April 18 2019, 11-17:00, Junge Tüftler, Berlin

// This workshop is only open to Junge Tüftler MitarbeiterInnen.

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Adventuring with Materials – a proposal for getting lost and coming home
by Hannah Perner-Wilson
Building electronics have become very much a learning about the functionality of electronic components, and not an experiencing of the electrical properties of electronic materials. A learning about leads to a thinking about what we can do with electronics, rather than allowing for ideas to emerge from playful encounters with their material properties.

This short making adventure explores the idea of setting out on a journey with the materials of electronics, getting lost and returning home to reflect upon the experience.

Photos >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/plusea/albums/72157679917336258

Workshop zine front/back:

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SCHEDULE (3 hours)

15min – Introduction to:
– the idea of departing on such a journey
– a selection of material groups that participants can choose to work with
– techniques for capturing your process in order to be able to revisit it later

120min – Adventure with the materials

15min – Individually map your journey, write your story

30min – Storytelling: share our encounters as short stories

wrap-up: reveal some of the theory behind the materials of electronics, demonstrate more possibilities and other works

discussion: what do you think of this workshop?

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MEET THE MATERIALS
You can’t travel freely if your bag is too heavy. You can always pick up more supplies along the way.
Gather only a small selection of materials to start with. And ask yourself why you choose these particular materials.

carbon paint
carbon impregnated plastic (velostat)
conductive fabrics and threads
copper tape

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GETTING LOST
A playful, open-ended, material exploration process, a wandering with materials in the hope they will lead you astray.

why?
And why would I want to do that?
To change your perspective, to de-familiarize yourself and rediscover relations

how?
How do go about getting lost? Where do I start?
Make time, eliminate distractions, focus
Warm up by starting off with something familiar, with something you have done before….
As soon as a question forms in your head, write it down. Take note of where that question came from?

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CAPTURING PROCESS
Take snapshots of your thoughts, observations, feelings, make samples of your experiments and the materials you work with.

why?
That sounds like a lot of extra work, what is the point of documenting everything I do?
Because we humans are curious. We like to understand ourselves, including our own creative process.
Collecting memorabilia along the way will allow us to observe where our ideas come from – who is leading who.

how?
Can you give me some tips on how to be good at this?
Be diligent about taking notes, photos and videos, always have pencil and paper at hand.
When you are stuck on an idea, try writing or sketching out your thoughts. Maybe even write a letter to the material you are struggling with to tell it what you are thinking.
Develop a notation system.

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COMING HOME
A connecting of the collected information in order to trace your steps and reflect on your process.

When you return from an adventure, what is the first thing you do?
I tell my friends where i have been and what it was like!
You weave your experiences into stories and they are what remain for you to remember.

why?
“every movement forward is also a looking back”
Give credit where credit is due – when where you, and when was the material leading the way

how?
Lay out everything in front of you on a clear surface and explore different ways of arranging all that you have collected during your adventure

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Zine pages:

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The photos used to illustrate this workshop process are taken from my Making Masks: journeying into the unknown project.