Project Description
In this project, I made a scene on a rainy day with an umbrella. When the raindrops drop down to the umbrella, they will turn to sunshine on the ground. I was inspired by an image from a dance piece that the light passes through an umbrella. I think it is interesting to light up the space under the umbrella where there usually is a shadow or darkness.
Perspective and Context
In the reading, I found that artists no longer only study how to emit distinctive light, but how the light echoes the surrounding environment. This finding inspired me to build a relationship between the light that can light up itself and the light that can light up a space. So, in my project, I show this relationship through the first appearance of rain and then sunshine. Especially, I explored the upper space of the room, I tried to set the project on the ceiling instead of the floor or table, but it caused a lot of technical problems that I will mention later.
Development & Technical Implementation
- Programming
I want a strip of nine LED pixels to light up and move down from the top of the tube. With Eric’s help, I made it move by changing the position of the first light on the strip. Through the problem fixing, I learned that the number of the LEDs in each tube matters a lot. If the code programs an LED pixel out of the range that the tube has, another element in the circuit will be influenced.
- Fabrication
I cut the tube into 60-80cm pieces as raindrops and I got 8 in total. I put them into transparent tubes to make them straight. I drilled holes in the ends of the tubes and hoisted them up with the fishing line.
The most important lesson I learned from this project is I’d better plan everything in front. Buying the exact size of the strip and calculating how long the wire is needed to connect the circuit can save a lot of soldering time. Besides, I think managing the wires while building the circuit can avoid the confusion of wires, which means I have to decide the position of every device.
For the sunshine, I tied a Halogen Lamp inside the umbrella and covered it with cardboard. I dig some holes in the cardboard to let the light go through. However, the lamp is not bright enough to make an obvious light path toward the ground.
- Hanging something on the ceiling
I got three wooden sticks and I attached 2 to 3 tubes to each stick and hung the umbrella in the center of one of the sticks. I plan to put these sticks between the two beams so that a raindrop square is formed around the umbrella. Unfortunately, my wires and tubes all tangled up when I lifted them to the ceiling. I think that because I didn’t fix their position. Also, I failed to attach the Arduino and the breadboard on the stick because of their weight and size, so it’s necessary to put another board on the ceiling to carry my Arduino and breadboard.
Presentation
In the presentation, I only achieved three tubes and the umbrella hanging on the ceiling. So the audience can only observe it from a single angle. I think my concept made sense to them, but the things that need to improve is the light that comes from inside the umbrella is not so obvious that I have to tell the audience something is happening in that space. So, I tried to add fog after the presentation and it looked better.
Conclusion
This project has made me realize some of the disadvantages of my old habits. I used to plan as I went. The problem it brings is that when problems happen, I can’t handle them well because I am not fully prepared. Also, when putting something on the ceiling, I’d better make all the stuff as an entirety.
The thing I handle well is that when I realize something goes wrong, I stop loss in time and start to work on what I had got at that moment.