Building a drawing bot brought new ways to engage in the design thinking process. This was because, now, we were given a word and we had to use our best efforts to have our contraption model that word. We got a demonstration on how to create a drawing bot, but the demonstration was more so we could understand the technicalities of how to actually make it work. The challenge became how do we make the robot work a certain way. Our word was ferocious so we wanted to have the robot make jagged lines as a symbol of ferocity. That didn’t happen. Rather, it went in complete, perfect, mellow circles. Our revisions were aimed toward creating more friction in the bot to allow it to create more unstable lines. We failed to achieve that effect, and we realized that using the cup as a base and markers for the legs would not allow the flexibility needed to create our desired lines. However through material exploration, and a bit of imagination we stumbled upon a balloon, and decided to blow it up, make a scary face on it, and attach it to the bot for the element of ferocity. All the revisions we were making made the bot look like a creature, so the balloon complemented our process and improvements.

This project taught me how to power a circuit using a battery and alligator cords. I learned how to create a small machine that could create lines through its movement which varied based on our design choices. It was really difficult to find what to connect to the motor to get it to make the bot move a certain way. It was only after looking at the approaches of our colleagues that I learned cool methods of angling the motor, attaching materials with different textures to it, or using different legs to achieve a greater variation of lines. It was really fun to create something in such a short amount of time and have it be able to create art on its own. This first approach allows for more complex solutions and discoveries in the future projects we do in class.

This project demonstrated the importance of risk taking. We didn’t have enough time to really filter our ideas. Instead of figuring out things in our heads, we got our hands moving and started figured out what works and what didn’t. Diving quicker into the practical part of the design challenge resulted in discovering problems early on and developing solutions to them sooner to allow for the most proactive model we could create by the end of the time limit. Even the best inventions require improvements over time. Therefore what we came up with is not the best but it’s the best for the time being. This is important in an art education classroom because it helps students to act on the ideas that are whispering in the back of their minds. Students are not focused on making the perfect product, but one that demonstrates the best of their capabilities for the time being. This way students thrive on their hidden conceptual ideas, and worry less about the perfection of technicality. It’s important to improve technical skills over time; but art thrives more from the concept driven behind it. It’s important to make your ideas now, and develop your skills as you go along in your artistic journey.