A Moment In Time: A Time Capsule Completed

People were waiting for the scanner so I didn't get a chance to upload my orthographic drawing properly, I will be sure to upload it tomorrow morning though.

Process Zine

Sketch Model Drawings

These are drawings of some ideas for our Time Capsule project. The first one is the one I will be working on. It is a sculpture with cubes that will be able to store artifacts such as a letter to ourselves in the future or sketchbooks, drawings, etc. The more uniform blocks on the left represent us coming into the program not knowing where to go and the more random blocks represent us finding our individuality and our own purpose in life. The bottom drawing was supposed to be a sculpture that you could walk under outside. I really don't like this model but i was meant to represent the 'world of IARC'. It is a little cliche and I think that a less literal approach is much more punctual and makes more of a point.

Metamorphosis

Michelle and Monique's Projects

This project was to take two students projects and morph them into one. I made three iterations and each one is different. One is closer to Michelle's red and black boxes, and the other is closer to Monique's shoe. The third iteration is the middle ground between the two. I wasn't quite sure where I was going with this project, you could say that this project somewhat morphed on it's own. I was really unhappy with this project and am somewhat embarrassed putting these photos up. I guess you could call this a learning experience though.

Design + Zine = Dezine!

What is a zine? Why it's a mini magazine. Dictionary.com puts it in more specific terms though.

zine also 'zine (zēn)
n. An inexpensively produced, self-published, underground publication



For this project we were to create a 'zine' for design. I picked 10 objects from design magazines that I was interested in and commented on them. Researching this project was so much fun. I sat in the library here at the studio for hours with Missy just looking at amazing design magazines, sitting on designer couches, dreaming about owning/ designing the same types of things one day. I spent a lot of time on the commentary of the objects and not as much time as I wanted to on the actual making of the zine. This is probably why the images are slightly crooked. Although there is room for some improvement, I think that the craft overall is nicely executed. The cover of the booklet was a nightmare to make. I was trying to print an irregular shaped piece of paper and get the title in the correct place. This is why the bottom of the title is cut off. I think that it could be considered an artistic touch however and that is why I left it (also the fact that I had to go to class). There were a lot of technical issues that were frustrating while making the zine but in the end I think it turned out nicely.

Magazine Layouts

Have you ever stopped to look at the layout of a magazine? I don't think I ever did before this assignment. We were supposed to look at the layouts in magazines and create a page that discussed what made our studio space special. I was inspired by a few magazine layouts but in the end I came up with my own. I like the crispness of black and white and I enjoyed pages that had a burst of color, so that is what I used for my layout. I used drawings I did of the studio space and students working. It was also fun deciding which font to use.

A Place For A Memory

How do you design a place for a memory? Do you take it literally and use pictures and actual memorabilia; or do you make something more symbolic and abstract? It's much more potent in my mind to design something with textures, colors, smells, and other qualities that remind you of the memory rather than using a literal approach. For this project we had to write a narrative and make a place for our memory. I like to remember the good times and one of my favorite memories is picking raspberries with my sister. Here is the narrative, I hope you enjoy!

Early in the morning she bolted out the door grasping her younger sister’s hand. They were headed for Stan and Margaret’s raspberry bushes. The bushes were in the far corner of their neighbor’s yard, the closest corner to the little girls’ house. All they had to do was sneak through the crack in the fence and slip behind the bushes where no one could see them. The younger one was five and her dark brown hair was cut in a bowl cut like most children her age. The older sister was twice her age and her long brown hair reached down to her waist and flew past the younger one’s head as they ran towards fence.
First the sisters peeked through the fence, checking to see if anyone was in the backyard, then with their hearts racing they sprung through the tiny opening in the fence and jumped behind the raspberry bushes. They scanned the raspberries and tried to find the plumpest, juiciest, and best looking ones. Their mouths and chins soon turned red and the youngest one’s white shirt had red stains at the top. Then the girls heard across the yard, “Cathy?...Molly?” It was their mother calling them. They quickly jumped up and stuffed as many raspberries in their mouth as they could as they tried to make it to the other side of the fence before their mother could find them. Their mother knew exactly where they were; it was hard to hide the evidence on their guilty chins and shirts. She just smiled and told them that Stan and Margaret had invited them to tea that afternoon and that they should probably get changed.
The youngest took a sip of her tea and then tried adding more sugar and milk, a lot more sugar. Her legs were dangling at least a foot away from the floor as she kicked them back and forth, back and forth. The older one sat slouched, stirring her tea over and over. They both glanced at each other and smiled, both thinking of the raspberry bushes and their little secret.


Below are three different iterations of the project. I have two pictures of my first two iterations at the very bottom and the rest are photos of my final. My idea for this project was to use textures, colors, and smells that reminded me of the memory. The textures of the leaves, raspberries, and dirt from the garden were a large part of my memory. The lush reds and greens of the raspberry bushes and the smell of the tea stuck out in my mind as well. My first iteration was a simple box covered in red paper and lined with real leaves. The paper seemed bland to me and didn't remind me of my memory at all. The leaves, however, really spoke to me and that's where my second iteration came in. I did the entire box in leaves for my second iteration and changed the lid slightly. Although my memory is "secretive" I felt that the lids on either box were not working. Also, the leaves were very difficult to glue onto the box made of chipboard (a material similar to mat board but significantly cheaper). I tried mod podge (a simple white glue) and then hot glue. Neither did the trick. For my final box I used rubber cement to glue the leaves. This worked wonders but smelled quite pungent. I still wanted my box to smell like tea. I mixed a very small amount of Mod Podge, red paint, and earl gray tea to make the textured outside of the box. I was really pleased with the way it turned out. The smell may not be what I had planned on exactly but the textures really work well together. Overall this is one of my favorite projects so far!

(FYI: The scroll with a leather tie is my narrative)

Final Memory Box

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First Iterations

My 'Parti'

Pencil Box

Design a place for your pencils using only mat board and paper.

I had a lot of fun with this project. I was very low on cash and decided to use newspaper instead of buying paper like I usually have to do. The newspaper was hard to work with at first but once I got the hang of it I really liked the outcome. Consciously placing the words and images on the newspaper was fun too because I got to decide what my box was going to be about. Making a sturdy, well crafted box was difficult at first, and making many iterations really helped me. I tried different methods of joining the sides and the lid. My first iteration was the gray box that looked like it could hold shoes better than pencils. I divided the inside into sections though so it really did hold pencils quite well. Although my first iteration was extremely sturdy, it wasn't crafted as well as I would like and the size wasn't quite right. I scaled down the size for my second iteration and experimented with paint and newspaper. I liked the size of the box and the newspaper, but the paint was messy and didn't give clean enough lines. My final iteration I am very pleased with and I use my box everyday. I think I did pretty well on this project because it is functional and is aesthetically pleasing.

Final Box

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First Iterations

A Place for an Egg

Design a place for an egg that celebrates a quality of the egg, using only paper.

I really appreciate the originality of our assignments, especially this one. This was the first project we were assigned and needless to say it was the most challenging so far. No glue or adhesive was allowed on this assignment and working with paper is challenging when you are trying to make it fit together and hold, while still maintaining a well crafted object. My original projects used white paper with pops of color in the pillars around the egg such as red. I strove for a more natural look with another prototype by making the pillars into leaf shapes. I think this took away from the juxtaposition of the 'space age' shapes against the natural egg. Using white in the end for all of the paper made the project clean and made it seem lighter and gave a crisp contrast against the brown egg.

I focused on celebrating the delicacy and shape of the egg. The curve in the paper mimics the curve of the egg. Having the egg float in the air and almost touch the two pillars on each side but not quite reaching either one makes it precarious and shows off its delicacy. The very bottom picture I took because it was suggested that the curls at the bottom were unnecessary. I personally enjoy the curls and think they enhance the shape of the egg. They also are necessary for support, otherwise the project would lean to one side.

I really wish I kept my original prototypes for this project. I hated them at first, but during critique I realized how unique and interesting my design was. It reminded me of a space ship, and the final prototype still does, just not as strongly.

I want to ride my bicylcle, I want to ride my bike...

This was done in pencil first and then gone over in pen. I think it really does look a lot sharper. Thanks for the tip Stoel!