This week:

My meeting with Natalie Rudolph went well and I think we will be able to collaborate in the future.  However, the work we were talking about would be for next year, due to timeline restrictions.  I’ll be continuing to meet with her through the rest of the semester and I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to produce some work for my 3rd year MFA show.

I was extremely fortunate to receive a significant grant that will almost completely fund this semester’s show.  While this is incredibly exciting and humbling, I now need to work a couple of items I had written into the grant but had assumed I wouldn’t get funding for back into the project.  Most significantly, I now have the budget to create a video to support the gallery display of my work.  This will allow me to show the garments on moving bodies, in addition to the more static, interactive display.  I’m in the process of finding a videographer in order to determine a reasonable time frame fro video production.  Then I can readjust my calendar in order to make sure I have the garments completed in time.

On the production front, I wired up a sample of the conductive sensing technology using the copper taffeta.  I was able to get usable readings, but not quite the range I’m looking for.  I think adding more resistors to the system should resolve this easily.  I ordered some material swatches and have finalized my list of garments for the most part.  I’m currently working on sketches as I move into patterning.

Next week:

After picking up some supplies my plan for the upcoming week is to finalize the capacitive sensing technology, mock up the extendable hood mechanics for one of my garments (a hooded sweater) and, once that is complete, drape the fabric to accommodate that framework.  This will allow me to purchase the yarn by the end of the week and start knitting early the following week.