Back in the mid 2010’s CMC co-founder Jonathan Guajardo was attending the University of Incarnate Word. He had completed his bachelors and was accepted to their masters program. For his final project he created “The BMC Effect,” a thorough look at alternative pedagogical programs that led up to the creation of the Convergent Media program at UIW and hence The Convergent Media Collective. For whatever reason, this project was never shared here at the CMC website. So we are circling back 8 years later to celebrate, promote and encourage others to take Johnny’s work and build upon it. We are always looking for more ways of thinking about teaching and process when it comes to alternative pedagogy and project based learning.
This is the mural I met Ernesto at. He was one of the facilitators and I (and my wife) was a community participant.
It is always a pleasure to have new collaborators join us. I have known Ernesto Cuevas for some time. He has attended a couple of our meet ups. But I met him initially through a community mural project I participated in and then further when I documented his Barrio Works project on our openEDSA.org blog.
Recently Ernesto and I began working out together at the gym (gotta stay healthy to Make Stuff). Our work outs have basically turned into weekly platicas where we share our work and creative ideas together, many of which have trickled into the CMC realm.
An example of Ernesto’s ability to bring community into his art.
Ernesto’s experience as an Artist, Graphic Designer and Community Advocate has been a humbling yet amazing journey to hear about. Ernesto’s ability to engage communities to develop their own identities and express them through intermodal art murals, canvas work and other mediums has been very inspiring. His own journey of growing up as a son of migrant farm workers definitely gives a foundation to his own art work that transcends into the 21st century in a very beautiful way. Working both on Canvas and digitally with a Wacom, amongst other mediums. Ernesto’s ability to create unique works that tell stories of both personal and humanistic adversity gives patrons of his work a visual experience that leaves them wanting to see more.
Owning a Hi-Fi shop, I love this piece.
One project we have collectively been discussing is a series of children books that explore various experiences as a youth.
So Ernesto the Convergent Media Collective tips our hat at you. Your Art work and Community Advocacy is inspiring. And last but not least, Ernesto’s graphic design as you can imagine is very professional and on par with some of the greats. We look forward to future collaborations and wish you the best of luck as an artist and professional graphic designer!
The Convergent Media Collective would like to recognize Erika for her work this past Fall 2016 in the UIW Convergent Media I class.
Erika came into the class ready to try new things. A regular DJ for KRTU 91.7 and music lover, Erika explored her creative side through two awesome projects. The goal of Convergent Media I is for students to: Make Stuff, Take Risks and Be Awesome. Having a solid grasp of traditional production, Erika decided to take the motto literally and Make Stuff. The results were two awesome projects!
EL Wire Sculpture Project- Having an affection for neon signs, but being a college student on a budget, Erika decided to sculpt her project out of EL wire, a low cost luminescent wire. The process was as amazing as the results. It is always great to see students learn through their process and attempt different techniques. Erika’s ability to problem solve along the way is amazing! Check out her documentation video:
Sonic Pi- Erika decided to really challange herself by not only constructing a Raspberry Pi setup, but also installing Sonic Pi, a sound programing language. Her ability to create unique compositions, as well as familiar ones was amazing, especially since she was doing it with all open source software. This kind of project is what Convergent Media is all about, aka exploring spaces that require risk and exploration to even dive into yet, yet master.
I would like to thank Erika for not only making great projects, but documenting them with such compelling videos and enthusiasm. It is students like Erika that have made the CMC so proud of the UIW CM concentration!
I was also able to capture some in class footage of her presentations, which you can watch below:
