Activity report
Something I learn over and over again is that simplicity takes effort. And arriving at simple solutions can take you down very complicated paths.
This month I spent several weeks trying out different ways to attach the above fold to some mechanical contraption and I kept running into problems with multiple guides, followers and retainers. Here is an example of one of the monstrosities spawned by that struggle:
It has a sort of cool TRON vibe but it wasn't very functional. One day I realized I was trying to make it work with a crank, but really that wasn't the most important goal. What is the goal then? I asked myself.
I don't write down the guiding principles of most projects because they seem self evident most of the time, but this one is a little different. It has an unusual source of funding (you) and it exists in between other things. This is what I wrote down as my "guiding principles":
Playing is sufficient, make mechanisms just for the fun of it. This project is about experimentation.
It feels a little awkward to have to write this down but I did it as an antidote against the slump. You know those moments in any creative project when you are tired, and frustrated, and late at night you start asking all those questions: what's the point? Why am doing this? Who gave you permission anyway? Are you even any good at it? Aren't there more important things you should be working on?
I think writing the guiding principle gave me permission to forget about the crank and just make some funky scissors with this particular fold. They are simple, they are playful, and just a little weird. It doesn't feel like much but it was progress.
I think part of the frustration I felt this month with this project was due to having several other things on my plate. So here are some updates I would also like to share with you:
Mechanical Kaiju:
A mechanical piece for the Kaiju Show at Giant Robot Store. Kaiju is the Japanese word for the giant monsters genre of movies (and the monsters themselves), and I choose to make Mothra because she has a really fun background story. Here is a video that shows the movement and the mechanism behind.
Kinetic plants:
This next one is breaking news since I haven't posted it anywhere else. I also made this one for a themed show at Giant Robot, it is very wood-worky:
This thing is so recent I'm not really sure if I like it yet. I wanted to have a very simple mechanism and to highlight the plain colors of different kinds of wood. I used poplar, walnut and a couple of native Japanese woods from the katsura tree and kaya tree. What I had in mind was this simple rock garden with the three legged crow of Japanese folklore hanging out. The rocks and crow are not attached so the owner can arrange them however they like.
Musical collaboration:
This project is not ready to day view yet, but here is a sneak peek. I've been collaborating with my friend Alana on a kinetic/musical art piece. Needless to say collaborating semi-remotely during a pandemic hasn't been easy, but we've made some progress. The strange walnut plywood contraption below is to become robotic xylophone, yeah, no kidding. There is some ongoing documentation here that includes some details about electronics and 3D printed solenoid mounts.
Zines:
On the Zine front I've been pleasantly surprised by a few large orders from Zine-O-Matic which is a really cool zine subscription service. I honestly never thought I'd make any money from my love of zine making but now I'm more open to surprises. I've also been working slowly on my collaboration with Theo Ellsworth which brings me much delight, here are a couple of recent pages:
There are times when I feel overwhelmed by all these different projects, and there are times when -oddly enough- one project becomes a sort of respite. A rest from the deadlines and the need to get something done. Recently that project has been this zine. I have often found that drawing can become that restorative space.
This is why I have decided I'm going to let the folding mechanisms project go to ferment in the darkness for a little bit. And I'm going to let myself catch some breath with some more zine drawings. More details on that to come.
And as always, thank you for your support! Preserving these creative spaces wouldn't be possible without your help. :)
Federico.