Stephanie Farmer: Midterm Portfolio – #6 Touch Object

Project Description:

I wanted to continue the work of holding onto waves as a desperate attempt to freeze time and hold it in my hands. So I decided to literally go to the freezer. The solid object mimicked the cold and natural texture of the waves. As Georgina Kleege argued touch objects have the ability to capture the totality of things I felt that this project allowed me to take something so large like water and time and make it solid. I think that the sound qualities of the water are really valuable in my video pieces and in the way I interact in my safe space which is the pier. 

Documentation:

I wanted to create an ice cube mold to create a textured piece of ice as a touch object made of the same material. First I had to learn how to 3D print and how to 3D model. I took some online training and did the in-person Maker Space Training. Then, I had to make 3 different versions of the 3D model of the ice cube tray. The first two caused errors in Fusion 360 so my final object was created using sphere forms that were placed halfway into the base of the object. I printed it in TPU so it’s flexible. Then I found that it wasn’t water-sealed so it couldn’t hold as the water froze. So I got creative so I went back to hot glue and created a textured base for the mold that also sealed it from water leakage Then I poured water in and froze it overnight. In class, we pulled the ice out and felt the ephemeral texture.

Visual Description:

SLIDE 1: The title slide text reads “TOUCH OBJECTS Making Waves” 

SLIDE 2: An image of the final trimmed mold. It is a black 3D-printed tray with a side made of many tiny layers of plastic and mounds of layered plastic at the base. It has a very stringy nature to it.

SLIDE 3: My original tactile graphic that inspired everything. I hold the tactile graphic in my hands in front of ice on the concrete ground. The graphic is an inch tall and two inches wide. It has a blue oil pastel base and layers of hot glue that crest over the top edge of the cardboard and catch the sun. 

SLIDE 4: My laptop with the NYU Makerspace Training video. 

SLIDE 5: A Fusion 360 model of the tray that shows the base with the mounds with 3D-rendered shining surfaces. 

SLIDE 6: The tray, in the process of being printed.

SLIDE 7:  3 angles of the tray to show the dimensions of the base as it is difficult to see because of the dark color.

SLIDE 8: The tray with the water in it.

Reflection questions: 

Who does this project exclude? Who would not be able to interact with this work? Who is this modality not accessible for?

I have a friend who is allergic to the cold so the ice cube wouldn’t be able to be touched and held by him. A lot of people with chronic illnesses are highly temperature-sensitive. Also, it has a highly ephemeral nature, and given the importance of crip time and making space for slowness the disability community enjoys. This is why I was so glad to create a touch object in the mold itself.

Now that you’ve identified who is excluded, what is one way you could remix this piece to include another population? 

My next step in this project is to create a resin cast or clay impression of the mold so that it can be a long-lasting representation of the texture. Hopefully, I can also make it on a slightly larger scale. I’m worried it’ll be imperfect or not removable because the supports in the 3D printed waves were stringy as the TPU had a lot of loose edges. Hopefully, I can continue to make smoother versions of the mold.