How are tools made? How were they made in the past? How could one make their own tools? These were some of the guiding questions that had shaped my Capstone. I set out to make some of the common tools that we take for granted from scratch. These tools being a flat head screwdriver, a Philips head screwdriver, and a claw hammer. I made these tools through a combination of blacksmithing and woodworking. While these seemed to be very simple tools, they still took hard work and plenty of sweat to make. Rather than the easy practice of making a model in cad and having some machine make it for you, these tools had to be forged from the ground up. The process started with identifying which tool I was going to make and what it had to do. Then I had to research designs for that tool and start work on my own design. After finishing a design, I would prototype and modify the design and finally make a finished product. However, while I was used to the practice of blacksmithing, there was still much I had to learn in order to make these tools. For example, to make the hammer I had to learn how to weld because I didn’t have tongs that could hold the large piece of steel. The purpose of making these tools was to inspire thought on where tools come from, and thus the tools I made will be donated back to the school.

Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F-OMBacHPXgmXZGHgseAX5k5KyShAZY0fBOekSneXhU/edit?usp=sharing

My Capstone is a 50 page book documenting my 4 years at SLA through a mental health lens. I collected artwork, writing, and pictures that I felt best represented my experiences, and created new work to help tell the story. My goals in mind were:

1. Create a piece of work that helps people who are struggling find hope.
2. Create a resource for people to better understand how depressed people view the world.
3. Create a body of work that allows me to view the progress I’ve made over 4 years.

In the end, I created a project I’m not even comfortable with people reading, which I hope encourages people like me to open up about their experiences too.