Momo

Momos are a popular Tibetan food. My mom especially makes the BEST momos. However, I've had a rocky relationship with Tibetan food. Growing up in Eugene, Oregon as an introverted Tibetan girl, among a great white sea of hippies, old conservatives, and angry football fans, I learned to ignore and disguise the parts of myself relating to my own history and culture for the sake of blending in. This resulted in me settling for stale burgers and old chocolate milk instead of bring my mom's home cooked foods to school.

It was after coming to Berkeley and meeting folks of the larger Tibetan community here in the bay, as well as joining other communities all focused on deconstructing and learning about ourselves and each other, that I started to really explore the various aspects of my own identity.  Thus I chose to 3d print a momo, with my name specifically in Tibetan on it, to signify the ownership I've taken in claiming the parts of myself that I was taught to overlook.  

I got the stl file of the momo online, and then used Fusion 360 to add and extrude the Tibetan text, and added a torus to the top.  I faced a few challenges, from forgetting to heat the bed, to not adding enough glue to the bed, to the printer just printing incorrectly possibly because the pla material was very old (seen in above image).  After a few failed attempts however, my momo finally printed successfully.

I plan to put a string though the hole and hang it over my window.  Luckily for me, I live down the street from Momo Masala on Hearst Avenue, so I anticipate that my visits there will increase once I start waking up to my momo everyday.