DUBLIN MAKER 2

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I blogged my visit to last year's DUBLIN MAKER which I found fascinating. So, this year, in spite of being in the middle of a major project of my own, scanning some 600 50 year old 35mm B&W negatives, I tore myself away and headed for town

This time I came in the back door to DUBLIN MAKER 2018. The event is for both adults and children but there is a huge emphasis on the young folk. It's wonderful to see their curiosity and enthusiasm, no less than the warm and wholehearted response of those manning the stands.

This is one huge open collaborative effort which would nearly restore your faith in human nature.

It wasn't long before this oul codger was invited to participate at one of the stands. I must have looked interested. I jumped at the invitation. But before I go any further I would just draw attention to my wee predecessor in the photo above. There must be over sixty years between us.

My thanks to the lady who captured me in this photo
and in the corresponding one at the head of this post

Printing is not new to me. I used to be a letterpress printer, briefly in my pre-career, but I'd never done screen printing. And clearly I didn't get to do the whole thing in the short time available.

Just like (sic) in the National Print Museum, the jigs were already set up and you just did the inking and printing. I have to record that, despite never having done this type before, I was commended on my expertise.

And the result, above, speaks for itself.

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My attention was next drawn to the spinning wheel. They had two spinning wheels on display last year but I hadn't given them much attention. They have become something of a national symbol to be noted just. But in a world which increasingly emphasises the craft approach, be it to beer or fabrics, they have taken on a new sigificance.

So I stopped to talk to Grace O'Neill about how it all works. This not a post on spinning so I'll not dally with photos showing the original fleece and its carding prior to it being spun. You'll get the drift of the actual spinning from looking at Grace at work in the photo above. The wheel is driven by foot pedals, just like the harmonium or an older version Singers Sewing Machine, and the trick is to control its speed on the one hand and the tension in releasing the fleece on the other to produce exactly the result you want.

When I'd figured all this out, I was again thrown into confusion when the diplay switched from spinning plain yarn to the bouclé version. Fascinating stuff.

Check it out for yourself.

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There was more 3D printing on show this year. The two printers I saw were going for small single colour objects.

This one was making a sort of cage which would end up with a freely moving object inside it. And don't forget that these objects are printed in one single go.

The trick is that they print in ascending layers. It always takes me a few seconds to get my head around this every time it comes up.

I was just thinking about a Schroedinger's Babushka, a series of Russian dolls contained within each other, only in this case there would be no way of opening them to check the output. Hmmm.

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Next was this avuncular gent explaining electrical polarity to these clearly fascinated young lads.

Meanwhile, there was this semi-transparent lady perched on a workbench behind him. I didn't stay round long enough to see how she earned her living.

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On to yet more participative stuff with no shortage of young takers.

This pair, with a little assistance, are making Galaxy Stones, or in this case pebbles. The idea is to coat one smooth surface of a stone in multi-coloured acrylic to represent a galaxy, or nebula, or whatever. You were invited to bring along your own stone if you wanted. Pebbles were provided on the spot.

As you can see, the results on these larger stones are very impressive. Unfortunately this presentation is in only two dimensions but these are real stones you see before you.

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KNIT YOUR ROW

As you can see not everything here is hi-tech, though there is a fair amount of electronic stuff around, from variously controlled robots to flashing bulbs.

This is KNIT YOUR [OWN] ROW, but I didn't stay round long enough to fully tease it out. In any event it's a skill that's been around for a long time and handed down the generations - usually on the female side.

I learned to knit when I was young. Consumed I was at how my granny was producing knitted fabric from plain wool through a series of clickety clacks.

Me and the mother and the granny once knitted a school scarf. We took it in turns as and when time was available. The widest parts (most relaxed stitching) were the granny's and the narrowest mine (a combination of tension and, I'm sure, dropped stitches). The mother was somewhere in the middle.

I wonder how that lady did.

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My general impression was that the attendance was greater than last year. It was sometimes difficult to get near some of the stands. Maybe the organisers might think of a two day event sometime in the future?

There was more than just the stands to the day's event. There were various food vans around the large open picnic space.

And Dublin City Rounders gave us great pulsating quality country from the hill.

Full marks to Rohan,

and brother Al.

Finally, leaving by the front entrance. Back next year.