‘Digital Lace’ scoops top prize

Published On Mon 22 Sep 2014 by Grant Hill

A lecturer from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) has received a prestigious award for work combining traditional craft skills with the latest digital technology.

Sara Robertson and her collaborator Sarah Taylor won the 2014 Design Exhibition Jury Award for Fibre Arts at the International Symposium of Wearable Computers. Their project, 'Digital Lace', uses smart inks and fibre optic technologies, to create ambient materials that respond to heat by colour change and light emission.

It is now being exhibited at Microsoft Research’s Studio 99 alongside other examples of wearable computing projects and eTextiles and will later be shown at exhibitions in Belgium and Plymouth.

Sara said, “The piece was inspired by a 17th Century Lace Sampler held at the National Museum of Scotland's archive. It is an exploration of material properties and craft process to combine new dynamic surface qualities in textile materials.

“Digital Lace combines the light emitting properties of PMMA optical fibre and the colour change properties of liquid crystal dye systems in a digitally controlled textile runner which slowly shifts in colour and light over time and throughout the day.

“Sarah and I started our collaboration through a call by Plymouth College of Art called 'Rejuvenating Craft', which was an expert workshop funded by the European Crysalis project. We proposed to work together on Digital Lace, exploring traditional textile techniques and digital technologies through making.”

Sara Robertson is a Lecturer in Craft Innovation/Smart Materials at DJCAD while Sarah Taylor is a designer, maker and researcher in smart textiles.

More information is available at http://tech.360fashion.net/2014/08/26/digital-lace-exhibition/.

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