Burning Man Art in Hales Corners (Temporarily!)

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Pete Prodoehl

Members of Milwaukee Makerspace, led by artist Kathy Cannistra, were bummed that they could not take their installation to Burning Man this year due to the event being canceled (like all other large-scale events this year) but they thought they could still put it on display while also helping draw some attention to Hales Corners’ restaurant Clifford’s Supper Club, which is owned by Kathy’s father.

A team of ten makers, friends, and family members helped build “Atomic Forest”. Between painting, sanding, soldering wires and custom-fabricating the metal components, the team estimates they spent 2,600 hours on the project. The sculptures debuted at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin in fall of 2019. After the exhibit closed, the giant flowers went into storage, and with Burning Man canceled, had nowhere to go, so Kathy thought that sharing the art with the community by putting them up at Clifford’s Supper Club would be a great way to provide an outdoor seating area allowing patrons to eat outside or simply enjoy the artwork.

The “stalk” of each flower rises from the center of a large table that also covers the underlying support structure. The “petals” are LED lights encased by white tubing looped back on itself. Each flower can run different colors and patterns, and grow dimmer as the evening winds down. Barriers separate the “garden” from the parking lot.

Within days of the flowers going up, the Hales Corners Village Trustees held an emergency vote by phone to have the installation removed. With so many restaurants struggling to survive, Kathy hoped that her art could offer a solution and some solace to the neighborhood and those looking to eat outdoors, but it looks like the city is not on-board with a temporary art exhibit meant to help a local restaurant that has served the community for over 60 years.

If you’re as upset about the Village Trustees decision as we are, please express your support for keeping the temporary installation up for the summer. Visit Support LED Artwork at Cliffords on Facebook and leave a comment.

Statement from the Board Members

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Alden Hoot

The murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests against police brutality have brought fresh light to the ongoing gross inequalities experienced by black, brown, immigrant, and minority communities here and across the nation. As individuals, we believe that the Makerspace as a community organization must not remain silent on these issues. We stand united with those who are struggling to achieve justice and equality.

Although the Makerspace has long prided itself on its diversity of opinion, we acknowledge that we have not yet achieved a similar degree of cultural and ethnic inclusivity. We know we have a lot of listening and learning ahead in order to change this. Nevertheless, today we reaffirm our stance that making is for all people and we pledge to do more to provide our members with equal opportunities for success within our own space.

We are actively re-examining our member conduct policies to ensure that no voice goes unheard, and no member feels unwelcome. We call on our fellow members to find ways they can better support and uplift our neighbors, colleagues, friends and family in the black community at all times, and in this particular moment of strife. We also welcome everyone’s feedback (however specific or general), on how the membership (Board included) might make further progress towards these goals.

To the communities who have been affected by inequality, we are listening, we see you, and we stand with you.

Be safe and look out for one another,

Milwaukee Makerspace Board of Directors

Feed Your Soul

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Pete Prodoehl

On November 3rd, 2017 Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin held an event called Feed Your Soul where artists and makers presented object to be auctioned off for charity. Each object began as a plain wooden bowl, and was transformed into amazing art.

(Check out some of the coverage from Fox6 and CBS58.)

We really enjoyed being part of the event, and we’ve got members who are already planning for next year. :)

Gothic Arch Room Divider is Finished (Sort of….)

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Thelen, Shane

Silversark put together an amazing fashion show on Friday to showcase pieces she made inspired by church architecture and her trip to the Netherlands. This is something I cooked up for a background piece for the show.

The design work took several months and the actual creation of the piece took about a week, working 12-16 hours a day. The frame is made from CNC routed aspen (thanks, Jason H.!) which is a rather “fuzzy” wood and required two days to hand finish, including the use of a set of needles files to smooth out the inset edges.

The acrylic panels were hand-stained with Gallery Glass stain and simulated liquid leading. They’re not quite finished yet, but I plan to complete the staining within the next week.

I’ll also be using this as a backdrop for various events including the Sustainability Summit coming up as well as the Concinnity sci-fi/gaming convention on April 5th. Additionally, this might be making its way to Embellishments in the Grand Avenue Mall for a window decoration.

I can’t wait to make another one!

The Milwaukee Makerspace Theater

Posted on January 23, 2014 by KevinB

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Around 25 members have hopped in the new Milwaukee Makerspace Theater after the last two Tuesday meetings. Its up and running in a “no hearing protection required” way! The bass still goes way down to subsonic tones, but its being powered by a small & sensible surround sound amp. Its a very immersive audio experience, and likely sounds much better than any 5.1 system you’ve heard because there’s only one seat! The sound has been optimized for the single theater-goer: You! The theater is hooked up to a DVD player, and is available 24/7 for any member to watch a movie in: no check-out required. Note that any video source you have can be hooked up via the HDMI cable. Alternately, you can follow the lead of JasonH, who used the theater with a portable audio player to rock out while he worked on his own project near by. See the photos below for the simple instructions on how you can start up the theater, and feel free to take a break from making by using the theater!