It’s no secret that animators are a creative bunch. Hidden in the annexes of the animation labs of CDM and the Daley building, animators spend their days working on solo films and shorts. 

That is, until Project Bluelight rolls around. Project Bluelight is the quarter-long opportunity for students to participate in a professional project led by professors. It builds community, fosters creativity, and gives students the experience of working in a tight-knit group as they would in the future. The IRL has seen and supported previous Project Bluelights in its space, with Merry Christmas, Depaul! being its most recent addition.

Merry Christmas, Depaul! is a beautifully animated showcase of the various little oddities and joys of the holiday season, seen through the small moments of several animated characters. Led by animation professors and filmmaking veterans Meghann Artes and Devin Bell, Merry Christmas was made by a team of thirty students over the course of twenty weeks. 

The IRL’s materials and space proved essential for the crew of students. It saw them creating props, sets, and animated tests through its lengthy production time. The unity, togetherness, and creativity fostered by students in the lab brought another welcoming sense of community to the space. 

Student Ariel Reynoso said of her experience in the lab that “I was in the IRL so much it felt like a second home! I worked on a scene that had been planted in one of the IRL animation rooms and it became natural to walk in and work for a few hours at a time. I had only been in the IRL once or twice prior to this project, so I was nervous to walk in and use materials, but the staff was always helpful whenever I had questions or needed assistance.” Student Celina Garduno says “I worked in the IRL a lot for Bluelight. In the IRL I helped Kendrick cut wood for the dancer’s background. We also painted and decorated trees there. Once the trees were set up as well, we did test shots!”

At its core, the Christmas Bluelight exists as an example of the unity and creative dedication of animators at Depaul. The Christmas Bluelight came to a fantastic conclusion with a window display right outside of the Daley building. We are proud to continue offering a space to students at Depaul to motivate making and support our creative community!

Over the last few months, we have watched as businesses quickly shifted from in-person workspaces to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRL was no different. We felt as though we had a responsibility to continue to serve our DePaul community with hands-on projects and virtual activities. Our goal as a team was to create and share resources to keep patrons active during this time of emotional stress and to give them a sense of personal control, which can easily be lost in times like these. 

Upon moving to an online makerspace, we quickly shifted our in-person workshops to at-home kits and livestreams. Our staff helped to create online consulting hours, continued to give people helpful blog posts, and engaged with our community of makers through social media.

Since going online, our lab has written over 50 blog posts with posts ranging from “DIY Flowers” and “How to Budget,” to “What Our Staff Misses Most About the Lab.” We posted a new blog post every weekday so that users would always have content readily available. For our DIYers, we had topics that included at-home projects such as eggshell chalk and barbell weights; calls-to-action through our Illinois PPE Network; and cooking that included bread starters, cookies in a mug, and herby mushrooms over rice. We also had posts about crafts, events, innovation, latest news, resources, self help, sewing, sustainability, technology, videos, and ways to save. 

We also did livestreams every Friday for those who preferred to watch and do instead of read. Our livestreams included pickling vegetables, seed transplanting, seed germination, chair refurbishing, alcohol ink, a Fusion 360 tutorial, and clothing repair. On average, these videos have had 267 views, with our most-viewed live stream being our Pickling Vegetables Workshop with 579 views. 

When moving online, we found that mailing kits to patrons was the best way to bring the physicality of the lab to students’ homes. Our kits were packaged by staff, then sent out to students for them to do themselves. On average, each workshop sent out 13 kits with the most popular kit being the Alcohol Ink workshop with 19 kits. The kits we offered are: Beading, Pickling, Knitting & Crocheting, Basic Electronics, Alcohol Ink, Clothing Repair, and PPE Mask Headbands.

In order to supplement the resources that our staff have been able to provide in person, we created online consulting hours. Students were able to view each of the staff members’ areas of expertise, then email us about anything that they needed: from support on a project to suggestions. They would email us their availability, what staff member they think would best suit their needs, how long they would like to meet for, and finally, their question. Staff would then schedule an online conference with the student to help them in whatever way they can. 

Despite the hardships the Idea Realization Lab has faced with transferring online, we are committed to serving our community through giving our makers access to a plethora of resources both virtually and delivered to their hands.