Video of gift in motion and reaction from mentor to receiving the gift
Project Statement
I created a gift for my mentor that targeted some of her interests, such as cars, Japan, stick shifts and anime. I made an automata as the container that holds the samurai sword as the gift and as she pulls the quote inside it spins the gears (cam shaft lobes) inside and makes the sword move up and down. My goals were to take multiple of her interests and find a way to compile them all into one gift, as well as make the project something that she can touch and play with. I believe that the outcome was very successful in that it used many of here interests to create a gift that came together nicely and did not seem forced. It also successfully worked well as an automata with the quote being somewhat blended into the rest of the pieces inside, and the sword especially worked out well since it could be taken out and was “very satisfying to hold and play with” -Jackie (my mentor).
Process
View detailed project process at Gifting Design: Process
Reflection
The biggest lesson I quickly learned is that it is not easy to come up with my own mechanism and that I should first try to learn from others so that I can become better. I also learned other things such as sanding an object and being extremely careful because you cannot add material back, supporting an object so that it can move with smoothly, a new way to stabilize a structure, how to connect cylinders to a dowel rod securely, and even how to let go of an idea. I was able to overcome a total redesign with very limited time and having to cut most everything by hand, I also overcame being stuck on one idea and moving on to another. During this process I discovered how to create an automata and how to tailor a gift for someone else, a client, after learning about them and researching. I also discovered that the more fun I have with creating, the better projects will likely turn out.