Hello and welcome to our new series, where we introduce our very own Stockholm Makerspace makers and their projects! Please let us know if you enjoy this content, and also let us know any feedback that you may have.
Our second interviewee is Estrid.
Estrid is an artist who has been at the Makerspace since the beginning of 2022. You may have seen her creating her unique boxing gloves using the 3D printer, or prototyping her innovative napkin holders on the 3D printer.
First of all, please tell us more about your boxing gloves!
Well, I would call it a piece of art, or maybe sculpture – a 3D printed sculpture! I have created two versions, one for an exhibition in Umeå, and then also these pink ones. The exhibition that I created the first pair for was about the role of women in the art world, and I had this idea about being very angry at someone but not being able to do anything about it. That’s where I thought about these boxing gloves. Boxing gloves are very soft, but they hurt if you fight with them. The nails are also a type of self-defence, combining violence and defence.
How did you create them?
I started with a boxing glove file, and then I used a posing program for the body parts. These were combined and then printed in 3D. I was on a tight deadline, so I ended up printing two halves and glued them together. I also use filler compound to get rid of the small lines, and then I sanded and painted them.
You also had lots of problems with the 3D printers, I heard…
Yes, it’s not really their fault! The prints took two days, and a lot can go wrong during these long prints. Maybe a support part falls off, or the nozzle can get clogged and then everything goes wrong, so there were some challenges. But I didn’t have a choice, I had to make it work!
What drives you in your art creation?
That’s a tough question! I’m interested in new techniques and technologies, what you can use instead of just painting with a brush or sculpting clay. Some people might say that it’s boring with machine-made things, that there is no soul in it. But I think there can be, even if it was made using a machine.
I suppose it depends on how you design it, it’s still you that design the artwork…
Yes! So one could say that’s what I’m driven by. To find new ways to create things.
Here at the Makerspace, people have completely different reasons for why they do things. I’m here doing something weird, and sometimes you have to explain a lot to people who are not part of [the art world]. For me, it’s interesting to try to be progressive and to see what the new ways to create are. I think AI is interesting. If I get an idea, I can use AI to quickly get a picture of how it could look. I won’t use that picture for anything, but I just want to see it visualized. Instead of having to make a sketch for a new idea, I can see how the AI thinks about and interprets it.
Tell us more about you as a “maker”
I’ve always been good at more humanistic topics at school, less so on the science side, so for a long time I thought making things is not possible for someone like me. In the beginning, I didn’t know if you needed to be good at calculating things or if you just press a button on the machines like the 3D printer and laser cutter. Since then, I have gained a lot of confidence – you can just test and try things out, look at the wiki or take a course.
I’m relatively new to the laser cutter and didn’t dare to touch it before, but now I use it all the time, and it isn’t hard to use. You can just start right away, and it’s incredibly fun and fast.
What are you working on now?
When the laser was down over summer, I came up with a napkin ring that has space for chopsticks. I also usually make a lot of things for my home that are based on exact measurements that are impossible to buy – that’s very satisfying.
Is there anything you would like to say to yourself when you started creating? Any advice for new makers?
Start earlier with leaning machines and stuff. Look at all the videos and tutorials, and surely someone can help you. Don’t wait too long. I can get a bit anxious, thinking “oh no it’s too hard”, and then postpone trying things. Just go for it and try. And maybe do something that doesn’t turn out so well.