11. Implications and applications

This week I focused on narrowing my ideas for my final project. Let’s just say I have been having lots of thought experiments! To begin my brainstorm, it was important for me to identify two things: 1. concepts ideas that I have learned thus far in Fabricacademy that resonates with me and 2. my interest and values as it pertains to my work as a maker and artist.

These are the concepts that I am interested in developing, strengthening, or pushing the limits of: - 3D Modeling - Laser cutting - 3D Printing - e-textiles/wearables - CNC milling

Interests + Values

What are my interests? What I want to communicate ? What is the value ? What am I challenging? What knowledge and I developing with this project? These are the questions that I will be asking myself as I continue to develop my final project.

Inspo:

I have had the privilege of checking out some incredible art - Georgia O’ Keeffe Exhibit

Half Baked Ideas:

3D Printing with silk

SLA resin made from silk or includes silk ?? Is this even possible to functionalize silk proteins to do this ? If not 3D printing on silk is just as cool. Maybe there is a way to add real silk into a filament for FDM 3D printing. This idea was inspired by my field trip to FormLabs (maker of SLA 3D printers) and the Silk Lab at Tufts University.

Fashion Collection/Art Installation

Developing a 6-8 piece collection (clothing or art installation) using at least two of the following: - natural dyes (for this I would like to go into the archives of a few black women who were textile designers and artists including Theresa India Young who worked with dyes and whose archives are held at UMASS Boston) - nontraditional materials, upcycled garments, and/or general waste - modular design with a focus on genderless apparel + open source

Final Project Must Haves:

  • Collaboration/Guidance/Mentorship. Institutions: AFFOA, Silk Lab at Tufts University, FormLabs, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Nation Museum of African American Art People: Chanel Thervil, Lavaughan Jenkins, Art and Business Council of Boston
  • Material Transformation, whether that is functionalizing the textile for a new and/or improved application
  • Learning a New Skill
  • Research: publications, primary source materials, museums, libraries, oral history
  • A hologram- I always wanted to make one so why not?

General Timeline

  • Dec. 2019: Finalize Project Proposal, identify key players, materials, budget, and timeline.
  • Jan. 2020: Research + Development, Process development
  • Feb. 2020: Production
  • Mar. 2020: Finaling and Presentation