At Miami’s Maker Faire, inspiration will be everywhere.
Can walking down the aisle of an Ace Hardware inspire art? If you are a Maker, you bet it can.
Mohit Bhoite, an engineer, was doing just that when he came across brass rods. He had been following the work of others who were making circuit sculptures and he decided to dabble. Since then he has created more than a dozen sculptures, even a robot that paints with light.
The impressive senior hardware engineer with Particle will be flying in to speak at Maker Faire Miami about techniques, tools and tips for making these circuit sculptures, how a community of these sculpture makers has been growing and how it can be a form of artistic expression for any maker.
Mohit’s favorite sculpture is his Xenyan, a play on Nyan, the cat that shoots rainbows from his butt.
“I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to make that as a robot? So I made this sculpture with a tail light. But if you take the long exposure picture, he can literally paint with light. You can paint characters or graphics in the air. It can shoot rainbows out of its tail. That was a perfect project for me because I could use my background in robotics, my brass sculpture techniques and then I could draw with light. That was the most fun.”
This one was an Insta-fav.
He’s been making these sculptures actively over the last year or so. You can see some of them on his blog and his Instagram.
Mohit is a big proponent of Maker Faires. “It’s almost like going to church but for makers. You feel part of a community with people around you all making things. There wasn’t anything like it before and now it has a massive following.”
He says it is important for kids to see things being made that are not part of a factory or industry. “These are people just making things out of passion. Not everything has to have an occupation. You can be a maker just for the sake of being one.”
Mohit grew up in India and worked for a startup that made robotic kits. He moved to the U.S. in 2009 to get his masters in robotics at UPenn. A highlight of his career has been working at San Francisco-based Particle, which created the only all-in-one IoT platform, for more than 5 ½ years.
“I was the fifth employee and we have grown to 100-plus. It’s an amazing group of people; most of the engineers are remote. We have an office in Shenzhen, China. It’s the mecca of electronics with skyscrapers full of companies selling parts.”
Sculptures give him an artistic outlet, but it was difficult at first and took some unlearning. “As engineers, you are taught to make things efficient, cost effective – just the right way. Creating art is the polar opposite. You are not doing things because it is the right way; you are doing it for the artistic expression.”
When he is not building sculptures, Mohit is building skills in photography, carpentry, machining metal, 3D printing and 3D design. “I feel like in today’s world it is so easy to access tools and knowledge and explore any field of your liking.”
His advice: Get out there. “Now is the best time to be a maker. You don’t need to be solving a problem. Just take up a project, start building it, fail, learn from it, ask questions, join a local maker space if you can – and just keep building. It is the best way to learn.”
Mohit will also be available all weekend at the Particle booth with an amazing technical team from Particle to answer any of your IoT questions
For inspiration, visit the Miami Maker Faire April 6-7. Buy your tickets here.
By @ndahlberg
Why can’t we all be Makers?
Maker Faire Miami is a celebration of the people, tools, and technologies that are creating and reinventing the city. It’s a day to see the entire spectrum of creative energy that is pushing our city forward towards a better future. Be it a new civic project by professionals, a university research initiative, or the casual hobbyist just showing off some new skills — it’s a forum for sharing, learning, and creating new things.
After five years the Maker Faire has grown from a Mini Maker Faire in The Lab Miami to a fantastic international event at Miami Dade College and is one of the top featured Maker Faires of over several hundred across the United States and the world. This achievement is a testament to all of the hard work Ric and the team at MANO have done to date. As the Faire continues to grow and develop, I am proud to take on the role as one of the Producers and help lead the next five years. I decided to take on this opportunity because I see how the Maker Faire, and our local maker community, can play a vital part in shaping a more resilient, inclusive, and prosperous Miami.
As our world rapidly changes with exponential technologies, shifting climates, and new economies — we must prepare our society to harness these new tools to navigate the many challenges and build the right solutions. The digital divide continues to grow, and the cities that succeed in this new world will be the ones that best adapt and actively work on closing that gap — giving everyone the chance to play a role in shaping their futures through technology. Though many headlines may focus on the number of jobs that will be lost to artificial intelligence and robotics, there will be an abundance of incredible opportunities and job titles that we can’t even imagine yet — and if history has taught us anything, it’s that the best way to predict the future is to create it.
So why is maker culture important? Because makers come in all types and styles — they may be inventors, builders, designers, musicians, coders, cooks, etc. but they all share some core values: They are resourceful, lifelong learners, collaborative, problem solvers, and think systemically. These are the skills that will prepare us for a future with so many variables. That is why many companies have begun to prioritize STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics) fields to train their staff — and why STEAM professions are often among the highest paid salaries on average.
My focus in this next chapter for Maker Faire Miami is to spread the maker mindset across the city and to empower people and organizations across South Florida with the resources they need to join the movement. This starts with the students. I have already been hard at work putting together a team that represents a cross-section of these STEAM disciplines to bring their knowledge and expertise to the classrooms and inspire our next generation of Makers. Students will learn valuable skills through hands-on projects, real-world challenges, and with the latest technologies. For high school and college students, we will host meetups and workshops that create informal learning environments where skills can be shared, and projects can flourish collaboratively. For professionals, we will work on building public/private partnerships that include the community in the process for solving some of our cities biggest challenges like sea level rise, transportation, affordable housing, and sustainable urban agriculture.
So this is an open call to all creators — to the teachers, students, and professionals who want to learn, share and collaborate. Showcase your work at Maker Faire Miami. However, beyond the Maker Faire, I want to cultivate the necessary resources year round so reach out with your thoughts and needs. I will be working to connect the tech community and civic leaders in Miami and Broward to create an infrastructure for innovation to help mentor, teach and inspire future makers. Join me on this mission to spread the maker movement and to build the future of South Florida we all wish to see.
Original post From Mario The Maker
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