illuminating object

i have no idea what i'm making for my illuminating object, but check out the picture i just took while prototyping!

Car Part Toothbrushes

BRIEF

Create a utopia and an artifact that exists in that utopia.

SUMMARY

My thesis teammate Nathalie Collins and I have been working on a thesis project related to the future of ridesharing and so have spent a lot of time thinking about transportation. In the utopia that we created, places are constantly shifting in a way that makes current forms of transportation obsolete.

Because we were envisioning a world where cars become obsolete very quickly, their parts need to be repurposed. I was interested in stretching the limits of what we think about as "acceptable" repurposing, so we created a set of toothbrushes made from old car parts. Below is a set of three brushes and a toothbrush holder.

Open Silver Ring

SUMMARY

I created this silver ring as a project for my Design II art class. I wanted to experiment with creating an open ring and fluid forms because I love the subtlety of the ring creeping up on one side of the finger, as if to reach out to the other end, as well as the illusion that the ring could fall off at any moment.

PROCESS:

The ring was created using lost wax casting. I carved the ring by hand and sprued it to the tree below to be cast.

Pens in the Style of...

BRIEF

Design and produce two pens in the style of two different designers.

SUMMARY

My two designers were Nambe, a cookware company based in New Mexico that makes handcrafted pieces from a special eight-metal alloy, and Shah Jahan, the architect of the Taj Mahal.

The Nambe pen borrowed the following elements of form: formed to fit the hand, simple, curved lines, hard edges, craft feel + precious material

The Shah Jahan pen borrowed the following elements of form: monumental & stand-alone, geometric (the pattern is related to the golden ratio), tapered, organic patterns, white color & matte finish.

PROCESS

The Nambe pen was cast in silver using the lost wax casting method.

The Taj Mahal pen was turned out of renshape on a wood lathe using a pen mandrel. The pattern was created using a Dremmel.

Personal Statements: Wordplay

BRIEF: Create something of meaning to you

SUMMARY: I have been intrigued by letterforms, the way we understand the meanings of words, and the connections between these things for awhile. I have also been interested in what it means to create an entire experience and control a space.

My personal statement explores letterforms manifested physically and have been created to read as opposites on each side. I see these as prototypes for large outdoor sculptures.

Pair 1: Open/Closed

This pairing was an iteration of an open/closed shadow sign I made last year (see previous post). The sign reads differently from each side. These letterforms are lasercammed out of acrylic and attached to a wooden cabinet.

Pair 2: Wet/Dry

This pairing was set up over a reflecting pool. Materials: Magnetic board, masonite, glass dish, stones, water, light.

Pair 3: Smile/Frown

This pairing is contained within a clear head that spins (lazy-susan style). The shadow on the wall reveals the words more clearly.

PROCESS: I created all the word pairs by hand, turning paper back and forth until letterforms matched up. I then scanned these words and converted them into Illustrator files to cut them out using a lasercamm.