Monday, April 12, 2010

Luminary Box






The objective of this piece was to create a luminary device that used little or no power. I chose to use plexiglass as my material because it provided a soft light when illuminated. I focused on constructing a shell for the light to be contained in that would provide a descent amount of light while being interesting to look at as a structure. The walls of the box were constructed with two different types of plexiglass. One was opaque, and the other was completely transparent. I sanded the areas which were clear to create a textured pattern that would become very visible with light behind it. The lightbulb is contained within a smaller rectangular configuration of plexiglass, which completely disquises the bulb while softening the light. This inner housing also projects a square of light on the top side of the lamp when turned on. The cord is also hidden and contained in a small groove on the underside of the base.

Transformative Series




This work was made my making a series of plaster casts from a latex mold. As a group they are meant to show a visual transformation. The first out of the group of four is a cast of the original object which was a glass Coca-Cola bottle. The second and third out of the series show the physical steps I took in arriving at my final carved piece. I choose to carve this final piece into a form resembling a small boat or canoe. My intent was to draw a connection between the element of liquid and how such a humble material as glass relates to the environment. Just as we can use these materials to contain liquid, liquid often times ends up containing these glass objects and others like it. The transformative group is meant to represent how these events are interconnected both sculpturally and environmentally.

Wooden Spoons








This project involved transforming a single object into something with an entirely different function. My original object was a croquet mallet. I deconstructed my original object into three pieces, two that would serve as the handles for the spoons and one that I could form into their heads. I wanted to preserve some of the objects details like the grooves along the handle. By using a lathe I was able to exaggerate these characteristics and make a form that was also comfortable to hold. I cut up the original mallet into several sections that I then carved into the head of the spoons. I used a di-grinder as well as several different sanding tools to refine it enough to have a smooth and visually interesting shape of a spoon.