Meet Your Maker: Member Profiles

Aliza Vaida

Sculptor, Painter, Artist

Andrew Anselmo

Clipboard Engineering

Arlene Elkins

Alchemist's Apprentice

Arthur Torrey

Self-Taught Tinkerer

Barbara Marder

Fine Artist, Educator

Bob Field

Atomic Earrings

Brandon Stafford

Rascal Micro

Bronwen Senhouse

Maker

Chris Templeman

Templeman Automation

Claire Kincaid

Artist, Designer, Engineer

Diane Carle

Assorted Jewelry

Drew Hatzung

Maker

Ecco Pierce

All Things Ecco

Emily Garfield

Imaginary Cartography

Jacob LaRocca

Jacob Makes Stuff

Jennifer Botto

Jesa Damora

FunnelCake Arts Marketing

Jonathan Card

Mad Scientist

Judith Sprague

Artist, Performer, Maker

K. Gretchen Greene

Steel Sculptor

Maggie McFee

Maker of Many Things

Mark Brownawell

Harmony Technology

Melissa Glick

Hacker Junk Creations

Michael Shonle

Cantux Research

Quang Truong

Evaptainers

Richard Rubenstein

Set Designer and Prop Maker

Sal Mancini

Woodworker

Sarah Miller

Innovation Enthusiast

Simon Hong

Robilis, Maker of Chairbot

Skunk

Skunkadelia

Stephanie MacLeod

Artist, Painter

Tam Black

Manufacturing Design Consultant, Instructor

Tom Sanfilippo

Asylum Science Officer

William Zimmer

Server Technology

Aliza Vaida

Sculptor, Painter, Artist
Aliza Vaida — Sculptor, Painter, Artist

Space #4
Aliza can't remember a time when she wasn't drawing or sculpting something." Using found objects is where she really shines, making large sculptures and recently wood furniture. Her membership in the Asylum has given her the ability to use professional tools in the woodshop and create beautiful pieces of art. She is also an Asylum "Deskie", which she feels is a great way to get to know the community and give back.

Aliza, tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background and education? How did you get into making? I graduated from Boston University with a degree in both painting and sculpture. I have always been a creative person. I can't remember a time when I wasn't drawing or sculpting something.

Describe yourself in one word. Sunny

What brought you to the Asylum and how long have you been a member? I heard about the Asylum from an acquaintance. I wanted to start building sculptures again and the facilities here are exactly what I needed. I have been a member for a year and a half.

What do you do at the Asylum? What kind of projects do you like to work on and what materials do you work with? I work in mostly wood and metal making sculptures out of found materials from within the Asylum and outside. Most of my sculptures are quite large. I have also started making wood furniture.

Why do you do what you do and what are your maker plans for the future? I have always loved creating things and I particularly love transforming found objects into beautiful pieces of art. My plans for the near future is to make a series of wood sculptures from discarded frame ends as well as free form metal sculptures. I am also working on wooden wine rack.

What are the projects in the photographs? All the photos are sculptures I have made in full or in part at the asylum. Three of the sculptures are made out of frame ends that I wired together and painted. In the large floor sculpture I embedded color changing lights. I also created a solar powered sculpture from materials at the Asylum.

How has the Asylum changed your life? I have been able to use a full wood shop and metal shop that would have been impossible for me to afford otherwise. Also the community here has been invaluable. With any questions I have had to complete a project there has been someone to help.

Have you taken any classes? Have you taught any classes? I have taken oxy acetylene tool testing, 3-d printer. and the CNC wood router class.

What's your "day job?" Does it relate to what you do at the Asylum? Currently I work as a custom framer.

Have you participated in any Asylum-related events? I have participated in Somerville open studio and the Asylum open studio. I also was apart of Figment Boston.

Aurora, 2013
recycled wood frame pieces, wire

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Andrew Anselmo
Clipboard Engineering
Andrew Anselmo— Clipboard Engineering

“The reason this place is important to me is that you’re always doing something in here. It’s teaching people to share, something that can be forgotten sometimes. This place builds a great community, which has been lost a bit as well. I think the Asylum and places like it can help reverse the trend of individualistic mentality; it gets people to come together. At the same time, it teaches people to be entrepreneurial, and to start businesses, and take risks.”
-Andrew Anselmo, Engineer, Origami Journeyman

    Andrew attended The Cooper Union for undergraduate school and received his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. After doing a postdoc at Hanscom AFB, and through a series of related and unrelated detours, Andrew was introduced to classes at Artisan’s. He realized that he needed a space to work outside his house; somewhere that fit his budget, had a fantastic community, and gave him a place to do both origami and engineering projects. Now at Artisan’s, he is working on a variety of small electronics projects, consulting work, and teaching and creating both paper and metal origami.
    Andrew claims, “‘Making doesn’t necessarily have to mean ‘making a physical object.' For example, making and teaching a class on a skill you know requires a good bit of effort and creativity." Although he is known for his engineering services and his experiences in origami performance, he spends a lot of time teaching classes (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, “Intro to Electronics”), inspiring others to “start small,” and learning from others.
    At Artisan’s Asylum, Andrew is characterized by his friendly welcomes, outgoing personality, nurture of the Electronics & Robots area, and initiatives to support the logistical apparatuses of the Asylum. He spends a small bit of time helping maintain the “Print Monster,” which provides the community with 2D printers and scanners. He also played a role in getting the Building 8 Meeting Room up and running, which now allows for a more professional meeting space at the Asylum. When he’s not doing these things, he acts as the Election Commissioner and as an ombud.

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Arlene Elkins
Alchemist's Apprentice
Arlene Elkins—Jewelry Maker, Dancer, Maker

    “You come up with some of your most creative ideas when you are with people that you maybe wouldn’t be around. That is one of the great things about this place. You have welders next to water colorists next to someone who is designing fashion. It may not seem as though we have anything in common, but once people get talking and trading ideas, we all inspire each other.”

-Arlene Elkins, Alchemist’s Apprentice

    At Artisan’s Asylum, Arlene of the Alchemist’s Apprentice can be found making wearable collages, using a variety of textures and colors. She explores the endless possibilities by navigating antiques, found objects, semi-precious stones, and vintage beads. Even though Alchemist’s Apprentice vividly displays her “assembly” of unique components, Arlene’s journey at the Artisan’s Asylum is multi-faceted and representative of a journey full of ever-changing components.
    Before jewelry, Arlene had a background in the film and media industry. She went to school in New York and expressed interest in set design and costume-making. Besides working in this industry, what Arlene enjoys the most is dancing and making costumes for herself. After working in media, she decided to take a break to concentrate on her artistic and creative pursuits. What brought her to the Asylum was the desire to focus, learn, and create.
    Arlene has a passion for melding the performing arts and the visual arts together. “A lot of the times, they are kept separate...The art community can really be divided too much by these sub-communities.” In the future, she hopes to bring people together and to help them achieve opportunities in the art world.
    Besides, working on jewelry and costumes at Artisan’s, she also teaches a beading class and has taken a variety of classes in the jewelry shop. As she continues on as a member of Artisan’s Asylum, she hopes to forgo her creative pursuits by participating in Asylum events such as Open Studios, learning more about different shops, and embracing the opportunities that are presented to her in life.

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Arthur Torrey

Self-Taught Tinkerer
Arthur Torrey — Self-Taught Tinkerer

Space #101
When a serious injury in 2010 left him paraplegic Arthur learned that the equipment for those in his situation is “junk that adds more to problems than it helps.” The Asylum is a place where he can use welding, electronic and metal machining tools to tinker and improve on these implements, the developments that he proudly shares on Open Source.

Art, tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background and education? How did you get into making? No degrees, but some college and Electronics Technical school. A lot of varied work experience in electronics / electro-mechanical jobs. Self taught engine mechanic, Have always been a tinkerer and tried to fix anything I owned that needed it. Had serious injury in 2010 that left me a paraplegic, and have been working on mobility related things since.

What brought you to the Asylum and how long have you been a member? After getting an adapted van and my drivers license back in 2012, I started looking for an accessible space that would let me work on things in a way that I could no longer do on my own because of the limitations of life in a wheelchair. I also wanted access to machining tools that I didn't own. Of the spaces I looked at, the Asylum had by far the best accessibility and equipment.

What do you do at the Asylum? What kind of projects do you like to work on and what materials do you work with? I work on a wide range of mobility / accessibility related projects in everything from electronics to wood and metal machining and welding - I use most of the equipment in the electronics, welding, precision machining, and wood shops...

Why do you do what you do and what are your maker plans for the future? I think most of what is available in the handicapped equipment world is JUNK that adds more to problems than it helps. A lot of my present projects have been related to making it possible to use a lot of tools and equipment, but I'd like to make better power wheelchairs and other equipment available to the handicapped community. All of my work has been and will continue to be Open Source Hardware and Free Software based.

What are the projects in the photographs? A modified Harbor Freight motorcycle lift that I converted into a wheelchair lift - testing with my project standing chair.
An older Redman Standing power chair that I am in the process of rebuilding to fit me (The person I purchased it from is shorter than I am, so a lot of modifications are needed.
I am into adaptive climbing - I am working with Sean O'Neill, a top level para-climber, on better harnessing, because I have access to machine tools - this is the drawing for some buckles I will be making.

How has the Asylum changed your life? Given me access to an amazing community of fellow makers, and given me a chance to learn and practice more skills. It also gives me an outlet to socialize and be with other people that is often a challenge to do when living with a handicap.

Have you taken any classes? Have you taught any classes? I have taken a bunch of classes, but not taught any. The machining classes were my favorites. I have also done classes in the welding and wood shops, Arduino micro controllers, and on the Laser Cutter and other tools. I have informally helped at various events to teach soldering and basic electronics, and spend a lot of time sharing my knowledge in other areas.

What's your "day job?" Does it relate to what you do at the Asylum? I haven't had a regular paying job since my injury, but I'm open to offers...
In the meantime I spend much of my time at the Asylum both working on my own projects and as a volunteer in many roles.

Have you participated in any Asylum-related events? I have been a volunteer at many events, most often as a "tour guide" or front entrance desk worker. Mostly I try to help out wherever I can during events.

Describe yourself in one word. Libertarian

Anything else? One of the things the Asylum is good about is trying to make the space accessible, and people are generally helpful about this.

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Barbara Marder
Fine Artist, Educator
Barbara Marder— Fine Artist/ Enamelist, Metalsmith / Arts Educator

“I think making stuff is a very experiential thing. To be honest, you are drawing from your own experiences. So, I think some people really make the mistake of drawing from someone else’s experiences. They lose their way because something they think it doesn’t look or feel right. It’s understanding who you are.”

Barbara, tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background and education? How did you get into making? How did you come to Artisan’s?

    “I can remember way back when I was an undergraduate I was volunteering and somebody was gluing some pasta on paper to make a texture picture. A boy who was about six years old said to me, ‘Why are we putting glue on food?’ I couldn’t think of a reason for why we were doing that. Were they teaching about textures? If we wanted to learn about textures, let’s take the kids outside to see the leaves, the trees, the stones, the cement on the sidewalk. That one comment opened up a whole new approach to my thinking. It taught me to think about art and art making in a whole new way. That was how I started making art myself.”

    Barbara Marder has been making art for most of her life. She graduated Skidmore College with a major in Art and a minor in Art Education. Shortly after, she received an assistantship to go to Boston University to get her M.F.A. degree in painting and art education. Barbara has had extensive experience teaching art to students in elementary school all the way throughout high school. Through her work she has found a way to connect with her students from all different backgrounds and has developed a unique and experiential curriculum that stood out.
    During her time as an educator in the Somerville Public Schools, she found herself in what was once the Ames Paper Factory, where she got a lot of materials. After the factory shut down, it was transformed into an “artist’s place.” Barbara met Guy and Molly there and after a while, she was drawn more to come to Artisan’s Asylum.

What do you do at the Asylum? What kind of projects do you like to work on and what materials do you work with?

    “I make enamel paintings, wall pieces, doing my watercolors, I love it here. I love the feeling, the creativity, everybody’s commitment to the thing they are trying to make. I love the sharing of resources and tools. It’s a kind of setting that I tried to recreate when I was teaching younger kids.”

    In 2011, Barbara had gotten a grant to take a trip to India with other educators. After she came back, she realized what a large, positive impact it had on her. She used the trip to enhance her teaching of art. She recalls painting elephants with first graders and block printing with sixth graders. These experiences shaped and inspired her to make a series of projects when she got back to the states.
    After she retired, her goal was to continue to create and to teach. Barbara continues to express her love for color and teaching. Currently she is teaching a watercolor painting class at Artisan’s and has consistently been improving her metalsmithing in the Jewelry Shop at Artisan’s. She now makes enameled pieces and sells them.

What are your maker plans for the future?

    “I always like to see what each individual’s preferences are, what their handwriting is. The thing you really want to focus on is that. You don’t want to change their handwriting; you just want to make it look good. As of now, I’m continuing to teach. I’m teaching an enamel on copper class and my watercolor class.”

    Barbara has expressed that there are many things she still wants to learn. She recently took the casting class and wants to do something more with that. While Barbara remains passionate about making art, creating jewelry, and teaching classes, she spends a lot of her days spending time with the six grandchildren and family.

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Bob Field

Atomic Earrings
Inmate: Bob Field — Atomic Earrings

Bob started Atomic Earrings here at the Asylum where he creates jewelry with a 3D printer and sells them on his website, craft fairs and over 22 museum gift shops. The jewelry is reminiscent of the style from the so-called Atomic Era and influenced by science, nature, and math.

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Brandon Stafford

Rascal Micro
Inmate: Brandon Stafford — Rascal Micro

Brandon designs, builds and sells The Rascal an internet controller “without the corporate overlord.” He runs this business from his space at the Asylum where he enjoys “being surrounded by people with an entrepreneur, creative spirit.”

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Bronwen Senhouse
Maker
Bronwen Senhouse— Maker

“This place gives me the feeling of visceral joy. It’s working together with other people to build such a healthy community that lets people take the things they’ve imagined and make them real. It’s what humans do that is different from all other critters - we get this idea and the idea can become very fully formed without any physical manifestation. This place lets people manifest their ideas physically.”
-Bronwen Heap-Senhouse, Maker

    Growing up, Bronwen became introduced to making through her home life and education at an early age. During school, she remembered tinkering with electronics in elementary school, while in seventh grade, she became involved in the wood shop class. There, she learned to use the bandsaw, belt sander, and other equipment. She eventually developed an on-going passion for creating and innovating. As she went on to college, she received a degree in Computer Science and English at Syracuse University.
    Ever since Artisan’s Asylum was located on Joy Street, Bronwen has carried her passions with her in devoting her time to help build the Asylum. She started off volunteering, using the shop tools to build the wood shop tables, sewing tables, partitions, and other parts of the space. Artisan’s Asylum started growing in membership and size, and soon enough Bronwen started exploring creative avenues in the fabric arts, woodworking, and painting world.
    Bronwen recalls one of her favorite classes, Mold-Making with Bevin Weissman. The pouring of the mold and revealing of the object you have cast grants the participant a feeling of instant gratification of accomplishment. “There’s something very exciting about getting to make a thing that you don’t even have to think about with such an immediate link.”
    Bronwen, otherwise known as Bron by the community, can be found deskie-ing, making, and being a powerful, inspiring asset to the community of makers and the Artisan’s Asylum.

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Chris Templeman

Templeman Automation
Inmate: Chris Templeman — Templeman Automation

Space #68
Chris is the President and CEO of Templeman Automation, which started in 2006 to pursue multidisciplinary science and engineering. While this keeps him busy, he can also be found building storage for the Asylum or helping members with their CAD drawings. Somehow, he also runs Happy Workhorse Farms, a neighborhood 3D printing and design service.

Community supported manufacturing?
Chris Templeman at TEDxSomerville 2012

Is local manufacturing possible? Can the United States, or more specifically Somerville, compete for and keep manufacturing jobs? Conventional wisdom and local economics state we cannot compete with overseas manufacturers, but Chris proposes a model that just might work. A long-time Somerville resident who studied physics at The College of Wooster in Ohio, Chris has been involved in technology and product development for 10 years. During this time he co-founded two small businesses in Somerville. He enjoys tinkering with hardware, electronics and power tools. His energy is currently directed at the interplay between innovation and local manufacturing.

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Claire Kincaid

Artist, Designer, Engineer
Artist, Designer, and Engineer
I was brought to Artisan's Asylum by the enthusiasm for making, art, engineering, and generally awesome stuff that permeates the building and everyone in it. I am an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and engineer, and I love that I can do all of those things with no limits at Artisan's. I'm most looking forward to being involved in and collaborating with this community on different projects, and in learning and teaching classes.

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Diane Carle

Assorted Jewelry
Diane Carle< — Assorted Jewelry

Space #107
"Veterinarian by day, creator of little piles of scrap silver by night. Learning how to take large rocks and turn them into smaller rocks. I found the Asylum because I wanted to take some jewelry classes. I'm looking forward to having some time to take classes in metalworking and woodworking and fiber arts and . . . and . . . and"

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Drew Hatzung
Maker
Drew Hatzung—Maker

Drew, what is your background and what do you do at the Artisan’s Asylum?

"I grew up using my dad's basement shop, learning the basics of home repair and carpentry. For fine woodworking, I started at the Asylum. I started off with a project, an old Airstream trailer. I needed some place to build the cabinets, and that was the only thing I planned on making here. Since then, I’ve made many things, but I still haven’t completed the Airstream project. I haven’t put much effort into that because there have been so many more enjoyable things here to work on. That was the project that brought me here."

    Coming from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Drew moved to the area when his partner got into graduate school in the Greater Boston Area. He received his degree in Biology and was preparing to attend medical school. As he was completing his application paperwork, he found the Artisan’s Asylum and took Skunk’s TIG welding class.He signed up for a membership after the first class and decided to take a break from his path to medical school. After taking some time to familiarize himself with the resources of Artisan’s Asylum, Drew now spends most of his time in the wood shop. He is one of the wood shop managers and has taught an Intro to the Wood Lathe Class and How to Build a Band Saw Box. When he is not doing that, he also plays a leadership role in the Jewelry/Metalsmith shop and volunteers at the front desk.

What are you maker plans for the future? What do you hope to see for the future of A2?

"In the future, I am developing a class with another member to cross over between electronics and the wood-shop to make a touch-sensitive, LED, steam-bent laminated lamp. For the future of Artisan’s, it’s really important to me that this place survives in the long term. That’s been a big part of the reason why I try to volunteer as much of my time as I am able to."

    Drew has expressed his interest in developing curriculum that will fuse together different shops and specialities. He believes that if this place can survive with all the changes going on in Somerville or Boston, this place can have an enormous impact on a huge number of people, especially young people in the Boston, Somerville, Cambridge area as an alternative path to learning engineering, craft and design skills.

How has A2 impacted your life?

"If I didn’t have the Asylum, there’s no way that I would be able to do the building or making that I get to do now. My passions are making things. I didn’t realize how unfulfilling the path that I was on could have been, until I got to do the things that I really, really enjoy doing here."

    As Drew continues to be a member of the Asylum, he hopes to continue to learn from other members, the community, and the space. He hopes that if membership can continue to be extended to those without a professional background or degree and to youth, the Artisan's Asylum can turn into just as much of a learning institution as any university in the area.

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Ecco Pierce

All Things Ecco
Inmate: Ecco Pierce — All Things Ecco

A “daydreaming machine” who “likes big visible multimedia spectacle-style sculpture” and works with steel, electronics, plastics, fabric or anything else not nailed down. Ecco runs her business All Things Ecco from Artisan’s Asylum, teaches several classes including sculptural metalwork and kinetics, and considers her day job “arting.” The Asylum and the people around her have enabled her creativity in the best way and has been highly involved here since day one.

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Emily Garfield

Imaginary Cartography
Emily Garfield— Imaginary Cartography

Space #58
Emily Garfield creates intricate maps of imaginary places that explore the origins of cities and the function of maps themselves. She received her BA in Visual Arts from Brown University, where she also pursued studies in the brain’s response to art and aesthetic beauty through the Cognitive Science department.

Emily has participated in exhibitions throughout the greater Boston area as well as New York and Philadelphia. Her work is in the collection of the Kamm Teapot Foundation as well as numerous private collections.

Imaginary Cartography Emily's intricate pen and watercolor drawings are inspired by the visual language of maps, as well as the fractal similarity that cities share with biological processes such as the patterns of cells and neurons. She invents each place as she draws, thinking about clustering of neighborhoods, patterns of roads and the individual selective memory that an inhabitant would use to navigate their city. The physical materials also influence each work; the topography of watercolor paper, the force of gravity on ink, or the tensile limitations of paper all structure her drawings in the same way that a landscape influences urban growth.

Pop-Up Cities Each popup is one strip of paper, cut and folded into an intersection of two different city scenes. Although the project began in Providence, the imagery is always inescapably that of New York City, where she grew up. These are rooftops from my window, buildings from her walk to school and random arrays of lit windows seen from midnight cab rides home. The popups are a discourse between imagination and the physicality of the paper. Each one takes many hours to draw, cut and fold, slowly creating an ethereal city from aching hands and mounds and mounds of tiny windows.

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Jacob LaRocca

Jacob Makes Stuff
Inmate: Jacob LaRocca — Jacob Makes Stuff

Ever wanted a lightsaber? Or to tap dance in the dark? Make a spaceship simulator? Jacob LaRocca can help you with that. The Asylum has been an outlet for him outside of his day job, enabling him to take many classes, among them glasswork, and a place to work on his many electrical creations.

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Jennifer Botto
Jennifer Botto— Thorn & Bloom

What brought you to Artisan's Asylum? What are you looking forward to? I came to the Artisan's Asylum so that I could have a creative space to expand my business. Through the Asylum, I was able to find Josh Beckmann of Somerville Made, who crafts the custom wood caps for my bottles. I love the diversity of makers at the Asylum, and look forward to future collaborations. For instance, I'm thinking about adding custom perfume lockets to my line, so I'd like to connect with a jewelry maker / metalsmith here at Artisan's. As a company that values artisan and local products, I'm proud to offer my perfumes as having these aspects of production.

What do you like most about teaching & learning at Artisan's? Have any favorite classes you've taken or taught? I took the introductory woodshop class so that I could get an understanding of the production of my custom caps. It was very helpful for me to realize the work that goes into each cap, and gave me the confidence to know that I could eventually take over production when time allows.

Describe your typical day at Artisan's Asylum As the sole employee of Thorn & Bloom Perfume, I'm involved in all aspects of production. I often spend a few hours experimenting with new formulas or improving old formulas, bottling, labeling, boxing and shipping. Much of what I do is evaluating the aromatics, so I get a better sense of their profiles. Committing an aromatic to memory is very important in perfumery, so I can reference it later on during blending. For this task, I like to use noise-cancelling head phones so I can focus completely on the scents.

Anything else you want to share? I welcome everyone to stop by my space if they're interested in perfumery or entrepreneurship in general. I love to educate people about natural perfume and have many business resources to share (suppliers, marketing, etc).

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Jesa Damora

FunnelCake Arts Marketing
Inmate: Jesa Damora — FunnelCake Marketing

Jesa Damora runs FunnelCake Marketing, an arts marketing and business development consulting firm. Her consulting clients include painters, conceptual artists, street artists, metal workers, ceramicists, jewelers, musicians and inventors. She provides arts event development and execution (TED talks, Somerville Open Studios), offers curation services, and develops publicity and PR campaigns.

Jesa's panels and workshops in Boston and in Brooklyn have covered merchandising, pricing, art collecting, crowd-sourced funding, and networking. They have headlined art critics, experts on intellectual property, and prototypers. She produces and co-hosts a TV show on culture and the arts with SCATV. Jesa is also an artist with work in public, private and corporate collections. As an architect, she ran a consortium sponsored by the US Department of Energy, where she developed alliances with over a hundred entities, planned and managed events, and waded deep into major grant writing. She is published writer and editor, and a graduate of Harvard University.

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Jonathan Card

Mad Scientist
Jonathan Card— Mad Scientist

Tell us about your background and how did you get into making?

    I think in a lot of ways I have built compulsively my whole life; it took me a long time to recognize it. My background is mostly in computer science. I learned to program when I was four years old with an Atari cartridge unit. My dad had an Atari interpreter program on cartridge and would put it in instead of the game cartridge. I learned this silly program that would print my name over and over again and that was really entertaining for a four year old.
    As I grew older, we got new computers and I would play around with different programs. I learned to program more and was able to write my own video games. In college, I really wanted to get into robotics. Since Circuits 101 was filled up, I ended up taking Programming 101 instead. I was reminded of how good I was at programming and how much I enjoyed it. I drifted away from robotics and then I went to work in the A.I. lab at Honeywell where I worked on the autopilot software for commercial airplanes. We were working on a defense program that would try to outwit attackers. That job really woke me up to why I was doing all of my classes and to learn what was in my classes. It taught me that my biggest passion is making things and building things and so I worked my way up.
    After graduating college, My first job was writing Perl scripts for a map-making company. I worked my way up from there and ended up writing programs for Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. I also went to business school after that to focus on startups. After that, I took a bit of a break from working to work on my health. That’s when I found the Artisan’s Asylum.

How did you find Artisan’s Asylum?

    I found Artisan’s Asylum through the Cambridge Innovation Center. When I was there I was trying to utilize all these resources and I ended up getting connected to Artisan’s through the networking database. After I visited Artisan’s, I ended up cancelling my CIC membership and coming here full time.
    It was sort of a sanctuary for me. The Cambridge Innovation Center was incredibly sterile and had all the things I didn’t really like about business school culture. It wasn’t the networking opportunity that I thought it would be. I was looking for work in startups in computers and it didn’t fit right. But Artisan’s was a community of people that liked to build things. It was in a lot of ways a life-saver for me. I found a place I belonged and it turns out I found a job right after that. This place is a really important part of me in helping me express who I am. I build things all day for work, mostly in software. Then, I come to the Asylum and I build many different other things, but it is also relaxing at the same time. Everything comes down to building something for me.

What projects do you work on here and what materials do you work with?

    I’ve been recently working on a project on buildanemdrive.org, which is a science experiment to launch an experimental propulsion system for satellites into orbit. It’s been replicated in a number of places, but it’s still a mystery exactly how it works. Hopefully by putting it into orbit, that will help people find out whether this is something to take seriously, whether this is an important scientific experiment or what’s going on with it. I also am trying to learn how to program chips like the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi and to learn more about electrical systems and mechanical systems. Here, I have a few unfinished electronics projects like that.

What other roles do you have at Artisan’s Asylum?

    I am actually the Treasurer at Artisan’s, which means I am responsible for reporting the financial state of the Asylum to the members and to the board. I need to make sure that the financial records are properly represented and that we’re correctly recording them.     Other than that I have been involved in some shops at Artisan’s and have started doing some woodshop work, but before I would only be involved in the digital fabrication shop with the 3d printer. Then, I started working with the laser cutter, the wood shop, and then the jewelry shop. All the skills I learned in these shops enhanced my understanding of my EM Drive project. I’ve really gotten into the machine shop lately and have been learning a technique called metal spinning, which is an interesting merger between the woodshop and the machine shop. I’m actually using this technique to make a tool for the machine shop, something to put on the lathe to help us make different types of shape.

Have you taught or taken any classes?

    There was one class I was trying to put together that focused on game development. I thought it would be great to bring in artists, engineers, technical people to have this engine that would let you have physics and fun. I also taught an Intro to Programming class once and I keep wondering whether to bring it back. I’ve taken Blender and Sculptress with Judah. It took the 3D-Printing class, the Laser and metal lathe class. I’m also looking forward to welding and taking the manual milling class.

What’s something that you love about Artisan’s Asylum and how has it impacted your life?

    The community really, the feeling that by being here you’re a member of something. I can ask questions and participate, contribute to the community, and sweep the floors and the rest of it. It feels more of a way to feel connected to this institution. I really like knowing that I can contribute something to the group and feeling like this is a way I can be ignorant with confidence because someone will be willing to help and someone is respectful that I am trying to learn something.

What’s something that you would like to see for the future of this space?

    I’m just excited to see what other people want. I feel like I have all the pieces for my project or for the projects I want to work on. I’m just looking forward to seeing what other people come up with. I want to get more involved in the casting shop.

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Judith Sprague

Artist, Performer, Maker
Agent Judy
At Artisan’s, Agent Judy is rock star that brings such a positive energy to the space. She has taken a number of classes here including welding and sewing. She is also an Asylum "Deskie", which she feels is a great way to get to know the community and give back.

I am Agent Judy, a working artist, songwriter, performer, maker, ritual designer, expressive therapist, and social worker producing drawings + paintings in + on mixed media, photography, bead jewelry, poetry, fiction + essay writing, soundtracks, songs, + other musical compositions. I graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) in 1982, and have made art all my life. I have also performed since childhood, albeit with a long hiatus spent scratching at subsistence, raising children, + drawing at all hours, leading to shows at galleries including Crone’s Harvest, Five Crows, + Zeitgeist Gallery.

Most my visual artwork has used mixed media on a variety of surfaces including paper, wood, metal, and found objects. Current projects in development are trending more toward three dimensions and incorporate light sources and sculptural elements using wood, found objects, scrap metal, discarded packaging, paper maché, glass, marbles, tile, adhesives, paper, fabric, paint, resin, and hardware. This shift is requiring me to learn more about construction methods, electricity, and materials, leading to my involvement at the Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville, where I have been learning more about woodworking, welding, and construction methods. I volunteer in exchange for training and access, and love being a member of the A2 community.

With a background in education and counseling as well as art and music, I have been slowly developing a curriculum for groups focused on expression. These will be structured with the intention of coaxing out freedom of expression, which can be elusive, to provide the benefits associated with creativity such as new insights, raising of memories, identification of self, and values unique to each individual. The groups may employ multiple modes of visual, sound, and movement based activities. To support this effort, I’ve done coursework in expressive therapies at Lesley University and am 3/5ths of the way towards an Advanced Certificate. I am also enrolled in the teacher program of JourneyDance with Toni Bergins to inform the movement elements I would like to include.

In 2016, I took an early retirement from the Boston Public Schools where I was a school social worker. In my work there, I used the arts and various tools of expression as often as possible in the curriculum I built supporting kids with social skills, behavior, and emotional awareness, leading to increased school success.

More recently I had multiple roles in the Boston Rock Opera’s 2016 production of HAiR. Previously I was a primary songwriter and the lead singer for Engine Judy, 2011-2013. I write and perform for the psychedelic blues duo performing intermittently as Timitar + Agent Judy. Some time back, I was a member of TMax’s Peace Chorus. In 2016, I performed at Chetstock with Chelsea Clutch. Currently, rehearsals are ongoing for a new musical venture, Agent Judy and the Instigators, for which I am the songwriter, lead singer, and percussionist. Recordings for most of these projects are available by request.

My recent challenge has been how to focus on individual projects and bring them to completion while maintaining others in progress. It is a wealth of choices, and I am fortunate to have such an abundance of interests and opportunities.

Artistically, I’ve embodied a variety of personas, and my work reflects that. As I embark on new directions they can be followed at my website, currently under construction, www.agentjudy.rocks.

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K. Gretchen Greene

Steel Sculptor
K. Gretchen Greene — Steel Sculptor

Space #48
Two years ago Gretchen was an attorney in an international law firm when an article about a project created at the Asylum changed her life. In summer of 2012 she took a metalworking class here, learning how to weld and use the manual plasma cutter. Today she runs her own business making steel sculptures inspired by both nature and mathematics.

Gretchen, tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background and education? How did you get into making?
I am a full time steel sculptor working out of the Asylum.

Previous day jobs include: corporate tax attorney at major international law firm, environmental law and policy at NRDC in Beijing and DC, U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense and Homeland Security mathematician, Hollywood animator/special effects artist.

J.D. Yale Law School, C.Phil and M.S. math UCLA. Also Princeton, Oxford, UCSB and others.

What do you do at the Asylum? What kind of projects do you like to work on and what materials do you work with?
Professionally - steel sculpture Use welding and metal shops, some woodshop; use studio as gallery for client/dealer visits and photo shoots.

Hobby - robotics (Team Hexapod, Cambridge Science Festival Autonomous Fighting Robots)

Service - former chairman of the Asylum board; visitors/press (provide education/entertainment/content as major tour stop); facilities volunteering (painting, lights, trash, sweeping);

How has the Asylum changed your life?
For me, the Artisan’s Asylum has been an incredible positive transformational force in my life.

One day two years ago, walking to my job as a corporate tax lawyer at a leading international law firm, Ropes & Gray, I read an article about Stompy the Hexapod. With that article, I discovered the Asylum.

I took a beginning metal working class. In four Sunday afternoons that summer, I learned to weld. I learned to use the plasma cutter. Amazing things happened.

I made work unlike any I had made before, and yet in that work, I could feel all the things I’ve done before. Everything fit.

Brooklyn Boulders commissioned a large wall sculpture. I was filmed by The Economist. My work appeared in Boston.com. I performed onstage in New York. I started showing and selling in Massachusetts, California and New York. I served on the board of directors for the Asylum.

For the last year, I’ve been working full time as a professional sculptor, something I never imagined I’d be doing, and something I don’t believe I ever would have done if I hadn’t found the Asylum.

The Asylum has given me the training, the tools and the space to create and display large steel sculptures. Our community has provided resources and encouragement that have helped me launch and grow my business.

I love the diversity, the knowledge and the generosity I have found. I love coming to work every day.

Have you taken any classes?
Taken:
Metal Sculpture
Foam Fabrication
Build Your Own Tesla Coil
CNC Plasma Cutting

What's your "day job?" Does it relate to what you do at the Asylum?
I am a full time steel sculptor working out of the Asylum.

Previous day jobs include: corporate tax attorney at major international law firm, U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense and Homeland Security mathematician, Hollywood animator/special effects artist

Have you participated in any Asylum-related events?
Events:
Secretary Bialecki Roundtable
Creative Economy "Sharktank"
Innovation Tour, Sloan workshop, MIT science education workshop and other tours/workshops
Yale Night at the Asylum "Start Up Stories" - coorganizer and panel speaker
Make a Makerspace Conference - panel speaker
Somerville Open Studios
SOS Marketing Talks
December Open Studios
Boston Design Week
Potluck dinners/meetings/social hours
Cambridge Science Festival robot competition
Power Tool Pumpkin Carving
Christmas Gift Exchange/Party
Candidate Forums/Elections/Annual Mtgs/Bylaw Mtgs/Board Mtgs

Check out this article written by Gretchen for the Boston Globe about Artisan's Asylum:
Artisan’s Asylum: Building dreams, one business at a time
May 2014

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Maggie McFee

Maker of Many Things
Maggie McFee — Maker of Many Things

Space #100B
Maggie is many things to many people: a senior sysadmin and computing manager for a certain university physics department; an artist who rarely gets time to draw any more; a maker, tinkerer and builder of stuff; a complete and utter gadget ‘enthusiast’; a video nerd just as fascinated by the technology as by the craft; a lover of science, promoter of critical/rational thinking in society and education, skeptic and lover of beer.

"I started taking stuff apart at a young age. After many stern talking-tos from my parents I figured out that the best way to be able to keep taking things apart was to also figure out how to put them back together. Eventually this led to making things on my own. A love of sci-fi, an aptitude for art and computers, and an urge to 'make' led me to a life of building stuff for fun, for friends and occasionally for profit. Recent things I've made include a Victorian Ghost Finder prop, a joystick driveable platform with object avoidance for an African Grey parrot and an 22-inch scale model of the Spaceship of the Imagination (from the new Cosmos) for the Atlanta Star Party auction. I desperately needed somewhere where I could build non-messy things like electronics, as well as messy/noisy things like prop building, 3-D printing and painting. I felt I'd subjected my neighbors to enough noise and weird smells already. The Asylum helped me to not have to choose between finding a house somewhere with a garage or staying where I am in a neighborhood I love."

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Mark Brownawell
Harmony Technology
Mark Brownawell— President of Harmony Technology Inc.

Mark is an MIT BS/MSME with 30+ years of experience in scientific and industrial measurement instrumentation. He designs instruments for his own company and for licensed production. After discovering the joys and benefits of 3D parts “printed” in exotic materials, and having set up an investment casting based prototype shop at a prior company, he helped with the Asylum’s new casting shop. He enjoys teaching classes in casting.

Mark, what do you do?
I’m the President of Harmony Technology. Harmony Technology makes humidity instrumentation. Since it’s a small company only one person can do everything.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background. How did you come to the Asylum?
I lived in Virginia for eight years and then my wife got a job up here at Boston University. Because I have a very portable business, I follow along wherever she goes. So, I was looking for a place to continue to run my business. In Virginia, I basically had a whole floor, a basement floor of a house, a walk out basement. I had a machine space, a computer lab and an electronics area. When I came to Boston, that was very hard to find in a commercial space. Commercial spaces were either offices or really disgusting, dirty, industrial spaces. A friend suggested looking at Artist spaces and studios, and the first one that came up was Artisan’s Asylum. I hopped on over into the car and came over to take a look. It was perfect!

When did you get into creating or making?
Sort of always. I’m a mechanical engineer by training. I have always liked designing and building things. Back in 1983, I graduated from MIT and took a job at a small instrumentation company. It was just a lot of fun designing instruments and building them, selling them.

What do you think is the best thing about being here at the Asylum?
I think the people are the best. There’s a whole group of people who all interact, they share interesting things with each other. They help each other out. And that’s really the best; and that’s entirely unexpected. You know moving up from Virginia to here, I had no expectation that it would be this good. Everyone is alsp open to sharing and caring at a certain level too.

What does Artisan’s Asylum mean to you?
It’s just a great environment to work and to live. I can see why people spend a lot of their spare time here. It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.

You’re an instructor for investment casting. How did you get into that?
Originally, I had wanted just to set up a small, cart-based investment casting primarily for myself. At my old company, we had set up an investment casting system for engineering prototypes. I wanted to recreate that. But then, when I mentioned that to Rob he made a suggestion that I should talk with Karen Burke and see about setting up a full studio. So then, we decided to go that route and do classes more in line with what the Asylum does anyway. That’s part of the mission here.

How do you like teaching? Could you see yourself doing it for a while?
Teaching is fun. Yes, it’s also a part of the giving back to the community. People teach me a lot and I need to teach them.

If you had any advice for young people or other members in terms of creativity and inspiration, what piece would you give?
Just talk with everyone here. You never know where your inspiration will come from. I don’t know how to describe it, but there is a lot of cross pollination here. You never know where you’re going to get a brilliant idea from.

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Melissa Glick

Hacker Junk Creations
Melissa Glick — Hacker Junk Creations

Space #60
As the artist behind Hacker Junk Creations, Melissa takes apart forgotten and obsolete electronics, like printers, PCs and VCRs. She repurposes these components into pieces that start conversations between the 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional. Melissa also has a background as an arts teacher and administrator, and you can often find her leading workshops and activities during Asylum events.

Check out these articles by Melissa!

Artisan's Asylum from an Artist's Perspective —
Boston Handmade, October 2014

One man’s trash is this artist’s treasure —
The Somerville Times January 2014

Melissa, tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background and education? How did you get into making? I find beauty in unexpected places by transforming recycled computer parts into art, jewelry and accessories. As a "hacker", I takes things apart and re-purposes them in cool new ways. By incorporating remnants of past technologies with artifacts from my personal life, I create a "conversation" between 2D text and images and 3D forms. My work grapples with the environmental impact of our technological lifestyle and emotional attachments to "things" that represent and validate who we are. I have a Masters in Art Education from Mass College of Art and BA from SUNY Purchase and have run educational programs at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Boston Ballet, Museum of Fine Arts, Parts and Crafts and various community events.

What brought you to the Asylum and how long have you been a member? I work in my space throughout the week - I have lots of tools, paints and materials I use to make mosaics, clocks etc. I take apart e-waste, pcs, printers, scanners, vcrs, any old electronics that people give me. I sort it and store it here. I use the router and saws to cut down scrap wood for the surfaces. I paint, spray paint surfaces. I use metal shop to cut parts.

How has the Asylum changed your life? The energy, the variety of people... learning from people who know so much about things I dont understand like science, electronics, physics. The internet discussion list is a vast resource of information and ideas. Collaborating with others, learning about events. Having a place where I can focus on my creative ideas and make what ever I want. It is a rare place, where I can pursue my dreams, that actually legitimizes trying to do what I love.

Have you taken any classes? Have you taught any classes? I was introduced to the Asylum by taking the Build A Chair Class. It gave me training on most of the tools I needed. I have taught 2 classes in Hacker Junk Mosaics. One was for kids with parents, the other just adults. I'd be happy to offer more if there is interest. I also took a class to learn to solder. I learn about by asking more knowledgeable members.

What's your "day job?" Does it relate to what you do at the Asylum? This is my day job. I have taught multi week programs for kids at Parts and Crafts, Watertown Art Center and do lots of community events such as at the libraries, Maker Faire, Science Fest, River Fest. and at after school programs.

Have you participated in any Asylum-related events? I appreciate the community aspect of the Asylum and wish everyone was more involved in some of the routine tasks. I did Secret Santa twice. I do all Open Houses and public events, the "How to Make a Maker Space" - the networking, people you meet is invaluable for the success of my business.

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Michael Shonle

Cantux Research
Michael Shonle — Cantux Research

Space #51B (Area 51)
At the Asylum, Michael combines his love for making music, his background in electronics, and the accessibility of 3D printing to create an eCorder. This electronic flute has a 3D printed plastic body, a circuit board and some software. Mike enjoys the environment at the Asylum and how it facilitates a camaraderie among members that frequently leads to problem-solving or even new project ideas.

Michael, tell us a bit about yourself. What is your background and education? How did you get into making? A long history of taking things apart, studied electrical engineering, and love making music.

Describe yourself in one word. Curious.

What brought you to the Asylum and how long have you been a member? I really appreciate all aspects of AA, especially the shared tools and equipment and the synergy and camaraderie. I have been a member for about 9 months.

What do you do at the Asylum? What kind of projects do you like to work on and what materials do you work with? I generally work with electronics and software and some 3-d design. I am currently working on an electronic flute, which has a 3-d printed plastic body, a circuit board, and some software

Why do you do what you do and what are your maker plans for the future? I have always liked electronics and music and have finally been able to put them together. I hope to do more of the same in the future, with new projects such as force-feedback keyboards.

What are the projects in the photographs? First actual 3-d printed prototype Photo of early pre-prototype CAD model of eCorder

How has the Asylum changed your life? I really enjoy the casual encounters that frequently lead to new interested projects or solutions to problems I've been having.

What's your "day job?" Does it relate to what you do at the Asylum? My other work is very closely related, since it also involves electronics and software, but for a slightly different market: hi-end robotic telescope mounts.

Have you participated in any Asylum-related events? Noise Night, as a performer.

Anything else?

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Quang Truong
Evaptainers
Quang Truong—Evaptainers

Quang Truong has worked on development projects that span from Haiti to Liberia to India to Vietnam, and possesses expertise in M&E, agricultural supply chains and agribusiness. Throughout his career, he recognized a recurring problem in the lack of adequate cold chain infrastructure throughout the developing world. Quang holds a Master’s of Law and Diplomacy from the Tufts Fletcher School with focuses on International Business and Development Economics.

Quang, tell us about yourself and your background.

    My background is International Development. I’ve been working in that field for the last seven years, shortly after undergrad. Through that experience, I’ve been able to work on different projects in developing countries like Liberia, Vietnam, India, and Haiti. Although, I’ve mostly been working on agricultural projects. Something that I’ve noticed constantly is while working for those projects, there are large focuses on refrigeration and the need for refrigeration in developing countries.

What brought you to Artisan’s Asylum?

    What brought me here is during graduate school, I was taking a class called Development Ventures. It was a class where the first day you go in and the professor challenges you with a really juicy question like, “Your goal for this class is to come up with one business idea. Make it help at least one billion people.” For me, I worked in agriculture; and what I realized is, if I want to think about solving this crazy problem, it’s probably going to be farmers because most of the world is poor, and work or live in rural areas. They do agriculture as their primary source of income and livelihood. It would have something to do with spoilage based on what I’ve seen in the field. From that class, the need to tackle this problem is huge.     During that class I basically said, I’m here at MIT and Boston, which have a lot of great resources, let me try to do something with that. That was really my first step - going to Artisan’s. It was something that I’ve known about for a while. I’ve always heard it was a cool, creative space; people can just make anything! If you have an idea in your head, you can make it into a real thing. Artisan’s ultimately appealed to our team for that reason. You just have a lot of big machinery that you can play around with. You have a lot of creative people that you can talk to. It was during that class that I said, “I’m going to check this place out and start working out of here. We’re going to start building our prototypes here.”

What is Evaptainers and how did you and your team get inspiration for this company?

    I had encountered something in my work called a “zeer pot,” a clay/ceramic pot refrigeration device developed in Nigeria; it is basically the cheapest refrigerator built. The amazing thing is, now that you’re storing fruits and vegetables in it, you can extend the shelf life of things like tomatoes, okra, lettuce, onions or whatever; you can double or triple the shelf life of most of what you store inside. What I realized is this is a really cool invention, but it’s made of ceramic. It’s heavy to move around, dirty, and very fragile. If you drop it, then you’re out of a refrigerator. The Evaptainer is a portable, lightweight refrigerator that runs on water. The point is that it’s supposed to fix all the problems of the zeer pot and become this product that people are proud to buy and put in their home and say, “look at this I have my first refrigerator.”

What resources do you use at Artisan’s to build your prototypes and help out with your projects?

    For our prototypes we have used the jump shears, the metal benders, the 3D printers, and we might use the vacuum former in the future. The thing is, as the product develops, there are so many different directions it can go. We really are getting the most out of the resources the space has to offer.
    I guess you can say Artisan’s is a buffet of awesome tools you can use. You have to put it in context of other makerspaces. Compared to the number of resources at Artisan’s, other makerspaces are more limited in terms of space and the number of tools that are provided. Having that giant selection is extremely beneficial. What’s also great about the Asylum is the dynamic of the place itself. There are just a lot of different interactions at the Asylum. That’s why we just keep on coming back.

Have you taken any classes or taught at Artisan’s Asylum?

    I haven’t taught any classes, but a long time ago I took an Intro to the Wood Lathe Class. I took it just because it was a fun, cool thing to do. It was an awesome class and I loved it. I ended up making some hand-crafted pens for some of my close friends and family, so that was nice.

How has Artisan’s Asylum impacted your life?

    Something that I realize about Boston and especially Artisan’s Asylum is the amount of creative energy there is in these particular spaces. In addition to that, I’ve come to realize and appreciate how the community here is so open; it’s very welcoming. This is the kind of space where you find experts in their field. There are a lot of people that create crazy things that others can’t. But instead of carrying an elitist attitude, people here you invite you to come in and show others what they’re working on. I just love that energy and sense of community. For the thing we’re designing at Evaptainers, this is definitely the best thing we could have found.

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Richard Rubenstein
Set Designer and Prop Maker
Richard Rubenstein— Set Designer and Prop Maker

Space #28

Richard, what brought you to Artisan’s Asylum? What are you looking forward to? Much of what I make is set pieces and props for community theatre. I also like to make and fix things that interest me. This includes some electronics, for example, Arduino-based gadgets. I have three desktop manufacturing machines in my space: a laser cutter, a CNC router, and a 3D printer.

A primary attraction of A2 for me is the community. I generally prefer collaborations to individual work. enjoy talking with members about their projects and ideas. I've been tutoring an engineering student, and am always happy to help with projects when I have something to add.

What do you like most about Artisan’s? Do you have any favorite classes you’ve taken or taught? It’s the people. I love sharing ideas with folks who are engaged in whatever they’re doing. So far, I use three of the shops: wood, laser, and electronics. I enjoy the show and tell sessions, and look forward to offering talks on my projects and interests.

Describe your typical day at Artisan’s I keep somewhat irregular hours at Artisans. I’m often here during the day. Send me an email if you’ve failed to connect and would like to find a time to meet.

Descriptions/captions for the photos? The clock, for the show Radium Girls, is 3 feet in diameter. It was run by the lighting panel, and showed the time of each of the many scenes in the play. The pawns were 3D printed for a production of Clue. In the play, a 2X game board was used, and the director needed double-sized pawns for the board.

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Sal Mancini
Woodworker
Sal Mancini— Woodworker

Sal, tell us about your background and how did you get into making?

    My first experience with “making” was in high school. We had a very active theatre department. While I did some acting, I was much more interested in set building and making props. I did about three years of that and I designed some sets, made a lot of props and did a lot of lighting work. I got very interested in working with my hands and applying that energy to a project with a deadline. It was nice to have those constraints on creativity; it’s actually good when you have to plan out the time you have and the materials you need. There’s no way really around it.

What brought you to Artisan’s Asylum and how long have you been a member?

    I’ve been a member for three or four years now.I used to have studio space in South Boston. When I heard about the Asylum I was already being priced out of there and didn’t really have a work space anymore. I tried a few different things, and nothing really was a fit for me until I came here. The spaces I had were private, which is something I didn’t care too much for. When I came to the Asylum, the spaces weren’t as private, but I didn’t really miss it. It was the access to tools that I really wanted and that’s what was provided here.

How did you initially get into woodworking?

    I got more interested in woodworking through photography actually. I used to work at a manufacturer of photo paper, where they sold platinum paper. One of the things I learned was how to use view cameras. One of my gurus there gave me one out his attic that was kind of destroyed, and I rebuilt it. Those cameras have a lot of cool-looking joinery. As objects, they are just beautiful. I shot photos with them as well, but I really got interested in woodworking from rebuilding that.

What do you do here? What materials and projects do you work on?

     I don’t like doing the same thing twice, but I like repairing things that are broken. I like working with wood; that’s really what it comes down to. I like the smell of it, I like the feel of it. I like the different characteristics of species of wood and always finding a different way to make somewhat sculptural things.
    Here, I do a lot of work for rate of commission. If someone needs something made, I can do it. I’ve made a couple chairs and I’ve definitely made a few cameras. I do a lot of turning, so a lot of spindle work. Doing that, I’ve been able to learn about wood in a more intimate way. Oak feels really different from maple and I can almost tell the difference blindfolded at this point. There’s just different smells, different textures, there’s different techniques you use and it’s been enlightening. I also like making custom furniture, whether its cabinets or whatever because you‘re getting to serve the client while also getting your creative input in there and building that trust.

How do people find you?

    I’ve actually had a lot of work from referrals. I do get some work from the have-it-made list too.

You most recently received an Artisan’s Grant. Tell us why you applied and what you plan to do with that.

    I’m sort of going back to the original sharp turn I took from photography. I have access to a dark room now so I’ve been shooting a little bit again. But, what I want to do is to go back to making cameras. Back then, I was making a sort of what I call a Frankenstein camera, which is just a box with a lens on it with a film holder on the back. If I learn all the metal-working parts, I think I could make something pretty cool.
    I’m just really looking to add to my skill set while I make some cameras or it may be something for myself, I’m not really sure at this point because it’s not really part of the digital world anymore, although I guess if you had a back big enough you could put it on a view camera. But yeah, I’m basically going to make wooden cameras with metal parts.

Do you teach here at A2? What are your teaching plans for the future?

    In the future, I may want to teach a class on this process of making a camera. But, right now, I did a little substitute teaching for the Router Table class. I’m teaching my own class now, which is the Basic Wood Lathe Class for spindle turning. It’s sort of a good foundation for learning the techniques that will serve you on larger pieces. I’m working towards a 201 class for the wood lathe where students could make a chest set or a board towards the end of the summer.

Have you taken any classes?

    I took a class a couple years ago that was related to the CNC machinery where I used software to prepare files for the machine.

What does Artisan’s Asylum mean to you? How has it impacted your life?

    I’ve always found the term “maker” strangely sterile. I like to use the word “artist”, but I do realize that it doesn’t cover everyone. This place is where Mass Art meets MIT. There’s a lot of really good cross-pollination there. I always took the word “asylum” to mean a safe place to be yourself, instead of the “loony bin” which is often what the term is associated with.
    In regards to how it’s impacted me, it’s a nice validation of my skillset on a daily basis. It’s really nice to have so many intelligent and creative people around who inspire me and who I can learn from. I go almost everyday because it’s kind of like my second home.

Do you do anything else at Artisan’s Asylum?

    I was around Open Studios and I made some pieces for the raffle. I do volunteering in the wood shop. I test and train people; I do some maintenance. I’m also on the wood board guild and I help out whenever I can.

Why do you feel the need to do the things you do in the wood shop?

    I think it’s part of the deal here. It’s a community shop, which is relatively inexpensive. The reason this place runs is because people dedicate their own volunteer hours to keep the place running.

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Sarah Miller
Innovation Enthusiast
Sarah Miller—Consultant and Innovation Enthusiast

“If you’re going to work and pay the bills, and you’re not exploring your creative side outside of work, then it’s a damn shame. Here is a place to prepare yourself with real do-ers, the kind of people that you wish you were. Putting yourself at A2 is a way to put yourself in a place where you are most likely to succeed. Put all your tools and assets around you so that you’re set up for success instead of failure. A basement garage with a couple of tools is great. This place is damn near amazing.”

Sarah, tell us a little bit about yourself and background.

“My favorite thing is seeing the need for a product and saying, ‘you know what should exist?”

    Sarah has spent her years working in vastly different trades. Going to school for industrial design, she found herself doing everything from re-fabbing yachts to architectural design at a church building company to film and set design. Because of the wildly different industries she has worked in, Sarah has established herself as a modern Renaissance woman.
    On her website, she is always coming up with new ideas about how to improve the world. There’s home goods, wearable technology, app ideas, things that are possible to make and achieve. Aside from her jobs, most people in town know her as a talented singer. Sarah has appeared on twenty eight different albums and continues to write, sing, and spend time in the studio.

How did you find yourself at Artisan’s Asylum and what do you do here?

“My job at Artisan’s Asylum is to weed through ten years of fun, product ideas that need to exist and completely should exist and figure out which ones are marketable, affordable, profitable and figure out the proper streams of sourcing, manufacturing, advertising and distribution. I then handle how long to get involved with each project.”

    After being told by many of her friends that she should check out Artisan’s Asylum, Sarah eventually did and found herself with a great opportunity to learn from the community and to expand her businesses. What Sarah has been doing for the past three years is costume design for children’s dance. Even though she was greatly successful in this industry, she found herself inspired to build upon her ideas of what cool, fun things should exist. Sarah’s passion lies in consulting, helping people achieve what they dream of with the skills she has amassed here at Artisan’s Asylum.

If you were to give any advice to people to inspire people in regards to creative endeavors and this space?

“My source of inspiration comes from being curious. Saying yes to risky endeavors like jumping head first into a brand new industry is my favorite thing. Life is short and you only have so much time to learn a medium amount about everything you touch. Jump head first into it, volunteer, and appear capable.”

    Since coming here six months ago, Sarah has told hundreds of people about Artisan’s Asylum. She describes A2 as a place to “make your dreams come true as long as you apply yourself correctly.” She believes that in a short period of time, we have access to people, conversations, materials, processes that quickly can make your dreams come true. It has quickly allowed her to access to her own creative needs in a way that working for herself or in a small group is nearly impossible or will take many more years to accomplish.

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Simon Hong

Robilis, Maker of Chairbot
Inmate: Simon Hong — Robilis, Maker of Chairbot

I'm a research scientist at MIT working on the reward and motivation circuit in the brain. He is also the founder of Robilis, a company that makes patented back-pain-free chairs named Chairbot. Simon is glad he has a space at the Asylum and all the tools needed to build them. Speaking about his experience here he says, "it seems like there are lots of people having similar objectives at the Asylum that I don't feel that I am an oddball anymore."

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Skunk

Skunkadelia
Inmate: Skunk — Skunkadelia

When Skunk isn’t on a mission on the streets of Somerville he’s at the Asylum creating emotional robots, rayguns and other essentials out of upcycled metal for his business Skunkadelia. Skunk is a founder of SCUL, a bicycle chopper gang with their own vernacular, also headquartered at the Asylum.

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Stephanie MacLeod

Artist, Painter
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Tam Black

Manufacturing Design Consultant, Instructor
Tam Black— Manufacturing Design Consultant, Instructor

Tam Black is well known in the broader community someone who has an abundance of skills to offer. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Tam was introduced to making formally through her education at Savannah College of Art and Design where she studied industrial design and sculpture. She now works as a Industrial design consultant, an instructor, and produces content for online education resources on manufacturing.

“The lack of community after college really affected my ability to continue creating. In school you had to keep making all these things because you had to - the classes, the competition. You graduate and you don’t really know what product design is. You can’t explain it to people who don't know what it is. You think you know stuff, but you don’t know nearly enough. This place gave me a space to figure out my direction and work on my skills.”

After college, Tam worked on a variety of projects that informed her path. She worked with others to create pieces that played an important role in the art community nationally and locally. This connected her to people involved with Burning Man regional festivals. After some time and listening a friend’s recommendation, she ended up visiting Boston and Artisan’s Asylum. She describes her experience, “Within an hour of being in the building I knew I was going to have to figure out how to get rid of a bunch of my stuff and move up here.’

“I was originally going to do CAD modeling, 3D printing and prototyping here and then I got distracted by all the power tools and just took a left turn into the woodshop and didn’t come out for two years.”

Tam describes herself as someone who was originally interested in contracting using her skills in CAD modeling, 3D printing, and prototyping . Now a long-time member (since 2015), Tam spends her time at Artisan’s creating extensive class content and curriculum that utilizes a wide range of classes in the following: the digital fabrication lab, mold making and casting, and computer lab. Other than creating content, Tam has often used her own experiences with injury to inform the way she designs and thinks about accessibility at Artisan’s and beyond. She explains, “This is what I would do to make Somerville or workshops more accessible. You don’t realize how hard it is to operate Boston and at the Asylum until you’re handicapped. You don’t even realize because you don’t even think about it. You can’t open doors.” In the future, she wishes to continue development of human centered solutions with prosthetic, orthopedic, and adaptive technology, and create solutions that address accessibility in the broader community.

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Tom Sanfilippo

Asylum Science Officer
Inmate: Tom Sanfilippo — Asylum Science Officer

When given the opportunity to have a free scanning electron microscope from Harvard, Tom only had one day to mull it over. Ultimately he decided that he would never get this chance again and he and the Asylum are now the proud caregivers. Tom has worked steadfastly to restore the microscope, and will be teaching a class on it in the near future.

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William Zimmer

Server Technology
William Zimmer — Server Technology

Space #152
Bill Zimmer's background is in math and computer science, but he builds furniture and software with equal enthusiasm. Though he has worked in leadership roles at technology companies since the 1970s, Bill says he "learns something new from almost everyone he talks to" at the Asylum. Bill is currently working on a robot that balances on a basketball and was recently appointed to the Artisan's Asylum Board of Directors.

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Artisan’s Asylum: Redefining Community (Book)

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