Focus Question:  How can simple circuits add meaning to an image?

I started with an image of me and my mother, and personalized it with a kitchen theme since we bond over cooking together. By adding the circuits, I was able to illuminate the project and further push the idea of a stovetop to symbolize the kitchen. I think light is something we connect with very well, light nourishes and allows us to distinguish our surroundings. Light in LED form is also aesthetically pleasing. This project brought me back to all of the Christmas light festivals I went to when I was younger.

As for the design process…

Ask: I first asked how I could make a tribute to my mother using the materials we had in the classroom.

Imagine: I started to brainstorm and think about all the ways me and my mom connect. The thing that stuck out the most to me was cooking, and how we are always in the kitchen together preparing meals. My mom is an amazing cook and she’s taught me everything I know, so I wanted to show her how much I appreciated her culinary instruction and guidance. Since we needed to use the copper tape as a conductor, it reminded me of a stovetop so I decided to go with that idea.

Build: I started with the placement of the copper tape, and figured out where I wanted my LED’s to go. I also painted on the prongs of the stovetop with brown gouache to practice. I made the paper battery packet but I was having trouble with the negatives and positives and deciding how to connect them. With the design that I had originally, I would’ve had to go through many complicated steps to make the circuit work, but one girl gave me some really good advice and posed an easier and more efficient way of connecting the negatives and positives, so I threw out my original and started from scratch. This was my original.

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Evaluate: At first I had cut out a picture of a mother and daughter in a magazine, but I decided that a real picture of me and my mom together would hold much more meaning. 

This new design worked much better so I made a switch and soldered on the LED’s. I also added gold tempera paint and gold marker for the prongs of the stovetop.

Lastly, I decided to add orange and yellow cellophane to emulate the effect of fire.

Share: We went around and shared our ideas when they were in their beginning stages, so I told the class about my plans and documented the process. I am still trying to get in the habit of taking progress pictures. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re in the zone!