Making moths at my bench (May, 2018). The wings are dyed velvet that I embroidered with an old CNC machine (a 1982 refurbished Ultramatic at NovaLabs in Reston, VA). The bodies are circuit boards that I designed involving timers, counters, and multivibrators to sequence a trail of LEDs. The legs and antenna are laser cut plastic. The LEDs are multiplexed on a flexible circuit board that I modeled after symbols in the ancient temples of Mitla. All of these boards were manufactured by PCBWay in China. These photos were taken at my studio in Virginia.
embroidery
Electrolier in progress /
Scenes from my studio (May 24, 2018). Dyed and embroidered velvet moth wings, custom analog electronics, laser cut acrylic, wire sculpture.
Cecropia moth /
Dyed and embroidered velvet Cecropia moth wings (over a Luna) for a work in progress. 2018
Cedar Sphinx Moth /
I continue to make moth wings for my latest Electrolier sculpture. Here is a Cedar Sphinx Moth with a circuit board body and embroidered velvet wings. Later, I will reveal the function of the circuitry and how the wires relate to the overall sculpture... but for now, pretty wings are what I have to offer.
Atlas Moth /
Informal studio photos of an Atlas Moth that will fly in my latest Electrolier sculpture.
Embroidering moth wings /
I've been working at Nova Labs in Reston, VA to embroider wings for some of the moths in my new Electrolier sculpture. Here's some informal documentation of my process. The machine is an old industrial "Ultramatic" that was restored by a Nova Labs steward.
I dyed the velvet to give a "loose" colored background that contrasts with the precise stitches. (My registration was off on some of the wings, as you can see if you look closely at the color placement.) I embroidered both sides of the wings, which you can see above prior to assembly of the front and back parts. The middle image shows my "Atlas Moth" circuit board that forms the body -- more on that to come.