Homework 12-3: Final Project Ideas

For my final project I rolled Robotics, Sculpture, and Justice.

I have begun acquiring materials for the sculpture I am going to create. The idea is based on the large number of unarmed black men that are killed by police officers in this country. 

I need to print or laser cut a few images, and need to get one of the spinning motors from the department. 

Homework 12-2: Physical Computing Research

2) Research an artist who uses physical computing in her practice. Describe what makes its approach particularly creative. 

Homework 12-1: Basic Circuit Greeting Card

I really enjoyed working on this project in class. I think the circuitry can get a little frustrating on occasion and may often require some troubleshooting, so it was very helpful to have the shared studio time to work together on getting each card to light up. I started to work on my card in class and was able to finish it at home. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the photos from my phone and cannot upload them here. I was able to create a Mother's Day card that had five LED lights in a row across the lower middle of the card. I used tissue paper to embellish the lights make them look like flowers. When the lower right corner was pressed, the flowers all lit up. It was a very cute card and a great introduction to circuitry!

Homework 11-5: Response to Student Teachers

I felt the student teachers were a great resource, but would have liked to hear more about how to enact Digital Media lesson plans in the classroom. However, it sounded as if their experience did not really contribute to that kind of discussion. Additionally, the class right before New Media also had visiting student teachers. Many of our concerns were able to be addressed in the previous class, and limited the number of questions we had. Going forward, I would love to hear more about what new media they utilize in the classroom, or what lesson plans they have in mind for their future classes.

Homework 11-4: Lesson Plan

Class Audience: 9th and 10th Grade Foundations Art Class

Lesson Title: "Still-Life In Reverse"

Activity: Using a 3D Printer to create objects based on individual student drawings

Learning Objective: Through using drawings to digitally model objects into a 3D format, students will learn how to understand space and form from the inside out. Students will also be able to explore 3D modeling software, such as Tinkercad, and experiment with potential used for 3D printing. 

Materials: Student drawings, 3D Modeling Software, 3D printer

Motivation: Who here likes drawing still-lives? Do you think you would like it more if you could create your own still life with personal belongings? Do you think you would like it even more if you could literally create those belongings from nothing?  Think about an object you think would be cool or interesting to look at for many hours. Think about the shapes and curves of that object. Think about how tall or short, or how wide or skinny the object is. Is the object stable? Does it need to be propped on something? Now sketch that object. Next we are going to use these sketched as inspiration to create our very own objects in the 3D printer!

Homework 11-3: Blank Assignment

For my blank assignment, I have been working on various items I plan to laser cut. I have not been able to spend time in the studio actually cutting them yet, but I am looking forward to exploring how these images look on various materials. Some of the images I have been working with are artworks of my own, and some are just ideas I would like to see cut. I think there is great potential in the laser cutter and can certainly see how it could be applied to not only my own art practice, but also the classroom. Beyond these images below, I would also like to explore creating original vector cut surfaces, that I could then use as a canvas for painting. 

  

Homework 11-2: 3D Printer Artist Research

Giles Azzara is multi-media digital artist. He began his career as a sound artist, but then moved into sculpture and then 3D printing. He was interested in exploring sound as a visual medium, and created a system that could materialize sound into something one could see. In 2006, he produced his first works of laser engravings of audio clips. More recently, he participated at the first White House Maker Faire (2014) and presented his piece "Next Industrial Revolution." The piece features a 3D printed voiceprint and accompanying audio of President Obama speaking on the future of technology and 3D printing.

Homework 11-1: 3D Printing

I chose to make a miniature sculpture for my 3D print. I would like to imagine that this little figurine is a small scale model of a very large outdoor sculpture. I could see it as a towering stainless steel piece in a park, where people could climb on it trying to make it up to the platform for a seat. 

The actual printing process was challenging at first because I had some issues creating a raft. However, Kwantaeck was incredibly helpful and we were able to print the item together. He was also happy to show me how to change the filament color on the Makerbot. 

Homework 10-4: Blank Assignment

I would actually like to further explore the laser cutter. Although this material was just covered this week, I was not able to cut my image in class and would certainly like to return to the Thingspace to do so. I think there is a lot of potential in the laser cutter, both as its own entity and also in conjunction with traditional or other materials. 

Homework 10-1: Laser Cutter Project

I had a very difficult time getting into the studios throughout the semester due to my challenging work schedule and limited studio hours. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete the laser cut project during the class with Andrew and Sohee, nor was I able to get back to the studio in the following weeks. As a result, I made sure to include something that was laser cut on my final (video below). I absolutely loved using the machine and the quality of the project. I hope to get to the Thingspace over the summer because I would love to go ahead and cut the items I prepared in class, as well as a few additional objects I worked on later in the semester. 

Homework 9-2: Scratch Experience

I have mixed feelings about Scratch. Firstly, I love that it is a free program that can introduce children to programming. I can certainly see how Scratch can be a stepping stone for more advanced computing programs, as well as just sparking a child's interest in programming. I also appreciate how easily Scratch lends itself to exploration. A student can easily try out a variety of sprites or actions with just a few clicks, and the ability to instantly preview the video is quite satisfying. However, I did not actually enjoy using the program as much as I had hoped to. I found myself becoming somewhat frustrated or unhappy with the quality of the product. I imagine these feelings would dissipate over greater use of Scratch, but unfortunately I am not very excited to return to the program.

Students would be able to use Scratch in a classroom by creating a game of their own. Although I was not very interested in the game myself, I certainly think it would be a great additional to an elementary art classroom. I also think Scratch could be applied in a more complex way at a high school level. Students would be able to create a variety of interactive videos that could potentially be used in a collaborative public artwork.

Homework 9-1: Scratch Animation