Slater Mill : Pawtucket, RI

The Carding Machine

This machine was used at Slater Mill after the Bale Breaker broke up the large bales of cotton send from the south.  It began as a hand held process with two paddles of little metal teeth that would comb the cotton to align the fibers.  When the process advanced into this machine of rollers the speed of production increased 76 times.  The processing of cotton was done mostly by the women and children at slater mill.

This process could possibly be involved in my project as a way of breaking up the material before adding the clay.  It may or may not be beneficial to the results though.

I also bought a bag of cotton seed at Slater Mill and planted some.  Updates to come...

Mid-Review

Our Mid-Review happened on Thursday, April 21

with guest critics Charlie Cannon, Enrique Martinez, and Colgate Searle.

Some slides from my presentation...

Thoughts:
How will this be used?
Narrow down categories.
What scale will this be at?
How will the heat be generated?
Does it need firing?
What is being designed?
How are ceramics already used at a large scale?

Earth Day!

Due to poor weather our "bombing" was post-poned until Tuesday, April 26th.
Dave, Michelle, Agnese, Begum, and I went out along the river towards the India Point Bridge and threw the bombs.  I will be checking up on them during our last few weeks of the semester to see if any have sprouted.  We had some rain last night and today so hopefully the clay has started to break down.

Someone else had the same good intentions...

Agnese and Begum picked up some trash along the way.

Our Providence River seed bombing was a success!

Happy Earth Day!

In celebration of Earth Day, I felt it would be a good idea to get the class together to do something around the area.  We decided we would make Seed Bombs and throw them around areas of Providence that could use a little beautification.  This was a technique that caught interest in the 1970s with the guerilla gardening movement, and even now you can purchase pre-made seed bombs.  More Info

Friday, April 22, 2011  12:00-4:00 pm

Jacob, Eunhyung, Kirchin, and I started today by making the bombs.  Since I didn't have access to any red clay powder, I decided we could use my recipe for clay that I have used in some of my material explorations:  flour, lime, and rice hulls.  

 We rolled the clay into balls and filled them with soil and seeds.

Then we covered the seeds with more clay. 

We have 95 seed bombs drying overnight, to be thrown around the city tomorrow!

People walking by the studio thought these were edible, so I thought we might need a warning...

COSTA RICA : March 26 - April 2

Day 6 : April 1 : Rice Factory , Bagaces , San Jose

Tio Pelon : Rice Factory

Sample Quality Testing Area

Rice without Hull

Polishing Machine

Rice with Hull

Bran

Electrical Plant : Carbon Neutral

Big Machines

 Mango Packaging @ La Flor

 Bagaces Waterfall

Thank you EARTH, Costa Rica, and everyone who made this an unforgettable trip!  What we heard, saw, and all that we experienced has brought a whole new light to the work we will be completing at RISD for the next 6 or so weeks...

COSTA RICA : March 26 - April 2

Day 5 : March 31 : The White City - Community Farm in Liberia , Agricultural Tour @ La Flor

Probably my favorite day of our trip.  We learned and experienced directly the agricultural advancements the EARTH is making in the community and on their own soil.  We learned what factors are of concern and most important (wind, soil, water, sun, pests).  They demonstrated what steps they are taking to improve their techniques without compromising environmental / personal health and profit.

Trip to Community Farm

Outdoor Oven

Collecting Water

Washing Rocks for Hydroponic System

Farmers Planting Lettuce, Bell Peppers, and Tomatoes

Completed Hydroponic Systems

 Tour of La Flor's Agriculture

To Be Sugar Cane Field

Biogas System

To Be Rice Field

River for Irrigation