02 practical developments

perlite research: to make the bioceramic textile

Perlite is a volcanic glass emmerging from hydrated Obsidian - an igneous rock. The lava of which is rich in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium. These all the minerals which make up bioceramic/FIR.

biocomposite 3d printing workshop¶

This workshop with Secil was really fascinating. We practiced some computational design for 3D printing and making biobased composites. The composite will be pushed either by a syringe or a screwdriver - smaller nozzles/denser materials will need higher pressure.

PROs of biobased composites:

abundant / lightweight / cost effective / sustainable

parametric patterns¶

This was a really good intro for me because I want to do my lace pattern around the pressure points on the body in my research.

diy composite¶

this workshop was so interesting: to make a composite from very accessible ingredients and to transform them into a controlled and realised design from rhino/grasshopper

further research¶

This hydroceramic project experiments with transforming buidings into living organisms.

The picture gives me an idea of how I might incorporate bioceramics into the textile I want to produce: the ceramics might be contained in the gels, and sandwiched between the top skin and bottom skin layers.

"The final prototype “Hydroceramic” works as an evaporative cooling device which reduces temperature and increases the humidity and is capable of lowering down the temperature of the indoor environment by about 5 to 6 degree."

hydroceramic from Pong Santayanon on Vimeo.

This also relates to some links I found about Cryotherapy. Cryogenics refers to or involves a branch of physics dealing with the production of and effects of very low temperatures/may also refer to the preservation and deep freezing of dead bodies to allow for further scientific research...

Cryotherapy is investigated in thisarticle. It explores the impact of cryotherapy in two ways: cold water swimming and whole body cryotherapy. ACTH is a hormone produced in the pituitary gland where cortisol is made.

In any case I have heard of the benefits of very cold temperatures on the body, for example Wim Hoff is famous for ice swimming and has spoken about these benefits.

knitting/research¶

Lingxiao Luo's 3D knit

knit designs¶

add designs from knitbird

I found this video really intriguing: to consider reversing ageing and the ways that attempts are being made. "A therapy only previously tried on mice which extends the telomeres on the end of chromosomes - in the building blocks of our DNA"

sample i aka the frankenstein¶

My priority starting points with the first toile:

1. to work with fabrics as close to the weight of the final finish as possible
2. to design around accupressure points 
3. to visualise my colour palette

I worked with some scrap knit samples from a local fabric shop, some lace samples from Encants market and some thicker synthetic foam to represent the pressure points. These pressure points may be manufactured with a double knitting technique.

This is to apply to the front pressure point.

These are the patterns I made

eurecat¶

We were fortune enough to visit Eurecat a second time! This time we could have access to their machines and expertise to make some samples. In particular for my project it helped give me an idea of how my project will progress!

My idea to use parametric geometry is primarily to work with embroidery and a dissolvable fabric so that the embroidery reveals a lace texture. Essentially the parametric design is the lace and will be designing around the pressure points as highlighted in my process.

They gave us a presentation on their dyeing processes:

Temperatures 100° for cotton 130° for polyester

1g : 60ml = ratios of fibres to water for presoaking before dyeing - Adding salts will help fixing the dye ie. sodium chloride (NaCl) and/or Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) at 20g p/litre - Metals and salts create chemical dyeing process - Substantivity/Affinity: It is defined as the attraction between the fiber and the dye under given dyeing condition, where the dye is selectively extracted from an application medium by the fiber. In simple terms, affinity or substantivity indicates the ability of a dye to go from the solution phase to fiber.

sampling¶

knit¶

At Eurecat they have large industrial knitting machines so I wanted to do some knitted pocket samples: The knitting will act as the vehicle for the healing bead to the body - to contain the bead to create the pressure.

Knit samples:

lace¶

I wanted to repeat the digital lace embroidery technique which I previously tried for textile scaffold assignment.

This time I used a dissolvable lining fabric for the embroidery machine to work on.

I tried 3 different styles of stitches: claw/hatch
chord
chevron

Then dissolved the lining and left the embroidery to dry:

cosmocaixa¶

Visiting CosmoCaixa really inspired me. Initially I went to see the Tesla exhibition

Geissler tube, precursor to fluorescent tubes and discharge lamps in general (c. 1915)
X-ray lamp (low pressure discharge tube with an anticathode at 45°; c.1925)*

all of these glass sculptures are by Luke Jerram

La Neurone Etienne Krähenbühl

I made this quick inspiration board to reiterate my thinking to towards designing the lace

Sources: - A new study finds that stress turns hair gray when nerves in the sympathetic nervous system (pink) activate and deplete a hair follicle’s melanocyte stem cells (yellow), which give hair its color. Teal marks the cells’ nuclei, BING ZHANG AND YA-CHIEH HSU - (Top left to right) Cladosporium werneckii, Aspergillus fumigates and Aspergillus fumigateurs. (Bottom left to right) Sepedonium, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - What Happens at The Synapse?

There was also this small installation at the CosmoCaixa about hydrogels!