Abstract:

The present Project arises from an action that occurred at the Junior University (UJunior), edition 2018. More specifically in a workshop, as part of a summer Project named “Model your ideas in 3D (Modela as tuas ideias em 3D)”. In this workshop, students from the 9th to 11th grade, between the ages of 14 to 17 years old, explored the potentialities of the 3D Software open source Blender. Each workshop takes a week and it’s organized by two monitors, which enable students of having a deeper and broader understanding.

Furthermore, the workshop is divided into 3 main phases: “introduction to the program”, “consolidation of knowledge” and “project”. In the introduction, students receive the first contact with the software interface as well as the inputs behind the 3D modulation. The consolidation phase is organized by several exercises, ranging from a simple creation of a house from two cubes to the creation of a table and a chair. In the last phase, students consolidate the knowledge received during the week. In this edition there was also the possibility of introducing 3D printing technology, allowing students to see their digital creations gaining shape.

This year, I proposed to modify the theme of the final Project. Thus, I challenged the students to jointly create images that demonstrate the contemporary problem of ocean pollution by plastics due to human action. Throughout the week, students were modelling various 3D models of bottles, marine life, characters, and coastline houses. At the end of the activity, all the elements were gathered and a final scene was assembled, which resulted in images that intend to sensitize the viewer to the problem.

By the end of each workshop week, and from the obtained results, it is possible to state that the students have gained more awareness about the problem of sustainability and the power of images. From this experience, could we ask ourselves how can we produce ecologically sustainable analog images? And that, from the educational point of view, allow an interdisciplinary and awareness for an emancipation of the student.

This 3D workshop will be combined with other past workshops such as "Plants and seeds for alternatives images: researching biodegradable processes in developing photosensitive film". Therefore, an action-research project was designed in order to cross the printing of 3D devices for the capture of images to aspects of image development from biodegradable processes. It is intended to develop an open source ecological kit to capture analog images. Such kit consists of a vertical garden and a Pinhole photographic device from recycled plastics. For this, the circularity of the materials is a fundamental point in the whole process. The process has to be the most ecological possible, from the construction of the device to the development of latent images through ecological solutions (e.g. Developer made from Mint).

This kit will be printed by 3D printers, allowing the transformation of three-dimensional computer-developed models into physical objects. Future interdisciplinary workshops will be designed, where the applicability of the kit will be tested. The project will have 3 cycles. The first one – “Awareness”, will be in January at Soares School; the second – “Interconnected workshops on device production and image development” at UJunior in July; The third – “Production of the pedagogical kit for secondary students and reflection” between September and December 2019.

Keywords:

Art Education, Education, Technology, 3D Printing, Ecologic, Sustainability, Analog Images.