A Utopian Story and Artifact

For the "expression" side of thesis this year, our first project was to imagine a utopia based on an expanded view of issues related to our thesis topics. Within this utopia, we were to imagine several scenarios and then create a physical artifact from one of them. Starting with an imagined story is always pretty difficult for me - I usually find inspiration in shapes, movement, and materials and then work backwards to the big-picture story. After some struggling, though, I worked out a utopian vision that was convincing enough for me. In my utopian world of Morphago a new branch of science has evolved to address the relationship between a person and his or her individual body, analagous to the way psychiatrists of the 20th century addressed the relationship between a person and his or her memories, feelings, and behaviors. Doctors who specialize in this field of sarcoscopy (literally "examining the flesh") meet with patients and help them understand their bodies (healthy or unhealthy) using tools such as x-rays, blood tests, or specific exercises. A mirror is one of the most basic tools used by the sarcoscopist and patient; it has a symbolic value as well as a practical use. The mirror I made magnifies on one side and shows a wide-angle view on the other, and it comes in its own carrying sack.

Holiday Presents

Some earrings and a necklace, both made out of brass. The gears are from an old clock.

The Pelican in progress

Testing out some parts of a piece named "the pelican" for its awkward way of moving...

Personal Statement Piece

"Personal Statements" is a project that all of us second year design students just finished. We each spent the last two weeks creating a piece with the intent of introducing ourselves to the design community. On Friday night we had a big presentation and party with lots of alumni and faculty, plus friends and family. It was a wonderful night - everyone's project was just a perfect presentation of the variety and talent of the design program.

My piece was inspired by a toy I had when I was younger that was made up of a hoop with colorful washers strung on it. If you spun the washers and the hoop just right, you could get the washers to hover on the side of the hoop. I built a much larger version and powered the hoop with an old typewriter motor hooked up to some pulleys I made. The hovering rings I made out of acrylic and polycarbonate, and each one has a magnet on the inside. Initially I thought the magnets were what made the hovering thing work, but I was wrong... it's a purely mechanical effect caused by the wobble of the rings as they fall in a helix around the hoop. As the hoop spins, it gives the rings a little lift. It's a pretty magical effect, and the noise the spinning rings make is great. My favorite part of the evening was watching how the hovering rings fascinated people and hearing their crazy explanations for why it worked.

in progress...

first-aid project

For my Medical Device Design class, our first project was to design a first-aid product or improve an existing one. I decided to make a Band-Aid dispenser that you could use with just one hand, since I've noticed it's pretty hard to open those sterile bandage packages when you've cut your finger. My redesigned Band-Aid packaging comes with suction cups to mount it in the bathroom and a ratcheting crank to hold one side of the sterile packet while you peel off the outer covering.

some initial prototypes

For my master's thesis project this year, I'm working on designing some gynecological devices. These are a couple of prototypes I've made to test out suction and curved pinching as ways of holding onto tissue. In the top photo you can see me trying out the suction method on a chicken thigh - it works pretty well until you poke the tissue in the area surrounding the suction cup, which breaks the seal. Stayed tuned for further prototyping updates...