I will soon be delivering and installing two of my audio interactive tapestries as part of an exhibition called Fabric of the North at Kirkleatham Hall in Redcar on the north East coast of England. Please click the link to find out more about the exhibition - dates, visiting times, etc.
I will be working up until the last minute updating the technology used with both tapestries to allow audio to be triggered without touch, and at each step of the way I have had to make adjustments. It is fascinating work and I enjoy learning about the coding as well as weaving the tapestries themselves, but it does take it's toll on the nerves when there is a deadline to meet.
The video Making INTERCONNECTION shows something of the process of making the original tapestry and credits those who helped me with it, but it does not include the updates I have made to improve the reliability of the interactive audio or the changes required due to the Covid-19 situation - see below for a snippet of those.
The challenge of updating the technology and electronics started with not being able to get a new Raspberry Pi working correctly - wifi problems, script problems, etc. This was followed by calibration issues and then coding questions - there wouldn't have been much point in me trying to pull my hair out over this as I don't anything to grab hold of in that department. And anyway, answers were eventually found to each conundrum.
All this learning will feed into the online workshops I will be running during the Fabric of the North exhibition. The way I have been working with sound and weave is far from the only way of combining these two art forms but working in this way has allowed me to explore beyond the techniques and approaches I have taken, and this too, will feed into those online workshops.
Supported by an Artists Bursary from a-n The Artists Information Company and a Stabilisation Fund grant from the Arts Council of Wales National Lottery Good Causes.