Layers Project

For my Layers project, I created a terrain map of Olympus Mons, a shield volcano on Mars. In pictures it looks very flat (hence the name shield volcano), but it is actually over 2.5 times taller than Mount Everest! I began the project by finding an STL of the mars terrain online, and then I uploaded it to Slicer. Slicer allowed me to download all of the layer outlines and also drew the outline of the piece above it on each. This gave me a map to follow and made putting it together like a simple puzzle. I also added an engraving to show the scale of the volcano compared to the size of New England. I cut all of my pieces out of 1/8 plywood from the makerspace and then painted them a rustic red color. Then I used wood glue to attach the pieces together. Overall I think it makes a cute desk ornament or a potential wall hanging if I wish to make it hang in the future.

Lantern Project

For my lantern project, I wanted to make a lantern that had meaning to me. I decided to make a lantern about my sorority, Chi Omega, to keep with me after I leave college. I designed a cube with 5 designs on the faces. The top is the letters Chi and Omega, two sides say Chi Omega, and the remaining sides have two of our symbols on them, an owl and a skull and cross bones. I designed the sides in Inkscape and cut them in plywood as well. The kerf measurements were pretty tight, so I sanded the faces and they fit together well. I originally planned to place a small fake candle inside, but I decided to go with some fun fairy lights I had leftover. I like how bright they are and how each side lights up the walls in a cool pattern.

Altered Toys Project

For my altered toys project, I made a Wii Remote accessory in the shape of a large crochet hook. I took inspiration from other wii accessories like the mario kart steering wheel and baseball bat. The crochet hook fits a wii remote and has a slot on the bag for a strap to come out of (the strap broke off of my remote a long time ago though). I imagined some sort of crochet wii game or tutorial along with this hook, but it could also just function as a regular crochet hook for large size large. It really bridges both my younger hobbies and interests with my more recent ones and gives me a lot of nostalgia. After making the design in Fusion360, I printed it on my brother’s 3D printer. The first prototype had too small of a tolerance and the remote didn’t fit, so I adjusted the model and reprinted it for a successful fit.

Overall, I am very happy with how my projects turned out. I have a lot more ideas for how to create my inspirations in the future, and learned a lot about laser cutting and 3D modeling and printing along the way. I feel like my projects are good representations of me and my interests and I’m excited to see what else I make!