Final Project:

Minimalistic Meditation Mediation

I decided I wanted to make a braiding machine, or twining of thread using a servo motor. In order to make them spin in a predictable fashion, I needed weight to create momentum through motion. I looked through potential smaller objects with enough weight in my studio, and discovered the new affordance of my dread poem beads (which I made for another project, but fortunately left blank). I used two beads that were as similar as I could get in shape and volume.

After getting some help with the mechanical design and basic code, I made the thread equal on each side, eliminating factors of inequality so I could easier predict the effects from changing the code. I then tried changing the code in different ways to see what the effect would be. At some point the threads seemed to be constantly in a state of neither twining or untwining, and I wish I had saved that part of the code. Still, the effect was evident for a little while, and then it transmitted into another state of twining which I did not appreciate the effect of. I changed the code many times, until I finally landed on the one following.

/* Sweep
 by BARRAGAN <http://barraganstudio.com>
 This example code is in the public domain.

 modified 8 Nov 2013
 by Scott Fitzgerald
 http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Sweep
*/

#include <Servo.h>

Servo myservo, myservo2;  // create servo object to control a servo
// twelve servo objects can be created on most boards

float pos = 0;    // variable to store the servo position

int dir = 1;

float spd = .5;

float pos2 = 90;    // variable to store the servo position

int dir2 = 1;

float spd2 = 1;

void setup() {
  myservo.attach(9);  // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object
//  myservo2.attach(10);  // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object

  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {

  myservo.write(pos);
//myservo2.write(180-pos);

  pos += spd * dir;

  if(pos > 160){
    dir = -1;
    spd = .1;
  }
 
  if(pos < 60){
    dir = 1;
    spd = .1;
  }

delay(5);

 
  Serial.println(pos);

}

Mediation

Mediation: nonbinding intervention between parties to promote resolution of a grievance, reconciliation, settlement, or compromise (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mediation)

The mediation part of the final project was the compromise made when installing the work for the critique. I had planned to make a wooden mount for it to suspend it from the wall in the closet gallery, but the wood shop had new opening hours that week, and opened late the morning before the crit. I had to improvise, and found the hidden affordances of this lamp.

The affordance of a lamp when you really need it.

Lamp with arduino attatched to it.

I was short on time, so I duct taped the arduino, wires, and the servo motor to the lamp, and presented it there. I found it was way better than off a table top, because the height is no good ergonomically or to achieve the wanted effect. I wanted the object to hang in eye height, drawing the viewer into a state of nowness, focusing on the twining of the threads and the dance of the beads.

Even though the lamp was an improvised last minute decision, there were to extra affordances of the lamp that I had not taken into concideration, the ability to hang something from it, the light, but also the magnifier glass that I only realized later when taking photographs of it.

Discovering the magnifying glass..

This project made me realize I still can create something complex and interesting even if I give myself some restrains. I hope to work more on this one day, and make different variations of the theme, creating a collection of different relations between the threads, bead, energy and gravity. Conceptually I think this can speak about mindfulness, directing peoples awareness from the chaos off the everyday life to something simple, small, but really mesmerising. A collection of these could also speak about human interactions, strings being connections, the beads representing people, and the different "choreographies" telling stories.