Research For My Make

My research for the imake has been pretty stressful and hard to pull together. When Dr. Reitmeyer first told us we'd be researching our make, I was really confused because how was I suppose to research a bathroom decoration made out of wood and mason jars. I was stuck for a really long time and am still struggling a bit with it. After talking in class about the research process it made a little more sense. What I understood from Dr. Reitmeyer was to dig deeper into my project and look at its origin or facts about the material. I started researching different ways of decorating and what drives people to decorate or why they want a change. This is very different compared to the other kinds of research I've done for school. A huge research paper I had to do my senior year in high school was about the Illluminati and the way I researched was completely different and easier. It was a lot simpler to find information directly on the Illuminati and easier to go into a library and find a book on it then it was to find information regarding mason jars and bathroom decor for my make. Another difference was the attitude I had toward these projects. For my huge research paper, I was dreading it and thought it was too much and was sick of it, but for my make research, I'm really excited to learn new background about my project and am eager to finish it. The main similarity was that for either project, I had to do research or else I wouldn't be able to finish it. 

Blog 10: Research Process

To begin the research process for the burlap wreath I start by looking up simple directions of how to assemble it. All of the directions I have found pretty much overlap in a general series of steps for how to make it. The only difference between all the directions I have found is key tips that people have come up with to make it easier to put together. My next step in researching the burlap wreath is looking at the history behind the wreath. This is probably the most interesting part I have researched thus far. Through many different cultures and religions all throughout the world the wreath served as many different purposes and symbols. Another interesting thing to see is how the meaning and purpose of the wreath have changed over the years and what it has come to be now. For me, this is different from other research projects because I have never looked into the history and original purpose of something I have tried to make. Lastly, this project differs from others I have done because it is something that I am learning and experiencing to make first hand. Other research papers I have done are looking into how someone else did something and what things they found while making them.

“Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, sauté it, whatever. MAKE.”   - Joss Wedon
         
  - The quote above really inspired be through it's simplicity. For me it means that it doesn't matter what it takes to make something just make it. It emphasizes a carefree attitude that everyone will take a different path when it comes to making.

Blog Post #10 I-Make Research

So far in the I-Make project I did look up some stuff for one day really quick. It was pretty easy to find things about my topic. I just looked up the history of crocheting. In my research I found that there is no specific time or place that it originated from. I did find out some of the theories of when and where they started. Such as Arabia, South America, China, Europe in the 1700s, or other people think it came from Europe but a century later. It also lists the different ways you say it in different languages. Like it is called haken in Holland, haekling in Denmark, hekling in Norway and virkning in Sweden. Which apparently the word crochet comes from croc, or croche for the French word for hook.

There was also a woman named Mlle. Riego de la Branchardiere who published many pattern books back in the 1800s. They also think that she invented “lace-like” crocheting. Later in the article I was reading the author states that all the types of material they used to use as string and hooks. Like they would use hair, grass, and animal fur as the string. Fishbone, wood, horns, teeth, and walrus tusks to use as hooks to crochet. Overall it was pretty interesting to find out all these weird things about crocheting. I think I am going to start watching “how to” videos next and possibly start trying to make something.

Research Process and Similarities to Other Projects

My research that I’m doing for my make is research from the internet that are journals from people who have created the same things that I am trying to make. Therefore this process is difficult and easy at the same time. It is difficult because not many things are found on my topic. It is easy because the things that I do find on my topic are all similar or basically all the same which can also make this difficult because then there will not be much variety or much of anything to write about when it comes to writing the paper. There are cites that I found where all the things on there are DIY.  I have found three cites that are all like this. This differs from other research projects that I have done because all my sources are from the internet. Another difference is that it is not written research. It is mostly looking at pictures and following instructions because this project is about making something. Since I am making a dog bed for my puppy Sarabi, the cites where I have been on all have pictorials and instructions on how to make this big bed. It is similar to other research projects that I have done by trying to find out how to write this paper. I find all of these projects very hard to do because research papers and writing papers in general are always hard for me.

Blood Spatter or Splatter?

 Describe your research process for the make? How is this different or similar to other
kinds of research you have done for school?

My research process for the make, would be to view a bunch of articles. There is a Jeffco library database, that I can search for different articles. My librarian and I figured out that blood splatter is more medical based, while as blood spatter is more forensics based. We talked about researching how different densities and concentrations of a substance may react differently that blood, and what those specifics may be. As well as case studies that have been solved solely on the forensics of blood spatter, such as the case of the state police vs. the black panthers. There is also the different tails and satellites that form from different angles of impact and different velocities. This kind of research is different in the fact that it is more abstract than things I've studied before because its an extremely interesting topic to me, but I feel like it isn't for a lot of people. But it is similar, in that is researching a specific topic and finding quotes that compliment your writing. 

Research Process

I would say that the best way to describe my research process is erratic. I just go and see what pops up. I am not really following a specific path or any thing, just trying to learn as I go along. I have started out with a lot of research on the micro controller and Arduino. I am working a lot on the coding, and the electronics. My plan is to move in to the actual implementation, as I get farther into the project.

 This is not really how I do research for school projects in general. In the past I have done all of my research in a much more structured way. Find a subject and stick to it, and learn as much about it as I can. For this I acted a lot more like it was one of the kinds of projects I do in my free time. I would describe that researching tactic as something like a shotgun where I do ten searches, and hope that I get something out of one of them. To that effect I have research a lot on the coding of my micro processor, and the hard ware that I am going to need. I am planning on doing the same to learn a lot about the history and time line of the mountain bike.

Research So Far

My research so far has been pretty interesting. I think it's kind of hard to find exactly what you're looking for thogh, especially when it seems like your topic is a little bit different than what people are interested in writing articles and theses on. My topic is mug making and I bought it would be very least to find articles about mugs and drinking vessels from people of old, but it's actually a lot harder than. I though it would be. I can actually barely find information on mug making specifically. There's a bit more information on drinking vessels, but less on cups and even less on mugs themselves. When  I went to the library however, they encouraged me to research pottery, and they said it would return some results. A person from the reference desk showed me and even emailed me some articles that looked pretty relevant to my research. I think in starting to see that there's more to my topic than just specifically my topic. A lot of things are relevant to it for instance like drinking vessels in general, as well as things that mugs are used for like drinks. I've even thought of finding a little bit of history about tea, coffee and hot chocolate maybe, because I will probably use my mug/s for that predominantly. Overall, my research has been interesting and informative and I'm actually kind of excited to error my I make paper. The question is still for me though, how exactly I want to buil and/ or decorate my mug (glass, clay, etc.)