Members

Jul 06 2020

Member Feature: Josie Gates

About five years ago, Josie Gates relocated to Albuquerque with her two sons, then still in school, from Tom’s River, New Jersey, because of her job as a web designer. She is the proprietor of Blue Flower Full Moon (etsy.com/shop/BlueFlowerFullMoon), an Etsy shop that specializes in spiritual and metaphysical items. To meet demand, Blue Flower has purchased a laser cutter and has on eye on the goal of open a brick and mortar storefront. However, this was not the plan not so long ago. Josie did not seek out FUSE makerspace. She was looking for a way to improve her abilities as a web designer. She found CNM Ingenuity’s Deep Dive Coding programs and signed up for their mailing list. In one of the newsletters was a blurb about FUSE’s laser box making class. She had wanted to make a box for her tarot cards, and this would be a way to do so. The Blue Flower Etsy page was mostly dormant until the pandemic when Josie began to offer facemasks on it. She had known how to sew since high school but had not actively used her sewing machine since then either. Josie took out her old sewing machine, and after a brief refresher and a stop by Youtube, she began producing masks. A side effect of the high demand for face mask was a lot of new eyes were on her other products. These additional products have proven pretty popular while being interviewed for this short article we were interrupted by several orders. One of the popular products Blue Flower sells is a portable pendulum board, about the size of a credit card. A pendulum board is an object with several possible answers to a question written on it, and whichever the pendulum points to is supposed to be the best answer. She continues to design and add new products to the shop, all of which are reflections of her spirituality. Josie is also a veteran of the US Army, like her parents and much of her extended family. When her mother passed away, she was presented with three shells from the twenty-one-gun salute. One of her current projects is creating shadow boxes to commemorate these shells for family members of military veterans. While she is still a web designer and has been since the mid-nineties, she hopes that Blue Flower Full moon will continue to grow into something that will soon be her new full-time job.

Jun 03 2020

Member Feature: Alice Shriver

After COVID-19 became a public health concern FUSE Makerspace closed to the public along with the rest of CNM, soon after FUSE’s resources became focused on helping the efforts to fight COVID-19. Alice was one of the first members to contact us.

She had heard an NPR story about an open-source face shield that could be 3D printed and contacted friends in the local maker community. Tanda Headrick of Vanguard-Tech, was one on the list whom she worked with to modify the design. Instead of 3D printing, they changed the design to be cut out by water-jet or laser, allowing hundreds to be made in the time it took to 3D print one. Other elements were changed to make the shields more functional, stay together better, and last longer. She has made and delivered over 1,000 face shields to a local hospital with FUSE staff members’ assistance.

Alice is also the founder of 505 Access, which designs and customizes assistive technologies. She founded the company after several life-changing incidents, including separate severe car accidents involving her and her sister, to help make accessibility more affordable. After her accident, which involved a yearlong rehabilitation to return to work, she became aware of the actor Christopher Reeve’s horse-riding accident and believed, like her, he would make a full recovery. When he did not, she became interested in learning more about neuroscience. In the process, she grew to be involved in helping the mobility impaired. Finding solutions to help them perform everyday actions most of us take for granted.

Sixteen years after her accident, Alice’s sister was involved in a car accident, which left her in the hospital for two months. During this time, due to being unable to work, Alice’s sister lost her job and access to health insurance. Realizing how common her sister’s situation was and how much her own ability to keep working aided in her recovery, she decided to do something to help.

505Access has worked with the state and local non-profits in New Mexico and has done outreach with local schools. There are several open-source designs for assistive technologies available on their website. One of which is a DIY cell phone stand that allows ASL (American Sign Language) speakers to communicate easier.
She is currently working with a group of friends to form a new non-profit Nexus Abilities.

Aug 21 2018

Featured Member: Sheri Crider

Sheri Crider is a visual artist, owner of Sanitary Tortilla Factory, and FUSE Makerspace business member. Sanitary Tortilla Factory is an art space that includes an exhibition space, fabrication space, 15 working artist studio spaces, and offers artist residencies. On the website she states, “ I think of the space as an experimental first phase of a seven-year plan for the multi-faceted visual arts center. Strategically implemented programming creates iterations of art that hopes to engage and strengthens its community. Our community is vast. It is my hope that our circles are filled with cons, hustlers, academics and hipsters alike.”

Sheri has been a FUSE Makerspace business member since last fall primarily using the laser cutter to etch and cut her work. Most recently she went on an endeavor to create over 650 wood birds for her series Flight, a multi-media installation that sheds light on an immigration detention center. At FUSE Makerspace she used the laser cutter in order to convert her drawn birds into cut and etched parts that she later assembled. Before, Sheri had to outsource the fabrication of her birds but with her FUSE membership she was able to have more hands on control of her large scale project. Sheri sees great possibility in discarded materials, unused spaces, and missed opportunities that inspire her art practice.

Her project is partially sponsored by the Right of Return Fellowship, which invests in formerly incarcerated artists to create original works that can further criminal justice reform in partnership with advocates and organizers. Sheri Crider is one of the first seven recipients of the fellowship. Flight will be showcased this Friday, August 24 at the UNM Art Museum from 4-7PM.

Proceeds from the fundraising workshops during this exhibition will benefit the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center.

You can find out more about Sheri, her work, and Sanitary Tortilla Factory on https://shericriderstf.com/flight/ , http://artmuseum.unm.edu/upcoming-exhibitions/flight/ , and
http://sanitarytortillafactory.org/ or by following her @shericrider and @sanitarytortillafactory on instagram.

Photo caption courtesy of the University New Mexico Museum of Art photo by Stefan Batista.

Aug 14 2018

FUSE Makerspace Instructor: Steve Lee

Steve Lee has been a Fuse Makerspace member for the past 2 years, since when he was brought on as an instructor for screen printing. He owns, Thin King Press, a custom graphics and screen printing company he run since 1989. The company name references the brain behind all the production and showcases a wonderful play on words. Before joining as an instructor, Steve managed his storefront and production on Central Ave. His production has since moved into the Fuse Makerspace and not having to manage a storefront has created more time to explore his creative endeavors. Steve’s desk is set up next to the laser cutter behind the screen printing area, where he showcases a varity of different works he’s prouduce. It is a display of various mediums: posters, stickers, skateboards, and magnets to name a few items. He stated,” being here has allowed me to diversify the things that I make. There is a certain satisfaction in the brain when making things” Throughout his entire life Steve has been surrounded by art and makers, which has led to his path to being one. He has been drawing since he was a child, photographing since the 1970s, and screen printing for over 30 years. Now in the makerspace he has been able to add to the knowledge with the tools and equipment he uses within the space. At Fuse Makerspace he was able to build a custom guitar with a beautifully etched plasma cut fretboard and it is sounds incredibly serene. He was able to consult Matt Barbato, another member and employee, when creating his electric guitar. “The community of Fuse is the best part of it. These guys are all super cool. There’s things I get from picking their brain.” -Steve said. Steve said, “ I don’t relate my practices to each other but they just do. If your files aren’t set up right then they just aren’t going to look good.” Here he references his use of photoshop to both create within and bring over the art from print to a digital file. This skill he has been able to share with multiple people through the pre-pressed graphics course he teaches. Billy the Squid, the outlaw, is a character that Steve has developed; like most of his work it started as a drawing that has been converted and iterated through various mediums. The laser cutter has been the machine of choice for Steve where he’s made things from fridge magnets to custom etched skateboards. He has also created magic boxes with etched designs and business cards, all have the aesthetic of Steve Lee. You can find out more about Steve Lee, his creations, and his business on https://thinkingpress.bigcartel.com/ or by following him @thinkingpress and @l.ter3go on Instagram.

Aug 14 2018

FUSE Makerspace Instructor: Steve Lee

Steve Lee has been a Fuse Makerspace member for the past 2 years, since when he was brought on as an instructor for screen printing. He owns, Thin King Press, a custom graphics and screen printing company he run since 1989. The company name references the brain behind all the production and showcases a wonderful play on words. Before joining as an instructor, Steve managed his storefront and production on Central Ave. His production has since moved into the Fuse Makerspace and not having to manage a storefront has created more time to explore his creative endeavors.
Steve’s desk is set up next to the laser cutter behind the screen printing area, where he showcases a varity of different works he’s prouduce. It is a display of various mediums: posters, stickers, skateboards, and magnets to name a few items. He stated,” being here has allowed me to diversify the things that I make. There is a certain satisfaction in the brain when making things”
Throughout his entire life Steve has been surrounded by art and makers, which has led to his path to being one. He has been drawing since he was a child, photographing since the 1970s, and screen printing for over 30 years. Now in the makerspace he has been able to add to the knowledge with the tools and equipment he uses within the space.
At Fuse Makerspace he was able to build a custom guitar with a beautifully etched plasma cut fretboard and it is sounds incredibly serene. He was able to consult Matt Barbato, another member and employee, when creating his electric guitar. “The community of Fuse is the best part of it. These guys are all super cool. There’s things I get from picking their brain.” -Steve said.
Steve said, “ I don’t relate my practices to each other but they just do. If your files aren’t set up right then they just aren’t going to look good.” Here he references his use of photoshop to both create within and bring over the art from print to a digital file. This skill he has been able to share with multiple people through the pre-pressed graphics course he teaches.
Billy the Squid, the outlaw, is a character that Steve has developed; like most of his work it started as a drawing that has been converted and iterated through various mediums. The laser cutter has been the machine of choice for Steve where he’s made things from fridge magnets to custom etched skateboards. He has also created magic boxes with etched designs and business cards, all have the aesthetic of Steve Lee.
You can find out more about Steve Lee, his creations, and his business on https://thinkingpress.bigcartel.com/ or by following him @thinkingpress and @l.ter3go on Instagram.

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