Ever since I was a little kid, I have always had a passion for art. Whether it was drawing cars, coloring trees, or doodling in class; it was something that relaxed for me and brought me to a peaceful place. As I grew older, I started changing my medium and I wanted to try new things. I went from crayola on paper to clay then finally to woodworking. I first started woodworking when I was around 10 years old when I spent the summers with my grandparents. My grandpa and I would sit out in the barn all day, everyday. He started teaching me the very basics of woodworking. Although I was young and I couldn’t do much in the woodshop, I watched and learned. Year after year, I would spend time with him in the woodshop, slowly learning new skills, working on different projects. Then I started getting tools of my own so that I can build projects after school. Woodworking really hit home for me as it combines a couple of my favorite things, mechanical design, art, and working with my hands. It allows me to not only create something that is useful, but it also allows me to express myself through wood. The first picture is my bar that I made for college. I really like the stained pallet wood in a herringbone pattern. I also added bottle caps that I covered in an epoxy resin to make a hard surface. The second picture is a cooler stand that I made for my Mom. She had been asking me to make her one for a couple of years and I finally came up with a good design that I was happy with. The third picture is cornhole boards I made for my fraternity. I made stencils out of contact paper to add the letters and the owl.
My name is Alex Boggess and I’m a senior studying Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Mechanical Design. At WPI, I’ve taken many art classes but my best work came from my graphic design class. In this class, we learned how to use Photoshop in order to create a magazine about a project that we have done. I enjoyed this class because it gave me some experience in digital art.
My first experience using an Arduino was freshman year in High School where I taught myself how to program, solder, and wire so that I could accomplish my first project. I have fiddled with arduinos in three robotics engineering courses. I have also recently gotten into 3D Printing because I love to design parts in SolidWorks. I hope to make use of an Arduino and my skills in mechanical design to create my light art project.