Join us on May 20-22, from 12-5pm, as we celebrate the community and work created by the Spring 2016 cohort of the Autodesk Artists in Residence Program at Pier 9. Featured projects include work created by fine artists, roboticists, inventors, designers, and a host of other creatives. More info here.
I’m posting a lot of my work-in-progress to Instagram. If you’d like to check it out follow me there!
The Porcupine Vest is a wearable, spikey body-extension that allows you to take up more space. You can use it to expand your footprint and sometimes your personal expression. Check out the Instructable here: www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Porcupine-Vest/
This July I’ll be back in Copenhagen teaching a 1-week Social Wearables class at CIID. Here’s the info:
SOCIAL WEARABLES
Introduction to the intricate relationship between the human body and emerging technologies
Workshop Dates: July 25th – 29th, 2016
Keywords: wearables, wearable computing, wearable electronics, soft circuits, social, wireless
Description:
Wearables are suddenly everywhere. Designers, artists, and technologists need to consider what should live in bodyspace and why. An increasing number of technologies orbit the human form – new devices and computing capabilities that live in, on, and around the body. But many of these technologies focus primarily on the individual. How can wearable technology assist, affect, and subvert the ways in which we relate to each other and the world around us?The focus of this workshop is social wearables – wearables that are able to communicate with each other and with larger systems. Through the use of physical computing skills and wearable design techniques participants will create experiments and body-based projects that specifically engage in and address how we as humans relate and communicate.
This course aims will give participants the opportunity to develop basic skills in working with electronics is a wearable format. This will include engaging with the hardware, software, wireless communication, and construction and fabrication.
The primary tools will include Arduino, Processing, and standard and non-traditional conductive materials such as conductive fabric and thread.
Learning expectations:
This course uses a hands-on approach to create a studio environment of exploration, development, and testing of existing and emerging social wearable technologies. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Critically consider and engage with emerging wearable technologies and tools.
- Position their work contextually in relation to the past and contemporary wearable projects and products.
- Assess and implement technologies needed to take a wearable electronics project idea from concept to completion.
Prerequisites: Experience with basic electronics is helpful but not required.
Last year this workshop was amazingly fun. CIID is a fantastic environment with a great workshop and an amazingly diverse group of students from around the world. For more info on how to sign up, check it out here: http://ciid.dk/education/summer-school/ciid-summer-school-2016/workshops/social-wearables/
Pinky Linkers are physical devices that allow two people who might not know each other very well to experience a physical bond. They are customized to reflect both the size of each individual’s pinky as well as how close each person feels to the other. Check out the Instructable here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Pinky-Linkers/
This version of the Pinky Linkers was prototyped and tested with the Pier 9 Artist-in-Residence cohort in March 2016. Thanks to all the AIRs and Pier 9 staff that contributed data and played the linking game!
ITP Camp is featured in a lovely 6-page spread in the Spring 2016 NYU Alumni Magazine. Check it out here, pages 36-41.
I’m getting settled in at the amazing residency at Autodesk’s Pier 9. This past week we were assigned a mini-group project to help us get warmed up and to get to know each other. I worked with Johan Da Silveira, Jonah Ross-Mars, and Purin Phanichphant to create a Bicycle-Mounted Banana Suspender.
You can check out the Instructable here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Bicycle-Mounted-Banana-Suspender
Last weekend I returned to Brooklyn Shoespace for a 5-hour class on making leather slippers. The bootmaking I did last month was amazing but extremely time-consuming. Now that I’m moving on to thinking about iterative design and how to quickly build some electronics into footwear I thought it might be good to learn how to make something a bit simpler. Slippers turned out to be a great fit. Here’s what we made:
The process is fairly straightforward. These are the main steps:
See completed slippers above. Next step: adding some electronics!
Physical media lives on!
I just received “Electtronica Wearable: Disegna, prototipa e indossa i tuoi vestiti e accessori interattivi” from Amazon.it. It is the Italian translation of my book “Make: Wearable Electronics”. Besides being in Italian, this version also includes a new preface from the lovely Zoe Romano who I got to meet this summer at E-Textile Camp.
I also finally crossed paths with my copy of the “Eyeo 2011-2015” book. It’s quite beautiful. I’m really honored to be included amongst such inspiring and prolific colleagues!
I’ve been on a bit of a workshop binge this Fall. Back in October I took “Leather Working 101” at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn. It was a great opportunity flush out my basic knowledge of leather tools and techniques. I’ve picked up bits and pieces from the leatherwork we’ve been doing at Social Body Lab, but this helped to give me a more solid foundation.
A few weeks ago weeks ago I attended a Saturday afternoon workshop on “Natural Dyeing & Foraging” at Manufacture New York. Part of the reason I wanted to go is to get a sneak peak at the Manufacture NY space, but I’ve also been thinking some about dyeing my own materials. Our instructor was Liz Spencer who focuses on ethical dyeing practices. The workshop focused on dyeing with plants found within the nearby region: black walnut, Hopi purple sunflower seeds, coreopsis, and pokeberries.
Besides straight up dyeing we also got to try bundle, resist, and shibori dyeing techniques. Good food for thought for future projects.