The collaboration between the Foundry Art Center of St Charles and MADE Makerspace is a perfect match and on display through May 21st.

The Foundry welcomed art-loving guests with an elegant reception on the evening of March 12 to mark the opening of an exhibit featuring designs by MADE Makerspace artists. Even though the weather was brisk and damp, that didn’t stop a great many admirers from attending the inspiring event. 

MADE Makerspace, near the intersection of Kingshighway and Delmar in St Louis, charges a modest monthly fee to members for access to a host of otherwise wildly expensive tools and equipment for laser cutting, woodworking, sewing, quilting, embroidery, screen printing, welding, machining, waterjet cutting, and 3D printing. They offer comprehensive training on all equipment to ensure safety and confident use of the equipment. 

The MADE at the Foundry exhibition invited the viewer to consider the unique interconnectivity between the creative disciplines mentioned above. Creative works by MADE members and studio artists were handsomely displayed in the brightly lit museum space. The MADE at the Foundry partnership showcases “a strong emphasis on the importance of interactivity, innovation, and community engagement within the creative economy,” states the Foundry website.

Brian Becker, a Southeast Missouri native and entrepreneur, has been a member of MADE Makerspace in St. Louis since their opening in 2018 spending as much of his spare time as possible dreaming up his LitLamp.art creations. Three of his stunning luminescent lamps were displayed at the Foundry reception Friday evening and continuing through May 21st.

Becker said, “I enjoy MADE because no matter what you want to make, they have what you need to make it.”

Becker, who utilizes the laser cutters, paint room, wood shop, and electronics areas for his lamps, turned the MADE logo into a lamp in 2018. Designed by Anna Sher, Becker creatively utilized different materials for each letter: sheetmetal, acrylic, 3D printed plastic and cherry wood. The lamp has 332 Neopixel led lights controlled by an Arduino microprocessor (see how it was made at becker.fyi/made).

MADE logo table lamp by Becker

The Buzzer Beater lamp, a fanciful rendering of a basketball court with a ball swishing though the net (becker.fyi/buzz) was designed and built in 2019.

Becker’s Buzzer Beater LitLamp

His Dance of Freedom lamp, a breaching majestic blue whale beaming in every color of the rainbow in mesmerizing patterns, was created in February 2021 (becker.fyi/whale). Becker takes around 55 hours to design, cut, paint, build, wire and program a lamp.

Dance Of Freedom LitLamp is Becker’s most recent creation and on display at the
Foundry Art Center museum

The symbiotic collaboration between MADE Makerspace and the Foundry Art Center of St. Charles is an enjoyable treat. Becker is one of over 15 different maker-artists whose talent filled the room with treasures of tapestry, metal, acrylic, plastic and wood.

For more about MADE Makerspace visit www.madestl.com
For more about Foundry Art Center visit www.foundryartcentre.org

Becker, “The depth of talent on display in this room is humbling.”

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