Bringing Lines to Life with Light
There’s something completely captivating about illuminating a small light by completing a simple circuit. Something akin to creating fire. Suddenly, by mastering the positive and negative connections to the battery source and completing the loop of a simple circuit, you have participated in something both so profoundly simple, and yet mysteriously complex. Like magic, it seems simultaneously believable and unbelievable. This simple magic will be the core of a forthcoming book residency with 4th graders from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. We’ll be experimenting with Chibitronics LED stickers, conductive copper foil tape, and cell batteries.
In merging the science content of circuits and the art content of creating illuminated images for our books, students will engage in an investigation of understanding line. Through the residencies, we’ll ponder what is created by the line. The driving questions of engagement will center on the following inquiry:
What is a line?
How can we use the line to both draw and illuminate our drawing?
The content of each of the book projects within the residencies will vary, contemplating the diverse range of potential of the drawn line. Beneath the drawings created for the book pages, students will draw additional lines on a separate and hidden page beneath the illustrations with the copper foil tape, making correct all the connections to the positive and negative ends of the battery source, therefore creating a smooth path for the electrons to flow, and illuminate tiny LED lights. The lights will illuminate various and specific aspects of their illustrations from below.
My personal investigations have revealed that one of my biggest challenges will be honing the craft and application of the copper tape. Being a very thin foil weight, it is super easily to crinkle and tear — most especially when making bends and corner turns, which will be necessary for the circuits within the book. Considering line, I think this challenge poses a terrific solution to really invest time into exploring line-making with various foil tapes, where we can build craft through experience as well as test out conductivity of a variety of materials and methods.
I think of the art challenge presented much like Harold and the Purple Crayon, where we can bring lines to life — both through drawing and illumination. Through the opportunity to engage with circuits, I hope the investigation of line becomes a memorable experience for the students who will be able to envision themselves as creators of content, with wide open imaginations about the potential of both drawing and bookmaking, electricity, and beyond.
