Category: Final Project

3D Final Assignment – CDL (research)

ELISA STROZYK

I came across Elisa Strozyk because of her interesting use of wood as textile and her ability to make wood look like fabric from the folds created which creates sort of a softness to wood which is known to be quite rigid. It resembles crushed paper to me too.

It looks and smells familiar but feels strange, as it is able to move and form in unexpected ways.

The processes to transform wood into a flexible wooden surface is its deconstruction into pieces, which are then attached to a textile base. Depending on the geometry and size of the tiles each design shows a different behaviour regarding flexibility and mobility.

I tried modifying her technique and use wire mesh instead of cloth to follow the CDL brief as the materials used must be durable as it is an outdoor structure. Also, a crushed paper ball has an irregular shapes from where the paper bends, I cut the basswood into irregular geometric shapes similar to those on the paper.

Then, I hot glued gun the flat surfaces onto the mesh and arranged the so that it would fit and create folds so that I would be able to fold it into a ball. 

However, after completing a section, the mesh was too stiff to bend and maybe I did not leave enough spacing in between the wood for the metal to bend so I scrapped using this technique. This whole project is quite trial and error based as it is my first time using wood.

 

3D Final assignment – CDL (research)

I wanted to do the lotus flower sculpture but Peter said it was quite boring on the form and it was true so I reverted back to my trash ball idea. 

I found some interesting sculptures that played with geometrics shapes and lines.

Helen Stewart

Tracy Featherstone

First sketch of the geometric trash ball on the left and second sketch on the right.

Third sketch.

Sample model made out of styrofoam.

After making the sample model, I felt that even though the form was interesting, the whole design looked rather convoluted and did not really suit this project. So it is back to brainstorming again but I have decided to retain that geometric feature which I think would work really well with wood.

All that Glitters is not Gold – Unpredictability Final

I made a gold, diamond shaped piñata and hung it outside of ADM on a tree next to the roadside. My classmates are in for a surprise as I have placed a mixture of confetti, glitter and fake insects inside of it. The confetti was taken from party poppers and it was quite nerve wrecking to remove it and there was no rationality to buying party poppers as confetti which can be bought separately.

To make the geometric shape of the piñata, I used cardboard and cut out 5 pentagon shapes. Then I measured 15cm from the flat base and scored the inside of the cardboard so I was able to bend it. After the bend, the excess cardboard was trimmed away so the 5 ends could connect to form a tip like a diamond shape.

After pouring in my secret mixture into the diamond, I started my paper mache which is the traditional ways of making a piñata. The first layer I tried was PVA glue and newspaper but it did not create a ultra strong layer so I changed the PVA to flour and water which created a harden first layer. I did about 4-6 layers per side, including the top too. The cut gold foil paper into square shapes and pasted it all around to cover the paper mache.

LET THE FUN AND CHAOS BEGIN.

It is normal for the piñata to fall onto the ground and to the surprise of many, it took a lot of strength to break apart the piñata. 

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD

After compiling the responses from friends and classmates, I wanted to use their preconceived idea and twist it so that it becomes unpredictable. The piñata is Unpredictability as we view it as an unassuming, innocent object and as always in it is a pleasant surprise. Unpredictability has a negative connotation to it whereby it is volatile in nature and it means change which most of us prefer familiarity instead of the unknown. The change from Unpredictability is inevitable itself and forces one to accept the change or adapt. But Unpredictability can lead to beautiful things. One example are relationships whereby it is beautiful yet it is change to an individual’s lifestyle.

Hence, the piñata is the perfect symbolism of Unpredictability. It is something we see and recognise and may seem beautiful, pleasant on the outside but it is the inside that we cannot predict or know – Unpredictable. When breaking apart the piñata, the motion itself is chaotic but through the midst of this chaos, there is a catharsis. Among the glitter are insects which no one expected and it is the individual’s choice to deem that as good or bad. Therefore, adapting to the unpredictability of it.

3D – The Gift

Client: Justinne 

As I said from my first post, I did not know Justinne well enough but later realised I shared 3 classes with her. I originally thought that she was quite quiet but when I got to know her better, she opened up I found out more about her personality and she was actually quite bubbly.

Thus, I wanted to create a little world inside a geode as a metaphor. Because when one sees a rock, they do not really care about it until they see what is inside (crystals).

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I first tried to replicate an Italian castle I found online and I did this using clay. I chose a European castle because she wanted to travel to Europe and furthermore, during the critique session she told me that she actually loves castles which I did not know of. Also, because it is a geode, I had to make crystals.

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So I melted wax and coloured it but had some difficulty dyeing the wax. Firstly, I didn’t think through that wax and liquid food dye would not mix together and it would actually burn from the high heat. Then I tried watercolours and it didn’t work either and my last desperate attempt was oil paint. It worked!

I guess it was better than buying wax dyes because now I could customise the colour of the crystals which I chose a bluish-green/ light teal colour.

Then I chopped up that huge chunk of wax (picture above) into smaller, angular pieces to mimic crystals.

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After that, I used the hot glue gun to attach the pieces and moreover, as this was supposed to recreate a little world inside a rock, I wanted to add faux moss inside. I wanted the moss to symbolise life because only when there are plants, can life forms begin. Therefore, I did not fully cover the whole surface with crystals because I needed to incorporate the moss too.

TADA!!!!

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This is how it looks like when both sides are joined together.

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So in a way something so inconspicuous can be so beautiful inside with a story to tell.