Workshop – Sam Topley

This past Saturday, I attended a workshop at IKLEKTIC hosted by Sam Topley. The workshop itself focused on the creation of ‘noise pom-poms’ using yarn and conductive thread. In my previous research, I began expanding into textiles in conjunction to sound, wondering how they intersect and interact with each other. The workshop itself was a wonderful and enlightening experience. Prior to this workshop, the one aspect of my research that intimidates me is understanding the circuitry and tech behind what I wish to accomplish. Topley approaches her art through a very accessible D-I-Y methodology, making the intensity of some of the hardware technology feel much more digestible to me. Quite literally, we all sat outside around one large table just making pom-poms with yarn and conductive thread, while we listened to Sam talk us through her process; it was very scenic. Using the conductive thread, we wrapped layers parallel to the pom-poms layers of yarn so that when we tied them all together, the conductive thread would be properly conductive and work as a sensor. With alligator clips, we attached the pom-poms to a 555-timer (working as the oscillator), connected to a small amp. (seen below) Once all of this was together, putting one pom-pom in each hand triggers the oscillator and the pitch would bend based on how hard you applied pressure to the pom-poms. The entirety of the workshop was about an hour and a half, showing how approachable Topley creates her art. Unfortunately, once I took my pom-poms home, I give the yarn itself a bit of a haircut and my pom-poms ceased to work (for now). There could be many reasons why mine stopped working; the wires became dusty, the clips are not properly placed to the conductive thread, a new battery is needed, etc. For now, I can take this knowledge and begin to understand some of the processes that intimidated me so much and understand textiles as a communicative and accessible element for sound. In tutorial with Ingrid, they made a point that resonated with me in terms of my current practice. We talked about how inaccessible and overwhelming minimalism in aspects of sound arts can be. For example, looking at a Eurorack or modular synth feels very intimidating and inaccessible coming from say a neurodivergent perspective. Working with this point, I can begin to look at familiar objects as instruments, further than the sound they simply produce.