Studio in Creative Tech

This week I took the time to make several sketches of the different types of hand held LED mirrors that I construct for my project. I wanted to get the general shape of it so that I could get it cut out in wood using illustrator. I also decided last week that  I want my piece to be like a hand held mirror based on the African goddess Oshun. Picture from: http://www.cantinhodefrancisco.com.br/2016/12/lenda-do-ipete-de-oxum.html Oshun is considered The Mother of African Sweetness or Fresh Water. This relates to the idea of replanting roots through original African tradition. Oshun is displayed in many ways, but she is known for healing the sick, cheering the sad , bringing music and dancing, and fertility and prosperity. Prosperity and fertility are not reduced to specific acts, but instead she brings whatever is lack to her children (those with parents and those who have been orphaned ). All of this creates a spiritual connection to the original intention of the mirr...

This week I dedicated my time to collecting different projects that used a sound sensor and LEDs  ( neopixels) to get an idea of what type of code syntax I would need to use for my project. I looked into controlling for lux, but it seems that  the equipment as well as that particular goal would be a little more than I could handle for this project that is due in about a month. Hopefully through free time I can add this idea to my project further dow the line when I have the time. I looked through several examples of projects and codes used that other people provided on the internet (i.e. Youtube, Instructables, and Adafruit) . I believe the thing that took me the longest was getting my keyword search, which is like any research  I found several pieces for code that I can use with a Neopixel with the help of Adafruit and Instructables. I have not purchased my kit yet, becuase I want to make sure I know exactly what I am doing for my project. My project i...

I am beginning to narrow down my ideas and concept for my final project. I’ve decided, I want my piece  to be about bringing awareness to the black community about mental health. Its not commoner mental health be address in the Black community. Ironically, we suffer the worst because we are forced to deal with systematic and social oppressions , and do not seek help leading to the self destruction due to their circumstances. The afrofuturism design that I choose was created by Sanford Biggers called Lotus . If you look closely the image is a 18th century slave cargo ship copied and multiplied to create a flower. From far away it looks like an image that symbolizes beauty, grace, love, and more but when you look up close you can see how slaves were systematically crammed into a boat to the fullest capacity. Kings, queens, and other important people resided on these cargo ships (see below) . Only the strongest survived which is the social reality for most black people in modern...

I began organizing my thoughts and ideas in my notebook. Research I would collect for my literature or to include in my project, was color coded for teal in my notebook. I color coded items of information were needed for computational or future programming reasons. In my quest I learned about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the principles of Lightbox therapy, how lights can be programmed in lux, a potential the type of lights and Ardunio board,  different ways to code data,  bee dance patterns, traditional dances, and brainstormed names . What did I learn.... Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Seasonal Affective disorder is a form of depression that tends to present itself during the fall into the winter (also but less often in the spring and summer). Those most at risk of this disorder are: having clinical depression of bipolar disorder, being female, age, family hisotry, and living far from the equator. Symptoms begin mild and worsen over time ....

Our last class I came to the conclusion that I want to make an interactive sculpture that focuses on emotions and light. The inception of this idea came from thinking about Seasonal Affective Disorder, where people's production of serotonin, and overall positive emotion, lacks during the winter due to decreased exposure to light. I want to create a device and a piece of work that can be " your friend", listen to you, and affirm you through the movement of light. This project idea is pretty practical and depending on the time and resources I can control how complicated I want the project to be.  As of right now, here is where my brainstorming had led me.  I need to... Research Seasonal Affective Disorder T ypes of Lights that already existing for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder LED lights or programmable lights Sensors Design Thinking ( https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources-collections/a-virtual-crash-course-in-design-thinking (Design Thinking Cra...