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MAKER PROJECT
When I joined the Teach Maker program I had no idea what to expect. Looking back, I'm glad I did, as it provided an opportunity to combine my love of teaching with my love of art and science.
What Exactly is a Maker Project?
A maker project is a final work created by a person, or group of people, as a showcase of the various skills and maker techniques used throughout their experience as a maker. The project can be based off of a persons field of expertise, or it can be themed off a persons interest!
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Maker projects can come in all shapes and sizes, but they all share one thing in common. They demonstrate how each of us have a unique ability to build and create something we deeply love.
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The best part of all is that it is all about failure. That's right, you heard me correct! Although ideally in a perfect world we would all hope for our final project to run smoothly, have no issues, or even be complete, the truth is there are a ton of pit stops and short comings that will come along the way to making it.
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However, the core of being a maker is embracing failure in order to learn and improve. It really is what making is all about. Now onward to the maker project!
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CUSTOM GLOWFORGE JEWELRY
The Beginning of the Maker Journey
When I was younger, my mom had a jewelry set that held all her earrings and necklaces. Being the obnoxious 4 year old that I was, I always played around with it constantly. Although my mom never made jewelry, I always thought it would be pretty cool to create my own, and when I was in elementary school I attempted to make my own anime themed jewelry out of paper. Weirdly enough, I lost interest as I began to explore different avenues of artwork.
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However, along came college, and with that, my introduction into UTeach and the Uteach Maker program. I realized there were many avenues of expression for me as a teacher, and I could express myself through my art. The first workshop I went to was called Mathematical Book Binding which showcased how math could be encorporated with making. It was from this first workshop that my jewelry idea came into fold.
Figure 1: Custom binding book made at my first workshop. It was this book that I did the majority of of my maker project rough draft ideas.
Let The Rough Drafts Begin
During the spring of 2019, I interned at the Foundry, a makerspace at the UT Fine Arts library. It was during my time there that I developed a lesson plan that would have students develop their own jewelry based on specific compounds. I used the booklet I had made from my first UTeach Maker workshop to sketch rough draft ideas. I even decided to purchase my own jewelry set.
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Figure 2: Sketches of rough draft necklaces for maker project and lesson plan
Figure 3: Created CO2 and H2O molecules made by me in Tinkercad
I faced numerous challenges along the way. For example, I had to learn how to create 3D objects with tinkercad, an online website used to create 3D files to print. Although I made several drafts, I realized at times the prints were too small, the ring to hold the molecule were too thin, or the designs I made weren't feasible to print. In addition, I had no prior experience with jewelry sets and had to self teach myself different design techniques.
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However, despite my lack of knowledge of tinkercad and jewelry making, the whole process facinated me. I was able to create my own custom CO2 necklace roughly 2 months after writing out the idea in my maker sketchbook.
Figure 4: 3d printed CO2 necklace
Glowforge: Co.lab Community Makers
For the summer, I decided I wanted to take it a step further. I volunteered at the Co.lab, a safe inclusive maker space in North Austin, where I had the chance to use Glowforge, a laser cutter.
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My mentor Patrick Benfield showed me the basics on how to use it. Most importantly, he showed me a technique that I would later use to customize laser cuts.
To explain, usually when doing a lasercutt, there would be burnt laser marks left on the final design, since the laser has to cut through at high temperatures. To avoid this, Patrick told me I could use tape to make the cuts appear clean with no burn marks!
I then realized I could do something even cooler! By using colored tape, I could keep and remove certain parts, making a cool design!
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Figure 5: Laser cut boxes. The bottom box was the first design showing scorched marks. With tape I could customize the coloring of the box and have the scorched marks removed
Final Touches for Maker Project
After playing around the Glowforge and jewelry sets, I knew what I wanted to create for my final maker project. I experimented with my own drawings, laser cutting designs on wood, and then made custom pendents to use for my jewelry set. I was able to fully experiment with this, and as a parting gift, made a class set for my advisory class for NYOS charater school.
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Afterward, I decided to finally be a bit selfish and make my own custom necklaces and key chains. A made a couple of custom pendants, the majority hand drawn, and wore them to school.
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For the final maker project, I decided to make my elementary dream come true by creating my own custom made NARUTO necklace. Naruto was my favorite anime as a kid and I literally grew up with the character. I felt it would be wholesome to base my final project off of it.
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I thought of a few ideas, and drew several rough sketches. After tedious hours of laercutting, jump ring bending, and finding the right leather material I completed the necklace.
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Figure 6: Disney themed necklace I made for my advisor class for the final day of my intership at NYOS Charter School
Figure 7: Rough draft sketch of necklace for maker showcase
MAKER PROJECT: Naruto Custom Necklace
The final product! The brown leather I felt complemented the wood design quite well. The total length of the string was around 16 cm, however the jump rings gave extra wiggle room.
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REFLECTION & FUTURE WORK
One thing that I wish I had done was draw out each individual image for my maker necklace. I love to draw, but I wanted to get a good feel for making my own necklace before adding my own drawings.
Considering my love of anime, I want to continue to make custom made anime jewelry and probably sell it to donate to the the Co.lab since they are funded only by donations. This wouldn't have been possible thanks to Patrick and his suggestions, and the journey has been an amazing one. Can't wait what the future has in store.
ADDITIONAL MAKER PROJECTS
Custom Popsicle Stick Cup Holders
One of the best ways to encourage class participation is to call students randomly using "stick of fate." To spice things up a bit, I decided to design the cups I held the popsicles with for each period.
Although I never heard it from my students directly, my cooperating teacher told me many of the students loved the design.
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Secret Santa Nail and String Art
For the end of the semester, the teachers at Crockett High School held a secret santa to celebrate the end of the semester. For my secret santa, they stated they liked mountain biking, and so I decided to create this nail and string art for them. I learned how to do nail and string art two weeks prior t a UTeach cohort meeting, so I thought why not make one for him. It turned out pretty well and would like to do something like this for myself in the future.
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Cardboard Cutouts
I had no idea how cardboard could be used in so many different ways! In December I went to Cardboard Cutouts workshop for Uteach maker and it showcased the various ways in which cardboard could be used to create joints or support structures.
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In addition, I also created my own cardboard cutouts showcase for my students to use during student teaching. They picked up the techniques rather quickly and I think it really made a huge difference when it came to adding variety in their projects.