Gently bend one end of the wire around a handy cylinder of about 1.5" diameter, like this glass spray bottle. Create a bend of about 270 degrees.
Repeat with the second piece, then gently modify the two curves until you can lay them next to each other and get a symmetrical heart shape.
Using your soldering iron, flow solder onto the spots where the rods need to be joined. The technique that works best for you will vary, but here the soldering was performed directly on a silicone soldering mat.
You can use painter's tape to position & hold the rods. Many people find that a Third Hand soldering assistant is also helpful for tasks like this.
Above all, give some time and patience to become comfortable with the techniques and find one that works for you!
Next, cut the remaining 2" piece in half, giving two 1" pieces. Place the GEMMA M0 in the center of the heart, then arrange the short rod pieces so that they touch the heart and reach the "D0" and "D1" pads on the GEMMA. Make everything symmetrical, then solder.
This photo shows the rods on the front of the GEMMA, but flipping the GEMMA over and soldering the rods to the back side of the pads gives a more pleasing result.
If the rods are slightly too long, place the excess on the GEMMA side and carefully trim the excess after soldering. Remember to hold the trimmed end in place so that it doesn't go flying when you cut!
If any of the solder joints are big and blobby, use sand paper to remove the excess material. If an excess of sticky and gummy soldering resin residue remains, remove it with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol.
Put the batteries in the battery case, plug it in, and make sure that the GEMMA M0 powers up and runs the touch reactive program. If it doesn't light, first check both power switches (on the GEMMA itself, and on the battery pack) are turned ON. If it still doesn't turn on, double-check that the batteries are correctly installed. There are small "+" and "-" marks on the inside of the battery case.
To keep most of the battery cable out of the way, you can hot glue it to the back of the battery case.
Assembly complete! Just turn the device on at the battery pack when you want light, and off when you don't. If your hand is touching the wire when you turn it on, the touch sensor may not work properly. Simply press the reset button briefly while not touching the wire to reset and recalibrate the touch sensor.
What's next?
With these basic techniques you can design and build your own Circuit Sculptures. These sculptures can include other circuit elements like LEDs (plain, NeoPixel or DotStar), speakers/buzzers, or really anything that you could connect with wires. For more complex designs, advanced planning and measuring are key to getting the result you're looking for. What will you create?
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