Fiber Fridays #5: Arduino + Processing

rissaw Leave a comment

Hey everyone,
This week I am super excited to show you a sustainability + ecological project I and my partner Yueshan Jiang have been working on in my creative coding class for our final.

This semester I have been focusing on how to make my fiber arts more interactive for the viewer. I initially learned how to code using Processing, an artist focused programming language. I learned how to be able to manipulate images, create video games etc. Later in the semester us students were taught how to use an Arduino kit to wire interact art installations.

I’ve had an extremely fun time learning these skills and find them really useful to incorporate into my artwork.

Yueshan and I have created this sculpture together to shed more light on the current global climate crisis and it’s relationship to the ocean.

“Our world is currently suffering a global climate crisis. Our oceans are raising in temperature, killing off sea life. The warming oceans cause thermal stress which causes coral bleaching and infectious disease. Sea levels rising also leads to sediments smothering coral. The intention of this interactive experience is to feel a connection between human and sea life. Intended to be immersive and interactive, this piece promotes human impact on the climate crisis as well as instills empathy for our ocean life. ”

How it works: (Stripped straight from our proposal)
“We will use the ultrasonic sensor to pick up on human movement. The closer the viewer is to the coral, the more violent the wave in the background becomes. The light in the central coral sculpture will turn a threatening color. Audio will increase causing the viewer to feel tense. As the viewer moves away, the color returns calm, as does the visual and audio being presented. This sensor will take this information and send it to the Arduino, which will tell processing how to change the visual. The Arduino is responsible for changing the light colors in the sculpture. “

I recently declared a minor in geology and the earth is becoming ever more important to me. I appreciate all the work that Yueshan has helped put into this project, taking on primarily the coding aspects.

That’s what I have for this week, I excited to show you next Friday some Christmas gift crochet ideas!

-Marissa

Yueshan’s Instagram:
@jyueshan_

OTM #42: Something a Little Different!

katelynski Leave a comment

Hi all, hope your preparations for finals are going well (if you’re a student like myself, that is)! I just wrapped up my final project for my Minor in Writing’s Gateway course (Writing 220), and I wanted to share some of the illustrations I had the opportunity to make for it. Our projects are semester-long “experiments” all centered around one “origin piece,” something we wrote when we were younger that we want to explore the ideas of. My origin piece was an old article I wrote about a trend in which people tried to watch the most disturbing media possible — fascinating, I know. In relation to this, I wanted to reconcile with my younger self, who, in a frenzy of wanting to feel “older” did a similar thing, getting really into online horror. The above illustration bridges the gap between present Me and younger Me’s mindsets, showing us sitting together and drawing “My Little Pony” characters in awe of each other.

I also got to make these cool introductory illustrations, paying homage to the old Internet and displaying both versions of myself trapped in MS Paint tabs. I’m really happy with these ones! Thanks to arts, ink., I really feel like I’ve nailed how I like to draw myself. Below I’ll share some other illustrations I’m happy with too! In my project’s story, I depicted my young self exploring a haunted house, hence the spooky stuff. Thanks for looking/reading, and good luck wrapping up the semester! I sure need it, haha.

S3 Scribble #9: Mr. Brightside

Sydney Braun Leave a comment

“Jealousy, turning saints into the sea, swimming through sick lullabies,”

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of going to Indianapolis to watch Michigan win the B1G Championship football game with some of my best friends. I have been a sports fan for as long as I can remember, and throughout my time as a student at the University of Michigan, sports games have been an important part of my college experience. Football, hockey, basketball – I love the energy and shared school spirit at these games as much as (if not more than) watching the sports games themselves.

“Choking on your alibis,”

As any big Michigan football fan knows, the song Mr. Brightside by The Killers is an integral part of every University of Michigan home football game. There’s nothing quite like hearing over 100,000 people singing the chorus of the song, and it moves me to chills (sometimes even tears) every time I hear it in the stadium. It’s one of my favorite Michigan football traditions, and I look forward to singing along to the song during every game.

“But it’s just the price I pay,”

I haven’t missed a Michigan home football game since they started allowing fans back in the Big House after the pandemic. The B1G Championship game – though not a home game – was the last time I’ll attend a Michigan football game alongside my friends as an undergraduate student here at the university. I will treasure that experience for the rest of my life, along with every other opportunity I’ve had to see the Wolverines play. 

“Destiny is calling me.”

When I was studying abroad in Berlin, I heard Mr. Brightside being played over some public speakers. I was immediately singing along, letting my Michigan school spirit shine through all the way in Europe. I know that this passion for Michigan will never fade, and I will have an urge to sing along to this song for years to come, with each time I hear it reminding me of the amazing experiences I’ve had as a student at the University of Michigan. It truly is great to be a Michigan Wolverine!

“Open up my eager eyes, ’cause I’m Mr. Brightside.”

Listen to Mr. Brightside by The Killers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGdGFtwCNBE

Wolverine Stew: Winter Bakery

clydemg Leave a comment

A fresh crop of withered leaves

Emerge from the unbroken snow

Letting the sunlight engulf my cracking face

It is cold, it is warm, I wish I could stay

Being at peace smells like

Sundae cherries, dirt, and soap

Now, waiting here among thoughts of

Empty chairs and amethyst stones and

Bread I baked last Saturday, long ago

Never tasting quite as sweet as

I’ve heard others say

But I’m happy they enjoy it

It’s been a while since the snow

There is a fog covering the

Lights of the apartment buildings

Floating like makeshift stars in the rain

And there is a warmth in the white fairy lights

And the band playing in the market

And the folks that shuffle close together

In and out of Main Street

There is a song tonight

And I am happy to join it

aSoSS 04 | Snow

a-spider-on-state-street Leave a comment

This is precipitation but up here you know it will be snow. It consistently does that, do you see the colors?

North Quad Dining Hall, 11:00AM, 11/19/2023

the spirals swirl across the screen. they are always moving, mutating, out of formation like a line of ants trekking down from the 44th degree parallel. what do they call it now? a new version? an update? nothing is as pervasive as the thought of change, even when the seasons changes every year. on the last sunny day people line the streets of the diag and smile wistfully. what a day! a day filled with weak sunshine, a goddess recovering from a cold — or perhaps about to succumb to one.

I see all the pictures of people posting the snow. They are just the out-of-state kids.

Pierpont Commons Basement, 3:00PM, 11/27/2023

in a different world, the sun shines every day of the year. further north it lies behind a wall of rain. the snow is soft, gentle — for now. the snakes lay their eggs; come back in january and fight off their young. when the earth crumbles the children will sleep soundly in their beds. when the sky falls the children will stick their tongues out and press angels into the rubble.

the day after the big game the clouds begin to spit. perhaps the heavens put money on the buckeyes?

It doesn’t matter, I’m always cold! Remember the first time we went fratting? I was freezing!

That was the first week of August!

Yeah, I know. I wore that sweatshirt because it was so cold!

Sigma Chi, 9:00PM, 11/29/2023

the night is a blanket in only the metaphorical sense. the early night is warmer than the early morning, as if the earth were a giant bowl that was heated in a cosmic microwave. clouds and oceans and fractured ozone fractals decorate the outer edges, cooling and warming at whim. the contents are scalding, in more ways than one. you look up the videos of the smooth, perfectly spherical aluminum foil balls. my skin pricks up in danger. one inch ahead, one press of a button, and the world turns black. but for whom?

Mixed on Campus #15 – Giana Mae

Alice Conner Leave a comment

Name: Giana Mae
Mix: Filipina, Mexican, Polish, Italian
Major & Year: Business; Junior

I am the Director of Event Planning for Michigan Esports

Q: What do you wish more people knew about the mixed experience?

A: The percentage of your mix does not determine how you identify. I am often met with the uncomfortable question “what percent are you” as an attempt to see how much I can relate to a person. I find this extremely inaccurate to how I was raised. I can be proud of my culture and how I grew up even if my blood percentage is less than reflected. I want people to know that to be mix does not mean you accurately align with your blood at all times.

Q: What kind of person do you aspire to be?

A: I aspire to be someone who can be counted on by others. I know how hard it can be to handle something all on your own. Whether it is at home or in the workplace I want to help carry the load. I have noticed the competitive spirits of some people, which can be draining. We can get so absorbed in grind culture and “making it” that we forget to lean on others and accept help when necessary. I want to be someone that others come to for advice and can be trusted.

Q: Who is the most influential person in your life?

A: The most influential person in my life is my older sister. She always seems like she has everything figured out and is one of the hardest working people I know. She enjoys the little things in life. I can see her living out the life I want. This helps me when my dreams feel like a reach or unattainable.

Mixed on Campus was inspired by the Humans of New York project. The purpose of Mixed on Campus is to give a voice to this university’s mixed community and shed light on its members. Being mixed means to be multiracial, multiethnic, and/or a transnational adoptee. Through Mixed on Campus, mixed students have the opportunity to have their portrait drawn and share their experiences!