The “Create + Connect Vending Machine,” formerly known as “Art at Convience” is a flat tattoo/sticker vending machine that has been repurposed to be used as a machine that dispenses “trading cards” and other collectibles created by students, alumni, and faculty at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, PA.
This machine was created with support from The Academic Media Center on the RMU campus, through a scholarship and creative partnership with various faculty members and students. In the full scope of the project, there is a repainted and decorated machine, a handbook that will give support to students who carry out the project, and a website that provides a place for information, contracts, and where users will submit their personalized cards that are print-ready.
Machine Purpose
Inside the machine, there are cardboard sleeves that will contain a “trading card” that will have RMU student art on the front, and their information, such as social media, name of the piece, and any other information they would like to share. There can also be extras, I have been calling “goodies” which can consist of stickers, business cards, notes, doodles, etc. Truly, anything that can fit into the cardboard sleeve and not jam the machine can go into the card. (With discretion)
Choosing to present the student artwork this way allows students to create a personalized spread of thier work and present it in a fun and meaningful way. Being able to share thier abilities like this not only makes it easy for them, but easy for users to get a lot of new artists and pieces of art!
To run tests on the mechanical functions of the machine, as well as to receive public feedback, the machine was filled with various stickers created by my peers and me at Robert Morris University. This testing has taken place during a tabling event at the University of Pittsburgh and at one of the senior shows at the RMU campus.
The biggest and most productive testing took place during the Whealthy Media Arts Gallery, 2025 Senior Gold Show. Many of my peers, professors, and faculty members were present, and excited to test out the machine – and receive free stickers!
One of the tasks of creating this project was to support longevity and further versions. A handbook was created with all the notes, machine specifications, and materials used. By the end of my senior year, this May, the book will be published as part of my honors capstone.
While this is by far one of the largest projects I have created, it had many moments when it was hard to tell what was going on and why I had the machine. But I was eager to show the public both on and off campus what I was doing, and get user feedback. The first experience was during a creative fair at the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. This event was called C4CCF, or the “Center for Creative Creators Fair”. The machine has also taken part in an event on Robert Morris’s Campus, which was the “Spring into Success, Student Fair,” where I presented a poster and was able to meet with students and faculty not in my major.
Through the RMU Academic Media Center, I was also nominated to receive an even greater stipend of money to support the machine, and I received the title AMC Transformative Creativity Fellow!
Creative Process
I first got the machine back in the fall of 2024. I wanted to solve the problem that creative students have when it comes to networking.
What I achieved in my first year of having the AMC Scholarship:
- Repainted the machine Lavender Purple
- Applied Vinyl decals on the machine body
- Tested the mechanics 2x with the Pitt Event and RMU gallery show
- Received Alumni and Faculty Feedback
- Pitched the machine concept to RMU faculty
- Filled the machine with stickers for testing 2x
What I have achieved so far, 2025-2026, with the AMC Scholarship:
- Was accepted by the RMU Honors committee to have the machine be my Honors Capstone Project, with a “handbook” deliverable.
- Working on a 3D model for coins to be used instead of real quarters
- Developing a website to collect student submissions
- Received feedback from Alumni and Faculty after rebrand
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