So I made some lists of the things I have to finish by the end of this month (apologies for the note-taking slang):
Neuron Shirt To Do
-Finish part of neuron printed image - make sure thick/dark (go over with black marker)
-Cut out/into pieces of neuron that will fit on screen for screen printing
-Find a glass/acrylic pane
-Do first screen print/exposure
-Text run on shirts from CVS or old tank tops
-If good then try on the dress shirts
-Repeat the above three steps as many times as there are neuron pieces
-Wash shirts?
-Get reed/hall/IR sensors for cuffs
-Sew on circuits with Protosnap LilyPad Development kit
-Repeat on second shirt (printing/circuit sewing)
-Test/neaten
-Write blog post on making of
Autism Dress To Do
-Go to ACEing Autism (http://www.aceingautism.com/) to talk to kids with varying degrees of ASD
-Look up fabric amounts for pattern/wait for dress to arrive (~10 days --> August 14)
-Get noisemakers for skirt
-Once dress is here, dissemble it (if it fits --> if not make alterations)
-Design fabrics for bodice/skirt
-Cut out fabric
-Sew together - make sure half of top is asymmetrical
-Attach pins to front
-Make curse words belt?
-Test on various people --> survey?
-Send to various organizers of Autism conferences/ask to be displayed in class at MIT
-Write blog post on making of
Depression Suit To Do
-Wait for Lise to get back
-Test placement of weights on back/height of sleeve cuffs/straps placement
-Make face cone
-Test outfit on other people - survey?
-Update blog post
Synesthesia Bodysuit To Do
-Order plastic blue bowl from Amazon/other site
-Figure out how to combine all the various fabrics --> design outfit
-Sew pieces on/glue on
-Fit on model (while doing gluing?)
-Try on others --> record responses (survey?)
-Write blog post on making of
General To Do
-Write up overall design process in blog post
-Get (enough) survey responses from outfits to write up report/summary for Eloranta judges
-Organize 'fashion show' at Course 9 department event - email administrator
I've cut my project down to four outfits in the interest of time, but I still have so much to do! Agh, wish me luck.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Depression Suit, making of (UPDATED - 8/14/14)
This was definitely my most work intensive outfit (naturally, as my first) and I’m so close to being done it hurts!
As with any good project, I started this suit by researching. I wanted to find books that would be good personal accounts of depression, so I could get a good idea of what it was like to have the disorder and how it affected a person’s daily experiences. I didn’t want clinical accounts as I’ve heard them in neuroscience textbooks and lectures and as I’m trying to read a wider audience than the scientific community with my outfit.
My research began with the UCLA library resource department (so sorely underused at universities everywhere). I got super lucky because the person who helped me find my resources also became my model. Lise has had depression, so when I ran the ideas of the outfit by her, she had some interesting suggestions.
Lise, my fantastic headless model.
She also pointed me to several good books and counseling transcripts on depression.
http://sarahhackley.com/uploads/3/3/0/0/3300835/9981623.jpg
Through talking with Lise, reading the transcripts and books on depression, and other conversations with friends of mine who’ve had depression I decided to choose three traits to focus on in the outfit. For each trait I had a corresponding design element. I wanted to depict the low energy and tiredness experienced by those with depression through weights sewn into the jacket and pants, numbness through cold packs on the wrists and ankles, and the isolated and lost feeling through a facial mask that would somewhat resemble a dog cone of shame.
http://www.dumpaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/funny-dog-pictures-cone-of-shame2.jpg
Once I had the overall idea to guide my outfit design, I was ready to start. I bought several pattern making books and worked out the designs for a jacket and pants for Lise.
Measure twice, cut once.
I'm like, 90% of the way to Project Runway.
Arms, so much easier said than done.
Forever refitting the shoulder.
Finally made some darts that look good.
Hurray, darts (and fitted pants)!
This took three long, arduous several reworkings but eventually I got the patterns properly fitted and was able to start on making the actual jacket. I used canvas since I wanted the overall look to be reminiscent of a straitjacket.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41T150RyQ0L.jpg
Then it was mostly just cut, sew and cross my fingers that it would fit.
My 3 step routine - iron....
...pin...
...cut.
Pin some more.
Iron some more.
Sew.
Iron.
Be impressed at how I can sew things.
I added a whole zipper!
Iron forever.
Cut some more.
Pin more.
I really hate ironing.
Before and...
...after!
Iron.
Do it again because ironing is a relentless, merciless, ravenous beast that can never be satisfied.
Succeed!
I could weep. The ironing is finally over!
(As you can see, 90% of sewing is pain and ironing. And getting stabbed over and over with pins.)
Right now the jacket is almost finished, but I need to wait for Lise to get back from vacation before I can make the final touches of adding straps to the back of the jacket, fitting weights on the jacket, ice packs in the cuffs and the dog cone of shame on her head. After that I’ll be done and I can test the outfit out on others. Woohoo final stretch!
***UPDATE***
I have finished my first outfit!
The weights have been added, cold packs fitted in the wrists, back straps and belt loops have been sewn on, and two masks have been made.
I'll be bringing this suit around with me in the next few weeks to test on volunteers, although I've already gotten really good feedback from Lise and Cathy when they tried it on yesterday. As they walked around, their friends stared, either shocked, amused or a little scared to try on the suit themselves. Many commented on how it looked like a prisoner suit, and many more asked what it was for. I also asked Lise if this suit came close to capturing some aspects of depression. She said that when wearing the suit people can look at you and make a judgement, that you are creepy, scary, or weird, and they might want to stay away. The mask in particular made the wearer feel anxious, hot and claustrophobic. Due to the weights it was hard for Lise and Cathy to walk very well - as Cathy said "you're not going anywhere fast." In addition, Cathy said that she felt confined and imprisoned in the suit, particularly since it was so big on her.
In terms of the project, all of these comments and reactions were a success. What I wanted to capture in the outfit did not precisely match my initial goals, but I think it is still a good representation of what many people find themselves struggling with. The weighing down, the discomfort, the imprisonment, the feeling that you are ostracized from others, all these are factors in why depression is such a debilitating disorder. Even this week, the death of Robin Williams shows how depression can affect someone so deeply, but still be almost undetectable on the surface. This might be a bit silly, but I'd like to dedicate this suit to Robin Williams, and those like him suffering from depression. I don't know if something like this will make it easier to get help, but it definitely is a good way of provoking a discussion, as I saw yesterday when so many wanted to know why Lise and Cathy were walking around in a strange straightjacket. I believe that people do care about each other and will do what they can to help each other - I think that often times what's missing is our ability to spot trouble without asking the right questions. I hope this suit helps people ask the right questions.
***UPDATE***
I have finished my first outfit!
The weights have been added, cold packs fitted in the wrists, back straps and belt loops have been sewn on, and two masks have been made.
The full outfit!
Here it is on Cathy, another volunteer
The face mask, closer up. I've since cut holes in the front for breathing.
Details of the pockets where weights will be placed in the jacket (2.5 lbs on each side, and 5 lbs at the bottom of the pants).
Straps getting sewn on.
Details of belt loops.
I'll be bringing this suit around with me in the next few weeks to test on volunteers, although I've already gotten really good feedback from Lise and Cathy when they tried it on yesterday. As they walked around, their friends stared, either shocked, amused or a little scared to try on the suit themselves. Many commented on how it looked like a prisoner suit, and many more asked what it was for. I also asked Lise if this suit came close to capturing some aspects of depression. She said that when wearing the suit people can look at you and make a judgement, that you are creepy, scary, or weird, and they might want to stay away. The mask in particular made the wearer feel anxious, hot and claustrophobic. Due to the weights it was hard for Lise and Cathy to walk very well - as Cathy said "you're not going anywhere fast." In addition, Cathy said that she felt confined and imprisoned in the suit, particularly since it was so big on her.
In terms of the project, all of these comments and reactions were a success. What I wanted to capture in the outfit did not precisely match my initial goals, but I think it is still a good representation of what many people find themselves struggling with. The weighing down, the discomfort, the imprisonment, the feeling that you are ostracized from others, all these are factors in why depression is such a debilitating disorder. Even this week, the death of Robin Williams shows how depression can affect someone so deeply, but still be almost undetectable on the surface. This might be a bit silly, but I'd like to dedicate this suit to Robin Williams, and those like him suffering from depression. I don't know if something like this will make it easier to get help, but it definitely is a good way of provoking a discussion, as I saw yesterday when so many wanted to know why Lise and Cathy were walking around in a strange straightjacket. I believe that people do care about each other and will do what they can to help each other - I think that often times what's missing is our ability to spot trouble without asking the right questions. I hope this suit helps people ask the right questions.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Updates
These past few weeks I've been pretty busy - I'm nearly done with my depression suit, although I still have to figure out the details for it like a collar and wrist and ankle cuffs. I'm hoping to post the full process sometime soon (Next week? Fingers crossed!).
I've met with some wonderful people today, Danny and Cathy Gott, to talk about autism and meet some people at Danny's Farm, a farm type setting in Pasadena for people with developmental disabilities (here's the website if you're curious: http://dannysfarm.org/). I've been reading various sources on autism lately, including books by Temple Grandin, but its nice to be able to talk to people who actually have autism to get their perspective. I'll be using what I learned as inspiration for my next outfit, an autism dress that I hope will be a good teaching tool for someone who has no idea what it might be like to have autism.
Lastly, I've ordered lots of electronics, conductive fabrics and arduinos from SparkFun, a company in Boulder CO that does awesome tutorials on e-textiles (the new combo field of electronics and fabrics/clothes) as well as stocking a huge range of products and kits to get started. I'll be using these to make neuron shirts (switching from the neuron bodysuit idea) so I'm excited for when they get here. This will probably be a simple design, less of a serious teaching tool than the other two outfits. Here's SparkFun's website: https://www.sparkfun.com/static/about. They are well worth browsing around, especially the tutorials section.
That's all for now. I've been trying to come up with new dress designs and I think I may have to switch to four instead of five full outfits. I'm stuck between a dress on synesthesia, and another one for autism... depending on how well received my idea of an autism dress is received by the Autism Societies in LA.
I've met with some wonderful people today, Danny and Cathy Gott, to talk about autism and meet some people at Danny's Farm, a farm type setting in Pasadena for people with developmental disabilities (here's the website if you're curious: http://dannysfarm.org/). I've been reading various sources on autism lately, including books by Temple Grandin, but its nice to be able to talk to people who actually have autism to get their perspective. I'll be using what I learned as inspiration for my next outfit, an autism dress that I hope will be a good teaching tool for someone who has no idea what it might be like to have autism.
Lastly, I've ordered lots of electronics, conductive fabrics and arduinos from SparkFun, a company in Boulder CO that does awesome tutorials on e-textiles (the new combo field of electronics and fabrics/clothes) as well as stocking a huge range of products and kits to get started. I'll be using these to make neuron shirts (switching from the neuron bodysuit idea) so I'm excited for when they get here. This will probably be a simple design, less of a serious teaching tool than the other two outfits. Here's SparkFun's website: https://www.sparkfun.com/static/about. They are well worth browsing around, especially the tutorials section.
That's all for now. I've been trying to come up with new dress designs and I think I may have to switch to four instead of five full outfits. I'm stuck between a dress on synesthesia, and another one for autism... depending on how well received my idea of an autism dress is received by the Autism Societies in LA.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Let's talk about depression
So even though this blog will be a project blog, I also want to talk a little bit about the basis for my designs. So if you’re curious about clothing details this post won’t be what you’re looking for.
Right now I am making a suit that will hopefully mimic how depression feels. For me, this is making something that makes the wearer feel isolated from the world, like they can't hear or see things clearly. It means making the wearer feel heavy, and drained of energy to complete simple tasks. It means making them feel numb, so that they have a hard time feeling strongly about anything. I know these aren't perfect representations of everyone's depression, but I thought these concepts captured some of the hardest to explain parts of the disorder. I wanted to make this suit because I know that for people who haven’t had someone close to them go through depression, or haven’t felt it themselves, the disorder is like a foreign elephant in the room. Unknown, confusing, and hard to bring up.
People don’t like to talk about it, because depression is an illness that we easily trivialize. How could we not, when we use the same word to describe the feeling an 11 year old has when it rains on his birthday party as the feeling someone has right before they commit suicide. (That comparison was roughly paraphrased from this TED talk, which has a much more eloquent description of what it's like to have depression: http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secret_we_share)
The inability to speak up is crippling, because its the first step to getting help. So I wanted to make this suit. Maybe it’s a little ambitious, but I hope that someone who thinks depression is nothing more than a case of the blues would be able to put this suit on and be able to feel what it might be like to be sick with sadness. I want this suit will help those skeptical of depression empathize with someone who can’t turn their sadness off like a light switch. I want someone wearing this suit to realize that depression is more than being sad, or lost, or frustrated, or empty, or catatonic all the time. It’s also about the way that person is perceived by those looking at them - like wearing a strange suit and feeling that you don’t fit in.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Depression Suit, Part 1
So one of the outfits I'll be working on is a "depression suit," or a suit that I hope will mimic feelings such as numbness, apathy, isolation and loss of energy that are common symptoms of depression. (This is my basic idea for the suit right now).
I'm not an expert on depression, but I've seen friends go through it, and have read others' accounts. I guess I came close to depression myself this past year, always feeling restless and frustrated and lost. I'd like to create this suit to represent those feelings, so that someone who may not know what depression is like could try on the suit and maybe feel some empathy for a condition that might be hard to understand if you haven't felt it yourself.
To help make this outfit work as well as possible, I've been searching and reading through various accounts of those who've had depression, and I'm looking into local organizations where I could contact depressed individuals about their personal experiences, so that I have a better idea of what I want my outfit to communicate.
I've already ordered a couple things to work on the suit, so I'll post more about that once they get here, because I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do yet. But to give you a hint from my search history: cold packs, plastic stuffing beads, fishing weights, weighted blankets (a treatment for autism oddly enough), asylum uniforms, circle collar jackets, beanie bags, and face cones not for dogs but for humans. Research is fun.
I'm not an expert on depression, but I've seen friends go through it, and have read others' accounts. I guess I came close to depression myself this past year, always feeling restless and frustrated and lost. I'd like to create this suit to represent those feelings, so that someone who may not know what depression is like could try on the suit and maybe feel some empathy for a condition that might be hard to understand if you haven't felt it yourself.
To help make this outfit work as well as possible, I've been searching and reading through various accounts of those who've had depression, and I'm looking into local organizations where I could contact depressed individuals about their personal experiences, so that I have a better idea of what I want my outfit to communicate.
I've already ordered a couple things to work on the suit, so I'll post more about that once they get here, because I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do yet. But to give you a hint from my search history: cold packs, plastic stuffing beads, fishing weights, weighted blankets (a treatment for autism oddly enough), asylum uniforms, circle collar jackets, beanie bags, and face cones not for dogs but for humans. Research is fun.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Getting acclimated
So now that I've been here a week, I think I've gotten used to the area and am able to start buying things to make. Turns out that shipping my sewing machine from home would be just as much as buying a new one from Amazon, so I decided to get this baby based on some online review guide: http://www.amazon.com/7258-Stylist-Award-Winning-100-Stitch-Computerized/dp/B003KK807M/ref=cm_rdp_product.
After reading several reviews on Amazon as well, this looks like a good product for the summer. It has enough stitching types that I can decorate buttonholes and hems without wasting time by hand, but it isn't complicated enough that I will need to be personally tutored for just threading the machine.
I've also checked out various stores in the area and so far my favorite is a wholesale shop on Pico Blvd,(Rimmon Imported Fabrics) about a 30 minute walk south of me in Westwood, LA. I'll be heading to the fashion district in downtown LA soon, to check out shops there, but for now I have a couple ideas for my autism dress design, which I hope to start soon. The design of the dress at this point will consist of various fabrics that overstimulate the viewer/wearer, in a tactile, visual, and auditory sense. I hope that my design will reflect the actual experience of someone with autism, based on the prevailing theory in neuroscience that autism is a result of overstimulation in the brain. I'll be talking with kids who have autism next week hopefully, to learn more of the details of what it is like.
After reading several reviews on Amazon as well, this looks like a good product for the summer. It has enough stitching types that I can decorate buttonholes and hems without wasting time by hand, but it isn't complicated enough that I will need to be personally tutored for just threading the machine.
I've also checked out various stores in the area and so far my favorite is a wholesale shop on Pico Blvd,(Rimmon Imported Fabrics) about a 30 minute walk south of me in Westwood, LA. I'll be heading to the fashion district in downtown LA soon, to check out shops there, but for now I have a couple ideas for my autism dress design, which I hope to start soon. The design of the dress at this point will consist of various fabrics that overstimulate the viewer/wearer, in a tactile, visual, and auditory sense. I hope that my design will reflect the actual experience of someone with autism, based on the prevailing theory in neuroscience that autism is a result of overstimulation in the brain. I'll be talking with kids who have autism next week hopefully, to learn more of the details of what it is like.
Starting out
Hello.
This will be my blog for the summer, where I'll be documenting my Neural Fashion project. The project will be my own mix of art and science, specifically neuroscience and fashion. I hope to follow the model of Helen and Kate Storey, two sisters who created a line of clothing, Primitive Streak, inspired by the first 1000 hours of human life [1]. I would like to make a clothing line from scratch to convey the humanity of neuroscience. So far, the topics I plan to cover will include depression, autism, neural conductivity, synesthesia and neuron structure.
I chose clothing as a medium due to the ability of the wearer to interact with the clothing, and derive a more personalized meaning from the outfit. The final goal is to have clothing designs that have an educational value of a high caliber such that an MIT professor would consider using them as teaching tools in class, while maintaining an aesthetic value that they could be exhibited in a museum.
[1] Primitive Streak collection and explanation: http://www.primitive-streak.org/introduction.html
This will be my blog for the summer, where I'll be documenting my Neural Fashion project. The project will be my own mix of art and science, specifically neuroscience and fashion. I hope to follow the model of Helen and Kate Storey, two sisters who created a line of clothing, Primitive Streak, inspired by the first 1000 hours of human life [1]. I would like to make a clothing line from scratch to convey the humanity of neuroscience. So far, the topics I plan to cover will include depression, autism, neural conductivity, synesthesia and neuron structure.
These are two sample designs I have in mind for the project. Hopefully I'll be adding more detail over the summer.
I chose clothing as a medium due to the ability of the wearer to interact with the clothing, and derive a more personalized meaning from the outfit. The final goal is to have clothing designs that have an educational value of a high caliber such that an MIT professor would consider using them as teaching tools in class, while maintaining an aesthetic value that they could be exhibited in a museum.
[1] Primitive Streak collection and explanation: http://www.primitive-streak.org/introduction.html
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