Apartment Lights and Stray Cat

For this project I wanted to create something that would trigger the LEDs to turn on using conductive tape as well as pressure on the battery to activate the switch. In order to create this project I decided to use materials which were easily accessible such as cardboard for the base and once that was done I created a parallel series with conductive tape on the backside of the cardboard. Both my LED’s are powered by one single battery that is located towards the bottom of my project and the way it turns on is by placing a small (stray) cat I made on a bed outside the apartment building. Since most of my art practice has to do with childhood, I often incorporate child-like/youthful materials into my work and this played a significant role in creating this artwork.

Materials:

• Cardboard
• Masking tape
• Packing Tape
• Conductive tape
• Cell battery
• Play-doh
• Toothpicks
• Cardstock
• Fabric
• Needles and thread
• Knitting Needle
• Crayons
• Markers

^^ I found some cardboard and began to cut out slots for the windows and where the LEDs would go, as well as marking out there I plan on drawing things.

^^ This is the layout I ended up deciding on for the conductive tape to light up the LEDs. There was a lot of trial and error with this step as visible by all the areas with conductive tape but no LEDs attached. I had to move around where I was placing the LEDs a few times.

^^ This is how the conductive tape appeared from below. I had to cut holes through the bottom of the cardboard and loop it through so it would connect to the bottom.

^^ Once I had all the conductive tape in the correct spots, I began to color the exterior to make it appear more lively. Towards the bottom where the grass is you can also see where I had to DIY a mechanism to turn on the switch. I took two pieces of cardstock and attached conductive tape to it and the battery goes in between the two pieces of cardstock. Once its placed in between, you can put pressure to turn on the LEDs.

^^ I ended up adding more decor/details to the exterior such as curtains and some grass. You can also see the cat I sculpted out of clay and the bed it lays on (the battery is underneath).

^^ Here is a close up of the battery underneath the cat bed and the stray cat sculpture.

^^ Here is a video of the final product with the LEDs.