Monday 5 September 2016

Jupiter Art Land Work Experience!



During the summer while I was working on many exciting prop building projects (watch this space for the build write ups!) I was also working at Jupiter Art Land as a learning assistant. Inspiring and nurturing creativity in children is something I am very passionate about and before I go to study a BA in Model Effects at university next year I want to spend time developing this passion.
During my time at Jupiter I helped to run the children's art classes and workshops. From making pipe cleaner figures to bug houses to mud pies, helping and watching the children find their inner creativity was a truly inspirational experience!

One thing (which one can't fully appreciate until one has seen it) is the fact that a child's creativity has no limit. They have not experienced enough of the world to know what is and what isn't possible. They are explorers, finding and making new discoveries every day. Children aren't shackled by the rules, regulations, political ideas and social anxieties which prevent adults from truly expressing their creative voices. The raw, unfettered imagination a child possesses is a truly incredible thing to see.


From the wise words of  Pablo Picasso:

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.


My experience working at Jupiter Art Land exceeded my expectations. Not only working with the children but also working with the teachers, who's passion and commitment towards their work was truly inspiring.




Saturday 3 September 2016

Drill Lathe!


First of all, what do you think of my face shield? xD 
The army helmet was a prop used in a movie my brother and I made along time ago and the perspex was salvaged from the top of screwdriver set case. Remember, safety never takes a vacation!
So I needed a lathe for one of my next projects however lacking the funds to purchase one, I decided to make my own. I'd had a drill laying around in my shop for quite some time and I finally got to scratch the itch and turn it into something useful! Fortunately it's a corded drill rather than a battery powered one, although the motor will eventually burn out, it will take a lot longer than if it were battery powered. I started with a couple of designs on paper then took to the nets to gather some more ideas. I found a video by Izzy Swan who's video on how to make a cheap lathe was very useful:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwE_2Owp3fA

I had planned a rather extensive build write-up for this project however the technology gods had other ideas.. my phone broke (I had an LG G4 which has gone into the boot-loop malfunction. Apparently nearly all G4s will encounter the issue at some point. If you've had a similar problem LG are offering a solution, read more about it here) and I lost all my build processes pictures. So unfortunately I won't be able to do a build write up for this project. I have, however made a video showing the lathe in action!

The video shows me trying the lathe out for the very first time and so I'm only really testing to see if everything works properly (making sure the motor has enough torque to continue spinning while I'm applying pressure to the wood ect.) My chisel set is yet to arrive in the post so I had to use an old rusty one I found in our garage.

In the future I would love to buy my own lathe, but for now my "drillathe-o-matic" will serve as a great starting point and suits my current requirements. Overall I'm very happy with the way it turned out and if you too need a lathe and don't have the budget to purchase one, I would definitely recommend giving this little project a go!

Watch the video here: