zero pressure

i’m well into the flow of the residency now.  i have several lines of enquiry set up to investigate and several makes waiting to be made.

up first was the proof of concept for the maker bar additional interpretation sign.  the makers feel we can improve the visitor experience by providing more opportunitities to form a door into what we do on the bar for first time visitors.  with this make i ran through the stages really quite quickly for me.  i think this was a result of a recent personal occurrence.

dipping into the recently acquired laser cutting knowledge, i set myself to create.

sourcing material from the off cut bin of a suitable size i quickly cut the words and drilled holes to join the two boards together.

on the laser cutter i used some guides to ensure the second board lined up as the first so i could quickly repeat the cutting process.

in the workshop i used a spindle sander for the first time to take out some uneven ness of edge and drill holes for nylon string to create the a board.

i also used some wax i had been introduced to for the big bang interactive box.   i made a bad call doing this as the wood darkened and the words became difficult to read.

there’s also a spelling mistake.

the plus side of this make came when as a group we were able to look at the object and discuss how to proceed with it.  we have also been brought up to speed with the museum’s set font for interpretation words.

i’ll be remaking the maker bar additional interpretation board after an induction to the vinyl cutter next week.

with the laser cutting complete i moved onto proving the load cell.

the arduino online community is incredibly supportive with many shared tutorials and code examples.  experience has taught me to try to initially use teh simpler version of code if there is a choice.  when testing the load cell i forgot this.

it took additional research to find a simpler code.  i have now been able to read the value from the load cell and transmit this value over bluetooth to isadora.

the load cell proving is part of the pre work for the re-imagined snee snaw.  additional works include the led research and considering the calculations needed.

with the led i’m considering the method of controlling them using osc commands from isadora and wether they will be bright enough for being outside.

the calculations relate to how i can use the values from two load cells to control the led strip, inspired by the physical form of a see saw.

this week we’ve also been introduced to the usb controlled sewing machine.  it’s quite easy to use.  i think there are subtleties to the process as there always are to make a process go really smoothly.  for the demonstration we all had our names embroidered.

at a personal level this week has been difficult and i’ve leant on my making to help support myself through this difficult time.

there are times during which code that i’m working on doesn;t behave as i’d want it to.  i have learnt to accept the frustrations of this.  there usually is a reason why the behaviour is not as expected and the key to progressing is finding that.

personally i’ve learnt to keep a level head, stay calm and take a break when it doesn’t work.

i had this yesterday with progressing the ardunio control of the led strip.  the behaviour was erratic and not as expected.  after a break i played with the set up again (at home) to see if i could solve it.

through a process of elimination i discovered the problem to be the bluetooth module still powered and connected to the arduino uno.  powering down the module returned the osc control to the led strip.  it was with some satisfaction that i started to progress with how i’ll use osc values to control direction and speed of the lit led position.

on the bus on the way in to derby yesterday i spotted #motivatedmonday in a tweet.  it lit me up as i was feeling really motivated and full of energy.  i arrived at the mill and immediately set up a makerspace for me to work in.

my making focus were the load sensors and creating a load cell from them.  this is one of the parts that will go towards creating the re-imagined snee snaw for the figment festival in august.

my plan with the load cell is to firstly set up this research rig to test it and make it work.  once i’ve cracked that i can set to designing the object in which the load cell will be cited.  the re-imagined snee snaw will have two load cells connected via bluetooth to the main programme.  on saturday i mastered the process of renaming the bluetooth modules and set up a test broadcast to isadora.  isadora will form the main engine of the work.

the epidiscope

i’ve spent time with the epidiascope within the museum space.  i had the great pleasure of cleaning the object before switching it on to see what it does.

this particular model was donated to the museum in 1974 by queens medical college.  from the accompanying manual i learnt that it would have been used to project pages of books, microscope slides and even 3d objects.  this was further backed up by a couple of conversations with museum staff who had personal experiences of using an epidiascope.

when we turned the unit on i was quite surprised at how little light was projected.  i think i need to investigate this further.   the unit remains in the hub for me to play with further.

analogue powerpoint

on monday i presented my responses to two briefs set within the residency.  the maker bar and steam tots.  part of the team assembled around the table to view the presentation.

steam tots is the working title for a session launching in september in the silk mill space.  drawing on my forest school training and additional research i presented about a session based on loose parts play.  i covered some of the schemas that children demonstrate and i have to say the idea was well received and i now get to consider what i’ll make to go into the containers of loose parts.  for this i hope to be inducted onto using the cnc cutter so i can mass produced lots of circles, squares and triangles.

the other analogue powerpoint presentation was about my ideas for communicating about the maker bar.

again it was well received and we are going to have a look at implimenting something this thursday.  once again i see the benefit of placing something on the table as a starting point of discussion.

a foot note to the week.

while making the analogue powerpoint i realised that it was something i could place into the epidiascope to project.  from playing with the epidiascope i imagined a small group of us huddled around the object to see what the image looked like.  the feeling of being huddled around a light source triggered a thought about how this evokes a feeling like the painting by joseph wright entitled A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery. this painting is on permanent display in the derby museum and art gallery.

end of week 5 and i’m looking forward to the beginning of week 6.  i have one make complete, i’ve mentally and physically recovered and i can see a connection with the second make i’m going to propose to the museum tomorrow.  i’ll leave what that connection is tantalisingly unsaid for now as i’d like to see how it’s received.

to help me unpack my idea to the team i’ve produced an analogue powerpoint presentation that i’ll indulge the team with in the space.  this is something i’m really looking forward to doing.

there’s also a set of ideas i’m ready to put forward to the team about evolving the maker bar experience.  for those of you uncertain what the maker bar is let me explain.

it’s part of the research currently being undertaken as the museum works towards being the museum of making.  the concept of the bar is that when the museum is open there is a place to drop into and chat with the maker behind the bar and if you feel so inclined engage in making something.

within the residency we have been invited to respond to briefs set by some of the museum staff.  i’ve found myself signing up to quite a few and this evening i was reflecting about wether i’ve actually over stretched myself.  the thing is though that each of those that i’ve put my name to has something about it that i feel i can add to.

it wouldn’t be much fun if i played it safe.

i’ve floated my idea for the maker bar a couple of times and each time the response has been positive.  now i have some sketches and black and white statements about how i would like to begin the maker bar evolution.

there’s also the preliminary research work for the re-imagined snee snaw.  if i am to have that made for august i’m going to need to crack on with it quite soon.  i have some components to work with and some code to research and test.

oh and tomorrow we have a session with an epidiascope from the museum collection.  when i met with the head curator, the curator of steam i think is his title, he asked me tentively about what i’d like to do with the object.  i am a one for playing with things after all !  he looked reassured when i said simply to begin with seeing what and how the object works.  i have no idea what might be triggered for me and this is such an exciting place to be !

and if all of this doesn;t excite me enough… there’s also a gathering about the figment festival in august.  when i met the project director back in april she was particularly impressed that i’d heard of figment.   it’s a participatory arts festival that occurs in the united states and canada.  the project director of the silk mill has managed to negotiate bringing the festival to europe for the first time.  the day promises to be a smorgasbord of lovely things to see and do.  very much like the residency itself.

this summer at the silk mill we’re cramming in as much as we can.  our residency programme is also a partner programme in the maker ed: maker corps programme and i’ve expressed an interest in being part of the maker certificate program.  for this i need to develop a portfolio following my making.  this blog will be part of that.  one aspect of the portfolio is to review, reflect upon makes made.  my first make has been the big bang interactive.

conceived as a result of brainstorming, discussions and what i’ve recently been working on, the big bang interactive is a work the children visiting the exhibition interact with.  i was keen to make the work as it represented a different engagement strategy to the previous year.

my approach to the work was to code something that would produce generative outcome based on the decisions being made by the participant.

i decided to have three points of interaction:

• a right hand to begin the generative process.
• a left hand position that affected greyscale of the appearing circle.
• a right hand working with the left to generate colour and affect position, size and colour of three shapes.

in making this work i had a host of things i did for the first time:

• using inkscape and a laser cutter to create two points of interaction
• using a light dependent resistor as a trigger
• using arduino as part of the work
• using arduino bluetooth to communicate with my laptop
• using a leap motion controller in a public facing work.
• working at a school science fair.

in reviewing the make i can start to appreciate the subtle different layers to the make:

• the meeting of a brief within the residency.
• the taking of risks by myself to create something i felt would be appealing.
• the needs of the museum trust to communicate about itself.
• the needs of the museum to communicate about the interest in making and connecting to the collection.
• the hope of igniting a child’s interest in making or making something happen.
• to fuel curiosity.
• to be memorable.

with us on site was bill, the gentleman who guides the museum trust through the tricky subject of school programme provision.  i observed him for the first hour or so.  i was really impressed with how after a short introduction to the interactive he came up with a whole script as a means to engage with the children engaging with the work.  around mid morning he came up to me and made the observation that the next stand along (a large international manufacturing company) was rammed with children, however there were very few conversations going on.  at our stand, we were able to speak to just about everyone who walked up to the interactive and asked “what’s going on here ?”

so as a maker, what was the event like for me?  to answer this i’ll use the what, so what, now what  reflective process tool.

what?

it’s an interactive based upon three hands and responsive generative graphics on screen.

so what ?

the placing of a right hand upon a representation of a hand triggered the graphical generation process.  this aspect of the work kept working all day however at times it did produce outcomes that we were not expecting.  i put this down to the light dependent resisitor (ldr) being too sensitive through the code i’d written for the arduino.

with the generative process started the placing of a pair of hands above the leap motion controller (indicated by a laser cut surround for the leap motion) allowed for manipulation of the colour and once full screen three further shapes.

we found that the physical layout of the interactive prompted enquiry that led to conversation.  we found that once the shapes had appeared we could encourage the participant to play with what was on screen by the movement of their hands.  this process was easier for some children than others.  my personal highlight of the day was watching a group of three girls who worked out what hand movements controlled the size of the circle.

repeatidly we saw how an initial shyness gave way to a smile and curiosity exploration of the question “what if i do this?”

occassionally i was asked what was the practical use of this hand control.  i was majorly helped by the group of three older girls who exclaimed that their autistic friend would love this.

i found myself refining my script when talking with participants.  once i’d got them to a point where they got what was expected and quickly got beyond that to explore their own curiosity, i was able to say that the work spoke about how the museum was working to become more hands on through making and interacting with the collection.

we learnt that schools had travelled quite a distance to be at the fair.  i even spoke to a couple of ladies who had travelled from cambridge.  i found that what they were doing  was similar in aspiration to that of the derby silk mill.  i tested a theory with them.  put simply it centred around wether as a qualified forest school leader i can bring a forest school based ethos inside and apply it to steam powered projects.  they nodded.

now what?

i’m soon to have our weekly maker meeting where we’ll get to have a de-brief about the big bang fair.

until then i can simply focus on what i might do with the interactive.  i’m thinking in terms of development.  if i were to stage the interactive again i need to go back to the arduino part of the work and see if i can improve the stability of the ldr through improving the code.  another possibility is to explore a pressure sensing circuit so simply the hand being press upon the box will act as a contact closure to begin the graphical output.

the graphical output for now is ok, however if i can teach myself further better understanding of processing i might have a go at coding something in processing to try.  the unanswered question is how long might this take if i’m left to my own devices to get up to speed?

overall i observed many different approaches and engagements with the work.  there were a small number of children who came back to play again.  one boy actually stating he wanted one for himself.

if we were in a camp like situation and our observations of interaction were to help us to guide a child toward something of interest, i’d say this interactive would be good for that.

most importantly, despite a few moments when there was an unexpected outcome, the work kept working all day.  something i feel very pleased about.