GET INSPIRED
ERIN WILK decided to create 365 handcrafted robots …
Why did you decide to make a Robot a Day?
I was already running a business making purses when I came up with the idea for a robot-shaped pouch. One day, I added a mustache to one on a whim, and I realized that I could just keep adding accessories, forever. Robot a Day was a pretty natural extension of that realization. The easiest way to document the project was through a blog, so robotaday.com was born!
On average, how much time did you spend on each piece?
Most pieces take a few hours to make, but it does really depend on the amount of accessories or clothing I have to make for each bot. Sometimes I have to draft a couple different patterns to get the look I want. Some of the bots have a surprising amount of research in them too. The most time-consuming bot was #298, Baby Bot, where I actually made a real baby and dressed it as a bot. It took months and months to make that one!
What have you learned about yourself in the process of doing this?
It has certainly made me aware of the conditions I work best under, simple things like keeping my studio tidy and organized (I’m really terrible at this), and having a to-do list. Because this was a side project that eventually took over, I really had to plan my time to accommodate my had-to-dos with my want-to-do project.
How has this process affected your creativity?
I’ve realized how inspiration and creativity don’t have to come from a flash of insight, but can be a product of diligence and work. Some of my favorite bots came about because, instead of waiting to be inspired, I spent time doing a bit of research or looking into a topic I hadn’t really explored. Inevitably, these forays led to a bot or three.
Do you think you will ever commit to doing another yearlong project?
I absolutely would; it’s been terrible fun! It’s also just been a great way to expand my sewing skills and branch out into areas that I wouldn’t normally push myself into.
Any advice for people considering starting their own yearlong project?
Having a theme you enjoy and that you can reasonably create is key. I was very familiar with the robot shape, and, having made a number of them, I was confident that one a day was something that I could handle. Even though some of them were more intensive and time consuming, it was an achievable goal.
Nerd Bot, Spectacularly Sleep Deprived Bot, Elvis Impersonator Bot, and Zombie Bot; The Tiniest Bot EVAH Bot!; and Melting Bot, Squashed Bot, and Chest Burster Alien Bot. Courtesy of the artist
When not making an army of wee robots, Erin Wilk likes to read voraciously, drink copious amounts of coffee, and haunt the local thrift shops in search of treasure. She also enjoys pictures of unicorns and puppies, but doesn’t everyone?
Use the world of insects as your inspiration today.
Make something new out of an old T-shirt. It doesn’t have to be wearable when it’s done, but if it is, document it while someone has it on!
Flip to a random page in a book at hand and make something inspired by the first sentence you read.
Write a palindrome. Bonus: Illustrate it!
Create something with the napkin (paper or cloth) that you use at a meal today. Extra credit: Leave it behind for someone else to discover.
Regress. Work as if you were a young child or baby. Use the materials they might have access to and/or with only the skills and abilities they have at that age.
Make something impossible. Can you trick the eyes into believing they’re seeing something that they’re not? For inspiration, look online or at the library for classic optical illusions.
Go to a thrift store and buy something to work with today. Why not give it back to them after you document it?
Have a ball. Make something out of a ball or make a new ball out of something else and then play with it.
Create something in the steam on a bathroom mirror or other steamed-up surface.
Play in the dirt. Go outside and create something in or with the first patch of dirt you can find.
Work with mistakes. Spill some ink, milk, or other liquid and then go from there.
Make a facial expression on your plate from the leftovers of a meal today. Bonus: Get other people to do it too! You can write expressions on slips of paper and have people randomly choose them to make it more challenging.
Work with a few free paint swatch samples found at most hardware stores and use them to create something new.
Paint the town red. Work only with red materials today. Try working on a red surface for a real challenge.
Make something out of toast or bread. You can even make your bread from scratch; recipes are easy to find online or at the library.
Find or buy a kit of some sort (like a plastic-model kit, a craft-making kit, or an electronics kit), get rid of the instructions, and make something that’s not at all like intended result.
Create something using an old map or something that ends up looking like a map.
Go out of your way. Travel somewhere you wouldn’t normally go today specifically to create something inspired by that location.
Make something out of wood. (Any kind will do: twigs, sticks, toothpicks, construction scraps, etc.)
Create an animal that has never existed before.
Make something in a box. (Any type of small box will do: shoebox, cigar box, shipping box, even a small suitcase can work.)
Do something with only tinfoil today. How many different ways can it be used?
Make a working musical instrument. It doesn’t have to look, sound, or work like any existing musical instruments!
Work with or be inspired by an eggshell. If you want to keep the shell intact, make a pinhole in the top and a larger hole in the bottom. Then blow through the smaller hole and aim the bottom toward a bowl to collect the contents (be sure to wash the egg to keep it from getting stinky).
Make something seem like it is passing through a wall or other solid material that it normally wouldn’t or couldn’t.
Triangulate. Only work with triangle shapes today—or make a giant triangle with a bunch of stuff.
Make something that can fly and test it out.
Mail art! Take an existing postcard and alter it, then send it to a random address (or anonymously to a friend), after documenting it, of course.
Write a ten-word autobiography. Bonus: Illustrate it! Extra credit: Make a six-word version and share it at www.sixwordmemoirs.com.
Make a passport, travel poster, monetary unit, or other item for a fictional country or another planet.
Pick a piece of music you love (or hate) and use it as the inspiration for today’s piece.
