mnartists.org: Debra Caserotti

Sahuarita

Debra Caserotti — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:44:15 GMT

A Winter Day

Debra Caserotti — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:32:11 GMT

Patrons Enjoying the Fish Radio

Debra Caserotti — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:53:38 GMT

On Display at Ceres Gallery, NYC

Debra Caserotti — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:51:00 GMT

The Fish radios have no radio tubes in them; they are all basically crystal sets. Crystal sets date back to over 100 years ago at the very beginning of radio. At that time is was necessary to poke at a real crystal with a probe that looked sort of like a safety pin to find a spot that worked to detect radio waves.

The Fish radios are ready-made crystals, germanium diodes, that are about 50 years old. Crystal radios are not very loud and need headphones, but the Fish radios have speakers. The Fish radios merge old and new technology, in that the crystal radio is amplified by an integrated circuit to operate the small speaker in the bottom of the fish.

Although crystal radios are often thought of as inconvenient affairs, with wires hooked up as an antenna & grounded to a water pipe, it is possible to make them with a wire wound around a circular form that takes the place of a long antenna & ground wire. This is not as sensitve to radio stations, but modern radio stations are so powerful, that in an urban area the Fish radios can receive several stations & be portable.

For the technically minded, the Fish radios use 1N69 germanium crystal diodes & an LM386 integrated circuit amplifier chip running on a 9 volt battery.

Collaborative Work

Debra Caserotti — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:48:02 GMT

Artists of the Collaborative Work:

Sylvia Mohn- Polymer Clay- Fish Speaker (Artist Listed in the Exhibit Program)

Dr. Stephen Mohn- Electrical Engineer-Radio

Debra Caserotti- Fiber Artist- Round Landscape Quilt of a Minnesota Lake

Here is the completedwork of the collaborative effort which was on display at Ceres Gallery in New York City, in the Seventeenth Ceres Friends Exhibition, July 14th-August 8th, 2009.

What Is It?

Debra Caserotti — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:44:43 GMT

It's a radio based upon a copy of a 100 year old radio tube design; called an "Audion". It was not a high vacuum device like most modern radio tubes. The Audion was the first of the radio tubes in the modern sense because it had a "grid". Because it was not a high vacuum device it required adjustments so that it would not glow a blue color, which meant it wasn't working properly. All modern radios trace their ancestry to the Audion. It was a seminal development in the history of electrical engineering that quite literally changed the world.

The antenna for the radio surrounds the quilt and the radio has adjustments for the Audion copy. Visible is the round turning knob, the larger knob and and next to it is the smaller "plate" voltage adjustment knob. On the side of the radio is the "fliament" voltage adjustment and not visible is the power switch for the speaker amplifier. The black horn-like part to the left is the speaker which is a copy of a 1920's-type "horn speaker". The Audion copy is the round glass bulb on the top of the wooden box that has the adjustment knobs on it.

Yosemite

Debra Caserotti — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:09:02 GMT

Cactus

Debra Caserotti — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 02:00:23 GMT

I'm fond of turquoise. I'm fond of sage green. Do these two colors work together? In an artists mind, they do! The sand of a desert, the sky of midday. Just a hint of wildflowers.

Stikine LeConte

Debra Caserotti — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:51:05 GMT

A frozen lake in Alaska with the fiery sky we all have seen in pictures and on the Travel Channel. There are icebergs floating. Both the lake and sky are painted. Crystal beads on the lake that add sparkle. A fabulous heathered hand dyed border.

Roseate Septembre

Debra Caserotti — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:46:00 GMT

When I purchased the fabric for this Art Wall Quilt, all I had was a rosy pink hand dyed fabric, some silk screened pieces, sun dyed leaf blocks and a gray batik. Had no idea what it was to become, so I just started making blocks, cutting strips, squares, triangles. Sometimes my work is created that way. No idea what it is until it's created. Roseate Septembre is Rose September in Italian.

Banff

Debra Caserotti — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:39:21 GMT

Landscape Wall Quilt of the Canadian Rockies in the Banff area. Applique, fusing and detailed stitching. Fabrics range from unusual batiks, hand dyed and the sky is painted. The pine trees on the left are formed and shaped, than fused to the surface for a 3D look. Beading and embellishments throughout.