The project utilised a hand cranked sewing machine and a mechanical hand. The main aim was to use as many of the mechanical motions of the sewing machine as possible. The addition of a mechanical hand not only added to the visual interest but also provided a different playing style. While initially the concept was to have the user only control the sound using the hand crank this quickly grew to incorporate many different playing techniques whilst keeping the hand crank as the main sound altering method. Another level to the machine was the age and fragility of the design. Parts of the sewing machine were delicate, and the threading process was intricate. This adds to the symbolic nature of the piece. While it worked as intended there was always a sense that you were using a reclaimed object which had a history that should be respected. This was further added too by leaving wires visible and sporadic. We wanted to show how the machine worked and that it truly was a combination of old machinery and new digital technology. When creating this piece, we found that the process was like that of improvising when playing an instrument. At first, we had a rough idea of how we were going to proceed but as we explored the machine more, we found ourselves creating something we had not imagined. Overall, the sound and machine matched well and produced an interesting playing experience.
