The aim of the project is to develop an idea that can transform an ancient tradition of Romagna into an interactive media design project. I chose to focus on rust prints: decorations on fabrics of different nature, including, in particular, hemp and cotton. Rust printing is a tradition that is lost in time, so much so that it is difficult to find a starting date. In fact, this art was born among poor people who found a way to decorate their household linen with an equally humble tool, rust.
My interest in this kind of art stems from the fact that not many people today know this type of printing process, and outside the area of Romagna is completely unknown. Today there are very few artisans who still cultivate the tradition of rust printing in small and old shops, where they follow the printing process as it happened hundreds of years ago. The oldest shops still have huge wooden wheels driven by the force of man, which were used (and still are) to activate a mechanism for stretching the fabrics.
The development of the idea for the preservation of this heritage was not at all simple: the lack of sources, the silence of the craftsmen not to reveal any secrets, the closure of the only museum that preserves part of this tradition have made it even more difficult to understand how to pass on the tradition and give rise to interest in this type of craftsmanship in the younger generations. In the end, the choice was to develop a gitital animation short film designed especially for elementary, middle and high school children. But not only multimedia innovation: I chose to enhance the pleasure of manual skills with the possibility for users to personally print their own T-shirt and take home a piece of craftsmanship. In this way, the active participation of users is stimulated, allowing them to touch the tools of the printer from Romagna.