LUMINAIRES

Our project now (due at the end of November) is to make a luminaire based on our light phenomenon from the earlier project. This is the picture I'll be basing my luminaire off of. 

I looked around on Google for light fixture ideas and I found some of Vicente Garcia Jimenez's work.

I'm thinking about using the layering of strips technique he uses and making a table lamp. I want to leave gaps so that you can still get a peek of the light (like you can still see the sun through the blinds) but I don't want to leave too much space so its blinding either. We'll see what comes of this...

LIGHT: the natural agent that makes things visible...a source of illumination (Webster)

Using flashlights and torches to create amazing "Lightmarks" Cenci Goepel and Jens Warnecke bring a new definition to light photography. They create these "Lightmarks" in different places in nature, almost contributing to the landscape itself. I know that they experiment with different apertures and camera settings (details are hard to find...on their website they only include a picture of a camera and its settings under the "making of" tab) but what I find to be the most fascinating and intriguing part of their works is the simplistic beauty that they create. The "Lightmarks" don't take away from the beauty of their environments, they only enhance them and add a new element to them. The pairs work can be compared to that of Taylor Pemberton, Lapp Pro, Toby Keller, and even Pablo Picasso. 

website: www.lightmark.de

Pemberton

Pro

Keller

Picasso

WHAT TO DO WITH A 2x4?

The next part of our final project was to familiarize ourselves with the wood shop. We were given a 18 inch long 2x4 piece of wood and were told to cut it at least 5 times in the shop and then reattach the pieces without glue or nails. This caused us to think about joinery and how we'd connect our pieces. After finishing this project, I feel like I could build something way more important. Watch out world, Anna Hambly knows how to use a table saw.

This was my first attempt...a puzzle-like, linear system. The pieces could be rearranged in different ways to make the piece look different.

The different heights and lengths were really interesting to me.

I liked the fact that one could rearrange the entire piece...but it was my first attempt and I really wanted to get the craft right. 

So I made the wood thinner and cleaner-looking. 

The new piece can be tilted in different directions but the pieces aren't able to be rearranged like the first one...mostly due to the different widths that resulted from cutting. I kind of like it better that way, though. Different widths contribute to the different sizes, heights, and arrangements of all the pieces and they really come together to make up one big piece.

Originally I arranged the piece to look this way but I liked the fact that it was able to stand up on its own as well. It's more attention-grabbing that way. I think I plan to put it on a wall somewhere...

SOLAR PHENOMENON

For project 3 we were told to observe and capture a solar phenomenon. This could be anything from the sun shining through trees to light reflected off of a puddle. I took lots of options and on my way to plug my camera into the charger I came across the sunset peeking through mini blinds. I thought it was interesting and knew my camera was pretty good at capturing the whole moment...the sun, the blinds, the dust, the detail of the strings...etc. The picture turned out pretty well.











Then we had to do a drawing of the moment as well as a diagrammatic model of it. I drew a simplified graphite version of the blinds and used color pencil to show how the sunlight took them over. I also researched finding the placement of the sun at a certain date, time, and place. Measuring the two different angles (azimuth and altitude) one can find exactly where the sun was at a certain time. I included this on my board. For my model I made my own mini blinds using reflective paper and string and i found a small one-watt bulb to poke through the board to make my own sun.

If I had the chance to do it again, I'd make the picture and the model the main focuses. The blinds would be longer and the picture would be bigger, commanding more attention. I wouldn't have a title-the picture speaks for itself. The diagram and the drawing would be placed elsewhere...The whole composition would just look better. However I'm not upset with how it turned out.

PICTORIAL DRAWINGS

This is just a taste of what we've been doing in our design visualization class...

First, we practiced working with the different types of pictorial drawings...This is an isometric view.

This is a plan oblique.

This is an elevation oblique. Overall on the pictorial drawings the only real problem I ran into was my line weight accuracy. Other than that I think I did pretty well on them.

Then we had to pick an object from our apartment/dorm/house and bring it in and draw three orthographic views of it. I don't think it looks perfect but I think it looks pretty good.

Finally, we had the option to take our object or use the "SB Seating System" and draw it in the three pictorials. My curves were a little off and my line weight wasn't perfect but I think I did an alright job. 

PROJECT 2

For project #2 we were instructed to "make a container for 12 twigs". This made me really think about the word "container" and all of its synonyms. I wanted to create something that was mainly geometric to "contain" the twigs but also to let them keep their shape and be shown off. I chose to leave the paper white so that the different shades and textures of my different twigs would really be showcased. The boxes are basically one big, interesting frame for the twigs to be displayed in.

First Attempt
I really just wanted to get the shape down before I used better paper. This prototype is made out of Bristol Board which, obviously, is pretty flimsy.

We were told to focus on a certain part of our prototype and to make a "sketch model" of it. 

This is my sketch model. It's made out of Bristol as well but the craftsmanship started to get better...

For my final product I used a cold-press drawing board. I forget the technical name for it. I built the boxes around the sticks (which took a long time and many broken sticks). 

It's not perfect, but it's what I wanted to achieve. 

Front view.

Here's a close-up of the twigs I used. I love the contrast in their textures, colors, and sizes. 

So for our design visualization class we've been keeping an observational sketchbook. We're supposed to be sketching different things each day and at first we started sketching a leaf a day. This one is the best out of the ones I've drawn, I think. I actually found it online and drew it at home in my apartment. I don't really consider myself to be very good at drawing and I've been trying to get better by trying different techniques. Here I tried rubbing. I think it was fairly successful but I still have some work and practice to do...

SOMETHING WORTH SHARING

So today we watched a video on a British artist named Andy Goldsworthy. He works with nothing but pure, found nature and spends hours on both permanent and temporary sculptures. His goal in making his art works is to understand the nature he works with more and more as he works with and asses it. His style can best be summed up when he says, "I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools--a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. " 


His works are captivating and his attitude and way of thinking is inspiring.
(pictures borrowed from www.morning-earth.org) 

rowan leaves

broken/scratched pebbles

ice spiral (we watched him make one in the video...he connects broken icicles with wet snow!)

Project 1

Our first project was to "create a place for a leaf" using plain white paper and no adhesives. This project challenged us to think of leaves, how they behave, where they belong, and things of that nature. I figured that since leaves die so easily when they're away from the tree, I'd repurpose my leaf and put it into a nest like a bird might do. It took around twelve or so tries but I finally found the right place to put my leaf.

This is one of the first attempts I made at making a nest. Because it was one of the first, I used computer printer paper so it was thin and flimsy and didn't take to weaving very well. I had to experiment some more with paper and technique. 

I started to use thicker paper and the nest really started to take form. I also figured out a good technique for weaving the paper together. 

This nest was too big for the size of my leaf, though, and the leaf didn't really have a specific PLACE in it.

Final product...I decided that the leaf would have more purpose in the nest if i wove the paper through it so I cut slits into it as shown.

Final product...top view

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?

I'm inspired by so much...clothes, dishes, furniture, tv shows, people. The things I find most inspiring are photography and buildings. Photographs take us places, show us new things, show us old things in a new light... Buildings are tall and structured. They can be old and classic or new, shiny, and modern. Inspiration is everywhere.