We got the inspiration of the spine from one of Zendaya’s looks:  

To make it strong enough to hold plants, and at the same time be able to pull the fabrics, I thought of the NASA fabric Lisa made last semester. Here is the reference: link | tutorial for how to make it in rhino & grasshopper – link | Lisa’s work last semester – link

The tutorial inspired me to look into the list functions because I want to make intersections for each unit. 

These commands probably look like very nonsensical, but after trying for a whole day, this is the best I can do (so far). In the process, I tried to learn how to use loop function in grasshopper (but failed). I also had a better understanding of the list/ cross reference/ tree. (things that I should have learned better last sem

I think the challenge with this nasa fabric is that we only need one line of units instead of an area of those units. With an area, each one of them can intersect with each other. 

Another important lesson learnt: offset the surface in grasshopper won’t necessarily create a surface with thickness. Have to use the Offset Surface in the Pufferfish plugin. 

 

In-Class exercise

I followed the tutorial video step by step 😀 

the picture on the left is actually one of my favorite screenshot from the documentary. It is just so sarcastic that this male audience was trying his best to see what is going on on the stage. 

The media presentation of certain race/ gender is indeed really powerful in shaping the public’s perception of that certain group of people. There are many theorists and critics criticizing on the lack of presentation/ misrepresentation. I remember learning about Bell Hooks in my freshman year. 

I really really like this topic because I think I am the victim of this “societal norm” or “familial expectation”. I don’t understand (actually I hate) how Chinese people like to comment on other people’s body shape, especially their family members’. I grew up being the chubby kid in my family. And every time we had family reunions, when meeting with those relatives that I only met once or twice a year, they (mostly males) commented on my body shape. In 2022 after ~3 months of Shanghai lockdown, I finally met my father and we were walking together. At that time there was also a case that a few young girls were violently beaten in a restaurant around 2 am in China. My dad was trying to educate me about protecting myself AS A GIRL, and all of a sudden he said, well, anyways, you are not the pretty type to get assaulted. These experiences all in some ways, contributed to my eating disorder. ((But it’s okay I am getting thereeee, almost 

Ironically, after I finally lost a lot of weights and got skinny, all of a sudden, everyone started to be like, YOU NEED TO EAT MORE/ YOU NEED TO DO THIS YOU NEED TO DO THAT.

Funny 🙂

I really want to do a project on eating disorder, self-love and our perceptions on our own body. Because there are just so many people experiencing the same thing as I did, and it can even get fatal. Sometimes the society is putting too much unrealistic, toxic expectations on us, and we internalize them. Maybe one day, when I can fully embrace my body and embrace who I am, I will do that :D. 

• This week we learned how to use grasshopper (for me it is a review :)) and how to print on the fabric. The function I found particularly useful is rebuild. Rebuild helps with recreating the curves (eg: set the curve point number). I actually used rebuild a lot when modeling for my Frida 😀
• 
• I don’t know what to print, so I want to experiment with optical illusions and I decide to make a Frida Kahlo.
• I downloaded the image online and divided it into 20 strips with Illustrator. Afterwards I used a rhino extension called Vectorize  (link) to trace the image. I experimented several times but it wasn’t really good. So I gave up and manually made the curves and the surfaces. 
• It doesn’t look bad in rhino. And the printing process was better than I thought, because since the fabric is not flat, I was really afraid that there might be errors. The only flaw is that the fabric moved its position a bit. I think it was because that the whole piece is really thin, so there weren’t many errors. If I made it thicker, it might be more difficult to print. 

How to apply this technique to our piece

After talking with Korrina Tuesday night about our skirt idea, we decided to use the origami pattern for our skirt. It is not a good sketch, but basically, the right part will be the origami where plants are growing out. Here are also some pinterest inspo to explain our vision. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some research I’ve made. Haven’t put them into practice yet because I don’t have time ;; but will try them out soon!

I also found posts about the pattern Lisa made last semester (the NASA’s pattern?). 

Updates on the notion page

This week, so far, we spent a lot of time making the top and experimenting with the 3D printer. 

Plant Plate

I created the surface and extruded them later. I used the command ptPanelGridCustom and selected the hexagon I made previously. I think the hexagon got deformed a bit because of the grid I have created.

Other experiment with Paneling tools:

A (Random) Wearable 

ptGridSurfaceDomainNumber –> ptOffsetPoints (distance – random) –> ptPanel3DCustom (the shape is the random one next to it) –> pipe (for the offset points, because I connected them together) 

In-class exercise

I always forget the ptPanelGrid. For this one, I used ptPanelGrid & multi-pipe

Final Project Documentation

I created a notion page for documenting the progress. Right now it is still under construction. Will publish it after everything is done~ https://www.notion.so/5254f99a2e89437ca5a1834975ee1b31?v=b9efa409eb214a869d31a44c6fa658cd&pvs=4 

 

 

Idea Explanation

We want to build an eco-system on our wearable.

(special thanks to Korrina for making these amazing sketches)

Accessory

For the accessory, I would like to try sealing real plants and flowers using epoxy. There could be movements going on, for example, the spinning plate we made last week, but the movements are not necessary. 

the cage/ main part of this wearable

The cage will be made using rice and paper, and wires for the support. After reading the article about hemp fabric, maybe we will integrate hemp fabric as well.

• For the bottom part, we will have plants, fungi, mycelium and flowers
  • According to rootfull.com, the wheatgrass grows the fastest. And based on my other research, basil and cress may be good choices as well
  • Based on the tips to grow plants/ mushrooms, the interactive mechanisms may be:
    • A filter that pops out and sprays water when the moisture sensor detects that it’s too dry
    • LED lights implemented to ensure enough lightings (and create beautiful effects when spraying water) 

Why this idea? 

The fast fashion industry is one of the least sustainable industries in the world. Not only does it consume a lot of energy and resources, but also produces many wastes and environmental and ethical stains. On the other hand, while there are clothes made from eco-friendly materials available, we as the consumers can’t see what the production process is like. In fact, some companies choose to green-wash themselves. Despite their claim that they use environmentally friendly materials, in practice, some materials might be almost impossible to attain. (Context: This is based on my conversation with the CEO of BlackShadesUSA, an environmentally-friendly eyewear brand. I met him on a weekend market in Shanghai, and interviewed him to finish a project for my EAP class in freshman year. He told me that some companies claim to reuse marine plastic, however, because of the exposure to sunlight and sea water erosion, the chemical compound of the plastic might be different.) 

By making and wearing this plant-based dress, we want to demonstrate the true idea of environmentally friendliness. We want to experiment with the simplest way of making fabrics from plants, and imagine a future where urban farming can be a part of people’s fashion choices. We would also like to embrace futurism and the fact that our world is technologically driven. So in the end, our goal would be to combine these two aspects to display an Eco-Cyberpunk aura. Let’s show how technology can be used for good or sustainable fashion.

We see buildings taking this shift, so why not humans as well. 

Research 

Potential Mechanisms

• [watering] Automatic Plant Watering with Arduino |  link  
• [sensor] Simple Soil Moisture Sensor Circuit | link – use LED lights to indicate moisture level

Existing Projects for reference

• [cage material] Rice + Paper: Fast & Easy Rice Paper Decoupage | link
• [roots] How to manipulate the roots:
  • Artist diana scherer manipulates plant roots to grow into intricate, lace-like arrangements | link to an article about her | her personal website 

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  • Rootfull, a material innovation company developing textiles using plant roots. They make artefacts as well as wearables. | link
     
     

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  • [materials] Mycelium Fabric

mycelium, the mass of branched, tubular filaments (hyphae) of fungi. The mycelium makes up the thallus, or undifferentiated body, of a typical fungus. (Britannica)

• • • Features of the mycelium fabric: ” The fabric created from mycelium is non-toxic, waterproof, and fire-resistant. It can be as thin as paper for dresses and lamp shades, or incredibly thick for heavy-duty items, and in both cases, the end result is remarkably flexible and strong. ” | reference | a company using the fabric to make stuff 

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• Hemp Fabric

  • I would say hemp fabric is relatively common now. However, I didn’t realize the advantages of hemp fabric until I read this article. It covers the quality of hemp seeds, the benefits of hemp fabrics, and how to process the hemp. 

• [knowledge on growing plants]
• The easiest fungi to grow: oyster, white button, and Shiitake | reference
• Basic requirements for mushroom cultivation | reference  
  • Mushrooms grow from mycelium, the thread-like roots of fungi. 
  • sterile growing substrates like sawdust, wheat bran, coco coir to plant mycelium cultures 
  • Temperature, gas exchange, and moisture, light  
  • Vertical farming mushrooms requires a specific light spectrum and intensities for mushrooms’ crucial metabolic processes and tissue development. Too little or too much light can suppress mushroom formation and impact crop yields. – LED lights (blue and red LED spectrums mimic sunlight and stimulate fruiting in many edible fungi); LED lights also consume less energy 
  • Brightness of the lighting should be adjustable as mushrooms transit between colonization and fruiting stages

Plant Diary 😀

here is the link to the plant diary: 📓  https://share.goodnotes.com/s/XLHRvNIVQLQlx3MIUdB0yN