NECC 2007

Well, NECC 2007 is about to come to an end. It has been hosted this week in my home town of Atlanta. I’ve gotta say, this is my first NECC and it is GREAT!  There is so much to see, hear and learn about technology and education that it’s just unreal. There’ve been a number of great things to happen so far this week: I’ve learned about emerging technologies in education, been inspired to make some definite changes in the way I view and use technology in the schools and best of all… My wife made her “national” presentation debut in the podcasting seminar! She’s wonderful…

I think the best part of it all has been meeting and interacting with other people that are just as cre8tiv and driven as I am. It’s been meeting a whole gang of people that inspire one another, push one another and build each other up. It’s been enlightening to say the least.

For me… I’ve also meet two great photographers… Don Henderson and Marco Torres. These guys are great and very knowledgeable. Best of all, they share their know-how freely, and were nice enough to let me participate in their class. Guys, I can’t thank you enought for the opportunity and insight (maybe we can go on a shoot when we hook up again in the future).

You can find some of the images that I took here.

iSummit ‘07

Yesterday, I was honored to be a presenter at the iSummit in Atlanta, GA. This is a yearly event for educators from around the country to come together and learn (and share) different technology-related educational strategies. It was hosted by Apple.

I was fortunate enought to teach a class on GarageBand. The class was basically an introduction to the program and for showing the attendees how to make music and podcasts. The class was great! I had a lot of wonderful (and talented) people in the class. The range was from first time users, to orchestra managers to professional musicians and choral teachers…. a wide range to be sure! I think it’s safe to say that I learned as much from them as they did from me.

I love this type of interaction, because it’s a chance to really talk with people and help them. I am forever grateful for the organizers giving me an opportunity to train at the iSummit, and hopefully I can do it again!

…and to all of the attendees of iSummit, I thoroughly enjoyed working with you guys. If you ever need any assistance or materials, feel free to contact me at ty@cre8tivmindz.com. Thanks guys!

Greetings from da Big Pixel…

Welcome to cre8tivpixels… where pixels come to play and frolic in the playground that is my canvas. My name’s Ty Richardson and I’m based in Atlanta, GA. The ATL is a great place to be and it’s full of inspiration… both cre8tively and spiritually. Pixels and I have been running around and cre8ting graphix for the last 4 years or so. In that time, I’ve discovered that playing around with pixels and their myriad of configurations that I can relax my mind and spirit and make the occasional dollar or two. Mostly, we’ve found that, together, we can bring a smile to folks that see what we come up with. I think we’ve been able to forge quite a friendship and create some very nice projects.

The single most important project that working with pixels and a canvas produced was my wife… Cathleen. Four years ago, while playing around with the pixels as I usually do, she saw some of my work and asked if I could make something with her as the subject. After a short conversation and doing a pixel dance with my computer (read: convincing the pixels to move around and reconfigure in a way that I want), I had something for her. She loved it… and I loved her. Three years later she would become my best friend, inspiration and wife.
(I owe the pixels for that one… and neither they nor my wife let me forget it!)

The purpose of this blog is to introduce myself (and the pixels) to the world, and to showcase some of my graphics and photography. I’m a self-taught kind of guy. Just about everything I know I’ve learned through reading or trial and error.

The pixels and I have come to an understanding: I direct (as best as I can…) and they follow. (The pixels reserve the right to alter, edit, modify or otherwise completely change my vision if it improves the overall aesthetic of the project!)

So come in… look around and PLEASE let us know what you think. The pixels and I thank you!

Public Service Announcement:
If you’re wondering why I constantly talking about pixels like they’re people (and I’m sure you were… if not, you’re probably as nuts as I am), it’s because I don’t think of pictures, images, etc. as just pixels per se… rather partners that I can work with to cre8 something beautiful.

Our cr8tiv formula:  Me(Pixels + Music) = cre8tivity