DIGITAL THREADS NETWORK

Hey David and Raymond !!!

2007-12-10T06:42:00.000-08:00

sorry I haven't been able to visit you guys at school during these past weeks, I've been terribly busy! However, I printed out your superheros a long time ago and there awesome. I'm going to France in two days, which leaves me no time to stop by. So i was wondering if each of you can write a paragraph about what your superhero can do, why it's unique and anything else that's important about it that you think i should know.

thanks guys.

-niusha

2007-12-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,

Jess here! just wondering if elizabeth and tanzin could post the picture of their super hero idea so marion and i can get some ideas!! Weve had some trouble planning a visit with work and school, so if you could put it on the blog that would be awesome!!

THanks guys!

Ariela and Tashi's Character

2007-11-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

Alishea and Jenn's Character

2007-11-16T08:46:00.001-08:00

Emily and Amelia's Character

2007-11-16T08:44:00.001-08:00

David's Character

2007-11-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Johnaton's Character

2007-11-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

Shaun's Character

2007-11-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

Linda's Character

2007-11-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Raymond's Character

2007-11-16T08:38:00.003-08:00

Raymond's Character

2007-11-16T08:38:00.001-08:00

Student Superhero Designs!

2007-11-16T06:53:00.001-08:00

Blake's Images

more workshop pictures!

2007-11-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
It's Angella. Check out the "work in progress" pictures I've uploaded to Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalthreads/sets/72157602987718664/

Can't wait to see your super heros images!

Mini-blog

2007-10-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Hey there!
Just started a seperate blog for my group:
Alishea, Jennifer and Jonathan, check out http://digitalthreadssugoi.blogspot.com
Everyone can check it out, but only the select few are invited to post :) (speaking of which, could I get those e-mail addresses?)

what i think...

2007-10-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

When we had finished the project on friday I had enjoyed myself more than i thought I would. It was fun to create something with my own hands and i even learned how to sew with the machine. I had only realised after we finished the project that i really loved creating things but i'm not so sure i can see myself doing something like this in the future but i'm now more open-minded to the idea. I had a lot of fun working on this project with everyone, even though i might not have seem like it....

Ello Puppet!!!

2007-10-25T07:49:00.001-07:00

Hi I thought the field trip last week was a lot of fun. I enjoy making the purse that would like up when you touch it. I also enjoyd learning about soft switches and circuits. Moving on the superhero that we choose to design is a vampire girl, we've desined her outfit but we're still working on a name and story as well as superpowers that she could have. Well that's about it, so bye for now.

Jello, I blog again.

2007-10-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

And yes, I stole the jello from someone. *shifty eyes*
Over the past two days in the workshop I learned about lighting up an LED and how negative and positive charges work....
I had an inspirable time participating in the Digital Threads workshop. How this new occupation has sprouted a few years ago.
At the moment as I type, everyone is working on the super heroes.
Good luck to everyone, hope we meet again. ^____^
Hope you all have a fun time on Halloween!

2007-10-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hello, its me Shaun and I want to thank you for a great time on the feild trip and I had lots of fun thinking of new inventions to create and I like it because of that sleeve that we created that if we lift up weights it lights up and now we are drawing our super hero and making ideas for our super heroes too and anyway thanks for a great time on the feild trip.

By:Shaun Chaves

my fitting mittens! :D

2007-10-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

hi everyone! i'd like to take this time to say that those two days, well 1 and half days were really amazing, I learned so much new things i never knew before. I am so glad I came and also really satisfied with my mittens all finish and done and the best part was that it lights up AND! fits! :) well, thanks for the opportunity, hope to see you again.

we meet again

2007-10-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

hello there, its linda again! :) well i'fe like to say that even though i was there on friday, i had a awesome time! and learned alot about LED lights and how they work, thanks for everything! :)

J'ello again!

2007-10-24T08:36:00.001-07:00

HELLO!! Everyone! I like to say the trip was awesome I learned alot about LED lights like the breadboard. :D I like to say Thanks for the trip... See yea all!!! I enjoyed it.. but I was abit lost....o.o

Field Trip!

2007-10-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Heyllo everybody!
How is everyone?
I enjoyed my trip at the Interaccess Media Centre, I also enjoyed the different fashion clothes you guys made with lights and touch switch.
I think it's amazing to be able to create something tottaly new and out there!!
=DD
I'm quite excited into making the superhero costume, we already have some ideas in our group.
I hope to see you guys soon.

Oh and Marisa! Good Luck on creating the superhero costume we have set in our minds.
It's gonna be difficult!
No, I'm joking!! Really I am, we shall try to make it as easy as possible.

Cya!!

Thank You Letter

2007-10-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hi, its Mark. I want to say thank you for people, who I working with. That was really fun. I was interested to do this work and I learned some new things. It was interesting to make electrical circuits and put them to the fabric, for me it was something new. For now I am working with my group on the super hero. We have some god ideas, I hope we will finish soon.

Bye for now.

Mark

Thanks Guys! =]

2007-10-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
Thank you for the wonderful experience. It was fun learning about circuits, textile & looking at all the cool clothings. The most fun part was making our own digital thread clothing. I hope to meet everyone again! I am really excited about making our superhero costume. Right now, we are getting ideas and putting them together for the costume.

P.S. @Marisa - Good luck on sewing the costume that we are thinking about. I hope its not too difficult ;>.>

Well then ttyl. :D

Tashi

Hello again

2007-10-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hello again. I'd just like to say how the field trip last week was pretty awsome. I enjoyed making those LEDs light up. Well I should be going now, though thanks for the opportunity ;D

I have posted some photos to Flickr

2007-10-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalthreads

Thank you so much everyone for a fantastic experience and a very successful workshop. I had a great time and really enjoyed working with you all. I really can't wait to see all the designs as they evolve.
Joey

PS. Thanks Angella for setting up the Flickr account!

Digital Threads Two Day Workshop

2007-10-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

This is Alison posting. I just wanted to add a couple of photos from our great trip.
Thanks again for having us. We're going to get started on our characters soon, and we'll keep you posted
on the blog!

alison

a little too late

2007-10-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I guess I take the cake for blogging the latest!.....I'm terrible at communicating by means of the internet, I apologize for that...anyhow, I'm Niusha, a second year fashion design student at Ryerson University....I fancy painting, baking and currently watching any film made in the 60's....

I must admit...I have never been exposed to this type of garment making and this project is way out of my field! However, is a new experience (which can never be a bad thing), and this seems like a rad project to be part of....

can't wait to meet everyone tomorrow!

now I must get back to my history of costume essay that I have procrastinated on for too long

Despina Papadopoulos is the founder of Studio 5050

2007-10-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Despina has been working as an interactive designer and inventor with the Studio since its founding in 1995.

A graduate of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and with an M.A in Philosophy, she has lectured on wearable computing and its uses in everyday life, at NYU, Parsons School of Design, Ivrea Design Institute and the Jan van Eyck Academie as well as numerous conferences. Her work has appeared in museums and galleries around the world, and featured in many publications and magazines.

She is also teaching courses she has developed, "Personal Expression and Wearable Technologies" & "The Softness of Things," at NYU's ITP.

Her work for Interval Research Corporation and NCR’s The Knowledge Lab has been awarded a series of patents.

Cute Circuit and Studio Orta

2007-10-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

CUTE CIRCUIT

CuteCircuit is an "Interaction Design and Wearable Technology company, founded in 2004 by Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz. CuteCircuit is specialized in the development of wearable interfaces for telecommunication, and smart textiles. What makes CuteCircuit unique? CuteCircuit is the first company that merges the wearable computing and the telecommunication technology fields to create a new market and new interfaces for personal telecommunication. We think that this is the greatest innovation after the personal computer and the world wide web."

STUDIO ORTA

Founded in 1991, Studio-Orta based in Paris operates as a research and development studio for artworks and limited editions by contemporary artists Lucy Orta and Jorge Orta and an administrative bureau for their exhibitions and commissions.

The two artists work in partnership sharing a common research directive, and independently on special projects. This trilogy offers a unique diversity to Studio-Orta team of curators, designers, architects, engineers, musicians, artisans, fabricators, production assistants and technicians.

Employing a range of techniques from sculpture, object making, couture, painting, printing, light projections and communication strategies such as performance, interventions and public events, the team investigate crucial themes of the world today: the community and the social link, dwelling and habitat, nomadism and mobility, sustainable development, ecology and recycling.

Amongst the most important contributions to these social and environmental debates are Refuge Wear and Body Architecture: portable minimum habitats bridging architecture and dress; HortaRecycling: the food chain in global and local contexts; 70 x 7: the ritual of the meal and its role in the community; Nexus Architecture: alternative methods to recreate the social link; Life Nexus: the metaphor of the heart versus the biomedical ethics of organ donation; OrtaWater: the general scarcity of this vital natural resource, the problems arising from the pollution and corporate control effecting access to clean water for All.

good tidings and such.

2007-10-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

well, hello there.
my name is danielle, but you can call me dani if you'd like. i'm a recent grad of ryerson's fashion design program. i have to admit that this is my first official blog post ever. (it's a proud moment for me).
so i've been bragging to pretty much everyone i know about this project, i'm quite excited about it all. it's nice to get the brain going outside the pressures of a school environment. it's also nice to miss two days of working an office job to do this.
i became seriously interested in textiles since i tried finding some interesting prints to work with for my most recent clothing collection, and found very little to choose from in terms of intelligent, yet elegant, patterns. so eventually the plan is to become a textile designer, design custom prints for other designers and finally design my own clothes using my own prints. a girl can dream, can't she!?

looking forward to meeting and working with you all.
best,
d.

Hi Everyone :)

2007-10-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

I'm also one of the college/university students who is going to be participating in this project.
I'm in my second year of Textiles at Sheridan College.

I'm definitely excited about being able to participate in this. I've been incorporating electronic circuits into my artwork since I was in high school. Last year, I started to research adding them into my fabric. Everything I've learned about building circuits, I'm learned on my own. It will be nice to finally be able to learn a bit more.

Can't wait until Thursday!

-Marisa

Secrets and a second skin...

2007-10-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hi again everyone!
It's great to see so many of the PCI students posting already!
I love seeing all the "I love to draw anime/manga" posts - that was how I got into art and fashion design when I was 15!
My artwork doesn't necessarily reflect that anymore, but my fashion designs often do... animation and comic art from Japan is so chock-full of inspirational gravity-defying garments! Maybe I can get a crew of anime fans working with me - I think we can develop a cohesive visual concept together, and might even have a set of similair 'secrets' to deal with in creating our 'second skin'!

I really look forward to seeing everyone at Interaccess this Thursday!

~Kat

Hi All!

2007-10-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

I'm sorry I have not posted yet, but I'm still figuring out how to work this thing!

Anyway, my name is Jay, and I'm one of the university students working on this exciting project.
I go to Ryerson, and I am in my third year of Fashion Communications. In my program we work extensively with photoshop, illustrator, and many textile design programs, so I hope I am able to help provide some inspiration a long the way.

I will not be able to attend the Thursday workshop until the afternoon, so for the highschool students, i may not get to meet you until Friday, but I am looking forward to it!

I'm very excited about this project and I can't wait to get started! Looking forward to meeting all of you this week!

Jay

hey

2007-10-15T08:23:00.001-07:00

hey, my name is linda, i am a grade 10 student of Pakdale CI. I like art because its fun and exciting and also i get to use my hand, and i also like shoping and eat

Hello Parkdale!!!!!

2007-10-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

So great to see that some of you are posting. I am really looking forward to meeting you Thursday.

I want you to start thinking about your "second skin"...
Who are you? How do you communicate with the world? What do you want to hide and what do you want to reveal? How do you express your identity through your clothes?

Do you have a secret identity?

hihii :)

2007-10-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Jackie Vo. I am a 15 years old, grade 10 student of Parkdale Collegiate Institute. I like art, because its a hand-on skill, because i'd rather do something that involes making and creating something new then. sitting there, reading and writing. I also like eating and shopping :) HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THURSDAY! :):):)

about me.

2007-10-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

all i do is art :)
i love visual arts on so many levels, and i love music on so many more .
i love making art, but have troubles taking some advice. i can take instructions but i sometimes have trouble folowing them depending on what it is. if im not passionate about it, i cant really focus on it.

2007-10-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hi! my name is Shaun and I'm in grade 10 and I like it when we did photoshop because I could change things in a image and we change our faces to make it silly. and then we did filming(with help of the filming club) and we were taking tiny steps and on the video caamera we were skating on the floor. then these two girls were standing on top of tables and we were moving the tables only a little and on the video camera the two girls were surfing along the floor on top of tables.
See you on Thursday.

by shaun chaves

About Alishea

2007-10-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hi i'm Alishea, and i really love readding manga and drawing either anime or real people, which i'm still learning to draw but i'll get there some day!! I love listening to music for mostly everything i do. I like being on the computer, working with photoshop and animation. Also I really enjoy creating art or other subject projects. I hope you can teach me many things and i'm really looking forward to working with you.

See ya,
Alishea

Ariela

2007-10-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

Heyllo...Currently as you know I go to PCI and I'm a grade 10 student. My interests are writing poetry/stories, I like reading anime novels, as well as watching anime movies, I like playing RPG, I like computer designs and food.
I also loooove eccentric pictures..
I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

Good-Bye, for now....

=D

KK

2007-10-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hi my name is Kerry-Ann and i like to play baseball and also i like to watch scary movies. My favorite subject is math and i don't like winter because it's too cold and i also like to maake people laugh.

'Arro Peoples

2007-10-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hello people. My name is Raymond. I am a student attending Parkdale. I like playing video games. And I look forward to the trip on thursday and friday. ;D

Harro I'm David

2007-10-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hello. I'm David. I'm a grade 10 student from Parkdale. I emjoy playing games. I like playing sports. Hockey is my favourite sport. I like to watch movies. Action movies are my favourite type of movie. o.o

About Elizabeth.......

2007-10-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

My name is Elizabeth I am a grade 10 student at Parkdale. I enjoy watching movies like 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Van Helsing'. My favourite subjects include computer art, drama, and history. I also enjoy reading horror and fantasy novels like 'Blood Price' and 'Blood & Chocolate'. Well that's just some of my likes and interests, and I look forward to meeting you on Thursday.

----good-bye----
++
~~~

About Jennifer........

2007-10-15T07:27:00.001-07:00

As you may already know my name is Jennifer.....
Introductories are so unexpected, because I usually take so long to think of something to type about myself.
I'm one of those anime fanatics but I only watched a few before. I love looking at different styles of art and everyone's perspective to them because no art is the same. I like watching TV, brocoli, candy, etc. I dislike peanut butter, caramel, gum on the shoe, etc. I look forward to seeing you all on Thursday!!! ^_^ Bai for now........

About Tashi...

2007-10-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

My name is Tashi & as you may know I am a grade 10 student. I love Computer Art!! I like drawing Anime (Japanese Animation) & working my way to drawing potraits and people's face. I like listening to music & singing along with it. I would like to learn more about photoshop & animation. I like spending time playing computer a lot. I guess thats it!

See you guys soon! =]

Some blogs to read!

2007-10-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Check out the amazing blog we make money not art, especially the "wearable" section.

Another cool blog is Fashion for the 21st Century.

And, finally, the Fashionable Technology blog.

Our Cyborg Future? looks at the shrinking divide between us and the technology we use. From prosthetic body parts, to smart textiles and wearable computing, a range of technologies is penetrating the different ‘skins’ we surround ourselves with - from our biological skin, to the clothes we wear, the buildings we live in, and the communication networks we connect through.

2007-10-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

hey there digital threaders!

My name is Marguerite Bromley and I will helping out with the Electronic Textile Workshop on the 18th and 19th of October. I have worked at XS Labs in Montreal with Joey Berzowska for the last three years, if you don't know what XS Labs is take a look at our website: www.xslabs.net We make all sorts of fun electronic textile art and wearables!

To tell you a little bit about myself, I am an artist, my art is often made of textiles and takes on a large scale, sculptural form with a hint of interactiveness to it. I have a love for fibers, and since I was a child I have been sewing. Then when I went to Concordia University where I graduated with a degree in Art Education, I learnt how to weave, felt, knit, and experiment with patterns. I have been gathering information for years about strange conductive textiles that I look forward to sharing them with you at the workshop.

I can't wait to meet everyone involved in this dynamic group and create all sorts of exciting things together.

And in anticipation...

2007-09-21T12:41:00.001-07:00

I'm Kat O'Shaughnessy, a Material Art & Design student in my 5th, and final, year at OCAD. I was invited in on this project by Dorie Millerson last year, and have been excited about the project since. My thesis is loosely based on the concept of creating tangible artefacts to be the future remnants of cyberculture and virtual communities, and had already planned on involving a fair amount of wearable electronics/technology. I am currently taking an intro to electronics course, and next semester will be in wearable tech... I feel this project will coordinate with what I'm doing very well.

I have been interested in the work produced by XSLabs since early 2002, when I was first introduced to the website... and I'm more blown away by Skorpions than any previous work! Not only are they feats of technical achievement, they're also thoroughly developed conceptual pieces and GORGEOUS designs. I am so excited to be working with you, Joey! This is surely bound to impact and improve my body of thesis work.

I've also been considering my options for my future career... and honestly have felt a strong pull towards teaching. I think that working with the highschool students on this will help me clarify whether I really want to teach, and if so, provide me with a bit more experience prior to applying for a teaching certificate.

Thanks to everyone involved in developing the Digital Threads Network- I'm very glad to be part of it!

Joey Berzowska: introduction

2007-09-14T13:20:00.001-07:00

Hey guys! My name is Joey and I will be your Digital Threads electronic textile workshop leader. I plan to blog twice a week until the end of the year (on Tuesdays and Saturdays) and post lots of links, images, videos, and other stuff for you to look at. I will just start out with a few links and my official bio:

Joanna Berzowska is an Associate Professor of Design and Computation Arts and the Director of the Graduate Certificate in Digital Technologies in Design Art Practice at Concordia University. She is a member of the Hexagram Research Institute and the research director of XS Labs, where her team develops innovative methods and applications in electronic textiles and responsive garments. Her art and design work has been shown in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum (NYC), V&A (London), Millennium Museum (Beijing), SIGGRAPH (Los Angeles and Boston), ISEA (Tallin), Art Directors Club (NYC), Australian Museum (Sydney), NTT ICC (Tokyo), and Ars Electronica (Linz) among others. She lectures internationally about the field of electronic textiles and related social, cultural, aesthetic, and environmental issues. She was selected for Maclean's 2006 Honour Roll as one of "39 Canadians who make the world a better place to live in". She holds a BA in Pure Math from McGill University and a BFA in Design Arts from Concordia University. She received her Masters of Science from MIT and subsequently worked with the Tangible Media Group of the MIT Media Lab.

My personal website: http://www.berzowska.com
XS Labs website: http://www.xslabs.net
Some photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xslabs
Some videos: http://www.youtube.com/xslabs
XS Labs blog: http://xslabs.blogspot.com