Week 18

Invention, Intellectual Property, and Income

The project is a work of art with EL wire within a frame that illuminate laser-engraved details that accentuate the framed print. The EL wire works in combination with an AMBI light sensor and an SSR Relay to turn on when the ambient light in a room becomes dark. I have named this project EL Cuadro, EL referencing its EL, or electroluminescent, wire, and el cuadro, the word for picture in Spanish, as a tribute to my friend Nicolas, who came to AS220 from Peru to study in Fab Academy.

All of my files to create the frame and board can be found on my Fab Academy website and can be made using the tools in a Fab Lab. The codes that I have created to program my board are also available and I believe my documentation to be thorough and clear. As a beginner in this field, I have written my documentation in a way that is easy to follow for those who take part in Fab Academy without a background in digital fabrication. These files can be easily customized to fit any print and so I would like to make these plans open source.

If I were to make this project a viable source of income, I would protect my artwork with an official copyright. As my screen prints are reproducible, it seems that creating multiple frames would be appropriate and easy. I would hope to have an exhibition one day of prints that utilize these methods. The frames are customized to accentuate my prints, and so I would price them according to both the worth of the print and the expenses attributed to labor and materials for the frame. For this particular piece, I would estimate a $500 sales point if I were to sell in a local exhibition. My plan for dissemination for frames would be to work with local artists at first, and grow notoriety through social media platforms such as Instagram to expand the network with which I collaborate.

1 June - 7 June