NAILAH DAVIS
Creative Technologist, Artist, & Designer
Designing for Digital Fabrication
Week 1
Research Project:
Ever since discovering "total internal reflection" as a process with laser printers/cutters, I've been really interested in cutting/etching into different materials. Obviously, with using total internal reflection, this process can only work with transparent acrylic. I'd be interested in experimenting with materials such as steel, glass, acrylic, and wood in order to make functional sculptures.
I'm excited by the idea of optical illusions-- observing something from one perspective that also changes its shape or form from another perspective. The aspect of functionality makes me think about how I can get my artworks to serve a physical purpose, or in other words, to execute an operation. My art process is very intuitive and experimental, so this idea is not set in stone. However I'm sure that my research will lead me to a more concrete idea as far as what I'd like to create throughout the course.
Week 5
For this week's assignment, I tried to think about the scalability of my project. I know that I would like to have different fragments of an image to be on some sort of motor that allows for horizontal movement. These layers will slide back and forth, while being suspending from the ceiling. They will be programmed to all meet at a specific point in order to form the holistic image in its entirety. I'm not sure what kind of motors can allow for that, kind of, smooth, gliding back and forth across the room.
For my project, I'm interested in layering different variations of an image by isolating one layer from the others that follow. This piece will visualize layers of the planet earth, starting from a healthy, vibrant perspective of the earth, slowly progressing to the deteriorated form of planet earth. Once all images align, one will be able to see the blended layers that make up the entirety of the image.
Week 9
Around about week 5 I decided to change my project idea to a product, rather than a conceptual art piece. I am currently taking Deqing Sun's "Prototyping Electronic Devices" and decided to merge projects. We are working with PCBs and designing electronics, and I thought it would be a good, beginner approach to both digital and physical fabrication. I decided to design a small, bluetooth boombox. I recently added 5 small holes at the top of the box to include 5 LED's when the speaker is turned on, and moved the switch from the side of the boombox to the right side of its face.
Below is the design:
Screenshots from left to right:
1. Illustrator file for 3D printer
2. Orthogonal view of boombox rendering in Vectorworks
3. Back of front panel
4. Front view
