Rando Shmando

So I've been returning to some of my original archives of images/artists that i collected over the summer just to see if anything sparked.

Here's what I found....

This i just think is beautiful. I love stones I realize. However, this isn't going to do much for my project.

Interesting concept of holding nature. How can I integrate this type of "holding" into something more ordinary? Something in disguise?

What can I do with these guys? They are SO interesting, curious, and beautiful. How do I structure those characteristics? I can see these being part of something active...

Remind you of anything? Inspiration for the last model I created.

Not quite looking to do a ring... but what if I have some type of ring or watch that was ordinary (and functional?) in all aspects, except when you took it off, the back side showed into another world. I like the idea of the cuts in the back of this ring.... but as my mind keeps expanding and I think of a watch with the backside almost like a little snow globe, with a little world inside that is hidden underneath the face of the watch. You'll only see it if you take the time to take your watch off.

IMMERSING.... but slightly too much. Too big of a structure and too much effort to get inside.

Mind Mapping

Week 12 comes to a close:

Here are the some images of a part of the mind mapping I was doing that i mentioned in my previous post, along with starting sketches that I have begun from a list of ideas that I have been building up on this past week (4 hours). Unfortunately these two images are poor quality (sorry!) but once I get to my camera I'll be sure to post more :) In the mean time, I've also been running into some cool artists for ideas in both form, medium, and scale for my portable objects (1.5 hours). Since running into the holiday posed a lack of time, I plan on doing a ton more work the rest of this weekend to really dive into what I want to come out of this.

Jethro Haynes

Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz

Megan Bogonovich

Show and Tell.... well already told

So I just am now realizing I never posted the images of my finished iteration of my first model, SOOOO here they are. This may help give you a sense of the scale I was using and how in order for it to become more portable, the scale needs to definitely shift down. However, I hope this helps to allow you to see what kind of experience I am trying to portray.

Just keep on making and making and making....

Post for November 19:

This past week I had my meeting with Jan (1.5 hours) to discuss my objects, however, after explaining to him my ideas, he advised me to do some mind mapping and really focus in on what it is (or what kind of experience) I am trying to give to my viewer; whether that's tactical, experiential, visual, a smell, etc. From here I was slightly confused, but talking with Janie, Seth as the GSIs on Tuesday at the library reassured my direction so for the rest of the week, I continued to research miniatures, picking up a few books on Chinese Miniature, decorative match-box sets, and small scaled environments. I also continued looking online at other small box-like structures and vessels, pretty much anything that interested me as a small container (3 hours). I also spent time listing out the specific things (which was still many) that excited me the most about the nature, and from there I put each into a category based on their experiential quality: tactile, sound, smell, visual, etc. (2 hours). From here the ideas started flowing and I began writing a few down and even sketching some out (2 hours). From here I plan to continue until I have about 15 sketches/ideas, will pick 3 I am most drawn to and then create them :) I want to start the creating process by this coming weekend over the holiday.

A Mindful Break

Post for November 11:

Cathryn Barmon

Bio-accessories, Ben Landau and Brittany Veitch

Anastassia Elias

Annalisa Vobis

This week was used for a bit of a breaking point as we took a group trip to UMMA and I focused mainly on my Grant Proposal and setting up a time line for myself. The trip to UMMA was a great way to clear my head a bit and look at other works to expand my view of possibilities. The ideas and concepts expressed the Museum pieces portrayed a true sense of dedication, commitment, passion and creativity... all of which are aspects I employ in my own work. By viewing these characteristics in an other's work besides my own, I realized I am capable of anything at this point and should not be afraid to reach for the stars when it comes to materials, concepts and forms. With this, I am now fully charged and excited to do dive in and explore a variety of materials and processes to construct my pieces in a manner that will satisfy my highest expectations.

As far as what work was done this week, I spent much time on the Grant Proposal (5 hours), which included making a detailed schedule for my self with deadlines for model making, gathering feedback, construction and completion of final objects and writing my thesis. This was extremely useful because it really put time in perspective for me, which was something I hadn't been paying as much attention to as I should have been before. I also spent some time doing a mind break of my own (4 hours) and looking up various artists working with smaller viewing objects and artists who recreate smaller environments. Artists I found to be most interesting were Annalisa Vobis, Cathryn Barmon and Anastassia Elias had work that either dealt with scale or the environment similar to what I am looking into. Bio-accessories by Australian designers Ben Landau and Brittany Veitch, was also a very inspirational series that I found, playing more on the idea of function. All these works are helping to lead me to new ideas to scale down my objects. I also have a meeting set up next week to speak with Yan about design and function of the objects. So until then, I will continue sketching and developing my ideas further so that after my meeting, I will be able to begin a second model.

In the midst of all this I was able to finish my first model on Thursday (5 hours). I had to go backwards a bit and break out some of the stones inside the can to fit the light source in. This caused more stones than I wanted to to fall out and I had to re-epoxy them back in afterward. Because of the reconstruction of the piece, it is not perfectly up to my standards on craftsmanship, however, it is a model, and that is what they are for. The basic ideas are demonstrated through the piece as a whole and it works very well as a first attempt. I am able to see what I like, don't like, need to change, scale down, and re-evaluate in order to move on. Overall, the model making process was very useful and for the most part, a successful tool for development.

Learning what models can say that sketches can't

Week of November 5:

This week I focused purely on constructing my first model for one of my environments (9 hours total). After feeling out various materials, I constructed a cave-like environment with the use of rocks, epoxy, bristle board, and a large Monster can. I started by finding the exact demensions and circumference of the can to create a three part cone-like structure out of the bristle board that fit perfectly inside the can, creating dimension as the cone tunneled down from a larger opening at the veiwing point to a smaller opening at the ending point. From there I filled the inside with rocks section by section and epoxied them in place. Although using the epoxy was very time consuming, it gave the piece an awesome effect and created a shine on the rocks that the light can bounce off of, appearing as if they were in wet or in shallow water. I still have yet to construct the water source I would like to add to the piece, but have gathered the materials I think will work.

Once looking through the piece into the light I realized that although I liked the depth created by the longevity of the can, the inside, once filled with the rocks, became darker than I had anticipated. To solve this, I will have to place a piece of vellum on the end (where the light will enter), which helps expand the area light will cover and help illuminate the inside, bringing out some of the colors of the rocks.

Another issue I ran into was the weight of the can. Once fully constructed, it became very heavy, and seems impractical to carry around. Not only was weight and issues, but the use of the can itself started to pose and issue. I was aiming for a very metaphorical reaction to the use of a Monster can to play into the contrast of society's dependence on caffeine sources to get through the day when all we really need is a break, time to connect with nature. I also like the idea that the can is such a man-made mass produced object that has a one time use only, you open it, drink it, and then dispose of it, and by housing this environment inside, you now have a reason to keep it.
However, after getting my peer's and professor's reactions to the piece (I spent most of Thursday in the morning and during section asking for reactions), I have realized its impracticality to the goal I was originially aiming for in my project proposal. I realize to get people to want to carry this piece around, it has to be smaller, it has to have a function.... a function in terms that it becomes some sort of use to people, rather than a burden to carry. Ben English made a good point to me "If you build this environment in a coffee cup because it is something that people carry with them in their daily lives, then you are making them now carry two coffee cups... one with actual coffee inside, and one with this environment. Who wants to have to do that?" I need to re-evaluate how it will be carried: will it be worn? pocketed? put on a key chain? It needs to be smaller, lighter, so scale and sizing must be explored. While slightly disappointed to see my weeks worth of work prove to veer me off the track, it was a good learning experience as I realized many things that I wouldn't have been able to just through sketching and writing my ideas. Model by model, I will be able to see what is working and what is not and from thre be able to focus my direction into what I am truly aiming to do.