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- Cigarbox Guitar, 2011
- Just finished reading Made by Hand by Mark Fauenfelder and was inspired to make a cigarbox guitar. Took about two nights. Already thinking
about the next one since I made a few mistakes. I am musically disabled, so playing it is pretty far from my comfort zone. Even
when I try and reduce music to mathematics, it still boggles me. I got lots of help from cigarboxnation.
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- Dragon Puppet, 2011
- Another evening project when little Timo is asleep. Inspired by the Cardboard Institute of Technology.
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- Timo's glasses, 2011
- just hilarious. Welcome Timo Wen sheng Chen to the world! His cuteness should be illegal.
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- Jibberjabber, 2010
- This was my class project from the Crucible's Arduino class. Paired with a Radio Shack digital recorder/playback, these
two monsters talk to each other. Kind of like a bickering married couple. It was shown at the Crucible's Cathedral Gallery and was
then purchased!
Video
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- Ivan, 2009
- Also for the Raygun Gothic Rocketship's biolab. Salvaged parts from angle grinders make up the mechanical part of the
tentacles. The eye was donated from Nathaniel who said it was from the effects house that worked on Free Willy. A BASIC Stamp
microcontroller control the servo, solonoid, and stepper motor timing. With the push of a button, Ivan opens his eyelids, looks
around, wiggles his tentacles, then goes back to sleep. Installed for Burningman 2009. Also for Maker Faire 2010 and a gallery
exhibit in Oakland. Sorry there are no finished photos. My harddrive died and I lost a few months worth of files.
Update: solonoid was sapping too much juice, so switched to a slower, but quieter servo for eyelid control. Added a Radioshack
remote doorbell to trigger the sequence. Really fun to remotely activate Ivan and scare unsuspecting people.
Video
5toncrane blog
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- Bovinius Lengua, 2009
- For the Raygun Gothic Rocketship's biolab. This mean looking guy was cast from a cow's tongue, crab legs, and bear's teeth. Body cast
from flexible Dragon's Skin in a plaster mold. Lots of help from Maurice. A slow motor with an eccentric cam makes the creature 'breathe'.
Painted with acrylics after priming. Some people really thought it was alive! (Maurice's dog chewed the crap out of the real tongue
after we finished with it.)
Video
5toncrane blog
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- Various watercolors, 2009
- Got laid off, plus Nancy went back home for the holidays. So I've been busy painting and doing long postponed projects while sending out resumes. I put a watermark on the images I plan to sell on etsy. I haven't started an account yet though.
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- Max head (from Sam 'n Max comic and computer game), 2007
- Paper mache head of Max the psycho rabbit. He carries a gun somewhere on his naked body and says the darndest things. It was fun to have people recognize me and even two Telltale Games employees introduce themselves to me. I lost the Halloween contest, but that's ok. I had fun racing down Bernal Heights and generally having a good time. I'm going to try and make an Instructable out of it.
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- Steampunk Telescope, 2007
- Another detail of the Steampunk Treehouse (see the vulture on the metal artwork page).
Torreya's donated shooting scope looked too modern so I built an octagonal box for it and a
linkage system for the front lens cap. The wood stain and red velvet lens liner really added
the right Victorian elegance. On the playa the telescope pointed right at the Man, but pretty much
any of the large installations could be seen with it. It was very popular and 12x to 60x magnification
worked perfectly. On a side note, the bucket lift I made for the treehouse didn't work very well.
Update: After reinstalling the treehouse a few times, losing the eyepiece over an over again, the entire rear part was
redone a few times. Now the treehouse is 'permanently' installed in front of Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware.
5toncrane blog
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- Zippo USB stick, 2007
- After working on a few USB stick holder gadgets at work, I decided to make my own personal one. I've always really liked Zippo lighters but as a nonsmoker, I have little justification to carry one around. I always carry a USB stick though. The smallest stick I could find was designed by Lunar for Sandisk. It actually took a bit of finesse to get the new spring to work and the 'Zippo click' to return. I posted a few photos on Instructables as a response to someone else with the same idea but different execution.
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- Ben and Emilie's wedding gift, 2006
- Ben
and Emilie have been friends of mine for ages. They are both engineers
who stay youthful. One Halloween they both dressed up as construction
engineers. He proposed in Kenya. I think that's enough explanation.
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- painting, 2005
- Just
finished this today (30-Dec-2005) so I haven't named it yet. It's been
sitting unfinished in our bedroom for the last year and a half. It's
about that time. I don't paint often but it's fun on a rainy day. First
time using canvas. Hope Nancy likes it! Inspired by various Miyazaki
films.
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- Heisenberg Uncertainty Etch-a-Sketch, 2005
- Draws
a spirograph type pattern until the lights are turned ON. When it is
dark again, it will start a different pattern, therefore no one can
actually see it draw without irrevocably changing it. Not a big hit
with today's A.D.D. world who don't read artist statements. Started
construction in the Crucible kinetic sculpture class back in 2003 and
finally built the box and added the light sensor in 2005. Showed at
Submission Residence show and Crucible 2005 Holiday Show.
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- halloween mask, 2005
- kind
of inspired by Vertigo comics and Mirrormask. Prescription lenses
imbedded in plaster. Unfortunately fogs up rather quickly even with
added vents. Copper refrigeration tubing as "dreads".
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- jetpack, 2004
- Rocketeer/Steamboy/Space
Pirate thing going. Vintage power drill as gun. Carpet tubing for main
tubes. 12 foot lengths for $5. A bitch to carry home in the rain. I
actually had a 12 foot tall umbrella for a while. Then it got too
windy. I tried using a faux metal finish, but it didn't work too well.
Yes, that is a blinky bicycle light on the bottom. Safety first!
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- demon wings, 1999
- folds
out like an umbrella. I used a found broken skateboard deck, aluminum
extrusion from the hardware store, a old backpack, and $60 of
ultrasuede. I think they are a little too low, and there is no control
to open and close them. but they do look pretty cool. Thanks to Pang
for helping me sew them the night before Halloween at 2 AM.
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- fuzzy D&D dice, 2004
- birthday
gift for my brother. cardboard inside, felt exterior, iron on white
numbers. Turned out great! D&D is Dungeons and Dragons, and back in
the day the game used 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 sided dice.
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- Lightning Bug, 2002
- Found
vacuum tube inspired it. Clip on sunglasses, plastic model parts,
electronic components, and Sculptey. Displayed in APATURE 2003.
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- Hellmet, 2003
- Fun
project which started out as fiberglass, chicken wire, and polyester
resin. It was so heavy that I cut it all off and redid it with wood
glue and flannel cloth. My friend Paz showed me how, and it turned out
great. It unfortunately did not help me land the job at Bell Sports.
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- Epiphany, 2004
- While
Nancy and I were in Paris, there was a special French holiday called
Epiphany. Bakeries sell bread with a small ceramic token inside.
Whoever gets the token is king for the day. I got it. I was king. I
ruled with an iron fist and kingdoms fell before me. Bards still sing
of my accomplishments.
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- Spaceship Lamp, 2000
- Modelmaking
project from San Jose State. Only a low wattage (LED) bulb works or
else the polyester resin ignites. Extendable antenna legs and suction
cup feet. Machined plastic lenses which were heat fractured. I think UV
finally killed the flexibility of the suction cups.
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- Pebbles, 2003
- photo from Burningman once again begged for an appropriate frame.
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- Transformers, 2005
- Actually just a bit of stenciling and graffiti on the local Transformer Room. Is it art?
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