Brain Signals

Intention

What is the heart but a muscle?  What we call the heart and its associated emotions is nothin more than signals in the brain.  This project focuses on the brain and its structure, and how from that structure arises signals that translate complex meaning.  Just as electrical and chemicals signals in the brain create heart-felt emotion, the physical structure of the brain in this project along with electrical signals lead to illumination.

Process

1. Big idea: This project will have a brain structure made of conductive material surrounded by lights that mimic the brain lighting up.  There needs to be a power source and a switch, say a symbolic heart, to complete the circuit.

2. The Circuit: Basics of what my circuit looks like, where the brain is one of the long horizontal parts.

3. Cut iron-on conductive copper fabric with Cricut plotter cutter

4. Iron on to brain backing and cut holes for the lights

5. Make the heart switch with felt and copper iron-on

6. Sew lights behind brain piece

6. Sew everything into the circuit on canvas!

Product

I used several skills we learned in class in this project.  The entire project is hand sewn, mostly with conductible thread.  The lights are placed in a parallel circuit, with the brain making up part o the circuit and the heart being the switch.  Lastly, I cut the intricate brain design out of copper fabric using a Cricut plotter cutter.  All in all, this project makes uses of a wide range of the techniques we learned in this class.

Reflection

The final product in this project looked much simpler than I expected, however the effect is still striking.  The first time I tried making the brain pattern, I used a laser cutter, and the copper ended up very burn, and part of it was even set on fire.  The cuts in the brain pattern come very close together at times and the material was much better suited for the plotter cutter, so my second try turned out beautifully.  

I think one of the hardest parts of this project was designing the circuit so it integrated nicely into the pattern.  Parts of the brain boarder make up the circuit, but parts are extra and added in simply to create the boarder.  I had to be careful not to let any of the conductive thread cross in the back or touch each other where they weren't supposed to.  

One thing I would have liked to learn to make the finish of this project look more polished would be how to hem the round edges of the canvas, which are raw and already beginning to fray.

Over all, this project was a good lesson in integrating skills, and the final product is fun and interactive

Sample Book