Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on April 23, 2013

Ah, the best laid plans of mice, men …and Janet often go astray. I had planned to write a newsletter every week during the month of April but somehow didn’t get to it.

April has been an amazing month so far. A group of program mangers from AspIT in Denmark visited Autistry. AspIT is a vocational program for ASD individuals focused on training IT professionals. They came to the Bay Area to visit Silicon Valley companies (specifically Google and Apple) and kept hearing people mention Autistry. We spent a great afternoon sharing ideas and teaching strategies. They were very interested in the wide range of projects our students produce and they loved the Studio. We have been invited to visit Denmark and we would love to put that trip on our calendar!

We also met with Stacy Frauwirth, Professor at Dominican University in the department of Occupational Therapy. Over the next year Stacy and a team of grad students will be working with Autistry to develop a battery of assessment instruments to log and track student development toward the goal of independence. This will involve the creation of assessment tools and the testing of these tools. At the end of the process Autistry will have a sophisticated set of assessment tools, a revamped intake process, and the ability to collect important data. This will be very, very important for us going forward as we develop our training program and apply for larger grants.

Several of our Autistry students and families were interviewed by LabZero to gather information on the creation of a new app specifically designed for ASD individuals. The LabZero software engineers spent two days at Autistry asking detailed questions about how our students use technology, what types of reminders or prompts would they find helpful, what difficulties do they have organizing their days, etc. We will continue to meet with the design team as the app is being developed. From all accounts the team learned a lot about the ASD mind!

Highlighting the Sunday Workshops:

Nathaniel’s dragons are getting more and more sophisticated. He is now scanning his drawings into the computer and adding color and texture in the Paint Shop program. He has learned to use the tablet and stylus which has given him a new range of expression in his drawings. Nathaniel continues to work on his Spore World diorama of mushroom forests, dragon nests and a river running through it.

George finished the jump ramp for his bike and is now hobbling around on a broken ankle! Do those two things go together – not necessarily. But he still gets around the Studio on a very cool 4-wheel scooter and is helping others with their projects. He helped Ashley with her chair and Noah with his parcour obstacle. We hope he is back on both feet soon.

Daniel S., the man-of-many-projects is working on another chest armor piece – this time in hard plastic. This is based on his earlier design which he fashioned out of floor mats. This new model he is making out of a large plastic bucket. How’s that for recycling. Daniel has also finished a guitar, refinished a Nerf rifle, made various launching gadgets, and …I have lost track now!

Devon has taken on a wonderful sewing project – Captain Jack Harkness’ jacket (from Dr. Who). Under the expert guidance of Amelia, she is first making a mockup out of muslin that she will use to make size and shape adjustments. The muslin version will then become the pattern for the real thing. Her hard work and attention to detail will pay off!

We are very happy to announce the completion of Marina’s Dr. Who Tardis. This has been a true labor of love. Marina used the band saw, the ShopBot, the router, the nail gun, all sorts of hand tools and paint brushes. In fact I think she used just about every tool in the shop. And the finished product looks great – let’s all go back in time.
   

Ben L. is just about finished with a shield to accompany the two swords he made earlier. The shield has a silhouette of a grey howling wolf on a black background – very dramatic. Ben has learned to sew as well as use the band saw and the hot knife. Oh, and the iron. All skills that will come in very handy one day.

REMINDER: Thursday, April 25th is the last day to purchase Stella & Dot jewelry through Suzi’s Trunk Show page to support Autistry Studios. Here is the link to use to start your shopping: http://www.stelladot.com/ts/qojo5.

Enjoy!

Janet and the Autistry Team

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on April 1, 2013

Happy April Fools Day! As with any day at Autistry we are working hard, playing hard, and letting our inner-tricksters roam wild. It is one of our fundamental tenants that each of us creates our life given the materials available. And great lives, not just great projects are being created at Autistry!

Highlighting the Saturday Workshops:

After months of hard work, Chris is finishing up his Star Wars helmet. Chris has shown amazing tenacity, overcoming lots of production obstacles but sticking with it. Amelia is researching how to create a mold so that more helmets can be made using Chris’s as a prototype.

 
Connor E. wrote a comic book story about a family picnic. He staged the action using adorable mouse figures. This type of photo-novella is the perfect introduction to stop action film making. It also a good way to practice the art of storytelling – sequencing disparate events to create a narrative flow.

Connor B. finished his angel-winged mirror and is now hard at work on a model BatBoat. Connor used several different tools to create the wings – the bandsaw, the router, chisels, etc. And he learned new painting techniques – highlighting, dark wash, etc. And it all came together beautifully.
 

 
Peter is making a very difficult Crow T. Robot to accompany his Tom Servo. You may remember these characters from Mystery Science Theater 3000. Tom Servo was difficult to build but Crow is proving to be an even greater challenge. Allison and Peter have spent hours deciphering the instructions and creating their own designs to make this project work. Learning to overcome obstacles is all part of the process.

Andrew is making a Box World Diorama of an historic bedroom – complete with carpet, bookcases, and a pillow case for the bed pillow! They used several tools including the bandsaw and the sewing machine (rather similar those two machines!) Andrew and Allison make a great working pair. He has great concentration and she has infinite patience.
 

 
Maya is working very independently creating plushies of characters from Homestuck. She has drawn her favorite characters and cut out fabric pieces ready to assemble. Homestuck is a web comic that combines different techniques to tell a story. Traditional drawings are augmented with animated gifs, Flash animation, and instant message logs. So cool!

The trains are running for Josh! He finished detailing his Amtrak engine which included painstaking work carefully placing decals on the train. He also had to spray paint the engine first with a flat black, then with silver, and after the decals were attached he sprayed it again with a clear coat. Focus and attention to detail can come in handy when doing model work. When he was finished he set up the track to take it for a spin.

 
And, there is Lauren, ShopBot Queen. Lauren has certainly tamed this machine. She runs it independently, with just a little help from Dan. She has really taken ownership of the entire process of running the ShopBot from setting up the cutting bits to programming the cut files. Lauren has created several signs, a wooden box, and a cool set of gears. There is much more to come.
 

The Autistry staff also creates projects! Ashley, who claimed not to be creative when she arrived, has become quite a talented artist. This week she finished her Majora mask. Ashley works with several of the students and is happy to learn right along with them. This is a trait we cherish.

We are so fortunate to have the very talented and creative Amelia as our Workshop Lead. She is multi-talented, at home on the ShopBot, the bandsaw, the sewing machine and in the kitchen! Ameila recently finished a ShopBot project that is worthy of auction at Sotherbys – a fold-up stool with an antique finish.

All our mentors are encouraged to create – to try, fail, and to try again. How we handle the stress and frustration of making something real serves as a model for our students. We are not flawless and we make mistakes. Those too are learning opportunities.

We’ll be highlighting different workshops throughout April and May so stay tuned for more cool project news. You can also follow us on Facebook and see fabulous photos on our Autistry Instagram page.

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on February 25, 2013

This new year has been moving so fast we haven’t had time to get a newsletter out. There is so much to say and so many things that keep happening that if we don’t write this up now our next newsletter would keep you scrolling for days.

For those of you have not heard Dan speak about his experience living with Asperger’s, having a son with Autism, and creating Autistry Studios you will not want to miss the College Internship Program event: Understanding Your Diagnosis on March 14th. Dan will be speaking along with Michael McManmon, founder of CIP and Barbara Large, Berkeley CIP Clinician. More information can be found on the CIP website

The Autistry School Partnership Program has really taken off. We are currently working with students from Star Academy and Oak Hill School. Each student is creating a unique project in the studio and we are all excited about these very cool creations. We plan to expand the program next year adding more workshops, more students, and more fun!

Drum roll….we are proud to announce the completion of Ben Cerreta’s first film, BARUGORAS. Ben wrote the script, drew the storyboard, created the costumes, directed his actors, and learned to edit. This was a huge undertaking for a 14 year old boy. He also chose the music and, with a little help from Janet, created the special effects. BARUGORAS can be found on YouTube. The final film was posted on Oscar night!

Every day at Autistry we discover new ways to use the ShopBot. This incredible piece of equipment has made many new projects possible. We are now making complex wooden mechanical counters based on the designs of Matthias Wandel. Matthias has graciously given us permission to build and sell these unique counters. Look for purchasing information later this spring!

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Posted By Dan Swearingen on February 17, 2013

You read that right. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Here’s why Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (hereafter CCBB) is the first Bond film.

1. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books, wrote the book “Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car” published in 1964.

2. The film CCBB was produced by Albert R. Broccoli, one of the producers of all the Bond films.

3. As in most Bond films, in CCBB the first love interest of the main character dies. Caractacus Pott’s wife dies previous to this story.

4. In Bond films the woman of the hour has a suggestive name. In CCBB Caractacus Pott’s female counterpart is Truly Scrumptious.

5. James Bond and Caractacus Pott both held the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy.

6. Bond movies often feature a car with gadgets and special features. CCBB: the car has a few tricks.

7. Bond films usually have a megalomaniac villain. In CCBB we have Baron Bomburst played by actor Gert Fröbe who previously appeared in the Bond movie Goldfinger as the titular villain Auric Goldfinger.

8. In Bond movies the above mentioned villain usually has an awesome lair with huge interior space.  In CCBB we have Baron Bomburst’s castle set in the closest thing in existence to a Disney Princess castle – Neuschwanstein Castle.

having got this bit of movie trivia off my chest I leave you with the main song of the movie (Bond movies always have catchy title songs!)

 

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Posted By Dan Swearingen on December 31, 2012

Janet Lawson and Dan Swearingen, the founders Autistry Studios were chosen as one of ABC7′s 2012 Profiles in Excellence. This is an improved video print from a DVD supplied by ABC7.

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on December 26, 2012

2012 was an amazing year and 2013 is shaping up to be spectacular! The Autistry Core Workshops have grown in number, in size, and in the diversity of projects. We have all learned so much by working together to make cool ideas become real. Here are just a few of the wonderful Autistry student projects:

We have great plans for 2013! The ShopBot is now running well and most of the students have been trained on the basics. We will be launching Autistry Enterprises and our first endeavor is to create a production pipeline – from concept to customer. Starting with a student-built prototype for a project kit we will develop the cut files needed by the ShopBot, cut out the pieces, package them up, and take them to market!

There are many steps along the way and many different jobs for our Autistry students. We will be working closely with Suzi at SLM Creative to create the packaging and the instructions for these unique project kits. So, look for a cool catalog of Autistry products to go online in Spring 2013!

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Posted By Dan Swearingen on December 23, 2012

We’re loving our new ShopBot, a robotic wood cutting/carving machine. I’ve been looking for projects that highlight the machine’s capabilities.

This Wooden counter was designed and made by Matthias Wandel.

Fascinating and exactly what I was looking for. Matthias has examined traditional mechanical counters and explains their workings while designing one in wood. His full write-up shows examples of each aspect of the mechanism.

Matthias makes all his wood gears using a bandsaw. However, he designs his gears using a program he wrote and comments on the ShopBot forums confirmed that the output of this software works in the PartWorks program.

Confused yet? So was I. It was time to start working this process methodically.

First I bought Matthias’s plans. At $12 I feel these are an excellent value and I strongly recommend that others purchase these plans if you are interested in this project.

I found one page that had two gears I thought would make a good start on the learning curve.

First I wanted to make the 20-tooth large gear and the 8-tooth smaller gear. I bought Matthias’s Gear Template Generator program for $26. After a bit of experimenting with the various parameters I had a set of gears that were the same size and shape as the those in the counter plans.

Next I exported these gears in DXF format which can be imported into PartWorks.

PartWorks is a program supplied with the ShopBot and it has two functions: manipulation of drawings, and conversion of drawings into cutting instructions that can be read and executed by the ShopBot.

Importing the gear drawings was seamless and some checking confirmed that a standard 1/4-inch cutting bit would be able to cut the gears with almost no loss in curve detail.

Next I generated a cutting path and used PartWorks preview cutting feature to confirm it was doing what I intended.

Time to cut!

I did one “air cut” where you have the machine move through the cut but in the air above the wood. This allows you to confirm that the movements look as you expect and stay within the range you expect.

I set up some 1/2-inch birch plywood (note that I used four spring clamps, you can only see two in the pictures), calibrated the ShopBot and started the cut.

One mistake was that I only used two small remainder-tabs on the smaller gear. it needed more so when the ShopBot moved to cut the center hole the small gear broke loose and rattled on the bit making a large rough center hole.

Little errors like this are why you test!

 

 

 

 

Other than the enlarged center hole, the gears look and work great. After a little sanding, I have my first two gears.

Over the next few weeks I’ll convert Matthias’s counter plans into a format usable by the ShopBot and proceed to make the parts.

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on December 18, 2012

Ryan is well on his way to finishing his second electric guitar After sanding the maple guitar body until it was as smooth as polished glass and absolutely blemish free, Ryan carefully taped off the parts of the guitar he did not want to paint. Then, using yellow Rit fabric dye mixed with water he painted the entire front. He added a stronger mixture of green dye to the edges creating a starburst pattern.

Next Ryan will seal it all under clear coats and add the neck, pickups, and strings.

This has been a true labor of love.

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Posted By Courtenay Bell on December 18, 2012

When I was a little girl my grandmother took up doll making as a hobby after she retired. She made porcelain dolls with hand painted faces with glass eyes; hand stitched all the clothing, and bought beautiful wigs for each of her creations. Mostly she made baby dolls and gave them to her granddaughters, but she also made Native American maidens and fairytale princesses. I always wanted to make dolls with her, and tried. However, the time and skill required to make porcelain eluded me as a child, as I was impatient. Now being at adult I have rediscovered this interest in the modification of the popular line of dolls by Mattel, Monster High. This was not, however, my first choice in doll-type.

What I really want to work on are Dollfie ball jointed dolls from Japan. These are incredibly intricate cast resin dolls with realistic points of articulation and an eerie ethereal quality that I have admired on the internet for ages. It turns out these dolls are majorly expensive. As in more than ½ my mortgage payment expensive! So I tried to find an alternative, and discovered an entire group of people were modifying these Monster High Dolls in lieu of Japanese Ball-Joint Dolls (JBD) because they too were artists on a budget!

Monster High characters are the theoretical children of classic movie monsters like, Frankenstein, Dracula, Medusa and the like. The proportions are funky and a little creepy but very suited to creature-like humanoids. They have pre-made characters like Draculaura, and Howleen Wolf, these dolls feature pre-made back stories, make-ups, clothes and rooted hair. The line also feature “Make your own” sets with no pre-determinate features beyond plastic color and minor feature differences.

Four weeks ago I purchased my very own set of “Make your Own” dolls and got to work on a goldfish inspired sea-monster doll. First I found tutorials online and proceeded to stand on their shoulders to help me create my new dolls features. Thus far I have stripped her of her original face paint, painted her skin a new color and created a wig.

First I removed her current facial features and prepped her body with a rubdown of acetone to remove previous paint and “mold release” from the doll parts. Then I prepared with Mr. Hobby brand, Mr. Surfacer, primer. This turned out to be quite a journey to acquire, as every doll modification blog post and enthusiast insists that Mr. Hobby Products are the best materials to use in doll modification. Unfortunately, these products are from Japan, and are really difficult to get with any regularity. (Thank you Big Robot Hobby in Berkeley, and The Hobby Store in Japantown for existing!) After I primed the surface I painted with white hobby paint as a base and added layers of orange. This is where I have paused on the body and face for the time being, because the hair has been a journey.

After much research and reading of countless blogs I found a tutorial on making wigs for BJDs and Monster High dolls from, Updog1986, on YouTube . After making the wig cap, a time consuming project in itself, I made lots and lots of hair wefts from fake Kankelon hair bought from a wig shop, and foam tack glue. After the wefts dried on my “scrap wood weft making board”(I made this with a scrap board wrapped several times in cling wrap. Then I cut them into smaller workable tracks and began gluing them around the wig cap I made.

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on December 9, 2012

Janet Lawson and Dan Swearingen, the founders Autistry Studios were chosen as one of ABC7′s 2012 Profiles in Excellence.

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