Illinois Central Eight Conference Art students explored the fascinating intersection of art and science in a hands-on workshop tracing the history of drawing machines. Participants surveyed how artists from the Renaissance to today have used optical devices—like the sighting grid, Dürer’s Door, and the camera lucida—to merge technology and creativity. Each student built their own functioning camera lucida drawing machine to take home, experimenting with historical approaches to seeing and sketching. The event offered an inspiring look at how innovation continues to shape the way we draw, imagine, and understand visual perception.