The speaker discusses their experience with graphics programming in Python on an embedded microcontroller. They were inspired by the electronic event badges given out at EMF camp and wanted to experiment with the new device's capabilities. They were able to draw 3D shapes slowly but improved performance by rewriting critical math functions in C and implementing optimization techniques. The final result was a satisfactory framerate that could potentially be used for simple 3D games or home automation interfaces. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of getting involved with projects like MicroPython in order to identify and overcome limitations.