Pulling Strings.

For project 2, we were tasked to create string sculptures out of well, strings, and paper.

When we first started off with researching, it seemed feasible and it looks like a lot of cool stuff can be done. Here are some of my favorite works found on Pinterest:

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I set off with the idea of wanting to do geometric shapes, or a sphere. And started with the structure of a pinwheel, experimenting what I could make out of it.

I started off with the pinwheel shape and thought that I would experiment along the way, but eventually I was still quite bounded by the shape of the pinwheel.img_6090

Not sure if this was the best I could have came up with… But it wasn’t good.

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Disappointed, I attempted at something I thought was simper. But again, it turned out to be a mess of strings and there was nothing cool about the structure.

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I found some leftover strips of paper and I attempted sewing them together. At this point, I was wondering, if the strings were going to be wavy, why don’t I just create something wavelike? Perhaps like water? Hence the use of blue strings.

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It’s not very pretty from the top but I liked how geometric it is from another angle. img_6094

And check out the zig zags. img_6095
It didn’t turn out well and it was challenging as vanguard paper is quite flimsy, as compared to the references I have found previously. In search of something closer to our project guidelines, I found these sculpts:
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I think they were minimalistic, and really simple, but somehow is still interesting and it seems like a good direction to work towards.

With the newfound references, I tried to be more simplistic, but this time having a better direction to work with. It was a circle and a line, with the strings intercepting in the middle. img_6098

I was wonder if I should cage the middle sculpture up with something similar to the second reference above as it might be too plain… (or plane, pun intended) 
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Still flimsy, but a lil’ bit better! At least a recognisable shape came up of it.

Still unhappy, I tried one last attempt in class. This time, using a different method of tying the string. (Tying the knot at the needle head instead of cutting the string and tying a knot at the end – this way, I don’t have to worry about the string running out.) Also, from the various previous experiments, I kept experiencing strings falling out, even if there were knots tied. I made sure to tie enough knots this time so nothing would fall out. Also, sewed two sides of the paper together in attempt to create a taut sculpture. But nope, it didn’t work.
img_6096 img_6097Nah….

So I went with my “The Circle and the Line” idea. This time, on a sort of plastic sheet. img_5942
Drew the lines, poked the holes, and threaded the strings. This sculpt is actually different from my experiment, but I like how it turned out so far. Best part, I finally managed to make the string look tight, probably because of the material. I am also a lot more careful with my strings and knots by now. This sculpt looks presentable, there’s still a bit to work on before it’s complete, and I might need to secure some sort of cool background as the contrast between the strings and the plastic sheet isn’t very obvious. img_5953

Also, OSS keeps rotating my photos 90 degrees to the right :\

 

“Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?”

Sooo, onward to our next project – silkscreen printing!!

This time, it’s about transforming movie quotes into vintage, olden like black and white collages. Abstract, of course.

So here are some quotes that I’ve sieved out:

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Next steps – looking for artists that inspire me, and start sketching out possible concepts with the quotes! Also, researching on possible resources.

Full list of quotes considered:

SPIRITED AWAY
– Once you do something, you never forget. Even if you can’t remember.
– Finish what you started, human.

HARRY POTTER
– We’ve all got both light and dark inside us, what matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.
– Have a biscuit, Potter.
– I solemnly swear I am up to no good.
– All was well.
– Until the very end.
– You’re just as sane as I am.

SHERLOCK HOLMES
– Tea, Mr Holmes?
– My mind rebels at stagnation.
– To a great mind, nothing is little

MEAN GIRLS
– That is so fetch!

GHOSTBUSTERS
– Don’t cross the streams.
– Okay, who brought the dog?

IRONMAN
– Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.
– Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?

Marks, marks, marks, and more marks.

Last Friday, we finally concluded My Line is Emo.FINAL

 

It took a total of about 4 (or was it 5?) all-nighters in school, and here’s some progress pix:


IMG_2016-09-11 14:37:57Dismantled a bouquet and experimented with different parts of it.

IMG_2016-09-11 14:38:05Water color droplets I tried to smack to create an explosion effect, but failed. 

IMG_2016-09-11 14:38:11A huge part of development included labelling my works like a crime scene. 

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After all that development, I learnt a hard lesson that art can’t be replicated…IMG_2016-09-11 14:31:13IMG_2016-09-11 14:31:04

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Through perseverance and some encouragement, I am relieved to have finally collated 18 lines, albeit I thought the final outcomes could be better. Especially if I had collected my final pieces as I was doing my development – saving the time trying so hard to replicate, and capturing the precious, single moment, feelings and space when the piece was created.

It hasn’t been an easy or clear ride, but it’s been a first for bearing our emotions and documenting them in the form of visual art.

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Farewell, my emo lines, farewell.

Project 1B: In a world…

For Project 1B, we were tasked to create 3 characters! Here’s mine: 
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CHARACTER 1: THE BONSAI MAN

Inspiration: Looking out the window, I wanted to make a character with trees for a head.

In a world where everyone has plants for heads. Das rite, imagine a sakura lady wearing a kimono, a peony-headed lady wearing a cheongsam. No shit they use their roots to absorb nutrients.

– Trims bonsai as a hobby, so that would mean trimming his own head.
– Wrinkly, traditional and deeply rooted to his culture/traditions (pun intended)
– He fights off urbanization, the opposite of traditions

In an adventure in search of urbanization to destroy, he learns to come to terms with accepting development.

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CHARACTER 2: LADY ANXIETY

Inspiration: I just thought of a lady’s head completely wrapped in bandages, reminding me of some of Christopher’s McKenny’s dope photography. She has no actual head or face, just like the character in Durarara!

Initially, she was named the Clothed Lady (after the bandaged face), and she was some sort of an urban myth – when people saw her, they would be mysteriously granted talents. Wouldn’t everyone want an urban myth like that to exist? Technically, if she did that, she would be a talent scout. Ha-ha.

If it’s an urban myth, is this the Clothed Lady real? Could it just be a psychological effect where people think they saw her, and they started believing that they had been granted a talent?

But eventually, I scraped the talent-scouting-lady for the lack of a good story and transformed her into Lady Anxiety instead.

She has a cloth wrapped around her face, suffocating her as she is trapped in her own anxiety and mind. She is also constantly afloat, unable to stay rooted to reality as her mental conditions cause her to feel trippy all the time. With her inbuilt emo-ness, she dons a long, black, flowy dress, which seems to be classy.

Some people may seem classy and composed (or a myriad of other positive descriptions) all the time, but that does not show what they’re hiding beneath their covered faces. Lady Anxiety is a showcase of that.

She goes on a suffocating adventure to wallow in self-despair, only to discover her rotting face and non-existent life (oh yes she’s dead but she doesn’t know it, because she’s dead on the inside). It could be a horror story.

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CHARACTER 3: ODDBALL, flower pack edition

Inspiration: Oddball is a character I developed potentially for an animation shory. I took it and changed it up as I looked up and saw the Japanese frozen flowers on my desk.

It’s an oddball of happiness that everyone is wary of. C’mon, it looks weird, who would dress like that? It’s fashion screams steer clear. Only animals were not afraid of it, in fact, they loved Oddball instinctively.

The truth about Oddball though, it carries around a backpack full of colorful, glowing flowers daily, tapping the flowers onto beings and objects, giving them life and happiness as the flowers absorb negativity and disintegrates. (Different flowers tackle different kinds of emotions?). Oddball does it on a day-to-day basis, with no one noticing the effects of his ‘magical’ flowers.

If people knew, would they engulf Oddball, and beg him for his flowers? Sometimes human beings are strange; they know what makes them happy, but at the same time they are afraid to pursue the said happiness.

Oddball is a lone wolf and a socially awkward creature made up of scraped junk and their memories. Could he be a person, like everyone else? If so, what about it’s own emotions? Animals are drawn to Oddball because of their sharp instincts and unprejudiced minds. Oddball doesn’t speak.

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Story:

 

In the present world flooded with negativity, Oddball is especially busy, but his garden is running low on supplies. Oddball is an oddball of happiness that everyone is wary of, because of his oddity and appearance. Without the world paying any attention to him, day-to-day, Oddball religiously harvests mysterious flowers that seem to absorb away the world’s unhappiness.

The adventure begins when Oddball meets a little girl, who notices Oddball because of her innocence, in contrast to the judgmental, depressed and generally negative adults. The duo goes on a journey of discovery, learning more about each other’s world. What new rules will be made about achieving happiness?

 

Questions to help develop story
– Does happiness solve all problems?
– Is Oddball emotionless?
– How does Oddball make himself feel better?
– Where does happiness come from?

Some plot points
– Oddball goes about doing his work, whimsically tapping flowers
– He notices a little girl staring at him
– Which is unusual, because he usually goes by unnoticed or is treated rudely
– Little girl runs towards him, Oddball, startled, bolts, little girl chases (mom doesn’t know)
– Oddball runs into the forest and stopped to catch a breath, thinking that he’s safe, only to turn around, in shock that the little girl is right behind him.
OR
– Little girl touches Oddball with her finger, they stare at each other. Mom walks away without noticing girl is gone. Oddball walks off and the little girl follows.

– In quest of bringing the girl back to her mother, the little girl goes through a day with Oddball
– Learns about the mystery of Oddball (harvests flowers from Cloud9, where emitted exuberance gather and causes flowers to sprout – happiness goes round, spreads around)
– Oddball knows that he has been doing this forever, but have no memories of how it all started. *Can be included for feature length story, otherwise, scrape it and Oddball will just be a mysterious character.
– Lesser and lesser ‘fairy flowers’ because people are just so negative
– Little girl teaches Oddball a lesson; happiness can be created and spread from the heart, not just with the use of its flowers (Oddball always treated badly, so he wouldn’t know)
– When little girl returns to mom, mom thought Oddball kidnapped her, but little girl told her the truth, and Oddball fully understands the lesson taught by the little girl as happiness engulfs him.

Some feedback I’ve received are:
– For Bonsai man, him trimming his Bonsai head could be themes about beauty and perfection
– For the poster, a background could be added to show the world the character inhabits.

Which I find are helpful! This project was fun to make and I kind of enjoy character designing. This is also a different type of character design I am used to, as I used to draw the characters I design, instead of photo bashing.