3/8/2012 Being Innovative

    This week's class was all about using our creativity to actually make adaptations that we could use in real life. We had done research on adaptive art equipment and were given a bunch of random supplies and told to go for it. We adapted pencils, pens, stamps, markers, and scissors. In my opinion, the scissors were the most challenging and the thing I spent the most time on. We wanted scissors that easily sprung back open. The most effective way my group came up with was putting a sponge between the handles. I also tried to model a pair after real adaptive scissors by using a soda cup lid. This ended up making them a little harder to use, but I think with different materials it could have worked. With the pens, pencils, and paint brushes we added things like parts of egg cartons or bubble wrap to make the handles bigger. We also made stampers out of sponges.
    From trying to make different adaptations I learned that you don't need fancy supplies and equipment to make something usable. All you nee is a little effort and a few basic things. You can find anything that you need to make a simple adaptation lying around your house. This week I also learned that while I can start an idea, I might need someone else's help to make it work. This was true of my second pair of scissors. I tried taping part of a cup lid on, but it wasn't working like I wanted it to. Aden, one of my group members, took a look at the scissors and decided that he could help. I was skeptical because I thought the scissors were a lost cause without better materials. He kept working on them though and even though in the end they weren't perfect, it was still worth a try to have someone else work on what I started. Someone else may have knowledge or experience that I don't know about so letting that person share his/her opinion on a project can benefit a whole team. This week I strove for excellence by working on my scissors. Even though I couldn't figure out what I needed to do, I still worked on them to try to make them better.
                                           
    Here's an idea of the scissors that I was trying to recreate. These scissors are much easier to use than regular scissors, and if you haven't tried them, I recommend that you do. I can see how they would greatly help a person with arthritis or anyone who has trouble cutting.