After Effects to stitch the footage together as unfortunately Samsung’s software does still work but you are unable to download it anymore as the software is now not being updated due to them discontinuing the camera. I then used Unity to create the short VR work. If you click on the screenshot it will take you to YouTube to play the short VR recording.

Being a 360 recording you can see a 360 view of the area outside of Foredown Tower. There is a dry field, a path next to the field and the road that goes alongside Foredown Tower. Foredown tower is an old water tower and so is a cube shaped made of bricks with a black triangular roof.

Screenshot of editing the footage in Adobe After Effects.
Screenshot of editing in Unity.

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Studio intro

Hello, I am Jess Starns and here is a bit about my studio. My creative process is participatory, collaborative, and inclusive with a focus on social history (mostly Brighton’s history), disability and neurodiversity. It is also multidisciplinary, with materials and approach informed by the theme of the project. I am always interested in learning about new tools to create art that I find accessible and can use to collaborate with others. I like creating art with others that doesn’t feel like you are creating art.


I studied the Inclusive Arts Practice MA at the University of Brighton and this has had a big impact on my practice. Some of my biggest influencers are the Hove cinematographers, Sister Corita Kent and Lee Miller. I enjoy darkroom printing and even though it’s not a huge part of my practice currently, I have been doing so since I was about four years old.


During the residency I am looking forward to developing my creative practice and finding new ways of working whilst exploring the residency theme ‘environmentalism’.  Please free to look around my studio, and send me a message in the comments section below. Enjoy
looking around! Jess.

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Introduction video with Jess Starns

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Jess: I’m Jess Starns and my creative practice is participatory collaborative and inclusive with a focus on disability, neurodiversity, or history. It is also multi-disciplinary with materials and approaches formed by the theme of the project. I have an interest in using digital technology creatively and finding new tools to create art.

I am neurodivergent and due to my dexterity, I’m always looking for new, innovative ways to create art that is accessible to me. A big part of my creative practice is finding accessible tools to collaborate with others, to create art. That doesn’t seem like you are creating art. I also have a background in working in museums with young people and with communities.

A few examples of work I have created before is Bungaroosh, projection mapping piece. Bungaroosh is a composite building material, mostly used in Brighton from the mid 18th to 19th centuries. And Bungaroosh is made of broken bricks, cobblestones, flint, pebbles, sand with chalk and set in hydraulic line. I projection mapped onto stones film and photographs of buildings made from Bungaroosh.

During the first two lockdowns, I organised virtual walks to break down the feeling of isolation whilst we were all social distancing. Using Google street view and Zoom I went on virtual walks with others. I asked the participants if they would like to share places that are important to them, they are missing or places they would like to visit. 

The 23rd of July 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the education of handicapped children’s act in 1970, the act marked for the first time or children of compulsory school age had a right to an education. I gathered audio recordings about people’s experiences of the education system to produce an audio piece telling these stories.

During my residency, I would like to explore the Sussex landscape. 

Audio description of photographs in the film

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