Instructables - Part 1

For my Instructables project, I decided to do a project similar to the 'Illuminated Tunnel Book' project that I found at http://www.instructables.com/id/Illuminated-Tunnel-Book/

The project is basically to make layers of an overall picture that when added together make a whole picture. The light added in the back adds an illumination aspect to the project. The finished piece is an art piece that can have sentimental value to the creator (as it did for the original author of this project).

I thought that the idea was really beautiful. When I was initially looking through the pages of creative projects that different people had worked on, I was amazed at the diversity of ideas and mediums for their creations. However, I also found that most of them were things that I wouldn't necessary find useful or things that I would want to keep. I picked this particular project, because I felt that it would be something feasible (in a sense of materials that I had available) and it would be something aesthetically pleasing. I liked the idea of recreating this, while putting my own spin on things. I liked being able to pick my own theme and my own pictures to be displayed. I thought that that would give a chance to make mistakes with the project and run into issues that the creator did not mention or showcase on the instructables site. 

The original creator, Cheezwedge, had an idea to create this for his wife as a gift for their anniversary. I thought that this idea was very sweet (and some of the users who commented on the post seemed to agree with me). The next thing that I had to decide was what theme I wanted or what pictures I could see being a part of this tunnel book. 

The first page that I made was the waves (front page). I used this picture as the inspiration for what I wanted the waves to look like. I started by making two straight lines along the long side of the paper that were equidistant from the edges. I then measured to the midpoint between those two lines and drew curves. I then moved the two curves in about an inch. I used that as the stencil for where to draw the designs on the subsequent pieces of paper. I drew the waves on free hand in the shape that I wanted them. In hindsight, I would have drawn this on the backside of the paper instead of the front, because I ended up flipping the pages over. (I didn't want the pencil marks to be visible). This also ended making the waves backwards from how I initially designed them.

I used this as the inspiration for the mountain patterns.

I decided that I wanted to do a mermaid theme. The fact that she's a mermaid doesn't quite get captured in the shot, which is something that I might try to change if I tried this project again. However, I didn't really like the other mermaid silhouettes that I found on Google Images. I think that the pose that she is making is a pretty stand-out moment in the movie 'The Little Mermaid' though, so maybe the viewer/audience would understand that reference.

My first try for the design. I wanted to make a mini version of the project with sticky notes so that I could see what I should cut out and what I should keep so that the paper would stand up correctly and be illuminated correctly as well.

I then made the mountains in the background. I made the mermaid figure last. I did this in order to best judge how large I wanted to make the mermaid silhouette. 

I then made the bindings of the "tunnel book". The original author made each fold about 1 inch. However, I did not want to try to bind multiple pieces of paper together and I only had 8.5" x 11" sheets, so I decided to make the folds about half the size that he had (0.5 inch). The original author only used four layers, so the measurements added up. However, I decided to do seven including the back blank layer. 

This is the project laying flat. 

However, when I bound the left side of the pages together and stood the project up (instead of laying it flat), I realized that the mermaid was too flimsy to stand on her own. She continued to lean forward instead of standing straight up like I had anticipated. The cardstock paper was not strong enough and she was too thin, so I had to think of a quick fix.

 

I decided to add backing in a way that was somewhat artistic (hopefully). I added thin strips of paper to hold her to the more sturdy parts of the paper. I was hoping that the strips of paper would look like light shining across the water or some sort of reflection. Some early viewers of the project said that the "mermaid" now looked like a rockstar in the middle of the ocean... or a mermaid rockstar. I suppose either of those work for me.

I then saw that she was staying as I wanted her now (standing erect) and decided that it was okay to add the right sides binding now.

This is a topical view of the project's bindings. I used the paper clips to hold the sides together as the glue keeping them together was drying. I didn't make the square cut-outs to make sheets align straight (the purpose of those were to make sure the layers of the book did not bend with the bindings). However, I felt that my binding folds were too small to cut the squares out and keep the layers glued sturdily enough to them. I did not think that it would make a huge difference, but it is noticeable when looking at the project from the top that the pages are bending somewhat.

 The full view of the project as it dries.

I bought cardstock paper for the thickness and hoped that it would help keep the project positioned correctly (and keep it from ripping). I also decided to buy paper that had double-sided color (each side was a different color). I thought then I would be able to add a white LED light instead of a blue light like the original author did. I also thought that it would be interesting to see how all the colors looked together as the white light passed through them all and the backsides were a different color.

I thought that this assignment was a really great experience. I think that a lot of times in classrooms, we get stuck in the same routine and just going through the motions. There is a lot that we miss by not actually getting our hands dirty and living the experiences. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to complete this project. I know that it probably will not be as technically savvy as some of the other projects in the class might be, but I enjoyed being able to take the time out of my day(s) to focus on just make something. There is a huge connection between what we have been reading and discussing in class about the significance of making and the maker movement to the projects that each of us have completed, regardless of the projects that we chose. In my eyes, the projects that we completed are our first (baby) steps into becoming part of the maker movement that has really spread its wings of influence in recent years.