I grew up in Minneapolis and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I still believe that the people are the nicest in the world, and that it’s a fantastic place to live. I didn’t, however, realize how much of a maker town it is.
Making is as much about exploring as it is about building. Exploring new ways of problem-solving, understanding how things are made, how machine components fit together. And this week, for me, about exploring new tools.
Makers amaze me. I’m always in awe of how many different projects they seemed to be juggling at once. As soon as you dig into a conversation, you can usually uncover about five more that they’re mentally planning. Show them a new tool and you’ll get a list of new applications and experiments they can use it for.
Then, SNAP! Andrew and I both jumped as all of the cameras shuttered simultaneously. That was it: quick and painless. I took my turn in the chair, and remained unphased as the simul-shutter snapped my photo….later that night, I had a 3D model of my head swirling around on my iPhone screen.
Learning how to program Arduino was a must-do for my Zero to Maker process. For a beginner like me, this turns out to be an easier thing to say than to do. I wanted to learn it right and really understand what I was doing, which meant – and I’m really going to expose the Zero in me here – starting with basic electronics: soldering, circuit testing, and understanding fundamentals like Ohm’s Law.
When I started this Zero to Maker journey, I was inspired by the idea that I could become a self-made industrial designer – that I could bypass an expensive education by learning only what I really needed to get started. Now that I’ve started down the road, I’ve realized that it’s a very long road. The good news is that I remain committed to my initial belief that there’s a less expensive (and faster) way to learn: through a strategic blend of internet resources, access to the right tools, and involvement in a community of like-minded makers. Most important for me, however, has been the commitment to trying to figure out and examine more of what I don’t know.
In my last post, I heralded the underrated benefits of analog drawing and why I think it’s the perfect gateway to making. The post was not, however, meant to take anything away from the incredible benefits of computer-aided tools. In fact, after last night’s ShopBot class at TechShop, I have an even higher respect for how amazing computer-based tools can be.
