Tinkering
“projects, passion, peers, and play. In short, we believe the best way to cultivate creativity is to support people working on projects based on their passions, in collaboration with peers and in a playful spirit.” - Mitchel Resnick
My free time is filled with different types of tinkering and making activities- both for fun and to prepare for teaching. Here are some of the projects and experiments I've done:
Cardboard
Cardboard is by far my favorite material to construct with- it's readily available, cheap, and easily moldable. So most of what you see here contains cardboard. Some have been upgraded to include technology in different ways.
Backgammon/Checkers Board
I think I spent about 25-30 hours of work on this one. Growing up in Israel, I spent many hours and days playing this game. Living in Ethiopia, I felt like my life is incomplete without my own board!
Mobile: The Joker
Mobiles are a wonderfully delicate way to create balance. Inspired by Calder's ingenious creations and Picasso's perspective portraits, I made this one to marry the two together.
Game: Cribbage
While "stuck" on Zanzibar island for COVID, an acquaintance had a small Cribbage board. With lots of time on my hands, I went to work...
Game: Connect 5
A friend came over with a super fun new game. And left with it... So I made my own.
App Design
Poetry App:
Although I built some apps during my MA studies back in 2015, I finally found a good reason to explore new and exciting platforms and create some more meaningful ones.
I made this family poetry anthology for my partner's family. Some day it might include one of my own poems too... 😉
Makey Makey
Marble Maze: A cardboard construction connected to the Makey Makey. When the conductive marble hits particular contact points, the player earns or loses points.
Musical Instruments: Playing around with cardboard, here are a couple of musical instruments connected to the Makey Makey, and programmed using Scratch to play particular notes and sounds when contact points are pressed. Still looking to collaborate with other willing to create a Cardboard Makey Makey band!
Laser Cutting
Baobab LED
A goodbye gift to my intern, I drew this Baobab tree using Adobe Sketch (an iPad app) and then I laser cut & burn it on wood. The perfect departure gift!
Tanzania Nightscape
Leaving the incredible country of Tanzania was hard. I made this departing gift to a colleague (and made one for myself...)
Game: Quoridor
I initially build this game out of cardboard, but with all the loose tiny little square pieces I needed a new plan. With my laser cutter, wood glue and some paint, I achieved my goal!
MDF Mandala Earrings
This project was a lot of fun not only because of the final product, but mostly because it was so much fun to design these intricate geometric patters!
Electronics and Circuitry
My father's primary job was an electrician. Growing up, I did not have much interest in his work. Becoming a design teacher, I regret every moment I spent away from him. So now I'm on my own creation-with-electricity journey. Still at its infancy, I plan to combine lots of materials, circuits, and programming into my projects.
Interactive Art:
Added some LEDs and a switch to this collage. Next step- add a motion sensor. When it senses movement, the lights go on and a voice calls the viewer to come closer. Some day soon this will be completed...
LED Peace Lamp
Playing around with different LEDs and acrylic engraving, this little lamp came to life...
Baby Mobile
A little gift for friends' welcoming of their new son. MDF, laser cutting/engraving, string and a dash of paint in a box.
LED Night Light
When you discover laser engraving on acrylic, there's nothing you can do about wanting one to stare at. This night light has a laser-cut box with carefully placed LEDs and a switch to lighten up the mandala (and other images)
LED Baobab
Living, working and traveling in Africa means you're going to be amazed by the majestic beauty of the baobab tree. With an LED randomizers and lots of rope over a discarded coffee can, I made one to soothe our evenings.
LED Blob:
When I first saw this blob floating online, I knew I'd need to have my own blob to cuddle with. I loved the meditative knitting work involved.
*Original by GeekMomProjects
Low-Poly Vector Drawing
Low-Poly Vector Drawing:
Much more time consuming than I first thought, using Google Drawing to manually convert a regular image into a low-poly can be pretty cool!
Other Fun Stuff...
