Category: Process

3D II – WK 11 [Installation in-Progress 2]

April 8, 2017 / / 1 Comment

Moving on from the sealing of the plastic, we worked on the contents.

We aimed for a glowing water effect and then researched on how to produce that visual. There was a tutorial which taught us that by placing purple and blue cellophane paper over the light source, tonic water could appear as glowing! 

So, we test it out! 

For a test, we cut out small pieces of cellophane (in purple and blue),

Over the light source and in a dark space. We can see the light appearing different already!

Finally, it works with tonic water in a bottle! We were so excited.

 

Then, we transferred the water into the bag but due to contact with the air over a long time, the tonic water has lost its effect :'( So we had to give up the idea, and proceed with an alternative, and MOVE ON.

Our initial idea also included to clamp and suspend the structure so users could interact with it from under it. 

Working on some wood.

Carpenters!!! 

We were going to stick and nail 4 pieces of wood together as a clamping structure.

However, the suspension would cause water to only concentrate on the centre of the piece, causing huge pressure and a great reduction in fluidity ): This contradicts our central concept, so we decided to scrape this off. 

The optimal solution we decided on was to lay flat on the table surface to allow almost full control of the movement of the water. To enhance the user experience, which is to allow him to feel the motion, we will create 2 layers: above & below the hand. 

Which means… making one more water bag!!!

On this added piece, we mixed glitter and crystals into the water to contribute to a shimmering glowing effect of the relaxed water smile

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Looks cute!!!  

Finally, we sealed the second piece. BUT TO OUR HORROR, when we tried to put the 2 pieces together, the first one has spilled!!! 

It’s okay we took care of it. 

Now that we have finished the 2 waterbeds, it’s time for the set-up: Lighting!
Using the same concept for the bar lights we produce a purplish-pink kind of gradient light which is reflected by the water.

This final piece appears like this: 

It looks absolutely amazing laughing

The ferroxide is then scattered over the surface, when the hand holds onto the magnet hook to interact with it. 

 

 

3D II: SOUNDTEXTURISER 2.0

April 8, 2017 / / 2 Comments

Improved edition of GAYO

 

The Making

To improve, I have to first identify the problems or weaknesses of the current model. After feedback from the class, I have finalised on a few points:

  • A lack of different materials to give layers in sound & visual
  • Too simple

I then worked on it, by drafting out new designs which eventually turned to a musical cube idea with stretchy ends! I am inspired by:

An Accordian

the mechanism of the accordian to trigger sounds! 

As for the cube, I planned to use materials of different densities/ opacity/ and abilities to reflect light. This would encapsulate many visual effects as well as sound difference. 

Materials picked:

  • Translucent hard plastic
  • Rose gold aluminium/copper paper
  • Square glass
  • Elastic strings
  • Soft wood of 2 thickness
  • Board

 

  

 

 

 

FINAL TESTING

3D II – WK 10 [Installation In-progress]

April 4, 2017 / / 1 Comment

This project is a joint work by Sheryl and I!

 

Research

The animals we decided to work on were Shark and Remora. They had a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. This means that both of them benefit from the way they interact with each other.

An avatar we worked out was: Shamora!

( infographic of shamora )

 

Ideation

It is amazing how from adhesion, we could link it to magnetism in ferrofluid as the main force in our eventual work. From hooks and velcro, we turned to water bed inspired by natural fluid movements, and then coming across the idea of attraction and then following into magnetism! 

We agreed that it is very interesting to use magnets to depict the relationship of sharks and remora fish, as well as to symbolise their kinetic movements.

 

Progress

We started on the making of our work by first DIY-ing our own ferrofluid!!! And there was a very dangerous ingredient – acetone yell We were so scared we put on gloves, goggles, masks and we did it at a relatively safe outdoor environment.

Materials required:
Big non acetone-reactive bowl
Cassette tapes (we bought them on carousell 1 for $1 yay)
Magnets
Acetone
Oil

 

We first removed the rolls of tape.

One by one unrolling them into the big bowl.

Tada. We estimated we needed this amount of tape to be reacted with acetone.

Finally, we added acetone into the bowl carefully and cover it. We left it to react over the night.

Collecting the reacted ferroxide!

It is reactive!

Ironing and sealing of the PVC plastic!

Sealing works!

 

Check out our videos on the making of our work!

Making of ferrofluid:

——- Progress till 4 Apr ——–

 

3D II – WK 7: SOUND TEXTURISER

March 10, 2017 / / 3 Comments

Research

The vibrating ruler pushes the molecules in the air, making them bunch together. As the ruler vibrates back and forth it makes waves of molecules pushed together (pressure waves). The molecules transmit these pressure waves through the air into our ear, where they are converted to electrical signals that get sent to our brain.
When the ruler is longer it vibrates more slowly, so pushes molecules together less often, so the waves of molecules are further apart – the frequency of sound waves are lower. Lower frequency waves have a lower pitch.
When the ruler is shorter it vibrates more quickly, so makes higher frequency pressure waves, which have a higher pitch.

http://www.ingridscience.ca/node/497

 

Experiment

(video – varying width & thickness)

 

(video – varying length)

 

IDEATION

Deriving the concept of how different lengths and thickness of material can produce sounds in different notes, I picked soft wood as my main material.

The point of using only 1 material, is to highlight on how simply by varying the certain conditions of the same material, it can produce sounds of different notes and layers! 🙂

Another material used is the marble. It is interesting as it creates a special sound together with the soft wood. 

 

Inspirations

An enveloped structure (similar to 20 sided dice/ virus cell wall)
Ms Cheryl’s chicken feeding toy
Chinese yo-yo
Egg Shaker

 

Process

Creating unique pieces in varying sizes (length & thickness) and then assembling each of them together. They must be closely pieced so that the marble would not fall out! yell

 

Finally trimming pieces and adding the marble in, before sealing the piece. Would be horrible news if I forgot to put the marble and sealed it first… 

The original idea ended here, but EUREKA. The sound invoked an idea – chinese yoyo!

 

The sticks and strings were then added to include entertainment value to the piece.

 

TADA my finishing piece! 

 

Continue reading

3D II WK 6 – Dialogue In The Dark (17/2)!

March 6, 2017 / / 0 Comments

It was my first experience at the DiD, and I have been looking forward to it since weeks ago! I have heard sharings from other people regarding their experience, but still not know what to expect.

The following will be charted graphs about my personal experience throughout the whole trip.

 

 

 

 

Crafting my experience

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The above is the overall view. I did not craft a sculpture, but a landscape to present my rough sense of space while I toured the room in total darkness. Generally, it felt a little enveloped throughout, except for when we were taking a seat and chatting at the park as well as the interactive part of the tour (where we sat on the virtual boat through the Singapore River), there was motion, there were sounds of the environment and I could really feel that I was outside and feeling the breeze and water on my face wink

 

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This depicts how I felt when we first got in. It felt really enclosed as though the space was so small. We had to feel the wall and ‘touch’ our way further in the curved path and curved walls. I could see nothing, so I felt like I was walking through a scary deep tunnel frown

 

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As we travelled deeper, I had a little sense of engulf-ness as I felt myself smaller compared to the space I was being brought into. 

 

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We were slow and careful, for there were stairs and uneven ground filled with rocks/pebbles that we normally have at parks. Steps were really scary and I was glad we formed a line and we had people at the front passing down the message where the stairs would start/ end.

 

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This was how I felt as I walked into the rocky uneven ground at the ‘park’. All of us used the white cane to feel for the ground surface and held onto each other for balance as we wobbled our way through the rocky and grass patch towards the benches and the trees. 

 

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Shortly after, we were guided to the interactive virtual boat area. This was the highlight and the favourite part of my trip! The ferry was swaying to the waves and sprinkles of water from the side of the ferry could be felt at my face. This evoked picture memory of myself at the Singapore River Clarke Quay area together with the sounds of the environment, the surrounding shops and also The Merlion!

 

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The rest of the experience includes touching a real car, the car plate and passing by the ATM, a market and finally a cafe where we purchased drinks and snacks at the counter. We made use of our sense of touch and smell and hear to help us experience the surroundings. The fruits at the market smelt nice 🙂 This part of the trip did not specially give me a sense of space, besides with no light and no sight, I couldn’t quite grasp space. 

 

Discussions & Take aways 🙂

During the 1-hour long trip in pitch darkness, the group had discussed with the guide several interesting questions especially about the use of other senses:

 

How do the blind differentiate money?
Much to our surprise, the blind do not exactly rely on the braille on the notes, but instead just compare sizes. Differentiation of coins would be simpler as the new series of coins has differing edges and ridges along it’s side as well as the surface.

 

How do the blind dream?
For people who are born blind, they do not dream of actual images/ colours. Their dream consists of sounds and they would feel from sense of touch. As for people who have lost their vision, they are capable of dreaming actual images from their memory or blurry images.

 

Concept of colour to the blind?
People who are born blind cannot imagine or picture colours in their minds, but there is description or meaning of colours that associate with feelings, to help them ‘feel’ colours.

 

3D II WK 4 – A4 SOUNDSCAPES

February 8, 2017 / / 0 Comments

PROJ 002: PART I

CHOICE OF SOUNDS

 

Pleasant sound: Heartbeat

Hi guys, yes the audio above is truly the recorded sound of my heartbeat. smile I danced to increase my heartrate, then I placed my phone at my chest to record the sound of my heart beating. It has been digitally enhanced to amplify the sound slightly. 

 

Not tryna be philosophical but I think life is AMAZING. Also, the sound of my heart beating can not only be heard but also felt!!!!! from skin, from touch. surprised Hearing the beat of my heart, or my loved ones’ is extremely calming as it just reminds me how lovely it is that we are still here and alive LOL.

 

Represented by LOVELY PINK STRING.

To represent this sound because HEARTSTRINGS!! Pink to highlight the light mood of the favourable pleasant sound and the varying sizes of balls formed by twirling strings symbolises the impact of the sound. The heart pounding gives a visual image in my brain of a ball bouncing, which is why I designed such a construction! The varying sizes suggests the varying impact of the sound, although we may expect heartbeat to be rhythmic.

 

 

The voids and the suspension of the ‘beads’ are interestingly placed.

 

Unpleasant sound: Snoring

This is an unpleasant sound for me as having to sleep with someone who snores is simply terrible. This was in the past, when I was young with my siblings, we all used to sleep together with my parents in the same room. The purpose then was to make sure my parents could attend to us readily in case we need them in the night. I already have trouble falling asleep, so the addition of my dad’s loud snores only makes it worse ): Sometimes I got so annoyed that I had to wake my dad up to stop the snoring.

 

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Represented by BLACK GRAINY CONSTRUCTION PAPER

When I just listened to the sound, I visualised a very normal dark night, but the sounds ‘hit’ like thunder. They just sounded loud and disruptive. Therefore, I decided to come up with an uneven and ‘piercing’ soundscape.

It means to have a very uneven surface with sharp ridges emerging from a plain surface, yet somehow it has patterns in the heights, rhythmic like snoring. The grainy texture of the construction paper suggests the quality of sleep :/ and also the certain really soft ‘white noise’ or sounds from the environment which contribute to my whole sense of hearing!

Here are the photos documenting my work-in-progress:

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The idea of paper pop-ups came to me when I chanced upon this video post of wonderful paper pop-up sculptures, on Facebook by Peter Dahmen so the link’s below if you would like to check it out!
(I mean it is not as decorative as his, but the concept is similar…)

I decided to adopt this idea and I chose black paper to represent late night and the visual of the dark room in which I was supposed to be sleeping. The pop-ups form ‘Z’ and it symbolises ‘zzz’ which means sleep 🙂

Most importantly, they are designed with abrupt pop ups to show the thunderous and loud snores that disrupt my night ):<

 

Inspirations

Peter Dahmen
https://www.facebook.com/boredpanda/videos/10155015938159252/

 

 

3D II 001 Submission – ONCE UPON A SCENT

January 24, 2017 / / 1 Comment

001 Once Upon A Scent 

Final Submission for 3D II Proj 1:

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Google PDF

 

The Making:

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  1. Initially, I have cut and gently curved coils of plastic into a heart shape. I liked it and I wanted to preserve its shape because it had a sense of completeness and wholeness on it’s own and it seemed like it didn’t need much extension to the existing structure.

 

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2. From the side, interesting voids could be observed. SO would be the 2 stands of spikes poking and interacting with the voids giving dyamanics.

 

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3. From an alternative view, the SO sticking out seemed rather plain and sparse and didn’t give much contrast. Hence, taking advice from Ms Cheryl, I have added more of that to create a more obvious contrast! 🙂

 

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4. To further improve my idea, I have thought of ideas for its application. To maintain coherence with the theme, I thought of using it as a air refreshener to release aroma into living spaces 🙂 The design is rather small and it would be appropriate to put at most places.

 

Attached to my sculpture is a handmade base, which can be turned round to view it at all angles.

(I video-ed this down but I can’t upload it on OSS ._.)

 

 

 

3D II WK 1 – SCENTS

January 15, 2017 / / 1 Comment

CHOCOLATE TASTING

Lesson 1 surprise.. We get chocolate treats!

A

  • smells like a creamy dark chocolate
  • tastes bitter
  • stings throat after swallowing, throat feels dry
  • spicy after-taste

B

  • smells like dark chocolate, smells less bitter than chocolate A
  • so wrong… it is so bitter
  • just a little cooling sensation towards the end
  • very very slight sweet after-taste

C

  • smells a mix of flavours, the least bitter of all
  • rough and uneven texture on one side, and the other side a smooth but thick layer
  • crispy (sound element)
  • tastes slight bitterness of the chocolate first, then sweet
  • which was soon overcome by the saltiness of potato chip
  • interesting contrast of TEXTURE, and TASTE
  • temperature different of cooler chocolate and warmer potato chip

 

 

SCENTS

After the sharing of all our items, the 2 below are my final choices:

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Evoking pleasant memory: Medicated Oil
It is the familiar smell of love to me! When I was younger, my mother would use this medicated oil as remedy for many of my illnesses and discomfort. She would apply it on my stomach, and then rub her hands to create warmth and then apply pressure of my stomach. This made me feel much better, and I will always remember these instances from the smell of this medicated oil.

 

A slight unpleasant memory: Hairspray

When I was very young, school starts later while my parents would get up earlier for work. But I would very often be woken up by a distinct and ‘sharp’ smell… That is the smell and also sounds from my mother applying a lot of the hairspray. I didn’t like it as a child because the smell was far from fragrance and that disturbs me from my sleep ): Yet, as I recall this memory now, more about it that I feel would be nostalgia.

 

 

CONSTRUCTING BASED ON SCENTS & MEMORY