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Cloud Lamp
This is a lamp that I made using ten RGB LEDs and an Arduino Mega microcontroller. The Arduino controls each LED through PWM. This allows each LED to fade and change hues. The Arduino is controlled by a IR remote. There are ten different fade sequences and five different rainstorm/thunderstorm tracks that can be selected and played through a speaker inside of the cloud.
The cloud is made by covering acrylic ribs with cellophane and spray gluing unrolled cotton balls to the cellophane.
The base is made from Purple Heart wood and has a 23k gilded profile. The model landscape scenery is made from dowels, twigs, moss, air filters, foam and model ground turf.
Dancer Night Light
This is a dancer night light that I built. The dancer is made from expanded aluminum mesh. The box is built from Cocobola wood from Central America and has a 23k gilded channel around the base. The light is a RGB led that is managed by an Arduino microcontroller. Inside the led there are three color filaments; a red one, green one and a blue one. Controlling how much power goes to each filament controls the intensity of each color and in turn the hue. The microcontroller and light colors and fade patterns are controlled via bluetooth from a smartphone.
Cranial EndoCasts
Raccoon
Cranial endocasts are cast made of the inside of a skull. A cast gives a basic structure and anatomy of the species belonging to the skull. Endocasts are traditionally made from resin or latex. I have developed a way to make cranial endocasts with aluminum. As far as I know I am the first person to do this.
Light Bulb Aquarium Night Light
This is a night light and aquarium that is built from a light bulb I bought at Goodwill. The bulb is filled with water and aqua plants and a light shines on it from below. The light is a RGB (red, green, blue) led. The led is controlled by an Arduino microcontroller. The microcontroller has a bluetooth module so the microcontroller can be controlled from my Iphone. The light has two types of settings, static and fade. From my phone I can choose any color I want the light to be or I can chose between five different fade sequences, each sequence has three speeds of fade. The box is made from Sapele, which is a type of hardwood from Africa that resembles mahogany. The video below shows the entire build of the lamp.
Intaglio Self Portrait
Intaglio self portrait. Intaglio is a printmaking process where lines are etched into copper or acrylic making a relief. Ink is applied to the plate and wiped off. The ink stays in the scratches but is wiped clear from the smooth surfaces of the plate. A damp paper is then put on top of the plate and both are run through a press. The image directly below is of the acrylic plate. The plate was etched with an exacto knife. The picture is self matted and framed. The frame is made from redwood.
Sea Urchin Night Light
Sea urchin night light that I built. Sea urchins are echinoderms that live in the ocean. In life they are covered with spines for protection. After they die the spines fall out leaving a beautiful hollow shell. The familiar Sand Dollar is a form of a sea urhin.
There are five sea urchins in this lamp. The biggest two are English Channel urchins, the green urchin is conveniently named Green urchin, the smallest one is a Tuxedo urchin and the flat one is an Alfonso urchin.
The lights are RGB Leds. Each RGB LED has a red, green and a blue filament inside. Deciding how much power goes to each filament controls the hue of the color. The leds are controlled by an Arduino microcontroller that I programmed to power each filament. There are five momentary buttons underneath the lamp that cycle through each color for each urchin.
The box is made from mahogany. The mahogany if from an old house my brother once lived in. While he was refinishing it he tore out the old painted trim to replace it with new and he discovered the old trim was made from mahogany! One of the previous owners painted mahogany trim! At the base of the lamp I gilded two 23k channels.
I have since learned how to control the Arduino microcontrollers to accept commands via bluetooth. My plan is to add a bluetooth module so the lamp can be controlled with my smartphone. I will aslo add a color fading function so each urchin can slowly faded between colors.