Poetry is Not a Luxury: A Makerspace Patchwork Quilt

| eng162w makerspace quilt

By: Susan N. Bernstein, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor of English

“Please someone cut a square,” urges poet (1943-2024), “and put me in a quilt.” Giovanni, who taught at ����ר��, is one of several poets whose poetry is featured in this colorful patchwork quilt. Created in Fall 2025 as part of an English 162w (Literature and Place, Writing Intensive), the quilt provided an opportunity to participate in a five-week experiential learning project in collaboration with QC Makerspace.

English 162w is a General Education Pathways course that offers a writing-intensive curriculum. Quiltmaking addresses a key learning object of the course, “Asking analytical, argument-driven questions about literature and culture” through close reading of poems and creative process essays then, creating a quilt piece based on a concrete or abstract image suggested by the poem.

(1917-2014), the late Teachers College, Columbia, educational philosopher argued that, “If it weren’t for imagination, people would be in a box all the time.”. For the poetry quilt, students used materials from the QC Makerspace to imagine and create individual works of art, which were then combined to create a collective quilt on the course theme of , a quality or place that turns seemingly ordinary occasions into moments of transformation.

QC Makerspace provided all quilting materials for the students, and  offered a congenial workspace where students had an opportunity to collaborate on reading, interpreting, and writing, as well as quilting. In their writing, students observed that the QC Makerspace serves as an excellent example of liminal space, an on-campus location outside of the classroom that offers opportunities for reflection, collaboration, and ultimately, an embodied experience with the power of poetry to inspire personal and collective transformation.

Representing a collaboration of many hands, quilters used textiles, beads, paper, rubber gloves, masks, and other found objects to craft individual patches, then worked collectively to design and stitch the quilt. Displaying words and images, the poetry quilt is an illustration of the creative process at work. As Hunter College Professor (1934-1992) affirms, “Poetry is not a luxury,” but a necessity for everyday life.

Inspired by Audrey Lorde

English 162w Poetry Quilt

Stay ALight

Students’ artwork used with permission

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Make STEAM Q on View

| current makerspace

By: Nick Normal, Head of QC Makerspace,

Whereas Q stands for: Quizzical, Quantify, Questions, Quirky, Queens, Quintessential, Quantitative…

We from the , the , & the QC Faculty Fellows and team involved for the past few years on a National Science Foundation-funded initiative invite you to view the current showcase of making and design thinking projects by students throughout ����ר��.

With over 100 2D & 3D objects, art, and artifacts on view from students of ANTH, ART, DESN, ECON, MATH, PHOTO, and everything in-between, I hope you will be inspired by what you see: 3D-prints of 3D-scanned archaeological artifacts, conceptual pitches for community-focused innovation hubs, visual representations of code-as-art, ceramic vessels fabricated from 3D-models & prints, mathematically-generated designs, and more.

I realize many students are busy right now with Finals. If you’re taking a break, wanting to clear your mind, or looking be inspired by newfound forms and ideas, I invite you to stop by the rotunda outside Rosenthal Room 230 – outside the “Lecture Hall” downstairs from the Library Cafe.

 

I hope you have the opportunity to stop by to view the showcase in person!

This showcase is only a fraction of the work product students produced over the past couple semesters. Which is to say congratulations to all of the students who participated in these courses to help me, the Make STEAM Q team, QC, and the greater research and understand the impact of making & design thinking on students of a – also thank you to the National Science Foundation for supporting this multi-year-long research project. We couldn’t have done this without the support and involvement of so many people and all together we hope to Make STEAM Q!

 

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The contents of both vitrines were fabricated by students of , Professor of Mathematics, during the Fall’21 semester – students of MATH 128 “Mathematical Design” and MATH 250 “Mathematical Computing.” Both classes were also participants in the project, an initiative supported by the National Science Foundation.

The sign for MATH 128 (the featured image seen above) reads, “This artwork was created digitally using math and software and then was realized physically using machines in the including the laser cutter, embroidery machine, AxiDraw plotter, and 3D printer.” These excellent artworks showcase the diversity of output options available in the Makerspace in Rosenthal Library. This cabinet also contains a “tattoo” (on fake skin) that must be seen to be believed!

Just down the hall, you’ll find the other display case for MATH 250. The sign reads, “The artwork was created algorithmically using the computational software and then 3D printed in steel, nylon, sandstone, and base metals by Shapeways.” Some plastic prints were also done in the QC Makerspace. And we cannot emphasize enough how cool it is that these objects were created algorithmically. They were not ‘designed’ in the classic sense of the word – but instead created using algorithms and math!

I’m intentionally not showing close-ups of the art in order to encourage you to swing by and see it for yourself. Many of the details, the light refraction on metal, the markers layered by a robotic arm, must be seen in person to be truly appreciated. After you enter the library head through the atrium, around the staircase, and you’ll find the display cases in that corridor:

And if you’re curious to know more about our Makerspace facility check out and book an appointment!

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Trevor Taylor from NYSCI  (seen here) facilitated ‘‘ workshops to inspire awareness of “human centered design” to address issues of empathy, ideation, and prototyping in problem-solving or challenge-driven moments.

One of these challenges was for participants to construct a , with only 10 minutes to go from concept to completion – with discussion afterwards for each participant to discuss their thought process, material limitations, etc.

Renne Castro (Computer Science) contemplates his LEGO avatar.

A workshop later in the day provided 30 minutes to challenge the participants to construct a balloon-powered vehicle with little more than supplied materials and whatever else they could find around the facility.

The initial group of Faculty Fellows associated with the project come from various disciplines across the arts & sciences at ����ר�� (typically -aligned studies) who either already are or will be folding in making & design thinking components into their curriculum.

We’ll be talking about these courses, these professors, and hopefully the students involved with our research questions and applications in the years to come. For now congrats to the core team for their initial launch event during these transitional times, and stay tuned for more at ����ר�� (and from our partners at in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park)!

Group photo from the kickoff event of Make STEAM Q on Saturday, November 20, 2021.
Standing (left to right): Nick Normal, Bradley Bergey, Allan Edmond, Larry Liebovitch, Nathalia Holtzman, Christopher Hanusa, Sabrina Avila, James Mellone, Corinna Singleman, Jose Sanchez, Al-karim Gangji, Kevin Hernandez
Kneeling (left to right): Renne Castro, William Blanford, Trevor Taylor, Matthew Greco, Danne Woo

(Classes currently associated with the project include: ARTS 282, ARTS 369, CSCI 100, DESN 214, DESN 265, DESN 270, ENSCI 112, MATH 128, MATH 250, PHYS 008, & PHYS 014)

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In the Makerspace you can explore and access equipment you probably won’t have access to elsewhere: 3D printing hardware and software, various hand tools and power tools, electronics components, and digital fashion equipment. 

For more information, check out the QC Makerspace website:   

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Visitors to the  are often drawn to the ingenious objects created on its . For Lillian C., a Makerspace Assistant and QC undergraduate, learning to 3D print in the Makerspace has had real-world applications most of us would never have thought of before COVID-19. Lillian used her 3-D printing skills to create personal protective equipment for Mt. Sinai Hospital, where her stepmother is a surgeon.

Lillian detailed that experience in an , and I caught up with her recently to learn more about 3D printing, what Makers are doing to help fight COVID-19, and get her tips for students who want to get involved with the QC Makerspace.

Hi Lillian, thanks again for doing this! It’s been about a month since you first wrote about 3D printing PPE. What is the PPE situation like now at your stepmom’s hospital?

When we first started making the PPEs, the hospital was in critical condition. Thankfully, they finally have enough PPE to sustain themselves and even some extras.

You and your friend began making these after New York City, and CUNY, had largely shut down for social distancing. Without access to the Makerspace, what equipment did you use? 

We used a couple different printers we had access to at home: the Ender 3 Pro 3D printer and Monoprice Voxel 3D printer. You can purchase the Ender 3 Pro from any electronics store for roughly $220. You have to assemble it yourself, but it’s one of the cheapest 3D printers. The Voxel printer is around $350 and it is very simple to use.

What are the PPEs made of?

We made these out of generic PLA filament, which you can find anywhere online.

How many protective face shields have you made? Are you making other items? 

We’ve made around 100 face shields, and only face shields, although I do wish we could have made a greater variety.

Are you still making face shields?

We stopped production of PPE because the hospitals have regained supply. If we are notified of the need for PPE, we will be able to quickly make more face masks. 

Were you able to speed up production as you learned more?

100% yes! As we kept printing, we kept finding better files that were easier to print and took less time, in order to print the maximum amount.

How much faster are we talking?

When we started, it took about 6 hours to produce one mask. We eventually got that down to about one hour.

That’s amazing! How did you do it?

The  has an online forum, and that’s where we got the first mask design we used. Using the Ender 3 Pro printer, each mask took about 6 hours. We hoped to get that time down, so we started looking for new designs, new STL files.

The acronyms are really flying now, Lillian. Can you explain to a newbie what STL files are?

Sure! STL stands for “Standard Tessellation Language”. The main purpose of the STL file format is to encode the surface geometry of a 3D object. It encodes this information using a simple concept called “tessellation.”

So STL is a file format that can be ‘read’ by 3D printers?

Yes. Once you have a STL file, it’s ready to be sliced using a 3D printer specific slicer. Every different type of auto CADing software generates the same STL file.

And you found another STL file eventually, one that was faster to print?

Yes, we looked online and found a viable STL file that met two important criteria: it produced good, sturdy masks, with a fast print time. It took the Ender 3 Pro 2 hours to print the new design, and  the Voxel printer did it in about 1 hour. The Voxel was faster because it printed at a higher rate. 

How did your experience in the QC Makerspace help you to get this project done?

The Makerspace allowed me to gain experience using a printer before I had one of my own. 

What is the Makerspace doing to support students now? 

Currently, Head of Makerspace  and I are working towards having a fleshed out LibGuide for everything pertaining to the Makerspace. With this guide, students who want to come in and work on something will arrive with the knowledge they need to use whatever machine they want to.

What do you think the role of the Makerspace will be when students can return to campus?

I think the Makerspace will have a similar role as last year, where students can go through orientation and then gain access to basically make anything they want. The students just have to be willing to do the research and put in the time to learn to use the machines they’re interested in.

Are there resources you’d recommend for other makers who are interested in supporting our health care workers? 

3D Universe has a lot of new posts with tutorials on how to make different kinds of face masks. They have public STL files you may download and use, like this one:

Some other good sources for STL files are  and 

Besides PPE, what other maker projects are you working on now? 

We are designing and planning on building “Fish and the Furious”. It will be a fish tank planted on a chassis with wheels equipped with distance sensors and a camera. The camera will detect where the fish is inside the tank and relative the center of the tank, it will determine which way the tank will drive. This will essentially allow the fish to travel in a room autonomously!

There will be sensors all around the tank allowing it to safely travel and not drive into a wall or into a person. We will be using Raspberry PI, Arduinos, OpenCV, Ultrasonic sensors, Motors, a lot of servos, and a lot of other technologies. Our slogan is “Giving the fish the freedom to travel on land”

That’s awesome! I have one last question for you: how do you think students can benefit from getting involved with the Makerspace when campus reopens? What’s unique about it compared to learning in regular classes?

I think students can benefit from getting involved because by picking up the knowledge obtained from learning how to create things, they learn how to come up with creative ways to solve problems. It’s unique because unlike regular classes, it’s a hands-on way of learning.

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