Showing posts with label Profiles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Profiles. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Taking Flight :: Making Masks

Benevolent Order of Makers is proud to share these excerpts from the Utah Ballet production of Hansel and Gretel, featuring the crow masks designed, developed, and built by Alex Van Valkenberg.


The order was for masks that were form fitting, stable, but comfortable enough to wear while dancing, and with beaks that could not only open and close, but also pick up breadcrumb props in a ballet. Fortunately, for Alex, he knows a very good ballet dancer, and he consulted with Bambi about measurements, and other specifications and recommendations she had. Most manufactured masks are either very small, like for a child, or rather large, for bigger adults. These masks were specifically measured and scaled with the proportions of a ballerina's size kept in mind. Maria and Bambi were helpful models and testers for this purpose. During testing it became apparent that air holes for ventilation were necessary, the elastic bands were modified for improved fit and function. But these details were what followed the elaborate process of making the basic mask forms...

Everything began with Alex's research, and drawings. He took his concepts into the computer and fine tuned them in Autodesk Mudbox. What he made were designs for a wood mold. The wood mold was cut using our homemade CNC router, Frankenrouter. This picture shows the two layers being glued together.

Here the face mask is being sanded and prepared to be put into a vacuum former.

This is the ABS vacuum formed face mask, and Alex is cutting it out for finishing.

Each part of the beak was made in the same way as the face portion, but in separate parts, both due to the limitations of the router, and the vacuum former, and so that they could function with the design to open and close.



A total of fourteen crow masks were made for the Utah Ballet.

Here they are, about to be shipped. In Utah, they were finished with details by the costume department.

We see this not only as a job well done by Alex, but as the culmination of years of study, practice, experimentation, and artful design by Alex. His diligent pursuit of engineering, from concept art to completion of robots for competition, and art for public enjoyment has been practiced with creative imagination, as well as an instinctive understanding of mechanics and engineering.

Alex, congratulations on the successful completion of this custom order. It's a pleasure to see both your art and your engineering skills applied to such a clever and beautifully finished product. Your career is taking flight! Bravo!


Wednesday, June 8, 2016

This Guy

Benevolent Order of Makers is proud to share some exciting news from our club member, artist, scientist, mentor, and all around awesome friend, Grant! In his own words...

"Finally, after all the trials and tribulations pertaining to admittance into the credentialing program at CSUSM, I can celebrate!

I'M IN.

Also... Some news that I've been dying to share! A while ago, I interviewed for the NOYCE scholarship, a $12,000 scholarship specifically for STEM educators. (That's science, technology, engineering, and math for you laymen) I'm not sure how many applied, but with that kind of dosh on the line, it must've been more than a few. Anywho...
I GOT IT.
Grant the science guy!"


It has been our pleasure to know Grant since 2011, when he began participating in our Young Maker’s Club, Benevolent Order of Makers, as a student maker, and fellow mentor. Our members typically begin as students and over time can become mentors in the club. Grant joined us as an enthusiastic and dedicated young maker, attending Maker Faires, in San Mateo, San Diego, and Encinitas, volunteering, demonstrating, and most recently developing curricula and activities to present with BOoM at the Barnes & Noble Mini Maker Faire 2015. His creative skills, coupled with his education, and his personal interest in promoting and teaching STEAM education have made him an indispensable member of our club. We have enjoyed seeing his progression from participant as an artist and student to becoming a mentor, and teacher with a great capacity to reach out with innovative projects, and an empathetic approach to communicating with young people.

All of his mad skills and hard work are heading with him into graduate school and studying education, then he will inspire even more people in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, and math! As BOoM founders, we've had some time to think about Grant, his projects, and his participation in this club, and it's been a pleasure to consider why we are so excited about him being a teacher. Grant has the happy gift of being innately curious and intelligent, as well as educated. In our club activities, at Make events, he works diligently, energetically, cheerfully; the effect is inspiring for everyone in his company. Grant embodies the values and aspirations our club holds to support and promote opportunities for learning through art, design, science and engineering, so that we can make things, teach and learn new skills, exchange ideas, and enjoy a celebration of learning for people of all ages and abilities.


Grant, congratulations on passing those entrance exams, and earning The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship. Mr Noyce was a remarkable thinker, with innovative ideas, that he applied to do great things, benefiting all. It seems to me that with all that "dosh" on the line, they chose wisely when the program selected you for their scholarship.