52W: W4 - Bubblopolis Returns + Stencil Art

February 3, 2023

I decided to centralize my posts on my own website according to POSSE principles.
The original post is on Substack here: https://52weeks.substack.com/p/week-4-bubblopolis-returns-stencil

This week I did two things - because why not?

  • I revived Bubblopolis (a collaborative art project from last Halloween) on the rooftop

  • I cut and spray painted a few simple stencils

Bubblopolis Returns

Tools [we] used:

  • Plastic sheets

  • Lots of tape

  • Pens

  • Scissors

  • Fans (to inflate)

  • Cardboard (to make signs)

  • Rugs, cushions, furniture (to make cosy)

  • Lights (to set the vibe)

Context

Last year, several of my housemates and friends decided to build a giant plastic bubble to inflate in a room for our Halloween party. We spent many happy hours building prototypes, rearranging furniture, measuring room dimensions, cutting and taping huge sheets of plastic on a tennis court, inflating it, patching holes, lighting the bubble, decorating the bubble, and finally hosting hundreds of people inside!

Contructing the bubble

Inside Bubblopolis

In the foggy aftermath of the party, the others wanted to dispose of the sad deflated remains, but I knew there was life left in the bubble!

So, 3 months later, I brought it up to the rooftop on an unfortunately windy day, cleared out the rubbish, and re-inflated it. Great success!

Bubble on the rooftop

Inside the bubble

Next steps:

  • Host a play, performance, or movie night inside the bubble

  • Project onto the bubble from the outside (while testing with our prototype, this looked incredibly crisp)

Stencil Art

Tools I used:

  • Stable diffusion (to generate stencil art)

  • Printer (to print out the stencils)

  • Cardboard + X-acto knife (to cut out the stencil shape)

  • Spray paint

Context

Walking around my neighbourhood I’ve seen a few particularly eye-catching stencils of koi fish.

I loved the colors and the simplicity of the design, so I wanted to try making my own stencil to use at home and hang on the wall.

At first I thought I might try making something symbolic and meaningful. As AI was on my mind, I imagined something with a robot looking at a human, and maybe an ant in there too.

I think at this point I was thinking too hard, and reminded myself the point of the project was to have something simple, eye-catching, and pretty. So, at the suggestion of my partner, I went with a Monstera leaf.

Once I had the designs, it was easy enough to print it out and cut out the shape on cardboard, then spray the designs.

Left - working in the bubble, Right - first spray

Fun and easy, mission accomplished! My edges are not very crisp, I wonder how they did that with the koi fish. I might need to talk to someone who has more experience to get some tips.

Next steps:

  • More colors

  • More complex designs

  • Use a laser cutter?