From studio to shop, creativity fuels Jaden Demarest

Life-size paper dolls in colorful prints fill the spacious Jill Stuart Gallery and a giant praying mantis raises a dignified foreleg. Created by Jaden Demarest, "Without Saying" is a mixed-media exhibit that explores communication through the English and American Sign Language alphabets and insect interactions.

Demarest is a technical services technician in Cornell Human Ecology's Digital Design and Fabrication Studio. D2FS supports teaching and research in the Department of Human Centered Design and across the college through design computing, digital fabrication, and maker services. Facilities include studios for woodworking, electronics, assembly, weaving, photography, painting, laser cutting, and 3D printing. As a technical services technician, she helps people select and operate the correct equipment for the task. She also supports gallery installations, leads training sessions and maintains equipment.

She created the paper dolls for “Without Saying” from photographs of family and friends who each posed to form one of 26 letters of the alphabet. Hands form the corresponding ASL letters. Each features vibrant textures created through cyanotype printing. While cyanotypes are known for their distinctive Prussian blue color, Demarest experimented by printing on colored paper and incorporating natural dyes derived from materials such as beets and black walnuts. She then transformed each piece into a movable paper doll by placing brass fasteners at natural joints. The same technique brings the exhibit’s insects to life. The result captivates with color and texture while encouraging viewers to reflect on the many ways we communicate.

Demarest developed the exhibit last fall and winter for the Ulysses Philomathic Library in Trumansburg, New York. Its second run will be on display in the gallery through September 11.

1. How does your creative practice inform your work in D2FS?

I think it would be difficult to have one without the other. I’m surrounded by innovation each day. I think I’m better at thinking through projects with students because I’m always in a creative mindset. Troubleshooting in my own practice feels like second nature when I've spent my day problem-solving with other people. The students inspire me every day and their drive pushes my creativity.

2. How do you create gallery installations with faculty, staff and students?

The installations were a very attractive piece to this job when I came to work with the D2FS team. I enjoy working with different people and we get to see a project from start to finish.

It usually starts with people bringing us an idea or an already finished project, and then we consider how best to showcase it to the rest of our community. Then there are fine details. For example, if it’s going to be shown in the Jill Stuart Gallery, what do we have to offer? How does the hanging system work? What is the floor plan? Is the display fire code compliant? With those questions answered, I can say to a student: “Yes, you can build that 7-foot wall that wiggles through the gallery. Let’s talk about how to build it.”

3. You mention being a visual learner. How does that impact your work in D2FS?

I’m constantly sketching both in my personal practice or when talking to a student about their work. I think sketching is an important way of communicating. When a student is describing their project, pointing to a sketch often helps something click for the student.

Practically, the shop is a loud place, and we often are wearing ear protection. We rely on demonstrating with our hands, such as holding up a screw to determine the right length for a project.

4. What would you like people to know about D2FS?

We love having conversations with students, staff and faculty, even if they don’t end up making a project in D2FS. Sometimes a conversation will lead them back to the sewing studio and hand-cutting their fabric because that is the best approach.

Sometimes students will come down to D2FS to grease their scissors or adjust the screw. We are here for any type of support, whether it’s fixing a tool or thinking through a process. We just love to see students' projects in the halls and in the studios and to be in the know.

5. What’s your favorite piece of equipment in D2FS and why?

I love the laser cutter. You must design a project in two dimensions and then construct it in 3D. This requires thinking about the joints, whether that is a seam allowance for fabric or a box joint for putting wood together. Students will come to us with a file, and sometimes they are the most bizarre shapes! It may not be until the Cornell Fashion Collective show, when that piece is walking down the runway, that I realize what that funny shape was that I laser-cut.

The laser cutter can accommodate a full four-foot by 8-foot sheet of material. Students are seldom limited in size on that machine, and we see really creative things.

art made from stuffed fabric and cyanotype

Jaden Demarest portait in front of her art exhibit

Jaden Demarest poses in front of "Without Saying," her mixed-media art exhibit. Photo by Marisa LaFalce.

Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that uses UV light. Demarest forages leaves and flowers to create patterns within the medium. Photo by Jaden Demarest.

Jaden Demarest teaches a group of students how to use a 3D printer.

As a technical services technician, Demarest leads training sessions and helps users select and operate the appropriate equipment for their tasks. Here, she teaches students how to operate the 3D printers in dHIVE, a design hub for innovation, visualization, and exploration that features a 24/7 student makerspace. Photo by Marisa LaFalce.

An image from the Without Saying exhibition, shown at the Ulysses Philomathic Library in Trumansburg, New York. Photo by Jaden Demarest.

Demarest’s favorite piece of equipment in D2FS is the laser cutter, a computer-controlled tool that cuts and etches precise patterns into materials such as wood, fabric, and metal. Photo by Darcy Rose.

The paper dolls were created from photographs of family and friends. Karen Steffy and Charles Beach, HCD colleagues, modeled for the dolls in this image. Photo by Marisa LaFalce.