When I moved back to Denver in the fall of 2018, I was worried I wouldn't have access to a lasercutter. I previously had total access because of my job as a laser monitor in the design makerspace on campus. It wouldn't be feasible to invest in my own lasercutter, but I wanted to continue making my products and designs. At first, finding a lasercutter wasn't looking likely; all the makerspaces were far away, cost a lot for membership, or charged for laser usage by minute. Then someone randomly told me about the library.
After some research, I learned that Denver Public Library has four branches with makerspaces; the only one of those four with a lasercutter turned out to be my neighborhood library. I started spending a lot of time at the Hampden ideaLAB, and became acquainted with the Maker In Residency program.
The eight week program meant the Maker in Residence would be available to teach and help walk-ins with the Maker's specialty, for 2 hours a week. The Maker would also work on a special project over the eight weeks. When I first found the library makerspace, the Maker at the time was a quilt maker, and her project was a bookshelf quilt. She helped kids make their own "book" patches, which were all sewn together so it looked like a bookshelf.
When applications opened that January, I applied. I was accepted in mid-February, and my eight weeks were scheduled to start mid-October.
The residency was to last 8 weeks, and the last week would feature a workshop. I was to be in the ideaLAB at least two hours a week, and during that time would work on my residency project.
My residency project was going to be a dodecahedron light diffuser. Each of the twelve sides would feature a different lasercut pattern, and with a light in the center of the shape, the patterns would project intricate shadows.
Althought not required, I decided to also create a handout for anyone who walked in. I had spent lots of time in this specific space, and knew that there was a lot of through traffic of kids and families who lived nearby. I wouldn't have the time to personally introduce and help every single person who walked in, so I wanted the handout to explain my background, my project, and how it all worked. I also wanted to provide a jumping-off point for anyone who wandered in. That's the beauty of makerspaces: with a little guidance, anyone can make almost anything.
When planning the handout, I started with a range of engagement. The library was located near a neighborhood, an apartment complex, and an elementary school, so there were tons of kids and families in the makerspace at all times. I had to be prepared for young kids, middle-age kids and teenagers, and for older adults.
Beyond age, however, I figured that the amount of time someone had available was going to be the limiting factor in their engagement. I started to plan each level by the range of engagement, and how much time it took to make something. Cutting something small out of cardboard would only take a few minutes, while cutting something bigger or cutting something out of wood would take longer.
I also allowed for high engagement for creatives and people with lots of time. Large etches or detailed cuts can take an hour or longer, and complicated projects usually require multiple lasercutting sessions.
You can see below how my sketches for the handout evolved. The final pages are at the end.
After some research, I saw that I would be able to use one continuous piece of bristol board (very stiff paper) to cut out the whole shape. I found and downloaded a dodecahedron template with tabs, and worked some vector magic to separate the outside lines from the inside lines.
In my previous experiences, I was able to set the lasercutter to two different settings, for cut and for etch. Cut settings are lower speed and higher power (depending on the material), and etch settings are high speed and low power. I thought I could "etch" the scorelines for the tabs, but the lasercutter couldn't set the power that low and just burned them all through. So I changed the scorelines to dashed lines, to preserve the overall integrity.
The dashed lines worked, so I started to make the frames of each individual pentagon. The frames that allowed each pentagon to attach to its neighbors needed to have somewhere to attach. I created a system for making sure the width of the tabs were equal to the width of the pentagon frames. Everything was at weird angles, so I used colored blocks to measure distance.
At this point, the lasercutter was getting really busy. People were flocking to the makerspace to make their holiday projects, and as a non-priority, I found myself without much lasercutting time. Luckily, the focus shifted to making the patterns, a time intensive process.
To begin the patterns, I started a mood board where I collected inspiration and ideas. I wanted a variety in my patterns: tight and close, loose and open, organic, geometric, simple, complex. I recreated a lot of patterns in Illustrator, and used some of my previous vector designs.
I assembled all my different patterns in the frame for a test cut. At this point, I only had 8 of the 12 patterns made, but needed a few open frames so I could try and glue everything together. Below is the first version of the (almost) completed dodecahedron.
I realized as soon as I cut everything out that I needed to edit some patterns. Five were made correctly, but on three patterns (shown below), I inverted the foreground and background, resulting in empty frames and cut-out insides.
I redid the reversed patterns, and edited the scale on other patterns.
One of the new patterns I made was based on something I saw on Reddit. Someone posted a photo of a screen in a bus window that, when overlapped, created a beautiful pattern.
The final version of the dodecahedron is below. Before cutting it out, I did delete the pattern in the middle on the right (with the books). I had my doubts about the scale while making it, and saw that the thinnest sections in the pattern wouldn't survive at their current scale. I got rid of it because I had limited laser time, and didn't want to waste time on a non-essential problem.
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During the last week of my residency, I hosted a final workshop that was open to the public. Because the end of my residency coincided with the holiday season, I made it a Holiday Decoration workshop. I collected festive vectors, like snowmen, Christmas trees, menorahs, and snowflakes, and assembled lots of materials, like green and red paper, small wooden plaques, and spare 1/8'' birch plywood.
The day of my workshop, I loaded my prepared vector files onto all the library's laptops we'd be using. My workshop had 8 attendees—all women over 60. I began by teaching the basics of the computer program Inkscape, a free, online alternative to Adobe Illustrator. All the women were new to the program, but after showing them a few tricks, they picked it up right away. I gave them time to make their designs, and was available for questions. As they finished their designs, I ran the lasercutter and prepped the files to cut.
Some had questions if this technique was allowed, or could they do this one thing? I loved informing them that answering questions like that was the maker process; these women didn't have lots of opportunity for wild creative experimentation, and it was so rewarding to see them get really into it. I worked with one woman to test cutting a design out of multiple layers of paper at once. It didn't work the first time, but after she adjusted the settings, it was successful—and she was ecstatic. She was so proud of her decoration, and that she had made it herself.
I think the workshop was really successful. Every person who attended left with something they were really happy with, and that's what counts. Some were even saying they wanted to do more lasercutting, that they didn't know it was so easy. My favorite thing about this workshop was showing people such a cool and easy way to make things. It's all within reach, no matter who you are or what you can do.
I spent a lot of time in the makerspace, and somehow it wasn't enough. Every week, on my two days off work, I would be in the ideaLAB the whole time it was open—about 8 hours a week. However, my residency coincided with the holiday season, which is the makerspace's busiest time. Starting in early November, people would line up outside the ideaLAB to secure a laser time; if there were more than 4 people ahead of you, your chances were slim. Other people's work was first priority, compared to my residency, so I only got one or two chances to lasercut my prototype in the last half of my residency. The wonderful staff in the ideaLAb actually gave up their lunch break one day so I could get a crack at the laser.
Because all that wasn't enough, I lost more time: the library's computer system got corrupted, and was down for 2 weeks while they fixed it. No computers means no lasercutter, so they canceled my residency hours for those weeks.
If I had the full eight weeks, at eight hours a week, I think I would have a produced a much more finalized prototype. My original goal was to put a small multicolor LED in the middle, and maybe a motor to make it all spin. I have no experience with the electrical aspects, but with the resources available, I think I could have gotten much farther.
I visited another ideaLAB previously, in the Central branch, and the head of the makerspace was experienced with electronics. In a non-pandemic world, I would plan to host a cross-makerspace event with him and I, so people lasercut a copy of my dodecahedron, and then spruce it up with lights and electronics. That's not really an option right now, but maybe when the world opens back up.
I would love to continue working on this project, in multiple ways. First, I want to make a more final prototype, and experiment with different textiles and materials. Would it be possible to cut out the general shape of solid faces, then glue fancy paper on each face before cutting out the patterns? Would it be possible to make the faces separately, and attach them together, rather than one continuous piece to fold together? Would wood or acrylic work? Would etched acrylic throw light like cutout pattern?
I'd also like to experiment with lights and electronics. What kind of light would make the strongest projections? What about adding a color-changing LED light? Could you make a lamp or hanging light? Could you add a motor and make it rotate?What would be the obstacles involved in making a huge version?
Lastly, I want to make this whole process into its own workshop. There would be many stages across multiple sessions: file creation, pattern creation, cutting, assembly, decoration, and lights/electronics. Depending on the skill levels of participants, they could either use my patterns, or make their own. I could also tweak the process for different skill levels, balancing between structure and free reign.
At the end of my residency, I have so many burning curiosities and unanswered questions; there is so much I still want to do. That's the beauty of makerspaces: you can arrive with an armful of questions and ideas, and your fellow makers will either help you themselves or point you in the right direction.
