Papercrafting maps & stories for non-humans, knitting microbiology and biodiversity back into the social
A group of artists, biodiversity researchers designers and paper enthusiasts will be meeting bi-monthly to jam and experiment on paper through crumpled situated storied folding human and non-humans together around Morecambe Bay.
| Date | Venue | people | focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 May 2019 | The Exchange CIC | Ross Dalziel, Glenn Boulter, Claire Dean, Liz Edwards, Hwa Young Jung and Serena Pollastri | Introductions & ideas |
This repository is for interesting links elsewhere, possible project management and resources for papercrafting
We shared some of our paper interests:
Claire on how she focuses on the materialism of writing; what and how and where we write matters
Glenn's training as a printmaker and love of simple books you can make with folds and sewing. We especially liked his handmade book about his friend who was a karaoke Freddie Mercury
Liz and her conductive inks-sound tableaus with schoolchildren looking at BioDiversity in the bay.
Hwa Young Jung on her gamemaking and relationship with origami.
Ross likes embedding in spaces to take part in the culture; hackspaces or more recently biology labs. The importance of crafting as a space making activity for talking and thinking
Below is a list or materials or techniques we either mentioned, had a go at or brought samples of
The next meeting will have a more defined focus hosted by one of the group in a focus related venue. Thanks to Liz for organising the Exchange as our first meeting. Track progress of issue 1 for next meetings.
Ross also wondered about the antibiotic resistant discs used in Microbiology assay techniques for multiple tests with cultured bacteria. These are used in the Division of BioMedical Life Sciences at Lancaster University and play a part in Dr Rod Dillon and Dr Jackie Parry's MircoMart teaching module.
Making an assemblage of existing paper 'testing' techniques and DIY microfluidics is a good first step, perhaps mixing up hydrophobic paper stocks, waxed paper etc. A paper collage dipped in water designed to react in different ways, and visualise, reveal different elements...it's Interactive Non-Fiction but in paper form
After looking at Hwa Young's Probationary and Rod Dillon & colleagues Parasite-in-a-box would be nice to think of some board games about biodiversity. Claire is having to learn how to play Dungeons & Dragons, so maybe a biodiversity RPG is a good idea. Hwa Young had the idea of parlour games for the anthropocene; my Soilscape game hack of glenn's Wray Castle game could fit nicely ;) Gaia McGaia Face
(C6H10O5)n
1000s of polymer chains make up the cellulose fibres mashed up into paper. Worth looking into some of the science in Chromatography
Ross & Claire both like the idea of drawing water up into paper structures.
The principle of Paper Chromatography is not far from this idea, as is pH litmus paper.
Paper Chromatography as applied to identifying the amino acids in DNA is described in this PDF
Paper Chromatography uses the properties of mashed up cellulose fibres (paper) to seperate out substances as they interact with the stationary phase (the paper) and the mobile phase (some kind of solvent, depending on what you need. Water is the 'universal solvent' of course).
Embedding inks, seeds or Lichen like living things in paper could use this process in an interesting way.
Claire showed us how to use slightly waxy paper that could be intensley crumpled into sculptural shapes
Simple writing and drawing into soft thick paper stock makes a nice feel to paper
- Cut Fold Templates currently down
- Folding Techniques
- Folding Bone Tool Glenn uses
Claire and I talked about her fascination with Lichens and I wondered how you could embed lichens in homemade paper.
This guide to Lichenometry is interesting comparing lichens across 10 year gaps of time to infer things about recent history of the landscape. When we talked about making things to promote 'noticeing' in Liz's conductive ink prints & interactive bird song we didnt talk about noticeing time. Projecting how we notice time in climate and biodiversity issues could be something to explore. The time needed to make some of the things we thought about is important; next time we could make things based on all we've introduced so far and see where this takes us.
Ross is exploring DIY practices in microfluidics. He's been looking at a brilliant blog by Liz Tsai and the Science Practice blogpost on DIY microfluidics experiments.
These two posts contain alot of stuff to work on and Ross is using alot of the techniques in his research on kit-culture in bioscience.
Liz showed us some image of Rogan Browns laser cut hand assembled images inspired by the microbiological
Serena has made some really nice perforated maps. Ive been using the DoESLiverpool Vinyl Cutter to cut into maps so will try seeing how to do that.
My friend Sean had idea of getting maps of changing coastlines and allow people to tear of the coast that might be disappearing.
Liz talked about artist Jane Norris' work on making objects that fuse materials together.
MAKING POLYCHRONIC OBJECTS FOR A NETWORKED SOCIETY
We realised making structures with different papers with various hydrophobic, absorbant, folding, chromagraphic, conductive properties could be a nice approach, although we agreed a bit more focus on one or two things might be an idea.
With Ross's social science / Science and Technology Studies hat on assembling these craft and science practices within the framework of paper crafting is an interesting approach that really focuses in on the materiality of what we are making. Combined with the intimacy of folding, unfolding, making and using paper this could be a really useful way of making things that conversations about place and biodiversity can take place around.
They are like the "found formats" that Hwa Young thinks about and are part of the rationale for Domestic Science using text adventure games or board games to think about something.
Ross is using the idea of kits as not just like Susan Leigh Star's Boundary Objects but as Boudary methods or practices. Its something you can interact with/ or a thign to 'do' across disciplines and backgrounds. These arent neutral things though, in making say a biodiversity papercrafted map we have political intent and in what things we choose to look at situate them somewhere, or in trying to educate we make assumptions about what people know or care about who may come into contact with our paper things.
Liz's interfaces with bare conductive boards with school children to record and playback the bird calls from birds in the bay onto a printed backdrop of the shoreline.
Glenn talked about his work with Full Of Noises and SoundCamp and the Soundcamping events
Across the bay you can hear the Gull Spit Microphone and another Walney live stream Microphone
Making paper objects that are designed to interact with water
Can inhibit the absorbant quality of paper and help form microfluidic channels