Thoughts
Biofabricated materials¶
I am drawn to the biofabrication process. It is accessible, adjustable and can link to the personal. The recipes reminds me of bronze casting (even though I have never done bronze casting, I recognize the methods of preparing the liquid, the mold and casting).
One possibility that strikes me is the origins of the ingredients, which can be social, personal and/or cultural-geographical. I think of the food waste from a Tuesday open market (social), the apples from a friend's orchard (personal), the algae and the sea of where I am (cultural-geographical). With the process of forming surfaces and shapes, I see the potential of distilling phenomena and memories into something to hold in my hand.
The surface of the screen has occurred to me frequently as I explore the forms with biofabricated materials. As I look at the samples I think about how images could appear when projected onto them. How the different textures, thicknesses, colors can alter the meaning of the image, and how a screen can be a place where things live — a flower, a leaf, or a place where things are remembered — a photo...
The change of the material — how it droops, melts, dissolves(!), sticks, breaks, frays — makes excellent metphaors. When they become visual/tactile metaphors of feelings, the image they host/embed/reflect become full of (expanded) meaning.
Small tensile structures¶
From the tests of 3D printing on fabric, I am impressed by the methods that give structure to soft fabrics by adding a pattern on them. I can see installations made with hundreds of these components or a large space constructed with this method. See Morph+ by IAAC
Crystalization¶
Images obsured by crystals are full of meaning (e.g. Catherine Mcever "Now they're all a frozen memory.") I want to read more about the natural processes of crystallization, the kind that takes years to form. I see crystallization this as an opening into (and a re-staging of) marine/geological time. Very much about forgetting (yet still left with traces).
Digital fabrication¶
Interactive surface¶
Even though I did not participate in the e-textile weeks, I find many e-textile aspects relevant to my interest. The most memorable ones are the thermal ink and conductive embroidery. For softrobotics, the "pneuduino" from aeromorph is something I want to test out. Also read, research on interative surface by Adriana Cabrera.