One day during class, we explored using mechanical materials. We participated in a crash course of circuits and LED lights, and then took apart a mechanical dog. The dog was from the teacher's assistants previous project, and allowed us to change them however we wanted.
My Process:
We were first asked to take the mechanical dog apart. This way, we were able to figure out how it was put together and how we might put it back together. Once I got the hang of taking it apart, I started playing with the materials to see how I can fit the pieces back together in another way. A classmate of mine was not using the head of her dog, so I repurposed it in my own piece. As my project started to evolve, I recognized the heads on either side of the body as a television character from my childhood, Cat Dog. With this in mind, I decided to create my own Cat Dog toy.
Final Product
A still photo of my fully decorated project
My Reflections:
After doing this project, I have gained a new found appreciation for playing and exploring materials. This had been a crucial part of my making process, without time to get to know the materials I was using, I would not have been able to create my final product. Being familiar with your materials and knowing what kind of potential they have is important because without knowing what you can do, how would one know how they can utilize it?