+
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2014
PAGE 3
+
LAWRENCE
Makerspace provides spot for creativity, innovation
AMELIA ARVESEN
news@kansan.com
Inside the industrial building that is home to Lawrence Creates Makerspace, the cement slab floor is speckled with paint and sawdust, evidence that innovators are designing and constructing masterpieces.
Simply described, the Makerspace, 512 E. Ninth St., is a community center equipped with table saws, a 3-D printer, easels and a smorgasbord of other tools and supplies for creative people to collaborate, craft and master new skills.
For $20 each month, members receive a key for 24/7 access to the building, equipment and community provided by the Makerspace.
"I feel like the mind is loosely based on your location," said Alex Whiten, a sophomore from Eudora and member of the Makerspace. "A location like the Makerspace where you're surrounded by art and awesome tools is somewhere your mind can be more creatively motivated."
High vaulted ceilings foster an airy, imaginative environment and sectioned work areas include a woodshop, metal shop, art gallery, technology desk, loft and lounge. Scribbed on a whiteboard in Expo marker is a lengthy list of ingenuious projects in progress.
For Whitten, the Makerspace gives him a place to flex his creative muscle as he is inspired by fellow innovators. Members include retirees, professionals, graduates and a handful of students, but Whitten said he
wishes more of those his own age would join.
As a mechanical engineering major, he said he observes students caught up in the routine of school and deprived of time to create, which is similar to what 2008 graduate Garret Tufte experienced during his time in school.
As Tufte worked toward an English degree, he said he was too preoccupied absorbing information to have a moment to create. Since graduating, he said he's discovered that life is about giving back and doing something meaningful.
"A location like the Maker-space where you're surrounded by art and awesome tools is somewhere your mind can be more creatively motivated."
ALEX WHITTEN Makerspace member
"Having a space like this brings different people into one studio, which allows for communal creation as opposed to the lone artist, madman, sitting in his darkened room," Tufte said.
He took four months to sculpt a face into a piece of marble and he's perfecting a contraption that will tip a bottle to pour a glass of wine.
Meanwhile, Whitten is interested in a project that involves artistically displaying brain waves, an idea spearheaded by co-founder Barbara Kerr, who
is also a distinguished professor of counseling psychology with a research specialty in creativity.
The other co-founder, Eric Kirkendall, a 1973 graduate with geography, urban planning and public administration degrees, said the space can be used for practically anything. Currently displayed are metal sculptures, portraits, vivid paintings and a rack of handmade clothes. All of the art is set to showcase during the Final Fridays art party.
"We want to give people the resources to improve their lives," Kirkendall said. "We want to help our members share their skills with the community."
Kirkendall said current students such as Whitten bring a fresh perspective and energy to the mix of individuals.
For that reason, Kirkendall said scholarships to cover student membership fees will be made available in the future. A program, Lawrence Creates Reuse, will collect reusable items from students during move-out week on Daisy Hill. Items like housewares and electronics will be recycled and sold to fund the scholarships.
In addition to utilizing the space and storing their work, members teach classes every week to other members and nonmembers for a small fee on topics such as sewing, metal work, printing and robotics.
"Some people have described what we have as a drawer of tools," Kirkendall said.
— Edited by Stella Liang
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Lawrence Creates Makerspace, 512 E. 9th St., is a community center open to students, retirees and other Lawrence citizens to be creative.
MORE ABOUT MAKERSPACE
Lawrence Creates Reuse is a program coordinated by the Lawrence Creates Makerspace, their fiscal sponsor The Sustainability Action Network and Student Housing to collect reusable items. During the week of May 12 when students are moving out of the dorms, a station will be set up beside the dumpsters to collect housewares, electronics and anything else students can't take away.
"We just really want to keep reusable items out of the dump," Kirkendall said.
Kirkendall said items will be recycled and resold to provide new tools and scholarships for students interested in becoming members of the Makerspace. This involves a $20 monthly fee and attendance to weekly Tuesday meetings.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday, April 25. The Makerspace will host an art party as part of Lawrence's Final Fridays. The free event will feature a live band, artists showcasing their work, beverages and grilled sausages.
Tuesday, April 29: The weekly meeting is open to the public including students interested in membership,taking classes or networking. Pizza will be provided.
KU $ \textcircled{1} $nfo
You can donate your body to the KU Medical Center by contacting the Willed Body Program in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology.
WANT NEWS UPDATES ALL DAY LONG?
Follow @KansanNews on Twitter
FOLLOW USON
@UNIVERSITYDAILYKANSAN
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
March for aVOICE
88% of college campus sexual assaults go unreported Let's Make a Change!
How: Marching for a Voice reporting sexual assault
Where: Stauffer-Flint Lawn
When: April 23rd, 2014, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
5:30-6:15 Free Jimmy Johns and Drinks Make pins and signs for the March Climb into the Consent Ball Pit
6:15 March to the Union
Why: To support reporting Sexual Assault
IOA SpeaK Up We'll Listen