Difference between revisions of "PracticalMakingIsConnecting"

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= Making is Connecting =
 
= Making is Connecting =
  
−
==1. Introduction and Justification==
+
== Introduction and Justification==
  
 
Artists, Designers, Hackers, we must to return to the crafts! By reflecting upon the origins of the Arts & Crafts movement to today's DIY movement facilitated by networked culture, it is clear to that the philosophies of craft go further than a handcrafted 'thing'. Craft is personal. Craft is social. Craft is political. In this quarter you will explore the urgency of craft, the reaction against and embracement of machine production, the tension between conservatism and innovation, and the popularisation of DIY as a social, political and economic practise. Making is Connecting is the Q7 theme. Making is Connecting deals with: establishing historical and contemporary discourses of craft; studio visits of professional practitioners, hands-on exploration of traditional craft practices (through newer tools and technologies); the development of a personal statement through the production of a tangible artifact; And the formation of a community of artists and designers as digital craftsman.
 
Artists, Designers, Hackers, we must to return to the crafts! By reflecting upon the origins of the Arts & Crafts movement to today's DIY movement facilitated by networked culture, it is clear to that the philosophies of craft go further than a handcrafted 'thing'. Craft is personal. Craft is social. Craft is political. In this quarter you will explore the urgency of craft, the reaction against and embracement of machine production, the tension between conservatism and innovation, and the popularisation of DIY as a social, political and economic practise. Making is Connecting is the Q7 theme. Making is Connecting deals with: establishing historical and contemporary discourses of craft; studio visits of professional practitioners, hands-on exploration of traditional craft practices (through newer tools and technologies); the development of a personal statement through the production of a tangible artifact; And the formation of a community of artists and designers as digital craftsman.
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The purpose of this quarter is for you to orientate yourself within the thematic of the Digital Craft programme as a whole. You will develop valuable skills and conceptual tools for you to make as well as frame your work. Making is Connecting deepens the general introductions given in the electives. The quarter provides time to master chosen fabrication technology and bridges an essential link towards Q8 – The Expanded Toolbox – where more dynamic and complex tools and media will be introduced.  
 
The purpose of this quarter is for you to orientate yourself within the thematic of the Digital Craft programme as a whole. You will develop valuable skills and conceptual tools for you to make as well as frame your work. Making is Connecting deepens the general introductions given in the electives. The quarter provides time to master chosen fabrication technology and bridges an essential link towards Q8 – The Expanded Toolbox – where more dynamic and complex tools and media will be introduced.  
  
−
==2. Content Summery and Methods==
+
==Content Summery and Methods==
  
 
Making is Connecting is comprised of two main components: Research and Studio Practice. Each component provides a different entry to the understanding and potential of craft practises in times of electronic, digital and networked media. Each week you are required to read, reflect, make and discuss (each week a theoretical text is assigned and discussed, and each week you are expected to experiment in the workshop!). Aside from in-class hours, you are also required to plan and carry though your own independent study by sourcing your own relevant reading material, further your making skills connect to communities, workshops, exhibitions or excursions.   
 
Making is Connecting is comprised of two main components: Research and Studio Practice. Each component provides a different entry to the understanding and potential of craft practises in times of electronic, digital and networked media. Each week you are required to read, reflect, make and discuss (each week a theoretical text is assigned and discussed, and each week you are expected to experiment in the workshop!). Aside from in-class hours, you are also required to plan and carry though your own independent study by sourcing your own relevant reading material, further your making skills connect to communities, workshops, exhibitions or excursions.   
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The following is a summery of each component of the course:
 
The following is a summery of each component of the course:
  
−
==Research==
+
===Research===
  
 
In Making is Connecting Research you will focus on making connections between historical and contemporary discourses and your own position towards craft. You will look back to the medieval craft guilds and the call of their revival through the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris, as well as explore contemporary and cross-cultural manifestations and debates within craft. You will examine the explicit, nuanced, and sometimes contradicting stances on technology and machine production throughout from Arts and Crafts to the Bauhaus movements. You look at the more recent democratisation of knowledge and tools through online and offline communities – such as FabLabs and Makerspaces. You will explore and position contemporary concepts craft in DIY, hacking, and haute couture. The first four weeks you will explore and discuss these various perspectives through key texts. In the last four weeks you will reflect upon your own motives for making in the in the final assignment "Why I Make" through a written reflection, statement, or manifesto that is also richly embedded in a personal crafted artefact.  
 
In Making is Connecting Research you will focus on making connections between historical and contemporary discourses and your own position towards craft. You will look back to the medieval craft guilds and the call of their revival through the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris, as well as explore contemporary and cross-cultural manifestations and debates within craft. You will examine the explicit, nuanced, and sometimes contradicting stances on technology and machine production throughout from Arts and Crafts to the Bauhaus movements. You look at the more recent democratisation of knowledge and tools through online and offline communities – such as FabLabs and Makerspaces. You will explore and position contemporary concepts craft in DIY, hacking, and haute couture. The first four weeks you will explore and discuss these various perspectives through key texts. In the last four weeks you will reflect upon your own motives for making in the in the final assignment "Why I Make" through a written reflection, statement, or manifesto that is also richly embedded in a personal crafted artefact.  
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The goal of the research component of digital craft is to ground your production as part of a wider debate, to support your formation of sound concepts, and to facilitate the translation of your concepts as tools to apply back into practice.
 
The goal of the research component of digital craft is to ground your production as part of a wider debate, to support your formation of sound concepts, and to facilitate the translation of your concepts as tools to apply back into practice.
  
−
==Studio Practice==
+
===Studio Practice===
  
 
In Making is Connecting Studio Practice you will explore existing craft practices while applying new techniques, experimental approaches, and pushing the limits of your tools and media. You will be given carving, printing and drawing, fusing and bonding, or stitching as a technique and departure point.
 
In Making is Connecting Studio Practice you will explore existing craft practices while applying new techniques, experimental approaches, and pushing the limits of your tools and media. You will be given carving, printing and drawing, fusing and bonding, or stitching as a technique and departure point.
  
−
In carving, you will make woodcuts, engravings, sculptures and moulds by exploring subtractive fabrication technologies and mastering the CNC milling machine. In printing and drawing you will survey traditional printing methods, invent your own printing and drawing tools, explore with reactive media (conductive/sensitive inks) and animation techniques. In bonding you will deepen your knowledge different additive fabrication and 3d printing technologies, their different materials and bonding processes, and search for the craft in an industry that markets itself as fast and cheap. In stitching you will produce samples of machine embroidery and knitting, research small-scale textile production and tinker with electronic textile techniques. Your first five weeks will comprise of deepening your knowledge and exploring possibilities within your given craft practise and producing a total of 5 samples to be published on the wiki and presented as part of your assessment.  
+
In carving, you will make woodcuts, engravings, sculptures and moulds by exploring subtractive fabrication technologies and mastering the CNC milling machine. In printing and drawing you will survey traditional printing methods, invent your own printing and drawing tools, explore with reactive media (conductive/sensitive inks) and animation techniques. In bonding you will deepen your knowledge different additive fabrication and 3d printing technologies, their different materials and bonding processes, and search for the craft in an industry that markets itself as fast and cheap. In stitching you will produce samples of machine embroidery and knitting, research small-scale textile production and tinker with electronic textile techniques. Your first five weeks will comprise of deepening your knowledge and exploring possibilities within your given craft practise and producing a total of 5 samples to be published on the wiki and presented as part of your assessment. The five examples must connect with the following list. 1-4 will be carried out independently, while number 5 (shared example) will be carries out as a group facilitated by a workshop mentor.
  
−
The five examples must connect with the following list. 1-4 will be carried out independently, while number 5 (shared example) will be carries out as a group facilitated by a workshop mentor.
+
=Deliverables=
  
−
1. A historical example -experiment with an traditional/older technique/tool/process, as well as research its origins and impact it has had. 
+
==Research==
  
−
2. A comparative example-within one experimental example, compare a range of techniques/tools/ or materials.
+
*Full documentation of process, including theory (notes on given texts) as well as practice-based research (experimentation/project process and research on technologies) on personal wiki page
 +
*A 1000 word text titled "why I make" (up loaded on wiki page
  
−
3. An example of a new skill-try out something you have never done before and identify your position on a learning curve.
 
  
−
4. An example of a material pushed to the limit-choose a tool and material and search for its potential — try to find the boundaries of the possible.
+
==Studio Practice==
  
−
5. A shared example -follow a shared workshop resulting in an communally-shared, co designed artefact.  
+
5 critical and well crafted examples within a given "making technique"
 +
*A historical example -experiment with an traditional/older technique/tool/process, as well as research its origins and impact it has had.
 +
*A comparative example-within one experimental example, compare a range of techniques/tools/ or materials.
 +
*An example of a new skill-try out something you have never done before and identify your position on a learning curve.
 +
*An example of a material pushed to the limit-choose a tool and material and search for its potential — try to find the boundaries of the possible.
 +
*A shared example -follow a shared workshop resulting in an communally-shared, co designed artefact.  
  
−
The last four weeks challenges you to integrate your acquired theory on craft and your hands-on experimentation in the final assignment Why I Make. Here you will produce a tangible and communicative artefact that is representative of your own statement or manifesto on making.
+
A final tangible and communicative artefact that is representative of your own statement on making.
  
−
= Unravel the Code Q9 =
+
==Presentation==
  
−
Quarter 9 consists of 3 projects:
+
*A (group)exhibition displaying produced works
 +
*A one-sentence poster on the crux of your statement
 +
*An oral presentation of your work and process
  
−
Project 1 : Unravel the Meme (2 wks)
+
= Learning goals =
  
−
Project 2 : Objects for the Lonely (3 wks)
+
#The student has established a contextual connection between historical and contemporary craft, and their own position as a creative practitioner. (Competency 1, 2 and 3)
 +
# The student can properly document your work – not only for communication purposes, but also for knowledge sharing and reproduction (research/experiment documentation, technical manuals and blueprints. (Competency 4 and 5)
 +
#The student is well ‘practiced’ user/innovator in a digital fabrication/material technology – understanding the origins of the tool, the hardware/software, best practices and its potential/limitations. (Competency 5 and 6)
 +
#The student can leverage knowledge/skills as a team, while maintaining an independent and personal process/trajectory. (Competency 7)
  
−
Project 3 : Crafting Memory (4 wks)
+
= Assessment criteria =
 +
#The student has shown profound knowledge of their given craft/making process (both a historical and contemporary context).
 +
#The student has demonstrated a rigorous approach to experimentation, which has been reflected upon and framed in a coherent manner.
 +
#The student has defined a clear and critical statement, which explicitly connects taught theory with his or her design/artistic/craft practice.
 +
#The student has conceptualised and executed a high quality personal work that appropriately embodies his or her statement.
 +
#The student has consistent attendance and has actively participated and discussions, feedback and workshop sessions.
 +
#The student has effectively documented and communicated their process/results through use of the course wiki.
  
−
== Learning goals ==
+
= Daily Planning =
−
The objective is that through research, experiment, critical reflection, creation, design and manufacturing, connected to the three projects in Quarter 9, you will gain new knowledge, insights and a critical stance towards digital culture. Following from this you will learn to translate your point of view, your discoveries, into a concrete project.
 
  
−
== Assessment criteria ==
 
−
- Depth of research and reflection upon the given theme
 
−
(demonstrated through wiki and active participation in class meetings and group critiques)
 
−
- Quality of concept
 
−
(demonstrated through wiki and final prototype/design object/other)
 
−
- Exhibiting thorough use of technical workshops, including experiments and tests
 
−
(demonstrated through process documentation in wiki)
 
−
- Convincing and precise translation of concepts into required deliverables
 
−
(demonstrated through prototype/design object/other)
 
−
- Paying careful attention to the aesthetics and technical execution of the required deliverables
 
−
(demonstrated through prototype/design object/other)
 
−
- Communicating the concept and process of your design clearly and effectively.
 
−
(through public presentation and documentation of your project
 
−
- Consistent attendance
 
  
−
== Unravel the Meme – the undervalued power of internet farts ==
 
  
−
keywords: imitation, transformation, replication, participation, sharing, user-generated,
+
'''TUESDAY '''
−
dissemination, appropriation, remix, pop culture, subculture ...
+
* STUDIO PRACTICE
 +
from dawn till dusk
  
−
=== Context ===
+
'''THURSDAY'''
 +
* RESEARCH
 +
Stitchers and the Printers - 10:00-13:00
 +
Carvers and the Bonders - 13:00-16:00
  
−
A meme is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture”.
+
= Mentoring/Meetings =
−
The term was introduced by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. He defined memes as small cultural units of transmission (similar to genes), which are spread from person to person by copying or imitation. His examples include melodies, catchphrases, fashion, but also abstract beliefs. Many memes are competing for attention, however only some spread succesfully while others die out.
 
−
Online the internet meme has become a widespread phenomenon. It can take the form of an image, video, picture, website or hashtag. It may be just a word or phrase, including intentional misspelling. These spread from person to person via social networks, blogs, email, or news sources. They can evolve and spread extremely rapidly, sometimes reaching world-wide popularity within a few days. More often than not, we associate memes with mindless fun and entertainment. More often than not, we associate memes with mindless fun and entertainment. However when you take a deeper look at them they can potentially be a powerful digital artefact influencing public opinion, consumer behaviour and culture world-wide.
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
For this first project you will take look at particular given memes and analyse them.
 
−
Formulate your own questions in order to dissect, interpret, assess, the meme. For example:
 
−
What characterizes your meme? How is it used? How widespread is it? Where did it originate from? What are keywords that you would attach to it? What is it’s effect? What are it’s components? What does it link to? What is your opinion of this meme? How is it transformed? How would you categorize it’s iterations? What story might you want to tell about this meme? And how would you visualize this story?
 
−
Ultimately your findings will be displayed as a mini-exhibition during the Wereld van Witte de With.
 
−
 
 
−
=== Deliverables ===
 
−
 
 
−
# a comparative visual research on your given meme, its wider theme and significance (per duo)
 
−
# a new visual work (graphic, film, object...) which encapsulates your given meme within a chosen theme (per duo)
 
−
# a visual display including key findings and new work under chosen theme (per group)
 
−
# a visually coherent mini-exhibition presentation for the Wereld van Wittle de Width festival (per class)
 
−
# documentation of project process and research on personal wiki page (per student)
 
−
# documentation of projects and event as wiki post titles "Unravel the Meme" under "Projects and Courses"(volunteer)
 
−
 
 
−
=== Planning ===
 
  
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
|-
 
|-
 
! Date
 
! Date
−
! Time & Location
+
! Location
 
! Content
 
! Content
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Sept 1st
+
| February 11th
−
| 13-16h @ Interaction Station
+
| Interaction Station
−
| intro - meme research
+
| intro - defining craft
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Sept 3rd
+
| February 18th
−
| -
+
| Interaction Station
−
| group brainstorm / mini-exhibition proposal
+
| thinking through craft / invention of craft
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Sept 8th
+
| March 3rd
−
| 13:00-15:15@ Interaction Station/15:30-16:00@Location
+
| Interaction Station
−
| discussion, mentoring, exhibition planning
+
| history of (this kind of) making / historical example due
 +
In class reading: Bauhaus Manifesto
 +
#What is the central point to Bauhaus Manifesto of 1919
 +
#Examine the significance of the illustration produced for this proclamation.
 +
#Draw parallels between Gropius’s text and the ideals of Ruskin, Morris, Marx….
 +
#What is the concept of the term gesamtkunstwerk?
 +
#Was the Bauhaus aim to reunify art through craft or to bring art into industry?
 +
#How did the Bauhaus endorse and extend craft?
 +
#How did the Bauhaus become antithetical to craft?
 +
#What was the Bauhaus influence to art and design education today?
 +
#Discuss the significance of Marcel Breuer.
 +
#Discuss the significance of Gunta Stölzl & Anni Albers.
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Sept 10th
+
| March 10th
−
| 10-17h "on location"
+
| Interaction Station
−
| exhibition set-up
+
|'Comparative' example due
 +
 
 +
Weekly reading: Acceptera
 +
 
 +
Round table discussion Craft and Industry
 +
|-
 +
| March 17th
 +
| Interaction Station
 +
|'new skill' example due
 +
 
 +
Round table: Problematising Maker Culture
 +
 
 +
Written assignment: 5 sentence statement - Why I Make
 +
|-
 +
| March 24th
 +
|Interaction Station
 +
|recap on key text - mining for quotes
 +
Statement & Artefact brainstorm
 +
|-
 +
|March 31st
 +
|Interaction Station
 +
|'pushing the medium/tool to the limit' example due
 +
Defining you statement / Designing your artefact
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Sept 10th
+
|April 7th (10-16)
−
| 18:00-21:00 "on location"
+
|Interaction Station
−
| lecture by Roel Abbing - presentations - BYO BORRRRRRRRREL
+
|one-on-one mentoring
 
|-
 
|-
−
| Sept 11-13
+
|April 14th
−
|  
+
|No Class
−
| Wereld van Witte de With Festival
+
|
 +
|-
 +
|April 21h
 +
|Blaak Basement (10-16)
 +
|Why I Make Mini Exhibition
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
==List for consult Jon about the why I make text.==
 +
 +
10:10 Manouk Moreau
 +
 +
10:30 Marieke den Ouden
 +
 +
12:00 Jochem Walboomers
 +
 +
12:20 Diederick Boeschoten
 +
 +
12.45 Floor Smit
 +
 +
13:00 Magdalena Kvasnickova
 +
 +
13:30 Kirsten Fiol
 +
 +
14:30 Halef Oliveira
 +
 +
14:45 Hugo van der Loo
 +
 +
16:00
 +
 +
= Workshops=
 +
 +
==The Knitters==
 +
[[File:Data Knits.head .142792162979.jpeg]]
 +
 +
Data Textiles workshop by Claire Williams
 +
 +
Date and Time:
 +
 +
Wednesday March 30th (Time to be Confirmed)
 +
Thursday April 7th (Time to be Confirmed)
 +
 +
Location:
 +
 +
Atelier Bek
 +
Rue du ruisseau 15
 +
1080 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
 +
Belgium
 +
 +
http://www.atelier-bek.be/
 +
 +
In this workshop we will look at a series of contemporary and ancient crafts, textiles and art works who use different sorts of data, translating them into a physical artefact. A "hands on" introduction to different tools will be given from digital to analogue including knitting with a hacked knitting machine, embroidery, weaving, crochet etc.. along with some image software, generators, and programming tools. In this way we will imagine our own set of rules in order to generate, construct and prototype a soft surface that encodes a given data.
 +
 +
Work- xxx-clairewilliams-xxx.com
 +
Blog- xxxclairewilliamsxxx.wordpress.com
 +
 +
== The Printers ==
 +
[[File:Longhandprinting indianen.jpg]]
 +
Longhand Printing with Tim Knappen
 +
 +
Date and Time:
 +
 +
Tuesday April 5th (Time to be Confirmed)
 +
Wednesday April 6th (13:00-18:00)
 +
 +
Location:
 +
 +
Indianen
 +
Haantjeslei 66
 +
2018 Antwerp
 +
Belgium
 +
 +
Work-http://indianen.be
 +
Reference: http://indianen.be/work/longhand-publishers
 +
 +
== The Carvers ==
 +
 +
?
 +
 +
==The Bonders ==
 +
 +
[[File:Keyshapes01.jpg]]
 +
 +
Database Objects with With Jesse Howard
 +
 +
Date and Time:
 +
 +
(Date & Time to be Confirmed)
 +
 +
Location:
 +
 +
Most likely in Heerlen
 +
 +
Work-http: www.jessehoward.net/work/DatabaseObjects
 +
Reference: http://indianen.be/work/longhand-publishers
 +
 +
=Reading Material=
 +
 +
Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0' (David Gauntlett)
 +
-Meaning of Making I: Philosophies of Craft
 +
-The Meaning of Making II: Craft today
 +
 +
The Craftsman (Richard Sennett)
 +
 +
The Invention of Craft (Glenn Adamson)
 +
 +
Thinking Through Craft (Glenn Adamson)
 +
 +
The Craft Reader (Glenn Adamson)
 +
-Artisans and Machinery (Peter Gaskell)
 +
-The Revival of Handicraft (William Morris)
 +
- Manifesto of the Bauhaus (Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy)
 +
- Abstracting Craft. The practiced Digital Hand (Malcolm McCullough)
 +
 +
...
 +
 +
= *What is the function of your wiki? =
 +
 +
The wiki is an ongoing document, throughout the whole Quarter, that will be presented and/or discussed at different stages of the process. It will be the result of research, concept development, tests, experimentation, workshops...
 +
 +
The content should be visual (collected images, mapping ideas etc, animations, interactive experiments, your own sketches), textual (collecting articles, quotes, creating keywords, adding links and references) and material (documentation of the tests and experiments from your own project, your first models, prototypes etc.).
 +
 +
In all cases, make sure you add your own descriptions and explanations, giving insight into your thoughts regarding both ideas, knowledge, skills and execution.
 +
 +
The goal of the wiki is manifold:
 +
# a place to keep track of your process
 +
# to offer a thinking framework within which to develop your projects both individually and collectively
 +
# to be a resource that aids you in your concept development, design, planning and realization.
 +
# to offer a context that enables you to collect and organize the research and design process both individually and collectively.
 +
# it's a tool that helps to communicate about your project to others, at different moments throughout the process, about concept; decisions; planning (plan van aanpak) and final outcome.
 +
# to be a source of your own material and content from which you can select and and which you can reorganize for specific presentations.

Latest revision as of 08:18, 14 April 2016

Making is Connecting

Introduction and Justification

Artists, Designers, Hackers, we must to return to the crafts! By reflecting upon the origins of the Arts & Crafts movement to today's DIY movement facilitated by networked culture, it is clear to that the philosophies of craft go further than a handcrafted 'thing'. Craft is personal. Craft is social. Craft is political. In this quarter you will explore the urgency of craft, the reaction against and embracement of machine production, the tension between conservatism and innovation, and the popularisation of DIY as a social, political and economic practise. Making is Connecting is the Q7 theme. Making is Connecting deals with: establishing historical and contemporary discourses of craft; studio visits of professional practitioners, hands-on exploration of traditional craft practices (through newer tools and technologies); the development of a personal statement through the production of a tangible artifact; And the formation of a community of artists and designers as digital craftsman.

The purpose of this quarter is for you to orientate yourself within the thematic of the Digital Craft programme as a whole. You will develop valuable skills and conceptual tools for you to make as well as frame your work. Making is Connecting deepens the general introductions given in the electives. The quarter provides time to master chosen fabrication technology and bridges an essential link towards Q8 – The Expanded Toolbox – where more dynamic and complex tools and media will be introduced.

Content Summery and Methods

Making is Connecting is comprised of two main components: Research and Studio Practice. Each component provides a different entry to the understanding and potential of craft practises in times of electronic, digital and networked media. Each week you are required to read, reflect, make and discuss (each week a theoretical text is assigned and discussed, and each week you are expected to experiment in the workshop!). Aside from in-class hours, you are also required to plan and carry though your own independent study by sourcing your own relevant reading material, further your making skills connect to communities, workshops, exhibitions or excursions.

The following is a summery of each component of the course:

Research

In Making is Connecting Research you will focus on making connections between historical and contemporary discourses and your own position towards craft. You will look back to the medieval craft guilds and the call of their revival through the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris, as well as explore contemporary and cross-cultural manifestations and debates within craft. You will examine the explicit, nuanced, and sometimes contradicting stances on technology and machine production throughout from Arts and Crafts to the Bauhaus movements. You look at the more recent democratisation of knowledge and tools through online and offline communities – such as FabLabs and Makerspaces. You will explore and position contemporary concepts craft in DIY, hacking, and haute couture. The first four weeks you will explore and discuss these various perspectives through key texts. In the last four weeks you will reflect upon your own motives for making in the in the final assignment "Why I Make" through a written reflection, statement, or manifesto that is also richly embedded in a personal crafted artefact.

The goal of the research component of digital craft is to ground your production as part of a wider debate, to support your formation of sound concepts, and to facilitate the translation of your concepts as tools to apply back into practice.

Studio Practice

In Making is Connecting Studio Practice you will explore existing craft practices while applying new techniques, experimental approaches, and pushing the limits of your tools and media. You will be given carving, printing and drawing, fusing and bonding, or stitching as a technique and departure point.

In carving, you will make woodcuts, engravings, sculptures and moulds by exploring subtractive fabrication technologies and mastering the CNC milling machine. In printing and drawing you will survey traditional printing methods, invent your own printing and drawing tools, explore with reactive media (conductive/sensitive inks) and animation techniques. In bonding you will deepen your knowledge different additive fabrication and 3d printing technologies, their different materials and bonding processes, and search for the craft in an industry that markets itself as fast and cheap. In stitching you will produce samples of machine embroidery and knitting, research small-scale textile production and tinker with electronic textile techniques. Your first five weeks will comprise of deepening your knowledge and exploring possibilities within your given craft practise and producing a total of 5 samples to be published on the wiki and presented as part of your assessment. The five examples must connect with the following list. 1-4 will be carried out independently, while number 5 (shared example) will be carries out as a group facilitated by a workshop mentor.

Deliverables

Research

  • Full documentation of process, including theory (notes on given texts) as well as practice-based research (experimentation/project process and research on technologies) on personal wiki page
  • A 1000 word text titled "why I make" (up loaded on wiki page


Studio Practice

5 critical and well crafted examples within a given "making technique"

  • A historical example -experiment with an traditional/older technique/tool/process, as well as research its origins and impact it has had.
  • A comparative example-within one experimental example, compare a range of techniques/tools/ or materials.
  • An example of a new skill-try out something you have never done before and identify your position on a learning curve.
  • An example of a material pushed to the limit-choose a tool and material and search for its potential — try to find the boundaries of the possible.
  • A shared example -follow a shared workshop resulting in an communally-shared, co designed artefact.

A final tangible and communicative artefact that is representative of your own statement on making.

Presentation

  • A (group)exhibition displaying produced works
  • A one-sentence poster on the crux of your statement
  • An oral presentation of your work and process

Learning goals

  1. The student has established a contextual connection between historical and contemporary craft, and their own position as a creative practitioner. (Competency 1, 2 and 3)
  2. The student can properly document your work – not only for communication purposes, but also for knowledge sharing and reproduction (research/experiment documentation, technical manuals and blueprints. (Competency 4 and 5)
  3. The student is well ‘practiced’ user/innovator in a digital fabrication/material technology – understanding the origins of the tool, the hardware/software, best practices and its potential/limitations. (Competency 5 and 6)
  4. The student can leverage knowledge/skills as a team, while maintaining an independent and personal process/trajectory. (Competency 7)

Assessment criteria

  1. The student has shown profound knowledge of their given craft/making process (both a historical and contemporary context).
  2. The student has demonstrated a rigorous approach to experimentation, which has been reflected upon and framed in a coherent manner.
  3. The student has defined a clear and critical statement, which explicitly connects taught theory with his or her design/artistic/craft practice.
  4. The student has conceptualised and executed a high quality personal work that appropriately embodies his or her statement.
  5. The student has consistent attendance and has actively participated and discussions, feedback and workshop sessions.
  6. The student has effectively documented and communicated their process/results through use of the course wiki.

Daily Planning

TUESDAY

  • STUDIO PRACTICE

from dawn till dusk

THURSDAY

  • RESEARCH

Stitchers and the Printers - 10:00-13:00 Carvers and the Bonders - 13:00-16:00

Mentoring/Meetings

Date Location Content
February 11th Interaction Station intro - defining craft
February 18th Interaction Station thinking through craft / invention of craft
March 3rd Interaction Station history of (this kind of) making / historical example due

In class reading: Bauhaus Manifesto

  1. What is the central point to Bauhaus Manifesto of 1919
  2. Examine the significance of the illustration produced for this proclamation.
  3. Draw parallels between Gropius’s text and the ideals of Ruskin, Morris, Marx….
  4. What is the concept of the term gesamtkunstwerk?
  5. Was the Bauhaus aim to reunify art through craft or to bring art into industry?
  6. How did the Bauhaus endorse and extend craft?
  7. How did the Bauhaus become antithetical to craft?
  8. What was the Bauhaus influence to art and design education today?
  9. Discuss the significance of Marcel Breuer.
  10. Discuss the significance of Gunta Stölzl & Anni Albers.
March 10th Interaction Station 'Comparative' example due

Weekly reading: Acceptera

Round table discussion Craft and Industry

March 17th Interaction Station 'new skill' example due

Round table: Problematising Maker Culture

Written assignment: 5 sentence statement - Why I Make

March 24th Interaction Station recap on key text - mining for quotes

Statement & Artefact brainstorm

March 31st Interaction Station 'pushing the medium/tool to the limit' example due

Defining you statement / Designing your artefact

April 7th (10-16) Interaction Station one-on-one mentoring
April 14th No Class
April 21h Blaak Basement (10-16) Why I Make Mini Exhibition

List for consult Jon about the why I make text.

10:10 Manouk Moreau

10:30 Marieke den Ouden

12:00 Jochem Walboomers

12:20 Diederick Boeschoten

12.45 Floor Smit

13:00 Magdalena Kvasnickova

13:30 Kirsten Fiol

14:30 Halef Oliveira

14:45 Hugo van der Loo

16:00

Workshops

The Knitters

Data Knits.head .142792162979.jpeg

Data Textiles workshop by Claire Williams

Date and Time:

Wednesday March 30th (Time to be Confirmed) Thursday April 7th (Time to be Confirmed)

Location:

Atelier Bek Rue du ruisseau 15 1080 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean Belgium

http://www.atelier-bek.be/

In this workshop we will look at a series of contemporary and ancient crafts, textiles and art works who use different sorts of data, translating them into a physical artefact. A "hands on" introduction to different tools will be given from digital to analogue including knitting with a hacked knitting machine, embroidery, weaving, crochet etc.. along with some image software, generators, and programming tools. In this way we will imagine our own set of rules in order to generate, construct and prototype a soft surface that encodes a given data.

Work- xxx-clairewilliams-xxx.com Blog- xxxclairewilliamsxxx.wordpress.com

The Printers

Longhandprinting indianen.jpg Longhand Printing with Tim Knappen

Date and Time:

Tuesday April 5th (Time to be Confirmed) Wednesday April 6th (13:00-18:00)

Location:

Indianen Haantjeslei 66 2018 Antwerp Belgium

Work-http://indianen.be Reference: http://indianen.be/work/longhand-publishers

The Carvers

?

The Bonders

Keyshapes01.jpg

Database Objects with With Jesse Howard

Date and Time:

(Date & Time to be Confirmed)

Location:

Most likely in Heerlen

Work-http: www.jessehoward.net/work/DatabaseObjects Reference: http://indianen.be/work/longhand-publishers

Reading Material

Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0' (David Gauntlett) -Meaning of Making I: Philosophies of Craft -The Meaning of Making II: Craft today

The Craftsman (Richard Sennett)

The Invention of Craft (Glenn Adamson)

Thinking Through Craft (Glenn Adamson)

The Craft Reader (Glenn Adamson) -Artisans and Machinery (Peter Gaskell) -The Revival of Handicraft (William Morris) - Manifesto of the Bauhaus (Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy) - Abstracting Craft. The practiced Digital Hand (Malcolm McCullough)

...

*What is the function of your wiki?

The wiki is an ongoing document, throughout the whole Quarter, that will be presented and/or discussed at different stages of the process. It will be the result of research, concept development, tests, experimentation, workshops...

The content should be visual (collected images, mapping ideas etc, animations, interactive experiments, your own sketches), textual (collecting articles, quotes, creating keywords, adding links and references) and material (documentation of the tests and experiments from your own project, your first models, prototypes etc.).

In all cases, make sure you add your own descriptions and explanations, giving insight into your thoughts regarding both ideas, knowledge, skills and execution.

The goal of the wiki is manifold:

  1. a place to keep track of your process
  2. to offer a thinking framework within which to develop your projects both individually and collectively
  3. to be a resource that aids you in your concept development, design, planning and realization.
  4. to offer a context that enables you to collect and organize the research and design process both individually and collectively.
  5. it's a tool that helps to communicate about your project to others, at different moments throughout the process, about concept; decisions; planning (plan van aanpak) and final outcome.
  6. to be a source of your own material and content from which you can select and and which you can reorganize for specific presentations.
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