---
description: >-
  Self-initiated projects from Minor Makers Lab: Making as Research 2020 (the
  COVID-19 semester)
---

# Project overview

![Groceries for cooking materials at home, image by Andrei Motian, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MA2ZrwPPkmD5LiYEMSJ%2F-MA2_KIsBsxp7nYzuo36%2Fandreimotian_photography01.jpg?alt=media\&token=d954c403-9992-4378-92e4-54d2e1a9617a)

## Research projects in times of COVID-19

To adapt to remote teaching in extraordinary times, our course on making as research had to be reimagined almost overnight. We arrive at the end of a semester that asked us all to reflectively engage with the conditions that make making as we know it possible. Repeatedly hitting our heads against our often invisible reliance on facilities and supply chains has been a struggle and a blessing, but seeing their interdependencies more clearly certainly encouraged us to take a radical turn in terms of the materials we choose to work with as makers. We experimented with bio-based materials and learned to embrace the fact that we would not be exerting the kind of control we are used to having over materials we know and work with when we use industrial machines. Limitations turned into openings and vice versa as we were practically confronted with the ways tools and staple materials inform what we can imagine.

Students engaged in self-directed projects from home, making do with the limited tools and materials at hand. From their kitchens, gardens and bedrooms, they engaged with challenges around the lived realities of the COVID-19 crisis, often combined with a strong sense of homebrew material activism. During this year’s expo, students will present projects on topics of RIVM regulations, fashion, dating, packaging, exercise, biomaterials and DIY maker cultures.

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![Exercise cushion by Andrei Motian, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAWjMPmLkYXroKNOpM1%2F-MAWj_G87TsOEfZFLDEc%2Fandreimotian_gelancecushionphoto.jpg?alt=media\&token=c3360975-cb52-4b70-985b-6fd50eb36507)

### Gelance Cushion

Ephemeral exercise gear to support rehabilitation exercises during lockdown.

Student: Andrei Motian (CMD)

Coach: Marjolijn Ruyg

Tags: exercise, quarantaine, bioplastics

[View this project](project-overview/gelance-cushion-andrei-motian)&#x20;

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![Landscape by Dusanka Prvulovic, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MACQ9Pw8bHwggBIsJT1%2F-MACQQSFHxyiu8Wmk7Wg%2F11B.jpg?alt=media\&token=0476caba-7425-405a-b120-cad9ab9e64f2)

### Redesigning Warhammer Landscapes from a Sustainable DIY Perspective

Student: Dusanka Prvulovic (CMD)

Coach: Marjolijn Ruyg

Tags: Warhammer, kitbashing, bioplastics

[View this project](project-overview/documentation)

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![Filters for a DSLR camera by Daniël van Kesteren, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAemwtvIerd5aUK1G2s%2F-MAenj4JIELGIhnH_vHt%2FInterieur_ZW_Filter5.JPG?alt=media\&token=26a37661-6480-4865-8166-e11d063cd8bb)

### Biofilters: an Analog Photoshop

Back to the basics of "light writing", using DIY analog, bioplastic photofilters.

Student: Daniël van Kesteren (CO/CB)

Coach: Marjolijn Ruyg

Tags: photography, biofabricating, filters

[View this project](broken-reference) >> update this link!!!

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![Hyperdisposable sporks by Anoush Mazloumian, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAMRFK2-69JVztfVBW9%2F-MAMZLS05qeJIbW5dAdg%2Ffinal-spork-Anoush1.jpeg?alt=media\&token=8a37b3c2-98c3-40f5-8bf6-98a6be35f599)

### Hyperdisposables

Towards hyperdisposable sporks: beyond the promise of biodegradable plastic.

Student: Anoush Mazloumian (CMD)

Coach: Yuri Westplat

Tags: biofabricating, material activism

[View this project](project-overview/hyperdisposables-anoush-mazloumian)

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![Grabber device, by Summer Danoe, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAVNnta7Sd_PxCaToBt%2F-MAVOmgeyoXqg5C8GBBD%2Fgrabber1.jpg?alt=media\&token=149459d2-f5ef-41e8-ac5d-7a47445d4471)

### Stop Touching

Reframing hygiene tactics and accessible maker culture through a DIY lens.

Student: Summer Danoe (CMD)

Coach: Yuri Westplat

Tags: COVID-19, personal devices, DIY

[View this project](project-overview/project-stop-touching-summer-danoe)

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![In search of a new biofoam recipe, Laura Velgersdijk, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAZ9rhdne9rKBlQHWkf%2F-MAZEEa-skp5UPYzLGUw%2FLaura_project_web.JPG?alt=media\&token=083c36b5-703c-49c5-9e70-b6a5a376ca4c)

### Foam for Material Activists

In search of a lightweight, compostable bioplastic to protect fragile goods.

Student: Laura Velgersdijk (PD)

Coach: Yuri Westplat

Tags: biofabricating, material activism

[View this project](project-overview/foam-for-material-activists-laura-velgersdijk)

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!["Untitled", photography by Mayte Breed, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAaDBESCyKFwL8bMbal%2F-MAaE2wxkIEHPLZWjZD1%2FDSC01093.jpg?alt=media\&token=08621c17-d6cf-4294-9f2d-eddac2ee67de)

### DateKleed

A tactile material experience to support changing embodied social habits.

Student: Duncan van Norden (AMFI)

Coach: Marjolijn Ruyg

Tags: social distancing, dating, materials

[View this project](project-overview/datekleed-duncan-van-norden)

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![](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAT--y-nPErAtAmkoTB%2F-MAT2PqK2BiumSld916l%2Fkaz_productfoto1.jpg?alt=media\&token=d0dce04f-b88a-4a96-ac74-2a7c2ddfeaa5)

### One Size Hurts All

One size-fits-all facemasks revisited: from universal to personal fit.

Student: Kaz Bison (CMD)

Coach: Yuri Westplat

Tags: COVID-19, PPE, DIY, personal fit

[View this project](project-overview/one-size-hurts-all-kaz-bison)

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![Agar-based garment packaging by Kim Sinke, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MARoc14O3b48QdGSf2x%2F-MARqro8mIqssFTi3M1I%2Ffoto_kim_sinke.jpg?alt=media\&token=4f034227-cefe-4998-b970-ed4b3c513efb)

### Biodegradable Packaging Bags

Rethinking disposable packaging for the transportation of garments.

Student: Kim Sinke (CMD)

Coach: Yuri Westplat

Tags: biofabricating, material activism

[View this project](project-overview/biodegradable-packaging-bags-kim-sinke)

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![Biocompostable, disposable faceguard by Thijs Uffen, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAGd--spBW4a7wxo_0s%2F-MAGhdeOuvwxmeaP8MbX%2Fthijs_project_coverfoto.png?alt=media\&token=39597a32-0aeb-45b7-ad41-5d6d8e19a9b4)

### DIY Faceguards

Seeking alternatives for the diminishing material supplies used for personal protection equipment (PPE).

Student: Thijs Uffen (CMD)

Coach: Yuri Westplat

Tags: COVID-19, faceguards, bioplastics

[View this project](project-overview/diy-faceguards-thijs-uffen)

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![Bioplastics in all colors of the rainbow by Desiree van Dam, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAFlVXQ0u0-mQYcRmXF%2F-MAG-4mCymimmaXVl2hJ%2FRegenboog%20goede%20maat.jpg?alt=media\&token=e5bff873-1c52-4149-b233-b938a776f479)

### Bioplastics on a Rainbow Spectrum

Creating a rainbow of color for bioplastics, using natural, accessible ingredients only.

Student: Desiree van Dam (CMD)

Coach: Marjolijn Ruyg

Tags: biofabricating, natural pigments

[View this project](project-overview/bioplastics-on-a-rainbow-spectrum-desiree-van-dam)

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![Beyond Humanity - Britt de Heer, 2020](https://2472482582-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LzaCPWnWmmX17D0w0O3%2F-MAemk90VsMEUZr-i7IR%2F-MAemt9quZMgodsahaIe%2FFace%20mask.jpg?alt=media\&token=7bfcb4db-10d8-4634-8c58-da7fc62a9109)

### Beyond Humanity

Being yourself does not have to be in a human form.

Student: Britt de Heer (AMFI)

Coach: Marjolijn Ruyg

Tags: body accessories, biofabricating

[View this project](project-overview/beyond-humanity-britt-de-heer)
