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Christopher Sweeney

High School (16 to 18 years old), Adults
Teacher/Educator
Arts, Other

Christopher Sweeney's collections

 

Aztecs and Coding

<p>Here is a collection of coding games using Scratch interactive media using MakeyMakey , integrating Aztec games, culture and information.</p> <p>In this collection, I am going to highlight Aztec games and culture to recreate  projects that I do in my my own design classroom with my students based on these historical artifacts.<br /></p> <p>This collection is hopefully an inspiration for young designers and artists to use designs inspired by the Aztec games and culture to make a Scratch game or remix with the examples I have posted in this collection.  This collection shows you a pathway to create coding and designs based on these  Aztec games and culture,  to create games similar in motif and structure to the originals. <em>(This lesson is more focused on 9-18 year olds, but can be adapted for older students, as well as adults with some rewriting and restructuring, especially with coding aspect of the lesson.)</em></p> <p> You will be creating and studying these cultural artifacts to gain insight into how they were constructed, drawn, and fabricated. In order to gain perspective on these  cultures, the research your students use by viewing and constructing their own coded games/designs will give agency to their work, albeit through the eyes of these  people. The students will gain a new understanding and vision of these  cultural motifs and what they carry to the viewer.</p> <p>Students will be creating and researching designs and motifs based on this culture. Once they have constructed and drawn an idea either through digital or non-digital means, they will be rendering their designs in <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu" target="_blank">Scratch</a> or another coding app like <a href="https://processing.org" target="_blank">Processing</a>. </p> <p>The students will then use these coded games with <a href="https://makeymakey.com" target="_blank">MakeyMakey</a> and a create a controller like these musical instruments/controllers my students created at <a href="https://labz.makeymakey.com/cwists/preview/1094-makeymakey-musical-instruments-turtleart-mashupx" target="_blank">Labz</a> at my school <a href="http://chadphila.org" target="_blank">Charter High School for Architecture and Design</a> in Philadelphia.</p> <p>Happy Coding!</p> <p><br /></p> <p>#LatinoHAC<br /></p>
Christopher Sweeney
27
 

3D Printing/ Printmaking with Latin American Designs

<p>This collection is hopefully an inspiration for young designers and artist to use designs and motifs from Mexico, Peru, Panama, and Guatemala. This collection shows you a pathway to create designs based on these motifs and artwork to use in 3D printing using  <a href="http://morphiapp.com" target="_blank">Morphi</a> and other tools to create prints using relief printing making techniques. <em>(This lesson is more focused on 9-18 year olds, but can be adapted for older students, as well as adults with some rewriting and restructuring. I also have run the printmaking section with younger students, but with the 3D relief plates already being printed, or facilitated by adults, teachers, or parents to help them with the process so as to make it a succe</em><em>ssful lesson. )</em></p> <p> You will be creating and studying these cultural artifacts to gain insight into how they were constructed, drawn, and fabricated. Ours of course are totally opposite of how these fabric fragments and other examples were constructed, but they can help a student (and yourself ) gain insight into the process that these cultures used to created these designs, art and patterns within the drawings. In order to gain perspective on these cultures, the research your students use by viewing and constructing their own designs will give agency to their work, albeit through the eyes of these ancient craftsman, designer, and artist. The students will gain a new understanding and vision of these cultural motifs and what they carry to the viewer.<br /></p> <p>Students will be creating and researching geometric designs and motifs based on ancient to modern patterns from Peru, Mexico, and other areas. Once they have constructed and drawn an idea either through digital or non-digital means, they will be rendering their designs in <a href="http://morphiapp.com" target="_blank">Morphi</a> or another 3D modeling app. Here is a link to a design I did specifically for this lesson on <a href="http://https//www.youmagine.com/designs/sundial" target="_blank">Youmagine</a> that you can use with your prints, as well as your students.</p> <p>The students will then export these files to be 3D sliced for the printer. I suggest using <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/manuals/software" target="_blank">Cura</a> as this is my go to software for getting digital files ready for the 3D printer. Depending on your press, I suggest making the geometric design small and thin enough that they fit in your print bed, so you might need to resize the design in Cura. If you do not own press, you can use tools to do relief prints like you would any regular printmaking project.Iif you have access, you can use the <a href="http://openpressproject.com" target="_blank">OpenPressProject</a> to print your own, which I highly recommend as it is my preferred method that I printed my designs in the last resource of this collection.<br /></p> <p>The inking process should be similar to regular relief printmaking, depending on your students design complexity, and you can experiment with texture, motifs, multiple plates, etc. based on the  resources that are in this collection.</p> <p>Happy Printing!<br /></p> <p>#LatinoHAC<br /></p>
Christopher Sweeney
43
 

Inca Aryballus Vessels 3D Modeling/Printing

<p>In this collection, I am going to highlight Penn Museum' s Inca Aryballus collection as wells the Smithsonians, and show you resources on how you can create designs in Morphi, and 3D modeling software that I use in my own design classroom with my students based on these historical artifacts <em>(This lesson is more focused on 9-18 year olds, but can be adapted for older students, as well as adults with some rewriting and restructuring.)</em></p> <p>This collection is hopefully an inspiration for young designers and artist to use designs inspired by the Incan Aryballus and other motifs.  This collection shows you a pathway to create designs based on these  Aryballus'  to use in 3D printing using  <a href="http://morphiapp.com/" target="_blank">Morphi</a> and other tools to create vases similar in motif and structure to the originals.</p> <p> You will be creating and studying these cultural artifacts to gain insight into how they were constructed, drawn, and fabricated. Our Aryballus' of course are totally opposite of how these ceramic pottery fragments and other examples were constructed, but they can help a student (and yourself ) gain insight into the process that these cultures used to created these vessels. In order to gain perspective on these cultures, the research your students use by viewing and constructing their own designs will give agency to their work, albeit through the eyes of these craftsman, designers, and artists. The students will gain a new understanding and vision of these cultural motifs and what they carry to the viewer. </p> <p>Students will be creating and researching geometric designs and motifs based on Incan pottery. Once they have constructed and drawn an idea either through digital or non-digital means, they will be rendering their designs in <a href="http://morphiapp.com/" target="_blank">Morphi</a> or another 3D modeling app. Here is a link to a design I did specifically for this lesson on <a href="https://www.youmagine.com/designs/aryballus#.W55-LrzesBE.mailto" target="_blank">Youmagine</a> that you can use with your prints, as well as your students.</p> <p>The students will then export these files to be 3D sliced for the printer. I suggest using <a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/manuals/software" target="_blank">Cura</a> as this is my go to software for getting digital files ready for the 3D printer. Depending on your students' design, I suggest making the geometric design small  enough that they fit in your print bed, so you might need to resize the design in Cura.</p> <p>Happy Printing!</p> <p><br /></p> <p>#LatinoHAC<br /></p>
Christopher Sweeney
21