Making as a form of knowing
Conducted as a doctoral case study and developed through an NSERC Engage research collaboration with Carleton University and Maker Junior, Bendables investigated tangible electronics, playful invention and creative learning with children.
Participants experimented with craft materials, simple circuits, bendable components, drawing and embodied improvisation to explore ideas and make interactive artefacts. The study offered an opportunity to observe how movement and making can support creative exploration, shared understanding and reflection.
The investigation contributed to the development of the RePlay framework, particularly its attention to embodied externalization: making ideas visible and shareable by acting them out and working with physical materials.
Revisiting Bendables with AI
More recently, I revisited the Bendables concept using AI-assisted visualization to explore how its sensory and modular qualities might be developed further. These images extend the visual design language of the original project but are not photographs of fabricated or tested new products.
Future investigation could involve computational modelling, prototyping, and studying how AI supports the situated problem-solving involved in fabrication and creative learning, rather than substituting for it.
