Hi All,
I’m Isaiah! While I may be pursuing a career in engineering, I’ve always had an artistic side. I’ve enjoyed drawing and making clay sculptures since I was a little kid, but I’ve never taken it too seriously. I took a few art classes in high school, ranging from digital art to darkroom photography. I truly enjoyed these classes and the reprieve they offered from my other courses.
During my time at WPI I’ve had a chance to really focus on developing as an artist through art classes and some work outside of school. I’ve been able to strengthen my drawing skills through Essentials of Art and my Digital Art skills through Digital Imaging and Computer Art. I also had the privilege of combining these skills in 2D Animation I, which was an awesome experience. Animation was a very time-intensive course, but it was a great feeling to produce work that took my interest in drawing and made it into a living digital work. Beyond courses at WPI, I’ve been slowly developing my skills as a photographer. The darkroom class in high school really piqued my interest for the medium, and I’ve been flipping the shutter on my camera ever since.
On the other side of the coin, I’ve had a great deal of experience with programming and tech in general. I’ve used Arduinos and Raspberry Pi’s in numerous personal and WPI-related projects. Most excitingly, I’ve had the pleasure of working to design and program autonomous mars rovers as a member of WPI’s rocketry team. I also have experience with C++, MATLAB, Python, and JavaScript through courses at WPI and my summer internships.
In addition to the arts mentioned above, I enjoy woodworking quite a bit. I take a pretty modern approach to the craft, utilizing computer software and laser cutting on some projects. Others take a more traditional tone, such as turning pens on a manual lathe and carving a key holder from a block of hardwood. I also enjoy carpool karaoke with friends, especially when the soundtrack to Mama Mia comes on.
My artistic interests span a wide breadth of mediums, which reflects my creative inspirations. I’m inspired by many people and ideas, most prominently my family and nature. My grandfather began making sculptures from manila folders when he was 84, proving it is possible for an old dog to learn new tricks. My father has spent countless hours with me in our garage, building functional and decorative objects with various mediums. Further, the sheer power and scale of nature has always been an inspiration. I had the privilege of visiting Yosemite National Park this summer, and it proved to be a truly awe-inspiring experience. Looking up at the rock faces 3,000 feet above my head gave me a new view on the world around us and its enormity. I’ve tried to capture the feeling with photos, but it’s been hard to capture such a powerful feeling into a collection of pixels.
One of the most important skills in engineering is creativity. The ability to approach a problem and come up with an elegant solution is extremely valuable. Art reinforces and builds creativity, thereby making me a better engineer. My goal when creating art is to strengthen my right brain to make myself a better engineer. I strive to make the world a safer place through my work, so any ways I can improve are extremely important to me.
Below are some of my recent projects. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of the physical pieces with me at school, so I wasn’t able to get pictures for this bio.
