A Meaningful Dream

For our final project in Space Studio we were assigned to construct and design a kite. Of course with step-by-step directions. 

Knowing that Wayne State is sometimes a wind tunnel, I needed to make sure I picked a kite that could handle high winds. I picked the Dowel Rokkaku Kite. It was large, intriguing and could handle high winds. Although, I wish I would have looked at the directions a bit more before making a final decision. 

I'm not quite sure where I got the idea but I wanted to infuse feathers between two pieces of plastic sheeting for my design. My professor suggested I use an iron to fuse the two pieces together. Thing is, I don't own an iron and didn't feel like spending money on it. I resorted to my hair dryer. I knew it would work the same way and I felt that I would have more control with it. I never dry my hair (because it's really bad for your hair) and haven't in over a year. Finally I had a reason to use my hair dryer!

I traced the design using a thick black sharpie onto the plastic sheeting and laid it flat on the table. I didn't realize how large four feet was...

I wanted to include a variety of colored feathers in my design. I played with the feathers moving them around trying to find a proper place for them. I picked through the bags searching for the best and fluffiest feathers. I literally spent two hours doing this. I wasn't pleased with the variety of colors. If I would've had green, black and orange I feel that I could've made it work. 

When I was playing around with my feathers, the blues and reds that really intrigued me. Even when I was plucking through the bag of feathers. The blue especially caught my eye and I couldn't take my eye off of it. Lately I've been digging royal blue and red together...

A classmate of mine who always happens to come in whenever I'm in suggested to put a break in the pattern by adding pink. Funny thing is, I did that before she even came. Reason why I didn't like it then was because I had teal feathers in the pattern too. I liked how it turned out. 

Sadly I was unable to get any photos of me attempting to fly my kite. One of the dowels snapped in half within a few seconds of air time. I was pretty bummed actually. I spent A LOT of time building this kite. I didn't even mention the second day I came in to finish my kite...let's just say it was very frustrating. And of course when we arrived on the field my professor took a look at my kite and told me I put the string in the wrong places. Great I thought. I spent a good time in the freezing cold fixing the strings so it had a better chance of flying. As mentioned before, I did get it to fly...for a little bit. There was a lot of taping and mending the kite on the field. Luckily David showed up and helped me out with it. I didn't want to give up, I was going to make it fly one more time. Which I did, but only for a few seconds before it plumaged to the ground. Even after re-taping the dowels, re-doing the strings and readjusting the fly-line it wouldn't fly. My professor knew it was cold and we had already been out there for a long time and he told us that we could go. If he hadn't of told me to go I probably would have been out there FOREVER trying to make the damn thing fly. I know if I had built it better, it would have flown.

Here you can see exactly where the dowels snapped. 

Fortunately this kite wasn't being graded. It was more of a end-of-the-year-fun-project sort of thing. I had fun, but I also hated building this stupid thing. I should have picked a different kite to build to be honest. I probably would have had more fun if it were a smaller and easier kite to construct. But I didn't completely hate the project, it was fun for the most part and a nice way to end Space Studio. 

Remember that horrendous straw structure that I made not too long ago? Yeah, that ugly looking thing. After we created the straw structure we were assigned to re-create it with 1/4 inch thick wood. But this time we had to make it related to a three foot pedestal. Since I hated it so much I decided to change the entire design. 

I went into this assignment with an open mind and was rather excited. With this assignment we had the privilege to work in the wood-shop. I've never worked with wood or "dangerous" tools (sander and bandsaw) before. The supplies given for this project were: five pieces of 1/4 inch thick wood that were six feet long and rice paper to create planes later on in the project. The first day I spent sketching. I felt that I needed to redeem myself from the last project. When I showed my professor my drawings he told me it was too complicated and only having a limited supply of wood, it would be impossible. He mentioned to try and make it more simple. To be honest I never did anything simple because in my mind, simple wasn't good enough. But it was what I needed to do. So I went for it.  

I ran out of time and didn't get to do everything I wanted to do. I wanted to have the piece start from the ground, lay on top of the pedestal, have some of the wood hang off and attach that wood to the pedestal giving it the effect of the piece going inside the pedestal. My work broke while I was putting it away, which made things worse for me...at the time. I needed to come back on my own time to glue everything back together. The pedestal wasn't in class. I had to glue everything from memory, in hopes that it was done correctly. I also had to attach rice paper using homemade rice glue in places I felt necessary. 

I used strips of rice paper instead of large squares or triangles. I knew that if I had used larger pieces my form would lose the effect. I also wanted to create different shapes with the strips. As mentioned earlier, I was gluing from memory and without the pedestal. Of course, I glued the bottom piece the wrong way, giving it a whole new look to the piece. Which ended up working out extremely well...

I missed the actual critique for personal reasons. The next class my professor and I took the time to look at what I made. As we were walking around my project we noticed that when looking at eye level and sometimes squinting it would create shapes and forms. It was rather cool to be honest. It ended up being the best part of my project. At least I think so. I'm sure my professor would agree. 

To see the structure change form you have to physically walk around it. I tried to capture those odd shapes in the pictures below. 

During the building process a piece of the wood broke in half. Instead of redo-ing it I decided to embrace it. Sadly, it didn't work the way I wanted to. The splint would have been much better if I had sanded the ends of the wood and placed the other pieces differently. Perhaps having the pieces decrease in size. This was a last minute finish as you could probably tell. 

In the photo above you can clearly see how viewing my project from different angles creates more shapes. 

Look to the bottom left, you can see one shape transformed into many shapes here too.

Overall, I was pretty happy about my piece. I wish I could have made it to critique to hear what the rest of my classmates would have said. What I learned from this project was to handle my project with more care to avoid damage, embrace accidents and hope for the best. 

Our past assignment in Space Studio was to take 30 photos of architectural structures that were aesthetically pleasing to us. Then we had to choose a couple of those photos to use them as inspiration for our project. We were assigned to create a straw structure keeping in mind that we need to make it site specific to a pedestal. 

I chose this photo of the Maccabee building in Detroit (where I work), because of the arch. There is something about it that I find striking. It's not the gold surrounding the arch, it's the actual arch it-self. I can't quite figure out why I enjoy it so much...I just do.

I found the diamonds to be simply complex, if that makes any sense. Although they are "cute little diamonds" I find them to be complex because of how they intertwine with each other. 

I had a plan, hence HAD, but as we all know plans never really work for me. I planned on having multiple arches in the center of the pedestal with a ring of the "diamond" shapes surrounding it. We were only assigned two days to work on this project and I missed a class because I was sick. If I would have went to class that day I would have gotten feedback in class and would have had a better structure.  

Knowing I was in a time crunch from missing a class, I changed my original plan drastically. I won't say I hate what I created, but I will say that I'm not really proud of it. But yet that's the whole point of this project right? It's research, it's not supposed to be "perfect". Still, I wish I would have done something different...although I do like the diamond shapes I created. 

During critique it was mentioned that the arch (the red straws) were unnecessary. It's was just a plain, basic structure with "cute" diamonds attached to it. I agree. My professor suggested not using the red straws next time and using only the diamond shapes to create a form. Possibly attach the diamonds at the top of the structure. Since we are using this as "research" for our next project I probably will get rid of the "arch" in general and try to recreate it in some other form. 

We also discussed the bottom piece of my structure and how it really wasn't three dimensional. I should have taken that into more consideration. Since we are using this as "research" for our upcoming project I will keep in mind that it needs to be three dimensional throughout the entire structure, or else it becomes this boring thing. With the next project we are using rice paper, rice glue, hot glue, and are limited to 30 feet worth of quarter inch wood. I'm rather excited to be working in the wood shop and using wood as material, I've never really worked with it before and it'll definitely be a challenge. This time I will follow my plan better while keeping in mind that it may or may not work out. With some parts I will probably just "go with the flow" too. Also I'll be there for all my classes that way "time" won't become an issue. 

My professor recently went to Iceland to study the area for some of his personal work. Before his departure we had a contest. We were given one lawn bag with the instructions to make it the tallest structure using only the bag and masking tape, BUT we had to figure out a way to connect everything without taping pieces together, with only one class period and the first hour of the next to work on it. We all got started right away, planning, sketching and designing potentially the tallest structure we can make. Most of us were halfway done when our professor decided to add one more requirement. It had to be aesthetically pleasing. To add even more excitement two handmade trophies, courtesy of our professor, were going to be given to the student with the tallest structure and another to a student that had the best aesthetic appeal. 

The structure closest to the ladder was mine. When our professor announced to try and make it aesthetically pleasing I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I knew that I couldn't put extra time into this project because I had to put more focus on another class that week. So, I improvised. I added different shaped and sized "flaps" and spread them along the structure. (They actually helped keep my structure balanced) I also built two smaller boxes in hopes to add height and character. 

Unfortunately I didn't win either trophy. It's alright though because I was pleased with my project (for once). It ended up being the third highest! That's something to be proud of, at least I think so. 

Keeping in mind to make it aesthetically pleasing I had just enough time and scraps to make this rose. I wanted to place it on top of the structure but it was too heavy. Therefore I put it in one of the holes I cut on the bottom box.

I definitely had a different outlook on this project. I worried less about it (in a good way) and kept an open mind and didn't freak out when he gave us a last minute requirement. I worked to the very last second too (that seems to be pretty common with any art project though). Next time, I'll keep in mind that regardless of the requirements it should always look aesthetically pleasing. 

Last Thursday, we critiqued our third project in Space Studio. With this assignment, we were told to draw ten different sketches of an object that has both positive and negative space then create a structure based off the drawings with a choice between cardboard, rosin paper and chipboard. Keeping in mind that we aren't supposed to know what the object is supposed to be. The day the drawings of our item was due, we were told to switch our sketches with someone else...totally unexpected. So now instead of sculpting our original item we're creating somebody else's. 

We had a choice between four sketches. I chose this one because I felt it was the most interesting sketch Andy had. Can you guess what it is? Keep reading and you'll find out! 

Since the sketch was very flat I saw more opportunity and more freedom. I noticed that every single person in class were using cardboard, which made me NOT want to use it. Therefore, I chose to work with chipboard. I've never worked with it before and knew it be a challenge. Challenge accepted. My original idea was to have the structure stand at least three feet (the minimal requirement), yet that didn't go as planned. But that's okay because it worked out better than I wanted it to. I made doubles of each piece, taped the two together and puffed them to add volume. This time, we were also allowed to use colored tape and hot glue (I barely used hot glue). I also used the technique of bending to give it a more definition.

I hung it up because I knew it wouldn't be viewed properly if it were on the ground. It even had a little spin to it. Classmates compared it to a wind chime and referred it to being a bit "kitchy", and that's only because it spun. 

Tension was another word that was brought up throughout the entire critique. It was pointed out that my work did have the required tension it needed to be successful, but of course could have a little more tension. Perhaps hanging it in an "ill-logical" way would have made it better. Some were not a fan of the blue tape and believed that it served no real purpose to the piece other than it's being held together, others commented on how they enjoy the contrast between the blue and the brown and said the outline drew their eyes around the structure. 

Another topic that we spent time discussing was flatness. There were many projects that were "flat" with hardly any volume. It was suggested that almost everyone could have had more volume to the project, including myself. Thankfully, my system of "puffing" the two chipboard pieces taped together was noticed and worked well. Although it may look flat from a far, it really wasn't. You had to get close to the structure to see it's true form. 

Overall, this was a fun project. Even though my original plans didn't work out it still turned out better than I thought. I took my own advice from the group project. I had a different mind-set. There was a point where I was bummed because it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do, but I was no where near as bummed as I was with the Bender project. I was pleased with my work before the critique and I think it showed. So what would I do differently? Next time I will probably make it much larger (most of us had the minimal requirement of three feet), more dramatic and give it even more volume, but not too much.  I will also continue to work on having an open mind set throughout the duration of the project. Other than that I believe this was one of the most successful projects I've done. I wish I would have kept it though...sigh. Oh yeah I haven't mentioned what the drawing was supposed to be have I? They're scissors!

This past Thursday we had our first project critique. As mentioned in previous post our group decided to build what is called the Bender. We chose this particular object because of the various shapes it held. Such as: squares, circles, rectangles, ovals and other odd shapes. Our group collaborated and planned well and divided the work into three parts. Yet, we didn't realize that choosing the Bender would be such a challenge. Megan worked on the pull and the shapes combined with it, Kayla worked on the circular shapes on top of the bender, while I worked on the stand. 

We used all sorts of methods such as rolling, cutting, folding, taping and stacking. For my part of the project, I mainly folded, taped and stacked. I spent a very long time trying to perfect the stand. In the beginning I was concerned with the tape and how it was placed, trying to use as little as possible. I didn't realize how time consuming building a large portion of the bender would take. I spent an extra five hours out of class to work on the stand and putting the combined work together. I was able to make the base stand freely, but once the top and bottom parts of the bender were taped together my stand would not hold it. At this point, running out of time I used a lot more tape and it no longer looked "neat" like it had before. I also added a brace underneath the stand to give the upper part of the stand a stronger base to hold the circles and pull. Time went by and eventually I was able to get the entire bender to stand independently. 

The following day, I walked into class and saw Megan with a distraught look and I thought "Uh-oh". I walked over to the Bender that we had all put so much time and effort into, to see that it had collapsed on the floor. At that point I was speechless and very upset. We both just stared at it for awhile. All that time and effort for this...ugh. Megan and I tried adding more tape, yet it didn't work. We really hope that it just sagged naturally and someone didn't go into the classroom and knock it over... 

We carried what we thought our "pitiful project" downstairs to met up with Kayla the remainder of the class. Again, we were so upset you could see it on our faces. I felt even more upset because I thought that it was my fault that our project wasn't successful. I saw my professor and shouted "It was standing at one point and I have photos to prove it!". He replied "It's okay, I believe you...I think it looks better this way anyway, it's much more interesting". I didn't get it at first. I thought the whole point of the project was to build a replica with rosin paper and masking tape. He briefly explained to us that it's much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye...but being so caught up in the thought that "It failed", it didn't quite click until the class critiqued our project. 

Eventually, it was our group's turn to be critiqued the class stood in silence. Many were pondering about what to say about our "project". You could tell that not everyone was very fond of it. Although the critique started off a bit bumpy it ended up being a very good critique. Classmates mentioned how they liked the contrast between the neat and lightly taped top and the messy heavily taped bottom part of the bender. We also discussed how and why the bender is much more interesting on the floor rather than standing in a linear form. It leads the eye from the end of the bender all the way to the end of the pull. It was unlike any of the other projects, not just because it fell over, but because it seems as if there was more to look at, more to think about. The class agreed that even though it had fallen, it was still successful for the fact that it still has it's original form...which turns out was the whole point of the project. We also agreed that getting the bender to stand freely would be impossible with the given materials, no matter what we did. It was because of the large amount of negative space in the stand. Since there is so much, there is no way that we could get the stand to support the upper part of the bender without compromising the original form. 

Overall, I felt much better after the critique and understood what my professor was trying to tell us before we started. I learned a few techniques from the other groups that I could use in the future, which I most likely will. If I could go back and do things differently I wouldn't. If anything I would have a different mind set than I did while working on the project. That way, I wouldn't look at the final product as a failure, but rather, a success. 

Tomorrow our group will begin to build the Bender! Here are sketches that visually show our plans to successfully accomplish this project. 

Megan's sketch. 

Kayla's sketch. 

My sketch. 

Wish us luck!