This documentary tells the story of artist Jo Ellen Hemphill Smith and her 50 years of painting. The film also documents her lifelong creative impact on the West Central Neighborhood and Fort Wayne’s Art Scene. Throughout her life, she inspired countless artists and through the Castle Gallery she helped change the region's landscape through the Art Collectors she inspired. This documentary has various accounts of Jo Ellen’s impact including from lifelong friend and art collector, Jim Davis the Creator of Garfield. Follow her incredible lifelong pursuit to make Fort Wayne a more creative place.

Fort Wayne Electric Works and Do It Best continues to build excitement in Downtown Fort Wayne as Weigand Construction, and Graycraft Signs teams install the brand new sign atop the New Electric Works Development by Ancora.

The new sign pays homage to the original General Electric Sign that was removed in 2016, while also becoming a new landmark for the City of Fort Wayne. Electric Works is now open to the public and a trip to the Urban Street Market and renting office space from Carr Workspace is a must.

Fort Wayne Electric Work Sign Installation
Full Version:
• Fort Wayne Electr...

Video Production and drone footage by:
https://www.maxamillianstudio.com/

Music via Artlist:
Yarin Primak @yarinprimak
Song: Feel Again
https://artlist.io/artist/1306/yarin-...

bKL Architecture is proud to announce that we've been awarded AIA Chicago's 2020 Firm of the Year Award!

It was an incredible honor to film such an important site and landmark building in Chicago's rich architectural landscape.

This video is an intimate look at Donald Martiny’s creation of two monumental works which are permanently installed in the Lobby of One World Trade Center.

Donald Martiny’s evolution as an artist began with the inspiration to break the rectangle, and the art historic reference to the window or portal. His monumental brushstrokes bring the figure and experience of the painting forward, initiating an intimate and dynamic relationship with the viewer.

Martiny states: “I want the experience of my work to take place in the same space as the viewer. I believe life is motion, I want my work to celebrate life. There are no straight lines in my work. The works are sweeping, dynamic gestures. The painting is the gesture, the gesture is the painting.”

This revolutionary concept led to the seven yearlong development of a new kind of paint that is strong enough to work without the traditional canvas or panel (ground).

This paint allows Martiny to create monumental paintings, often made directly with his hands, the brushstrokes form an intimate signature of the artist.

Video Production by MaxamillianStudio.com

Image credits courtesy of Fort Wayne Museum of Art and The Baker Sponder Gallery

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Located in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago, the existing Whitney M. Young, Jr. Branch Library held a prominence within the community, not only as a library but as a local community center. Adhering to the goals set forth by the Chicago Public Library, bKL Architecture, under the supervision of the Public Building Commission, renovated and reorganized the existing 11,000 square foot building and added 2,500 square feet complementing the existing library and creating a new vision that reflects our time. The Chicago Public Library’s main goals were to bring the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Branch Library into the 21st century with building program, technology offerings, and making the library accessible.

The exterior massing and material choice is intended to complement the existing mid-century architecture, allowing the original brick building to still read against the lightness and scale of the new glass façade that frames the entry. This secure and welcoming entry was relocated adjacent to a new landscaped plaza and parking lot. The floor plan was organized to provide user groups both collaborative and individual spaces, while maintaining a cohesive design that is open and light. Equally important, the library’s new multi-purpose room, located adjacent to the entry, provides a space where community activities can be accommodated.

The focal point of the original building was an underutilized exterior courtyard. bKL’s new design revived the central outdoor space, allowing for light to permeate the surrounding functions. The courtyard now serves as an exterior communal space for the library and its users.

bklarchitecture.com

In the fall of 2015, I was honored at the US Department of Education for my work with the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and the creation of the Hope Gap Project for the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. This honor is shared with some of the countries best teachers, amazing friends, and represents over 10 years of work.

Anchoring the northwest corner of Lake Street and Michigan Avenue, this 41-story, 402-unit residential tower sits prominently beside the historic Carbide and Carbon Building. With an east-west orientation and narrow face addressing Michigan Avenue, the new tower complements its Art Deco predecessor. Its siting encourages a dialogue between the buildings while permitting enough space for each to establish its distinct presence. The Michigan Avenue tower features two levels of retail and garage parking. Amenities include a fitness room, lounge, game room and party room. Outdoor space can accommodate large or small gatherings, and the building provides a rooftop pool and a dog run. Partially inset residential balconies on the north and south facades complement a clean, modern, highly polished face on Michigan Avenue. The site is easily accessible to the shopping of north Michigan Avenue and the many attractions of Millennium and Grant Parks. This project is LEED Gold certified. bklarchitecture.com -----
Video Production: maxamillianstudio.com
Drone Work: dronemediachicago.com

Patricia McKissack shares some of her early inspirations in becoming a writer as part of an upcoming documentary on her and Fred McKissack's amazing career writing books for children.

Andrea Davis Pinkney shares her memories of first meeting Patricia and Fredrick Mckissack. This clip is from an upcoming documentary on the McKissack's life and their incredible journey by simply writing books for children.

The Exhibit on Superior team describes the evolution of their 10,000 s.f. park, which includes international artist Pal Svensson's sculpture, Twisted Triangle.

#PalSvensson #Sculpture #PublicArt #Chicago #Sweden #PocketPark #GalleryDistrict #RiverNorth#Architecture #ExhibitonSuperior #Architecture #bKLArchitecture #MagellanDevelopment #AldermanBrendanReilly #MaxamillianStudio

GEMS World Academy is a private K–12 school in Chicago’s Lakeshore East Community. The two-building vertical campus marries GEMS’ program with local requirements, creating a new model for a high-rise school in an arena of limited precedents. The use of state-of-the art technology enables students to collaborate with classrooms throughout the world, providing an international perspective on education. The Lower School houses 660 students within 10 stories on a limited site. Juxtaposed against an adjacent park, the playful exterior is a modernist composition of interlacing colored panels and glass. The configuration responds to internal program elements while rationalizing the construction, allowing for fast-paced fabrication. Organized to reduce travel times, the common areas are stacked centrally. Interior architecture is driven by flexibility, optimized floor area, connectivity, daylight and views. The design responds to the unique site constraints, provides a variety of spatial experiences, and makes strategic use of color and materials while maintaining a consistent approach to detailing. http://bklarchitecture.com/project-ca... ----- Video Production: http://www.maxamillianstudio.com/ Drone Work: http://www.dronemediachicago.com/ Music: Dalen Wuest

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Education

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Standard YouTube License

Mark Paul Smith, many know him as an incredible storyteller, mentor, and most of all a showman.  He shares with us a few of his adventures and his newest book about love on the run with, Honey and Leonard.

His new book “Honey and Leonard” which is part romance novel for those you’ve leveled up in life and also offers wisdom and a glimmer of hope and perspective to those dealing with the stress of Dementia and Alzheimer’s.  

http://www.amazon.com/Honey-Leonard-Mark-Paul-Smith/dp/1938985818

A teaser for the forth coming works by Donald Martiny. Martiny discusses his creative process behind this new monumental project.

n the 1950s, artists like Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline elevated the gesture to the position of the protagonist in abstract expressionism. In the 21st century, Donald Martiny advances that idea considerably further by freeing the gesture of gestural abstraction from the substrate which, heretofore, provided the context that brought gesture to life.

I created and developed The Hope Gap Project for the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in fall of 2014. The Hope Gap Project will be highlighted at the Department of Education in Washington DC in Sept 2015, and will expand Nationally in the fall of 2015.

Cheyney Rose is a Senior from South Side High School. Cheyney shares her perspective on the Hope Gap Project and how the program has changed her life.

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art designed this program to inspire our Urban Youth to become the next generation of Creative Leaders in our Nation. With the help of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, FWMoA is introducing former students with similar backgrounds that flourished due to their artistic talents, hard-work and the help of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.