Idea Prototyping : Class Profile
The Idea Prototyping class is offered to both MFA Design Technology (DT) students along with the Juniors and Seniors of BFA Art Media and Technology (AMT). AMT Junior Mayomi Basnayaka tells us about her experience in the class.
This class is taught by James Auger and in this class we we learn how to make – literally. James is very open to teaching us anything we want to learn. He helps us develop from concept all the way to the physical object. So far we have had a class on casting and woodwork, but we are also able to discuss any technical or conceptual problems we face in our other courses such as studio or lab. James gives great advice on how to solve these problems while making it interactive. For example, I wanted to know how to cast a couple objects for another course. After James showed us how to cast different objects, we were each assigned to figure out how to cast the objects that I needed to be casted. Other students would learn how to solve the problem through teaching them back to me.
In this class we not only learn from the professor but we learn from each other. As there are students from many different levels, and two different majors, it is a great way to spread our knowledge. As a Junior AMT student myself, I definitely appreciate the perspective of the DT students, as they know much more than I do on the technology front, and are more than willing to help me.
We are currently in the process of reinventing the mouse trap. We use the skills that we have already learned, yet are not afraid to try new things. Some of my classmates are trying to use Drones and Arduinos in their mouse traps, while others are focusing on a short film of the trap they made. We first developed our concept and are now working on building them. Throughout this semester-long project, we have visited and had workshops at the TechLab and the Reserve des Art as a way to help us get inspired for our mouse traps.
I am very happy to be a part of this class, as it has given me the much-needed hands-on experience that I need as an artist.