*This post is part of Free for All’s “Making Magic” series, which will focus on Kelley’s exploration of the opportunities in the library’s Creativity Lab.
Recently, I’ve been listening to the audiobook of Neil Gaiman’s The View from the Cheap Seats. In the essay I heard on my drive home yesterday, he said, “Try to tell the stories that you cannot help but tell, the stories you would be telling yourself if you had no audience to listen. The ones that reveal a little too much about you to the world.” Pretty awesome advice, right? As readers we know that the best stories are the honest ones, the ones that reveal the deeper truths. As writers and artists, we know that creating the work that touches on those deeper truths can be terrifying.
When a friend published her first work of fiction, the first thing I told her after congratulations was that I admired her for being so brave. Every work we create reveals a piece of ourselves, and the courage it takes to share those pieces is, in my opinion, the most essential core strength of the best writers and artists. The fact is, sometimes it’s when we step completely out of our comfort zones that we create our best work. Which brings me to this week’s Creativity Lab adventure.
In the Creativity Lab, there is a fire extinguisher next to the laser cutter. It is there for a reason, a good reason, and you can probably guess what it is. The laser is a very narrow beam of controlled fire. When we built the lab, one of the biggest design hurdles was the installation of the duct work we needed to put in place to vent the machine. The result is an unassuming looking metal box that says “Full Spectrum Laser” attached to a wall of broad piping that looks more like it belongs in a factory than a library. My first thought was, “It’s nice that we have this machine available for people to use.” My second thought was, “I am never going anywhere near it.”
Fast forward to now, two years later, when I decided to write this series for Free for All. Exploring the tools in the Creativity Lab means exploring ALL of the tools in the Creativity Lab. Always being one to jump off the diving board to get the shock of cold over with right away, of course I chose to start with the tool that scared me the most.
The laser cutter is a tool that requires training in it’s use, so the first thing I did was sign up for a class to learn the basics of operating the machine. The instructor gave us a demonstration of how the machine works, both for etching and cutting, along with essential operating and safety instructions. With the limited time leftover, we were given the opportunity to find a photo or draw a simple design ourselves, so that we could each laser cut a project of our own before the class ended. My design was thrown together quickly in Adobe Illustrator, a simple and unimpressive flower, but I really wanted to get in there and try the machine for myself. What surprised me was that, even though I was completely underwhelmed by my simple design, it felt pretty incredible to see that flower get carved out of wood by the laser beam. Actually, I was so excited that I made a video of the process:
Since that class, I am obsessed. I started a Pinterest board of more laser cutting projects than I will ever have time to make, and have spent more than one lunch break laser cutting during Open Lab. I’ve cut earrings and necklaces, etched trees on wood and cork coasters, and even etched on a piece of driftwood that my dad found at Crane Beach. If you went to the library’s Starry Starry Night event, you might have seen the earrings I made for sale there. In my search for new projects, I found that the things people laser cut also include Christmas tree ornaments, wall art, placemats, and journal covers. You can even use the etching feature to decorate jeans!
This little machine is capable of a lot more than most people realize, and if you have a creative eye and a little bit of experience with Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape, it provides a fantastic opportunity to explore new ways to use your original art. Remember, before the class, I not only hadn’t used the laser cutter before, I also found it intimidating. In the end, I learned that the laser cutter is easier to learn and safer to use than I ever expected. Most importantly, by stepping out of my comfort zone, I was introduced to endless new possibilities that have re-energized my enthusiasm for making good art.
Would you like to learn more about the laser cutter and how to use it? Check out the Creativity Lab’s Events Calendar for a list of upcoming classes. Intro to Laser Cutting, offered multiple times each year, is a required class for those who want to use the laser cutter during Open Lab time and, if you’d like to try your hand at a specific project, I’ll be teaching a class on how to laser cut bamboo bookmarks this winter. Hope to see you there!