June Makers' Memo (Copy)

A2 Makers’ Memo

June 2024 Issue 0.3

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A letter from this issue’s editor:

Hello again!

This is issue 0.3 of the Maker’s Memo, a series of prototypes for a monthly communication from A2 by A2.

Many thanks to our members who took the time to read the last issue – we had much more feedback! Several have had trouble with the HTML rendering properly. I’m learning that HTML can render differently for each device, and covering all the bases can be difficult (even when relying on websites that generate HTML for you). So, the solution seems to keep the formatting fairly simple, and not to use white text… So we’ll try the simplest white background and black text for this issue-- this surely wouldn’t cause problems right? We may issue future issues as physical copies as well so stay tuned!

I’ve set up an email to receive content submissions at artisansasly…@gmail.com. Send or forward any news, events, updates, or interesting tidbits you’d like to share for the next issue, or fill out the content submission form here. And I would love more members to be involved as this should be a collective effort with representation from the broader membership! If interested, let me know directly or through this separate form here.

Sincerely,
Soon-Young

Other contributors this month: Dick Rubinstein, Max Eskin, Pedro Quintela Proenca, Sarah Nagle, Wardis Vizcaino

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  • News -

Bike Racks Coming Soon

HRE requires Harvard-approved bike racks to be installed on all Harvard properties, which prevents A2 members from making or installing their own. This has delayed its installation. But the long-awaited bike racks for Antwerp & Holton have finally been ordered!

Settlers of Catan Tournament

Last Sunday, A2 hosted an Inaugural Boston Settlers of Catan National Qualifying Tournament. It was organized by our fellow member, Pedro Quintela Proenca, a Catan enthusiast! 68 players were divided cleanly into 17 simultaneous games with five rounds. The winner was Chloe Jankowittz, who won all the games played that day, which was unheard of! Pedro noted that the event ran very smoothly, hearing only positive feedback from players about the event and the A2 venue. All proceeds went to Artisan’s Asylum.

  • Reminders -

Studio Membership & Perk Changes

A reminder that the studio membership structure has changed! Studio holders will now pay their studio rent separately from their membership rate, The 24/7 access membership rate is unchanged at $240/month. Studio rent will be added to their invoice as a separate item.

Perks have also changed for shop worker volunteers (e.g. tool testers) and Deskies. They will no longer receive monthly credit to apply to studios and classes. In lieu of credits, classes will now be offered at a 50% discount; they will still receive a complimentary 24/7 membership.

Changes will be effective on July 1st. Updated Contracts to be released simultaneously.

A2 Discord

A2 has a Discord server! Discord is a communication platform used by communities to chat and send video & voice calls with other community members. If you’re looking for a way to connect with members outside A2, this is the place. Join here!

A2 Wiki

A2 has a Wiki! The wiki is A2’s newest structure for an internal knowledge repository, launched earlier this year. The site has been set up but it still needs the content! Please share your expertise and knowledge for the rest of the community to reference. Any member is welcome to sign up! To make an account, fill out this form here.

  • Updates -

Communications/IA Committee

Hello! We’ve been quietly working on setting up some fundamental infrastructure for A2 for several months. We are now ready for a soft launch for the A2 Discourse (not to be confused with Discord)! Discourse is a platform to host forum-based discussions. Our current use of Email is not the best tool for community discussions. Discourse is our proposed alternative to members@ and discuss@ mailing lists. If you are interested in exploring the platform and providing feedback, please reach out to Sadie (sadie@mit) for an invite!

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  • Member Profile: Andrew Anselmo -

Written by: Dick Rubinstein

If you wanted to learn origami, would you know which member at A2 to go to? Andrew Anselmo would be one such member. He’s taught origami at A2 and plans to offer the course again.

As with many of our members, he has lots of skills and supports A2 in various ways. Andrew is the shop co-lead for Electronics & Robotics, one of our most active shops. He created an online inventory of all the instruments, tools, parts, and bits and bobs in the shop–a great service to shop users. The shop has innumerable bins with useful things (and junk, which is only useful when needed), and now we can find stuff quickly. He notes that much infrastructure is needed to run a shop effectively, which means that much of what the shop offers isn’t necessarily visible until you need it. “E&R has all the tools to make [electronics] work easy.” And, if you need to print something in 2D (imagine!), you can use the PrintMonster printers, which Andrew supports.

Andrew has been a member for over 10 years, since our time in Somerville. His first reaction to the new vast space was, “This is crazy, we’ll never fill this place!” (which we did, of course).

In addition to the origami course, Andrew has taught at Fabville, and teaches the Hands-on Basic Electronics course at A2 with Mike Beach. Mike and Andrew run the Wednesday hacker night at E&R, which is open to the public. Anyone can come with a project to work on, a circuit to debug, or seeking an interesting project to work on. This works as a great feeder for Artisans–a model that several other shops are following. He talks of taking the basic electronics course on the road, as a way to connect with those outside our community.

Consulting with artists is a favorite of Andrew’s passions. He loves helping with interactive art projects like Firefly, one of the regional Burning Man events. Such activities keep him pleasantly busy and engaged with interesting and passionate people; he gets pleasure from any creative, constructive project.

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  • Community Events -

A2 Speaker Series - Jess Holz
June 11 7:00pm - 8:30pm Tickets (FREE)

Jess Holz creates artworks that give the viewer a peek into invisible worlds, and a chance to reflect on the influence of scientific visual culture on our collective imagination. The discrepancy between what can be perceived by the eye and what is imaged by the microscope has fostered Jess’ fascination with perceptual systems along with the optical properties of materials. Jess will talk about her inspiration taken from the history of microscopy and her recent work on ‘microsculptures,’ incorporating insect and plant fragments imaged by scanning electron microscopy. Lit with electricity instead of light, these sculptures present as post-apocalyptic wilderness, with electric, glowing forms and seemingly unstable dark areas, all rendered in excruciating detail.

@party
June 14 - 16 20$ Tickets

The 14th annual @party is returning to Artisan’s Asylum, the perfect local demoparty venue! @party is the longest running “demoparty” in North America, a computer arts festival primarily focused on creative coding of realtime computer graphics programs called “demos”, but also featuring still computer graphics, music, and hardware hacking. There will be seminars and showings of demos on real hardware so that attendees can understand how they behave on high end, obscure, or oldschool systems. The primary attractions at any demoparty, however, are the competitions, or “compos” for short. @party’s compos are a comparatively laid back opportunity to showcase new digital work. Please reference our website at http://atparty-demoscene.net for a full listing of this years compos. If you make digital art we hope you’ll be interested in contributing and attending!

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  • June Classes-

To register, find the class link here.

|6/8 | 9:30-12pm | Wood Lathe 101
w/ Salvatore Mancini

6/8 | 11-1pm | Chisel Sharpening Masterclass
w/ Steve Witte

6/8 | 1-4:30pm | Create a Biomorphic Fresnel Lens Suncatcher
w/ Jess Holz

6/8 or 6/15 | 2-5pm | Bowl Turning
w/ Salvatore Mancini

6/8, 6/22, & 6/29 | 5-9pm | Bronze Amulet - Scuplt & Cast
w/ Barbara Sitar

6/9 | 1-4pm | Beginner Sand Casting
w/ Brynna Justice

6/9 | 9-12pm | Making a Pedestal
w/ Patrick Goguen

6/9 | 12-4pm | 3D Felting 101: Squishy Birds Edition
w/ Bleu Vermeer

6/10 | 6-9pm | Plasma Cutting 101
w/ Eden Attar

6/10 | 6-8:30pm | Wood Shop 101
w/ Salvatore Mancini

6/10, 6/17, & 6/24 | 6:30-9:30pm |Figure Drawing
w/ Jim Bredt

6/11 | 6:30-8:30 | Mastering Card and Cabinet Scraper Techniques for Fine Woodworking
w/ Steve Witte

6/12 | 6-9pm | Intro to VCarve and the ShopBot CNC Router
w/ John Houghton

6/12 & 6/29 | Tool Training: Black Cat Labs 90W Laser Cutter
w/ Doug Fox

6/15 | 10-1pm | Intermediate Lost Wax Investment Casting
w/ Brynna Justice

6/15 | 10-12:30pm | Intro to 3D Printing
w/ Quantum Wei

6/15 | 3-6pm | Introduction to 3D printing in Resin
w/ Michael Drew Teter

6/16, 6/23 | 1-5 | Intro to Welding - MIG, TIG, & Stick
w/ Doug Cochrane

6/18 | 6-8pm | Table Saw
w/ James Fluevog

6/19 | 1:30-4:30pm | Enameling Glass on Copper
w/ Barbara Marder

6/20 | 1-4pm | TIG Welding 101: Half Price Afternoons
w/ Eden Attar

6/20 | 7-9pm | Leather Craft: 201 Buckle Bracelets and Collars
w/ Hope Zimmerman

6/22 | 3-7pm | Beyond the Notes: A Creative Workshop with Guitar w/ Charles Miller

6/24 | 5:30-8:30pm | Jewelry 101
w/ Laurie Lynn Berezin

6/25 6-8:30 TIG Welding 101: Two Day Edition
w/ Eden Attar|
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If you have any feedback, are interested in contributing content monthly, or volunteering to develop future editions, let us know here!