Recycling Bin Drawing Machines

This is a great clean out the recycling bin type of project- you can use just about anything. The only thing you really need are dollar store electric toothbrushes, and if you plan ahead you could use an old electric toothbrush that really was destined for the trash. The toothbrushes are a simple way to get a motor for your drawing machine. If you are working with older children, you can also build more complex motors from electrical components, but the toothbrush does the job nicely. So what is a drawing machine and why would you want to build one? In contemporary art, a drawing machine is defined as any sort of apparatus that assists or replaces a human in drawing. Artists have lots of reason for making drawing machines, for one thing one they are fun! Sometimes the artist is making a statement with a drawing machine, sometimes they are really interested in the drawing material or the method of making more so than the final product. I love making these strange little robots with children because they are always delighted to see them wobble around and make a drawing. The picture above is from a birthday party where we spread out a giant piece of paper and kids and machines all drew together.

Recycling Bin Drawing Machines

Now that you’ve seen some artist examples of drawing machines, it’s time to try to make one of your own! The reason that we use a toothbrush as a motor is that it wobbles back and forth. As long as you don’t make your machine super heavy, it will wobble whatever you attach if to back and forth too, this will in turn move your drawing tool on the paper. I’m not giving a ton of directions here because there is no “right” way to do this, use your imagination and experiment!

Materials:

• recycling bin materials: plastic or paper cups, plastic bottles, small cardboard boxes or scraps, old cds, berry baskets, anything that is light and would otherwise be thrown away is worth a try
• dollar store electric toothbrushes (or recycled ones) I like to cut the brush part off but it’s not necessary.
• drawing tools: markers, colored pencils crayons, whatever you want
• connectors: duct tape, rubber bands, glue etc.

Method:

Experiment with different ways to connect your materials and different ways to construct your drawing machine. The only “rules” are that

1.) your drawing materials have to make good contact with the paper. This is easiest if they point down, but not the only way to do it. (This about the charcoal ball in the artist examples)

2.) You have to think about where to attach your toothbrush so that it wobbles the whole machine around. It will move differently if you place it in the center than if it’s hanging off to the side. Try it in a few places before you commit.

If you want to start with the most basic configuration, turn a cup or bottle upside down, attach 3 or 4 markers to it with tape, stick the toothbrush right in the middle and attach with glue. After you get this basic structure down you can experiment with different configurations.