fizzPOP residency at The Lombard Method

Improbable (by hellocatfood)

If being part of the awesomeness that was Theremin Day wasn’t enough since 1st May, and running until 16th May fizzPOP have been in residency at The Lombard Method. The event kicked off with the building of The Improbable Machine, very much inspired by Rube Goldberg and his crazy machines. This is a good indicator of our progress so far

I’ve also been taking the lead on building a modified Harmonograph. Ever since seeing Mr Underwood’s Pendulum Music for Optical Theremin and Torch I’ve been inspired to make something using swinging motions. I was pointed to a Harmonograph out of our most recent hack session and the discussion that followed saw me going through several designs before settling on the method of keeping the pen stationary and moving the surface.

Like the Improbable Machine I’ve been building this using whatever junk people have brought in or whatever I could scavenge from the space, and relying on the skills and resources of others to fill in the gaps where my skills are lacking. So far I’ve got my board swinging, which has produced a good set of patterns

Rhythmic scribbles (by hellocatfood)

There’s been several challenges in making this, mostly ensuring that the board has a good enough swinging motion and also dealing with the slanted ceiling. Want to help out? fizzPOP will be in residency at The Lombard Method for the next week, so check the wiki for when we’re in and lend a hand!