Back to Printing!

When I'm not too busy with all the interactive madness on this course, I like to do what I love most PRINT!  I'm currently a member of the Limerick Printmakers and thats where I have all my inky fun! I use there studio space and facilities for screen printing. I print my own original artwork and apparel and thought I'd share a couple of pictures of what I get up to in the studio.

I'm also setting up an etsy account so my work is available to buy online and you can check out the finished product on my Facebook page EVEEZOO!

Arduino Hacking!!

Today was our last class of Arduino hacking!  Monday and Friday mornings with Mikeal can be stressful and terrifying trying to keep up but always very rewarding when those lil LED's start flicker!

We really have learnt a lot in just a few weeks.  Programs we learnt to use were Fritzing, which is an open source software that allows us, the designer, to create a virtual prototype of what we are going to do with our arduinos, where we place our LEDs, resistors etc. 

We've been using fritzings schematic view which allows to look at and design the Arduinos electrical circuit;

Fritzing also has a breadboard view which allows us to look at and interperet the physical layout of what we plan to do with our Arduinos;

Once we have figured out what the physical layout of arduinos and breadboards should look like, and all our elements are placed correctly,  we then move on to coding, this where the magic happens!! (ya I said it,  I'm officially a nerd now)  Coding software is available on the Arduino website, and is very similar to the language used in Processing. This is where we instruct the function of all the elements attached to our arduino and control how they behave.

But wait there's more! We also added an element of Pure Data, which is an Open Source software similar to Max Msp.  It is a visual programming language used for creating interactive computer music and sound, and multimedia.  

Some of the areas we covered were;

Pulse Modulation; This allowed us to control the sequence and speed in witch the LEDs flickered.

Sensor Light Readings; To do this we used a small sensor that was able to take readings of the intensity of light in it's environment for example when the sensors light was blocked the number was lower, and when it was exposed to intense light it was higher, my readings ranged from 300 - 700.

Using the sensor we also implemented code so when the readings from the sensor were low ie if the light to the sensor was being blocked the LEDs would be brighter and if the light in the environment was stronger the LED would be dimmer.

Rotary Potentiometer; Using an RP we were able to change the direction and speed of the LEDs

Piezo Speaker; After adding elements of code the PS played musical notes in sequence with the LED's.  Later we combined the speaker and the sensor and made our very own Theremins! This was  definitely the most fun element,  there isn't a more beautiful sound than a classroom chorus of homemade theremins...ahem.  

Interesting Websites.

I've been searching through a  lot of different websites looking for inspiration and stumbled upon one on www.awwwards.com that I really liked, it had also been awarded site of the month!
Here a couple os screen shots that I took!

The site is by Portuguese web designer Ricardo Mestre, who has branded himself as Duplos. Your eye is immediately guided to the playful and colourful speech bubbles in the centre of the page, some of which are animated and others are not.  You can easily navigate through the site, as you would expect the animated bubbles are links to other pages the designer has created.  The speech bubbles are labled "my projects" where you can check out his other websites he has designed,  "follow me" where you can look at what he does on social media twitter, facebook and finally "I work at" here can have a look at the company he works.
What I really like about the site is that although it uses quite playful and stark colours and  fun quirky fun language the site still remains quite sleek and professional.  The site doesn't adhere to convention, it simply stands alone as somewhat of a landing page were you can branch off to other websites he has designed creating.  The site is simply starting point of a portfolio where you can delve in and investigate his other work more thoroughly.
There are also a couple of little hidden animations that keep the veiwer intrigued and amused!
Here is his website for you to check out!
http://duplos.org/

Eveezoo

Eveezoo is a brand I created to sell my artwork and apparel.  I create hand printed t-shirts and tote bags and of course my own original artwork. I'll be posting more about my new work here, but for now you can check out what I've already done on my facebook page here!

Photography

Saturday I took a Canon EOS 350d to Dromineer, a scenic spot on just outside Nenagh, on Lough Gur.  I went out there with the intention of taking pretty pictures of the lake and wild life.  But I also stumbled upon an abandoned house, and I took a look inside.  What I found was some really interesting textures from peeling paint, rotten wood, vine growing on manmade objects.  The furniture was in a bit of disarray which resulted in some pretty haunting shots.