11/17 - Final Documentation

11/17 - Final Progress 5

Here are videos of my piece, both while testing it and during critique.
I have a lot of similar things, haha. Just wanted to be thorough

I think I was testing out different speeds with these first 4

During crit

Here, you can faintly see the projection on the wall

11/17 - Final Progress 4

While assembling the interface for my piece, I came to the realization that the lights I purchased to illuminate my projection box were too harsh for the piece and did not work as I intended. I returned to the store in hopes of finding another light source that could be plugged in and placed in the box but came up with nothing that met what I wanted. It was then that I decided to go for a more analog approach. I got some candles that provided exactly the glow that I was looking for. I forwent glue and just melted wax to the bottom of the box and attached the candles that way. This way, I not only achieved the light I was looking for but also had the added bonus of candles, which I think tied in with my concept well.

Speaking of my concept....basically, I wished to create a machine that paints my thoughts in shadows. The thoughts that plagued me as I was making this piece just so happened to be thoughts about validating myself as a Muslim. With everything that has been going on in our country's politics recently as well as the many ISIS attacks around the world, there has been a resurgence of fear amongst Muslims that has not been so prevalent since the months after 9/11. I used to be bullied for my faith regularly. I used to have to reassure complete strangers that neither I not my family were threats. I was used to it for such a long time in my youth but in the comfort that a liberal college atmosphere allows, I forgot what it felt like to feel constantly persecuted...until the past few months.

The four words carved onto the inside of my projection box (so as to project in a readable way on the wall) reference a specific incident in the 8th grade when a classmate called me a terrorist in front of the entire class. Fed up with the constant bullying, I angrily told him "I'm not a terrorist!" and (I am now ashamed to admit) punched him. It was a defining moment in my life, to be honest. I had never gotten physical with anyone before and that was the moment that I snapped and succumbed. From that day on, I learned to ignore the hate and take solace in the positive people I have around me. Recent hate crimes have been making that so hard so I thought that maybe if I created this box that depicts my justifications for myself over and over and over....maybe I would find some of the solace I found then---without the violence.

The candles that I added to my box are meant to represent memories. The memories I had in the days, months, years after 9/11. The memories that other Muslims around the country had of that time period. The memories that are now suddenly reemerging with full force. The fact that everyone else who is not a Muslim does not remember us, or how we too suffered. I'm glad that the string lights didn't work out because I don't think I would have loved my piece half as much if not for those candles.

12/17 - Final Progress 3

I decided that in order to create my rotating projector "drawing machine" that I would utilize my access tot he FabLab's laser cutters. Here is a pic I took during one of my late night/early morning laser cutting sessions (crocheting at 3 am is my new hobby)

I had sheets of fluorescent green and translucent grey plexiglass that I thought would be perfect for creating the interface for my piece. I used a website that allowed me to enter in dimensions and export a pdf to use on the laser cutter. Here are the dimensions for one of the three boxes I made. There was this one to hold my perfboard and arduino, a cube for the projection, and a tiny cube to hold the light sensor.

Before I cut anything though, I had to think of what I wanted my piece to project/draw. I was trying to think of what a revolving, lit up box would imply. I like the idea that this revolving box could represent the thoughts running through my head as of late and in turn, could tie in with the rest of the work of I've been making this semester about Islam. I settled on writing the words "I'm not a terrorist" on the sides of the box, a declaration that I have not felt so compelled to make in over a decade. More on this concept to come...

I bought a myriad of other supplies to construct my interface with, didn't take pics unfortunately. But I got some string lights that I thought I could use to illuminate my projection box, epoxy for the plexi, etc. 

12/17 - Final Progress 2

This post details the process I went to coming up with my circuit for my final project. I basically wanted to merge my previous mini projects and create a motor that reacts to light information.

Here is a picture of my workspace

Here are some close ups of the motor and the photocell

 Here is the finished circuit on the breadboard

 Here is my soldering station and the finished soldered product

I wasn't able to do the fritzing yet because I have a chromebook that doesn't allow me to donload programs. I can only do what is on a browser or whatever is an app in the chrome store. I hope my images are enough to show you what the circuit looked like. 

Video of the stepper motor alone revolving

video of the final motor that reacts to light

10/21 - Shimul Progress Post FINAL PROJECT

I don't have much physical progress for my final project yet but I do have some conceptual process. I am essentially changing my entire concept that I proposed the other week, actually. I just felt pretty uninspired by the idea that I had so I tried to brainstorm some more.

I still really like the idea of using a photocell as my main sensor because I did my mini-project based all around a photocell with some LEDs. I want to go back to the artists that I did research on a couple of weeks ago and maybe explore something with drawing machines. I like the idea of creating something autonomous that can create art on its own but rather than just make something that draws traditionally with paint or pencil, I want to maybe create something that "draws" in light.

This summer, I took the 2D/3D class in which we discussed "mark-making" and how one can make a mark using different media. Light is actually a valid medium for making marks in the form of shadows, silhouettes, or colors. I would like to find a way to make a machine that creates unique, randomized light drawings, perhaps by utilizing colored plexiglass and different kinds of LEDs.

While I'm not entirely sure if this is what I want to do for my final project, I do feel far more connected to this idea than I did the moon one.