Julia Proctor HONORS 212A DIY and Maker Culture Spring 2015
Looking through the Lens to Magnify Feminist Issues
Reflection on the Making Process -
Something that I have always done in projects that I was assigned was really taken advantage of the opportunity to explore part of my own identity and figuring out how to express that in the work that I present to my professors and advisors. It makes the project more interesting, personal, and ensures that the person completing the project is invested. I also firmly believe that you can’t contribute to a project in the same manner if you don’t have a personal motivation for the project. In this case, I am a molecular biology student at the University of Washington and really love everything about science as it relates to life. I am also really passionate about human rights movements and seeking equality for all humans.
Feminism is one of the examples of political statements that we covered in our class. However, I did not feel that it was correctly and fully represented. There is a lot to cover and so it would be impossible to cover all of the messages of feminism, but the issues are issues that I, as a female, inherently face every day and so it was a message that I wanted to try my best to convey. I think that a lot of people overlook feminism and consider feminists a group of radical women that want to eradicate men. This is definitely radical, but it’s not true. At least in my eyes, and most of my peers’ eyes, feminism is really about equality between the genders. It may seem that society has worked through a lot of these issues and given women rights, since we are now allowed to vote. This was a win in the books, but women are still consistently paid considerably less and significantly underrepresented in many fields, including STEM.
This project allowed me to explore the intersections between feminism and STEM, which are both significant parts of my identity. The underrepresentation of women can be alienating and intimidating when working in the fields, and this should never be a factor in deciding what discipline to study. This is what I wanted to be examined in my project. The next part was figuring out how to represent my political statements on feminism within my project.
I show how I ended up representing this and what my final project looks like in the documentation part of this assignment. There were a lot of different ideas of what critical making really meant that were presented to us in class through the readings that we were assigned. For me, critical making is really about the little lessons that you learn during the making process. I think that during the making process you can really take the time to reflect on what you know, though the focus is usually on what you didn’t know and how you coped with the lack of information to make your project work.
Through the process of building my microscope, I learned a lot. Some of the things were technical, such as how to use a drill. Other things were also slightly technical in nature, but exposed me to things that I wouldn’t otherwise ever have had the access to use, such as the laser cutter, which I used to cut my plexiglass. I really ended up doing this because my original plan didn’t work and I didn’t know what other options I had or what to do. What I really feel that I walked away from this class with was the knowledge that I have the capacity to make things and that there are a lot of materials and mediums in our everyday lives that we don’t necessarily consider.
The process of making teaches us a lot, whether technical or theoretical. During the making of my project I had to ask for a lot of help in performing tasks that I didn’t know much about. When I first went to the MakerSpace, I was intimidated by the girl to guy ratio and felt that I would be judged if I asked how to use certain equipment. However, after reaching a point where I had no idea what was going on, I went to ask a staff member for help and was relieved to find that there were other people that also did not know how to use the equipment in the space and that we had to ask another person for assistance. The staff member that I initially asked also got to learn about the equipment that I wanted to use and how it worked. For me, it was an important message to see that I was not the only one that did not know how to do things, and that learning was acceptable and encouraged. This was an important barrier for me to cross in continuing to make and expanding my skill set of things that I am able to do.
Step 1: Picking a project. When I first started thinking about what I wanted to do for this project, what I really wanted was something that would not be a waste of space. I wanted it to be something useful, something relevant to my identity and what I love. I wanted it to be something I would enjoy making and be proud to show other people that I had made. I racked through ideas, but was wholly overwhelmed by the numerous
choices possible and didn't really know how to design my own project. That felt like a step that I was not ready to commit to yet. I decided to seek advice and counsel on where to start and what to do. After getting some ideas, I decided to follow the
model of the $10 DIY microscope stand that used smartphones to capture shots of
the magnified images for my project. The important aspect of making the project significant was incorporating a theme or political statement that gave the project purpose and uniqueness. I was a little bothered by the way that we covered feminism in our class, so I decided to take the chance of representing my beliefs on feminism in this project. Whether these are right or wrong is really irrelevant, but I felt that my understanding and connection with feminism and the issues that the group fights for were misrepresented in our discussions. I also found the link between my microscope (a scientific device) and feminism, which was that females are significantly underrepresented in STEM populations and culture. I had my mind made up to make these my main points of interest for my project, but I wasn't entirely sure how to engage these ideas within the project. More ideas on that to come later.
Step 2: Finding the Supplies.
Without access to a car, and combined responsibilities at work and school made it difficult to locate and acquire the materials that I needed for this project although they were seemingly simple.
7" x 9.5" x 0.75" wood block for base
I found a wood block approximately the correct size at Michael's craft store. The hardware stores didn't have any scrap wood that was the size that I needed and I didn't want to buy an excessive amount of wood for a project that needed a 7" x 7" block for the base.
Plexiglass sheet 8" x 10" x 1/8"
I found this piece of plexiglass at a Lowe's store. It was the perfect thickness (~2mm) and its dimensions would allow for me to get a 7" x 7" piece and a 7" x 3" as well as an additional 1" strip that I could potentially use for scrap plexiglass or microscope slides.
2 wing nuts (5/16")
I found these at Lowe's hardware stores as well.
3 carriage bolts (5" x 5/16")
9 nuts (5/16")
5 washers (5/16")
I found all of these at the Lowe's store. I had originally picked out galvanized versions of all of these supplies, which are more expensive than the ones that I ended up getting. Thankfully there was an employee that came over to help me and told me about the differences. He explained that the galvanized ones were more for projects that would be outside and would be exposed to a variety of conditions and needed to be more durable.
Still need:
laser pointer focus lens (use multiple for increased magnification)
LED click light (necessary only for viewing backlit specimens)
I found an LED light in my room!
Thank goodness for picking up random free things during the 'Up Your Ave' event. I'm pretty sure it was from the hardware store on the Ave. (Was it Ace? Maybe.)
Step 4: Preparation of the Materials for Assembly.
First, I attempted to cut the plexiglass into the sizes that I needed. It is 8"x10" and I needed a 7"x7" and a 7"x3". I started by measuring a 1"x10" rectangle off the side.
Gary Reef (of Youtube) showed me how to cut and work with plexiglass. Thanks dude!
I didn't have a big box cutter like he did, but he called it an X-acto knife, and I had one of those so I thought it was worth a shot. The last inch of plexiglass was just going to be used as slides for help me tie in a political message, so I felt that making them uneven wouldn't be as big of a deal as messing up the slide holder or main base plate.
I tried using my Swiss Army knife too.... It basically didn't do anything.
After all the attempted cuts, this is what it looked like. You can't tell that much, but the lines are pretty jagged. My plexiglass was also about 2mm thick, so I thought that I would just do a couple more than he did and I would be able to break it. By my phrasing, you can probably tell that this was not the case. Possibilities: (1) The X-acto knife was too weak/not sharp enough, (2) I was not tracing in a perfectly straight line... it's harder than it looks, (3) I was not strong enough with the knife or trying to hit it off the side of my desk. In any case, it didn't work and I was ready to give up that method.
This gentleman, MissouriOldTimer, showed how to cut plexiglass with this oscillating tool. I did try to use that in the MakerSpace, but I found that it wasn't doing much of anything. It ended making a really thick rounded cut. It appeared as though it was melting the plexiglass more than it was cutting. I only did that for a small corner before someone in the MakerSpace suggested that I use the Laser Cutter.
Someone there helped me set up the software so that it would make straight cuts at the dimensions that I wanted.
Here's a picture I drew to show her what I ultimately wanted to result from the laser cutting of my plexiglass into the separate pieces.
I placed my plexiglass into the machine with a sheet of plastic underneath it. It kind of looked like a sheet protector or the sheets you use to laminate things with. I put that under the plexiglass so that the comb pattern at the bottom of the laser cutter (you can see it in the picture above) didn't transfer to my plexiglass sheet. Someone there suggested that since that had happened to him when he had cut his plexiglass. He said he though it was from the smoke that was generated due to the heat of the laser and the melting plastic. I was really appreciative that didn't happen, since there wouldn't be much point to have the glass colored/tarnished, since you need to be able to see through for the microscope to be functional.
It's hard to see in the picture above, but I had already drawn the lines on the plexiglass for where I wanted the cuts to be made. I made sure it was oriented in the correct direction and the staff member that helped me with the software checked points on the sketch to make sure that they were lining up with where I wanted my cuts (a laser pointer/red light shined down on the point she clicked on and it lined up with the lines I made on the plexiglass with sharpie). The material inputted into the machine was acrylic and the width was inputted as 2mm.
After the software/program was set up, I closed the lid, turned on the machine next to it (had to do with exhaust), pumped the petal underneath the laser cutter machine and pressed play on the computer that had the software. It took less than a minute to cut, but we waited a moment before opening the lid because of the fumes and the bad smell created by burning plexiglass.
This was the finished product. The lines were cut super straight, but the edges were tarnished a bit with a yellowish color. I'm not sure if that was due to the plexiglass burning or the sharpie marker. Either way, I was happy that the yellow marks were kept to a minimum and only on the sides.
In this picture, you can really see the dark yellow/brown tarnishes.
Next, was drilling!
Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures or documentation of me drilling because I was focused more on not injuring myself or anyone else than documentation. I also didn't have anyone with me to take pictures of me, but there were some complications that I ran into while figuring out the drill.
First, I wasn't sure if what I picked up was actually the drill. I found the bits, and they were all labeled with their widths (thank goodness). I picked out the 5/16" one, since that matched the size of my nuts, bolts, and washers. I wasn't sure how to put the bit into the drill though and was kind of freaked out about breaking something (and looking like an idiot) so I asked one of the staff members to help me. The one that had helped me with the laser cutter was the closest. She also didn't know how to do it, so I didn't feel as bad. We went to another staff member who was there to help us.
He showed both of us that there were three regions of the bit: the chisel edge (the tip that centers the drill), the flute (the cutting edge), and the shank (which holds the bit into the drill).
He then pointed out that the top of the drill, where the shank should fit in, screws open or shut. He opened the teeth wider and fit the 5/16" bit into the head and then twisted it so that it fit back into place.
He also noted that the top had numbers on top indicating the torque selection/clutch setting. He said to keep it at the picture of the drill bit (looks twisty).
After messing with it for a while and finally (thinking) I had it figured out. I had the two sheets of plexiglass lined up on top of the wooden base. I started drilling, but felt that I was making no progress. I tried to push down harder, thinking that maybe I wasn't holding it correctly. It was taking a really long time and the top sheet of plexiglass kept moving. I removed it so that I could focus on lining up the two main pieces (the 7"x7" plexiglass sheet and the 7"x7" wood base).
I continued to drill. I thought that it should be going faster, but I didn't know what else to do. I finally got through the (2mm) plexiglass for one side. It felt like I had basically melted through it to get the hole (but hey, at least it was done). I continued onto the next side and got through faster. Finally, I got tired since it seemed like the drill wasn't going through the wood at all. I tried playing with something and for some reason decided to move the button with a little drill on it to the other side.
The button that can make or break your drilling experience. I put a circle around it in white. UGHHHHH. Well, now I know, and you know. Apparently it changes the way that they drill spins. It made a big difference. When I tried drilling again and got through all eight holes within a couple of minutes. It felt like getting the others took over half an hour. I was frustrated, but at least I know not to make that mistake again.
You can see the pencil lines that I drew on my base to help me figure out where I should drill the holes. I drew a centered 7" x 7" square onto the base. I then measured two adjacent points to be 3/4" away from the two corners. I marked the locations with an 'x'. The last point was equidistant from each edge and was also 3/4" from the edge of the base.
Although I had some issues with the drill, I eventually figure it out and lined up the plexiglass sheets and wood base. I drilled the holes through on the three points. The top plexiglass sheet has the same drill holes as the wood base, but the slide stand only has two drill holes.
Here you can see that my drill holes are relatively lined up, but not entirely perfect.
This picture gives another perspective for how the three sheets aligned together.
Like I discussed, there would be more ideas on how to incorporate feminism into my project.
I went back and painted the base of the microscope black so that there was a consistent background. I also felt that it looked more sleek and polished.
I asked all of my friends to write what feminism meant to them on the bottom of the base of the microscope so that it was really examining feminism. Although I wanted to represent my ideas of feminism and make sure that the ideas were correctly expressed, I realized that there was no "right" idea. I also liked seeing what people contributed and how hard it was for some people to document what feminism meant to them. This is a less visible part of the project and to me it really represents feminism from my peers' viewpoints. Their opinions for the most part remain relatively unseen and unspoken, but this allowed them to express their thoughts, and now they can be seen if you take the time to look at the bottom of my microscope project. I think that the social aspect of this step was really meaningful and the act in and of itself forced my peers to think about what feminism was, how it affected them, and their interpretation of what it meant to them or society.
At this point, I still had not drilled a hole for the microscope's lens. I had forgotten to take the measurement of the diameter of the lens and so I did not know how big of a hole to drill.
I finally got a picture of the real drill that I used in the MakerSpace with the drill bit that I used to drill the top platform of plexiglass with for the lens hole.
I measured the lens to have a diameter of 3/16", so this was the bit size that I used. I pushed the lens into the hole that I had created for it and it seemed to fit relatively well. I removed the lens again (for transportation purposes) and took it back to my room. There I tried replacing the lens.
The lens did fit into the hole, but when I tried using the lens, I could not get it to focus. It was a lot harder than expected or anticipated. (This is trying to focus on a sticky note that says "diameter".
This lens sadly fell into a hole under my window sill in my room in Haggett. It is now lost forever, so I will have to go get another laser pointer soon...
With the last 1" wide strip of plexiglass, I decided to continue to try to make slides out of them. I got a new box cutter, which made cuts a lot better than the X-acto knife I was initially using.
Half of the 1" strip of plexiglass. (I had already cut it in half).
Quarter pieces of the original strip. The box cutter was significantly more successful in cutting through the plexiglass. I think that the length of the strips compared to the short width also gave me more leverage when hitting the pieces off of the side of the desk to break them off where I had created a cut.
I tried to make four slides, which I did, but they are pretty uneven due to my lack of accuracy in just "eye-balling" the distances.
My next goal is to transfer pictures of prominent female figures, symbols that represent feminism, and issues that feminists have fought against or that females have faced in society in order to tie in the theme of "looking through the lens" and magnifying these topics so that they are more prominent and widely known and acknowledged. I think that awareness is one of the major keys to success in a movement, and so I think that this would be a really great way to represent this topic, which is so relevant to my everyday life.
