Lucy Gunther

Stained Glass Shards is a wearable that represents the way that glass shatters and rejoins. It is inspired by the Fragments from Reims Cathedral that is exhibited at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The Fragments from Reims Cathedral is a stained glass window that was shattered by German bombs in World War I and after the war the fragments were collected and set back together in a new abstract way. The shattered glass wearable helps people to realize that beauty can be made out of something that is broken. It brings art out of a museum and lets people experience it in a new and interesting way. This wearable was for a Boston Latin School Step Dancer, who modeled the wearable in a performance on February 19th at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The wearable uses colored acrylic triangles and elastic string so that as the model walks the pieces spread apart and join back together. 

The Low-Cost Water Filter is a filter that can be made out of materials that can be easily found, like clay and plastic containers, in conjunction with an affordable carbon filter. The filter uses filtration and evaporation to filter out particulate matter to produce drinkable water. The Low-Cost Water Filter was developed to be used in conjunction with the Low-Cost Water Backpack, which provides people in developing countries an affordable and ergonomic way to transport water from a water source back to their communities. Once there, they can use the filter.  The filter consists of a metal heating tray and two interlocking 3D-printed tanks and uses a two-step filtration system. these three tanks are stacked on top of each other.  First, the dirty water is poured into the top of the filter over a fire. the water flows into the top of the filter. The water then passes through a series of layers of sand, rock and carbon filters that block any larger particles. The water is then boiled in the bottom tank and the gas escapes through small holes in the bottom of the middle tank, where the water vapor condenses for storage. The process of evaporation removes any sub-visible chemicals that are harmful to the human body. This filter has a versatile design that can be scaled down or up in size, to serve a single home or to supply a whole community with clean water. It can help prevent the 3.4 million deaths each year from water-related diseases.

An educational exhibit that teaches people about binary communication, by providing a fun and accessible demonstration of how computers encode and send text data. 

For those who want to learn about binary communication, there are few good options. The only resources available on the subject are jargonistic verbal explanations or convoluted diagrams that are impossible to comprehend without a previous understanding of the material. Water Works focuses on illustrating how computers encode, send and decode text in simple two-way communication. To send a message, the computer converts text character into a unique combination of 0s and 1s; then, on the reading end, the computer reads these values and converts them back to the original message. Water Works consists of two computers sending text to each other via serial binary communication. However, instead of representing each bit (1 or 0) as high or low voltages going across a wire, Water Works sends mineral oil and colored water through a tube, using the clear oil to represent 0s and the water to represent 1s. Through this faithful recreation of the process, the user can learn about the general process, or even learn each individual binary value of the typical typing character.

Dina: The Mod-Glo Coffee Tables, a set of coffee tables shaped like simple polygons with built-in foot rests, will provide work or eating surfaces for NuVu students and staff that are interactive and enjoyable to use. They are a redesign of an old project, Light Up Coffee Table, a set of tables that encouraged collaboration by lighting up small coffee tables  with different colors when they were connected. Whereas the Light Up Coffee Table used complex electronics to facilitate multiple color changes of light, the Mod-Glo Coffee Tables employ a simpler approach. The brackets holding together the side panels of the table have two copper connection points on each side, which flank a hidden magnet. When two tables attach magnetically, the connections complete a circuit that lights an LED strip inside an acrylic-walled chamber of each table. These tables will provide sturdy surfaces for an individual using the new couches and chairs, and they will create a beautifully lit communal table when snapped together. The hope is that the community will benefit from the functionality and interactive properties of the Mod-Glo Coffee Tables.

Live Glass interprets the colorful shadows produced by stained glass found in the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and transforms them into a wearable piece that can be experienced by both the model and the audience. This wearable looks at color and light and the relationship between the two when water is added. The piece is made up of three parts: a central frame that holds the “stained glass” pieces, the “stained glass” made from heat-sealed vinyl pouches that hold dyed water inside, and a lighting system to cast shadows. Live Glass, inspired by the stain glass piece on display in the museum, is meant to challenge the way that art is typically viewed. In order to make the artwork feel more alive, the piece will be worn and shown off, casting ever-changing shadows. The user wears the piece around their waist and uses the attached lighting system to cast shadows onto themselves and the floor. The shadows produced by the piece are variegated which adds a new level of complexity and attraction to the piece. The variegated shadows are produced by shinning an led light through the pouches of dyed water. The effect that is created is similar to when sunlight reflects on a pool. Live Glass is to be worn in multiple fashion shows, including one at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and two for Boston fashion week.