Experimentation – Karyn Easton

Mar 28

by Karyn in Collaborations, Exhibitions, Experimentation, Materials, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs, Videos 0 comments tags: Collaborations, Exhibitions, Experimentation, Materials, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs, Videos

Mattering Life Day #5

Presentations & Evening Event – This morning the whole room was a hive of activity. We were each given a slot to present our work. Charlotte ‘played a blinder’ because she volunteered for us to go first in order to get it over and done with. I absolutely agreed with her sentiment, because it meant that we could sit back and relax and enjoy the presentations from everyone else. Both Kismat and Hyejo worked phenomenally hard to finish the zine and the Powerpoint presentation respectively. I was really feeling the pressure too because I had a short film to produce. I think as a team we all worked amazingly well together! PowerPoint Presentation PDF The following PowerPoint presentation was put together by Hyejo who worked really hard on Friday morning to compile everything ready for our presentation. Beyond Earth PowerPoint Presentation Film Below is the film that I created for the group. The video is a mix of my photographs of Charlotte’s dendritic paintings and my AI filtered time-lapses of Sarah, Leah and Hyejo’s growing chemical gardens. Zine Kismat who is studying for an MA in graphic design worked really hard to […]

Mar 28

by Karyn in Collaborations, Experimentation, Lectures, Materials, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs 0 comments tags: Collaborations, Experimentation, Lectures, Materials, Photography, Unit 3 Blogs

Mattering Life – Day #4

Professor Kosuke Fujishima & More Lab Time – This morning we had a talk by Professor Kosuke Fujishima from the Fujishima Lab at the Earth Life Sciences Institute in the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Experiments from The Grow Lab The plan for today was to to get as much material as possible together in order to assemble a presentation that would align with our chosen topic of ‘Beyond Earth’ and the chemical gardens. Shem the lab technician had suggested that displacing the chemical garden solution and replacing it with epoxy resin might be a great way of preserving the structures. As lab space had been particularly tight in the last ‘Grow Lab Session’ only 3 members of each group were allowed to work in there at any given time. We managed to organise this really well between us. I was interested in recording what was being created and Kismat wanted to remain behind to work on the group’s zine. We decided to create a short film, a variety of chemical gardens and a zine for our presentation scheduled for tomorrow morning. Below is a selection of images and closeups that I took of my chemical garden and […]

Mar 23

by Karyn in Collaborations, Experimentation, Materials, Unit 3 Blogs 0 comments tags: Collaborations, Experimentation, Materials, Unit 3 Blogs

Mattering Life – Day #3

Choosing a Team – Day three was all about formulating our ideas and finding a team that we each felt most aligned with those ideas. The ideas window had certainly continued to grow from the day before. Topics Begin to Emerge Slowly but surely topics began to emerge. Ideas were grouped onto six white boards. Below are pictures of the whiteboards with ideas. Project Titles Eventually everyone settled on their groups and project titles although some of the decisions weren’t finalised till day four. I was quite worried at first as my ideas just didn’t seem to fit anywhere. I felt quite sad especially as one of the groups was vociferously against any notion of AI. Given my research paper I should have known that some people would be opposed to AI. However, after wandering around aimlessly for a while, I finally found my fit and a great set of team members. Below are the project titles which developed from the topic boards above. I chose the project team ‘Beyond Earth’ and they very kindly let me join them. Meet the Team Afternoon in the Grow Lab We all spent Wednesday afternoon […]

Mar 19

by Karyn in Collaborations, Experimentation, Food for Thought, Lectures, Materials, My Learning, Unit 3 Blogs, Workshops 0 comments tags: Collaborations, Experimentation, Food for Thought, Lectures, Materials, My Learning, Unit 3 Blogs, Workshops

Mattering Life – Workshops Day #2

Samples Collection & Experimentation – As we arrived back at CSM most of us were feeling pretty tired. It had been an intense but very enjoyable morning in the science labs at UCL (University College London). However, we were all pretty excited to start collecting our samples. We felt it would be a great idea to collect some canal water, some moss, and some leaves. I was really keen to examine the dregs of my Chai Latte so I popped some in a little sample bottle. I wasn’t so keen to grab the canal water but luckily Charlotte a fellow member of the group was on hand to do this. Charlotte Collecting Samples Below is a mix of clips from Days #1 and #2 – they range from crystal garden crystals, to sample collecting, to fruit fly equipment and oxygen free cabinets. Sample Analysis and Experimentation After Lunch we had a quick de-brief then we headed off into the grow lab for some sample analysis and experimentation. Shem and Barbera were our technicians. Shem produced the first four of the following time-lapse sequences. The rest were produced by our group and shot by […]

Mar 18

by Karyn in Collaborations, Experimentation, Lectures, Materials, Timelapse, Unit 3 Blogs, Workshops 0 comments tags: Collaborations, Experimentation, Lectures, Materials, Timelapse, Unit 3 Blogs, Workshops

Mattering Life Day #1

Grow Lab Intro, Lectures and Workshop – Today was the first day of the ‘Mattering Life’ Programme. Firstly, I needed to attend the ‘Grow Lab’ at 10.00am for an induction session. Here we went through everything we needed to be safe while using the lab. Heather Barnett – Introductory Talk After completing our induction session Heather introduced us all to the people we would be working with throughout the week. We filled out our consent forms and she also gave an introductory talk. I have included a selection of slides for reference. A Selection of Intro Slides Talk By Nick Lane Next we had a talk by Nick Lane which helped to highlight some of the problems that science was facing when trying to define ‘What is Life?’ and ‘What is Living’ Below are a selection of slides for reference. Nick Lane – Selection of Slides Masahiko Hara The next talk was by Masahiko Hara, who posed the question ‘What is Colour, Fundamentally?’ On balance it would seem that colour is as a result of brain perception as opposed to eye perception. The eyes ‘see’ but it is the brain that actually decoded the […]

Mar 08

by Karyn in 3d, Artists, Collaborations, Experimentation, Lectures, Low Residency, Unit 3 Blogs, Workshops 0 comments tags: 3d, Artists, Collaborations, Experimentation, Lectures, Low Residency, Unit 3 Blogs, Workshops

Low Residency Day #1

All Things Pink – We had lots of fun today! Alex Schady put on a fab pink themed workshop. If I’m totally honest I struggled to get my sculpture to ‘work’ exactly as I wanted it to, but it was still a great session! I got a little sidetracked by some of the materials I was using. I became quite absorbed by the layers of plastic that I could create. However, the project brief required the sculpture to hold a smartphone. Unfortunately my sculpture was a little flimsy and my phone very heavy, so it was a recipe for disaster. Luckily my creation just about managed to make it to the end of the day. Below is a picture of Alex Schady in the photographic studio wearing his sculpture. I really liked Alex’s creation, which was a much better and more solid design for holding a smartphone. Shots of My Creation Below are some shots of my strange pink layered sculpture. Sadly it really struggled to hold my heavy iPhone. However, I did manage to shoot some video. Textures I was really intrigued by the textures created by the plastic layers of my creation. So when […]

Feb 04

by Karyn in 3d, Augmented Reality, Collaborations, Experimentation, Photography, Problem Solving, Risk Taking, Unit 3 Blogs 0 comments tags: 3d, Augmented Reality, Collaborations, Experimentation, Photography, Problem Solving, Risk Taking, Unit 3 Blogs

Keep it Moving

Small Steps – Big Changes. I had to write yesterday off almost completely as I had so many non MA activities to complete. These duties ranged from setting up a new phone for a family member, to composing and posting an important letter. However, today was much more productive. I managed to test my concept and augment a number of my mobile elements. Early indicators suggest that ‘all things going well’ – I should be able to realise my vision. My greatest fear was that the mobile wouldn’t augment very well. I also worried that the elements were too close together, and as such would interfere with one another when augmenting. It appears that as long as the user/viewer is careful then each item should augment separately. Up to this point it has been a bit of a risk. Today the concept however was tested and seems to work. Athena the robot continues to 3d print but this activity is also not without risk. Jamie (my collaboration partner’s) 3d printer isn’t always consistent and parts often become loose from the 3d printer bed. This ultimately leads to print failures which is slowing down the project. On a more positive […]

Feb 25

by Karyn in Abstract Art, Collaborations, Drawings, Experimentation, My Work, Patterns, Photography 0 comments tags: Abstract Art, Collaborations, Drawings, Experimentation, my work, Patterns, Photography

Let’s Get Physical

Exploring the Physical – I have spoken a few times now about my desire to move my work into a more physical form. Starting this process has actually been quite difficult for me. However a few weeks ago I was given a wonderful opportunity to change all of this. One of my fellow students Shirin Majid was embarking on a really exciting project and asked our WhatsApp group if they would like to participate. She explained briefly about her idea and I felt that I would love to join in. Shirin had made some postcards for us all to complete. Her design would be on one half of a side and we were to finish the card by adding ours to the other half of the side. I am a massive fan of abstract art and Shirin’s work is certainly no exception. She produces strong bold colourful geometric shapes that really resonate with me. When my little postcard finally arrived (delayed due to postal strike), I was super excited! Just like everything life soon got in the way and it took me a while from receiving my card to completing it. One of the biggest problems I faced was […]

Jan 10

Vilde Rolfsen – Inspired Work

Beautiful Destruction – For a few weeks now I have been wrestling with ideas for my research statement. Ideally I would like to integrate some form of current affairs or pressing agenda into my work but I wasn’t quite sure how to approach this. I then remembered a shoot I’d done a little while ago. I stumbled across an artist called Vilde Rolfsen. I found her plastic bag landscapes absolutely fascinating. Not only was her idea clever it was also visually very appealing. Her images are certainly creative. There’s just something special about taking such a mundane object like a plastic bag and transforming it into an amazing landscape. Below is a small gallery of her images. Vilde Rolfeson – Plastic Bag Landscape Responses to Vilde Rolfeson I felt that Vilde Rolfeson had produced something truly unique. However, inspired by her idea I wanted to use her imagery as a base to experiment further. I was also keen to incorporate elements of animation and time into my experimentation as this ties in heavily with my theme. Most of Vilde Rolefson’s plastic bag imagery is light and bright, therefore I decided to take a slightly darker approach. I wanted […]

Nov 08

Blender – Who Knew?

Using Blender to Simulate Chladni Patterns – In order to make a successful Chladni Pattern, it is important to generate a strong tone. Where fingers are placed on the plate is also crucial. I have discovered that to produce a tone and beautiful pattern is not a quick or easy process. It takes both practice and patience. Jokingly, I feel that at the end of this process, I may not have great Chladni patterns, but I’ll probably manage a grade 8 in the violin! Joking aside, this is a real and fundamental problem that I need to solve in order to move forward. In order to help me work with my bow and plate I looked for a number of YouTube tutorials of which there were a few. The people in the videos made the bowing and Chladni pattern generation look so easy! I spoke to the maker of my kit and he explained that actually it’s not that easy and practice and patience makes perfect. Below are a couple of videos where pattern generation is made to look really simple. Chladni Plate with Violin Bow Chladni Patterns – Aluminium Plate and Violin Bow Time is Not […]