Making together. · Xingting Wu

An invitation to make.

Crafting offered a way to begin with familiar interests and tangible materials. Residents and staff took part in making nature-inspired decorations and figures, with the possibility of displaying contributions outdoors.

The research explored how digital fabrication tools, including a Cricut and laser cutting, could help prepare materials for shared making. The design work involved both preparing the activity and adapting it to the people taking part.

Illustrated sequence of technology demonstrations, shared making and outdoor connections — An illustrated overview of crafting activities and their connections with the garden.

A place at the making table.

Paper flowers offered an early way to try the prepared shapes together. Residents selected colours, folded and arranged pieces, and combined their flowers in a shared composition.

A shared Cricut crafting workshop with residents seated around a table of paper materials — Trying out paper shapes together at the Cricut crafting workshop, August 2024.

A resident cutting along the drawn outline of a paper flower — Cutting out a flower shape during the paper-crafting workshop, August 2024.

Hands arranging colourful paper flowers on a shared board — Different colours, folds, and arrangements in the paper-flower composition, August 2024.

The photographs follow the work in someone’s hands, from cutting a drawn outline to arranging flowers in a shared composition.

Before the workshop.

I prepared the making activities by testing paper shapes with the Cricut and developing wooden parts for laser cutting. At the university makerspace, the designs moved from Adobe Illustrator files to physical pieces that could be handled, assembled, and decorated.

Xingting Wu working at a laser cutter in Swinburne ProtoLAB — Preparing materials at Swinburne ProtoLAB. Still from an original preparation video, 2024.

I also recorded the laser-cutting process and shared it during the workshops, so participants could see how the materials were made.

Cutting layout showing Nativity figures, animals, slots and bases — A Nativity cutting layout with figure outlines, slots, and separate bases.

Explore the making process

Make the material easier to enter.

Early Nativity models involved multiple interlocking pieces. Handling and fitting these parts could make assembly difficult. Staff suggestions and observations during sessions informed a simpler approach.

Participants assembling wooden sheep models at a table — Early assembly work illustrates the handling demands of a multipart model.

From observation to a design change

The sheep was simplified to a body shape and two leg pieces. Other figures used an outline and a base. This shifted attention toward decorating and personalising the objects.

Reducing assembly demands did not mean deciding the decoration for participants. It created more room for different choices of colour, texture, and character.

Each figure, a personal touch.

Drawing and colouring happened directly on the wooden forms. Markers, fabric, wool, and feathers offered different ways to add details: a face, a pattern, a coat, or a bright yellow star.

Xingting Wu working beside a resident as she decorates a wooden Nativity figure — Working side by side on a Nativity figure, November 2024.

A resident adding colour to a wooden Nativity figure at a table of craft materials — Adding colour and details to a Nativity figure, November 2024.

A resident drawing green details on a wooden animal with a marker — Adding hand-drawn details to a wooden animal, October 2024.

A resident colouring a wooden star yellow with a marker — Colouring a star for the Nativity display, November 2024.

Even when people began with similar wooden shapes, the decorated figures looked different. These details keep individual contributions visible within the shared display.

Two residents seated with their differently decorated wooden animals — Wool, cloth, and drawn details give the wooden animals their own character, October 2024.

Let contributions travel outdoors.

Crafted objects became part of garden-bed displays. The outdoor setting offered a place to encounter the results of earlier making and to share them with other people.

This raised questions about visibility and recognition: where should a contribution be placed, how can someone see it, and what makes a display worth returning to?

A resident leaning over a garden bed to arrange the Nativity setting — Arranging the garden-bed setting, November 2024.

A resident holding a decorated wooden camel outdoors — A decorated figure out in the garden, December 2024.

Design reflection

The relationship between making an object and later encountering it matters. Materials, placement, and staff collaboration all shape that connection.

What this opened up.

The crafting study drew attention to material accessibility, staff collaboration, and the value of keeping contributions visible. The gardening study then explored participation through living plants, care, and change over time.

Continue to Our Garden

Makingtogether.