For this assignment, I made an alligator-bear-puppy monster thing yawn. I wanted the creature’s mouth to be closed all the time, and sometimes it opens, so it looks like its yawning. I will have to rethink the way things are placed and assembled. Right now, it looks more like the creature is closing its opened mouth. I was also expecting the mouth to close completely, but it didn’t. Additionally, I think I will need to be more careful about which resistors I use in the future. The resistor I used was too small and ended up getting burnt out.

I made my speakers on calligraphy paper with copper tape. The first one I made was the one on the bigger sized paper with a small circuit. The second one was the small paper with circuit to almost the edge of the paper. The last one I did medium sized paper with the circuit very, very close to the edge. I wanted to see if there would be a difference in the sound if I made the circuits all different sizes using the same materials. I experimented with different sizes of paper, copper tape, and circuit.

Here are the four connectors I made:

I made two with the clips because I realized that the first one I made was too short. The last connector I made was a battery connector. I feel that this one will be one of the most useful connectors I will use. It’s always a pain to use alligator clips and a battery holder when prototyping, and to have a more secure battery connector will be helpful.

I would classify my practice as storyteller, maker, learner, and educator. 

Growing up, I really loved cartoons. I loved watching cartoons, drawing cartoons, and reading about cartoons. Because of this, I went on to study animation at Massachusetts College of Art. Every project I make has some sort of a backstory or story element to it. It makes sense for me to make projects with stories.

Having taken Physical Computing my last semester, I realized that I really loved making physical things. With the projects I am working on now, I am trying to bridge the gap between the 2D realm and the physical space.

Lastly, I think being a learner and educator go hand-in-hand. I consider myself an educator because that is one of the reasons I came to DT, I want to teach in the future. Having taught Bootcamp this summer, I found that I actually learned a lot as I was teaching. I think that as educated members of society, it is our duty to share the knowledge that we hold, and to pass on our skills to those who are willing to learn.

My favorite tool is my sketchbook and pencil. I think I am cheating a little by saying these two things, but I consider them as one. My sketchbook is where I keep track of all the ideas and thoughts that I have. Without my sketchbook, I would not get very far- I would just forget everything.

This week, I decided to try knitting. This process was very frustrating at first. It took me 2.5 hours to get the first row done. Then, of course, I had to leave to work on something else. So, by the time I got back to the knitting later in the day, I had lost my flow, and had to start from scratch. The second time didn’t take me as long to get started, though.

I got frustrated the first time around because I kept messing up and restarting. The second time around, I just worked through the mistakes. I found that the mistakes weren’t even very noticeable in the swatch itself, and if you’re not looking for it, you can’t even find it.

if someone wants to try knitting, I would tell them to make sure they take cramps. This exercise was very strenuous for my hands, and they kept cramping up. Also, I would say to just keep knitting even if you make mistakes. They’re really not that big of a deal.