It starts with a single line...

Table Manners

2008-07-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Beauty can happen at the most mundane and unexpected times. For instance, these are pictures of what happens when I make dinner...

Sketching Stoel

2008-04-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Bottled Up

2008-03-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

17 March 2008

Our assignment was to make an everyday item out of used bottle caps. Today we got into partners and decided on our design for our object we would be making. Katrina & I decided on making a lamp shade for our design and below we have included the steps and time it took to complete one lamp shade.

Step 1: Boiling the white and blue bottle caps

Step 2: Drilling holes through caps and tying them with old fishing line to a used coat hanger

Step 3: Glue down final ties and let dry!

19 March 2008

Today we presented our ideas to our teachers and got feedback for our final model. I think for our final model Katrina and I will make another lamp shade with only white and blue caps, and maybe some larger colorful caps. We will have to find a substitute for the glue we used but I think we will still use the used fishing line and possibly a used lamp shade wire instead of a coat hanger.

24 March 2008
Final Product

Terracycle will be very excited to see our idea for bottle cap lampshades because it is not hard to manufacture and will in the long run be good for the environment. Our lampshades will be able to be reused over and over again using the same materials or the materials can be recycled into different items.

Benefits
Reuse bottle caps over and over again to make new lamp shades

Materials:
Bottle Caps
Coat Hangers
Coccoina Almond Scented Paste: Eco-Friendly Glue

Nontoxic
Non-Solvent
Acid-Free
Tastes Of Marzipan

Dremel
Tin Snips
Pliers

Step 1: Separate top part of bottle cap from ring, using a dremel or tin snips

Step 2: Sand edges of bottle cap pieces
Step 3: Create lamp shade form with coat hanger
Step 4: Glue edges of bottle caps together forming lamp shade shape

Step 5: Bend bottle caps and connect with coat hanger in the middle

Snow Globe

2008-02-14T12:41:00.001-08:00

Drawing class was canceled today due to snow. I took the opportunity to take a walk and snap pictures of the newly fallen snow.

Wooden Movements

2008-02-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Given 1 18" 2x4 and a minimum of 6 cuts any number of systems could be created. I chose to add a little movement. I kept everything very geometric in the interest of simplicity. The 'dangling' cards have notches cut in them that are just a hair larger than the piece they hang from, this allows them to turn and sway. When they are tapped they flutter like leaves in the wind giving an otherwise heavy system a certain lightness. The notches cut out of the bottom also lend themselves to that light feeling.

Good Bones

2008-01-30T12:22:00.001-08:00

For our first drafting project of the semester, we were given a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" MDF and told to make a workstation/all purpose piece of furniture for our newly graduated designer, Pat.
I built a tall desk at counter height easily used for preparing food or working. Attached is a small bench convenient for sitting at the table and writing, or eating, but short enough to be out of the way if Pat wishes to stand.
To the right is a tall storage space for keeping presentation boards and papers which should not be folded. There are also two smaller cubbies for keeping tools or maybe a bowl or two for all the ramen Pat eats.

House of Leaves

2007-12-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

For part two of our drawing final we were assigned 9 drawings of a leaf. I chose a magnolia leaf. I chose the magnolia because I remember having one in the front yard of our house in Charlotte. When I moved back to North Carolina to go to school the smell of the magnolias was the most wonderful thing. It was a smell I had not experienced since I was 8 years old. Memories of playing in that tree are still so vivid. I remember hiding under the branches and watching the lightening bugs and pretending they were fairies.

A Stich in Time

2007-12-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

When Tommy asked us to design a time capsule I thought: "Oh, cool. That should be easy." Then I went and sketched a few ideas and thought I was ready to start construction. What a silly silly girl I am! I did some research, I focused on the purpose of a time capsule. I came up with some very different ideas regarding the form.

First I wanted to build a round shape to fit into a wall where a light would back light artifacts to hint at their shapes, but not reveal them or their true meaning. I rejected this idea because while it was interesting and did involve the class, I didn't feel that it related much to time. Around this time I began to think more about the parameters and goals of my project.

I wanted to restrict the project to the first year students and their first year experience. The capsule should involve everyone in our class, but it should also remain relevant. Relevance became my mantra. I didn't want to include anything that wasn't going to hold meaning in 20 years.

Next I came up with a similar idea involving reflections rather than shadows. The idea being that tiny fragments of mirror would reflect tiny bits of the artifacts inside, but never the whole.

My forms were feeling too similar so I started exploring physics and diagrams of time. I came across a tesseract model online and was inspired to use a similar form. A 3-D model of a tesseract is impossible to build as it violates several other laws of physics, so this is really an interpretation. In the center of the tesseract I wanted to house the actual time capsule. This ended up becoming a better idea for a sculpture than for a time capsule.

I thought I was done when I came up with my idea for a chandelier. It was to hang from the ceiling in the lobby and offer a different view from anywhere on the 2nd floor balcony. I thought it would be dramatic and interesting to be forced to view an artifact through 4 inch windows from 15 feet away. The more I played with the idea though, the more I began to dislike it. I quickly got bored with it. I felt that I could hand 53 cubes to anyone and they would build something similar. The whole thing was uninspired.

Finally, at the 11th hour I went back to an idea I'd had in the early stages and discounted as too simple.
The idea is very literal and simple, but that is where its beauty comes from. There is a dichotomy between the static and the dynamic. The front is burned copper embedded in the wall. Before the copper is burned markers are placed at specific intervals by running a finger where the mark will be. The oils left behind are burned onto the copper and over time will develop a different patina. In 20 years the copper will not look anything like it looks upon installation. The copper will age and people will touch it thereby changing the way it ages. The only maintenance it will require is that it never be cleaned with chemicals that would remove the patina. Behind the copper, built into the studs behind the wall will be 13 static boxes of archival quality. There are 13 boxes to represent the 13 groups in our class. Every two groups will be assigned a project that we did this year. That project will be the theme for their box. Sketches and photos of their IARC experiences are welcome too, as long as the actual project assigned is addressed and everything remains relevant. Each box will be placed behind one of the finger marks on the copper to mark its location and then sealed into the wall. In 20 years there will be a reception and we will return to bash in the wall and see all the things we worked on in our first year. We'll start with the first box containing our egg project ideas and work our way in chronological order down to the final project of the year pausing to see what themes were recurring (platonic forms, anyone?) and how we evolved together over the course of the first year. In 20 years I wonder what we will think of ourselves now.

Le Corbusier

2007-12-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

While Le Corbusier is not my favorite architect, I did enjoy using his buildings as shading exercises. These are my two best.

Homework

2007-11-15T10:44:00.000-08:00

We were assigned a number of shaded drawings for homework. These are my best.

Interview with Kuniko (3rd year)

2007-11-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Q: What influenced you to become an IARC major?
A: In high school I experimented with design classes. I liked being part of the process of designing the spaces people live in every day.
My teacher recommended IARC to me, so I came and checked it out. I liked the unity between architecture and interior design.

Q: What is your most memorable IARC experience?
A: During my second year first semester mid-term I learned about time management. Everyone pulled an all-nighter. I was about to just walk out and quit. I had so much work to do. It was so late and I still had elevations and renderings to do! Now looking back on my portfolio, I know I'll go back to school again, but I'm glad I stayed.

Q: How does IARC fit into today's world?
A: Buildings now are not unified. Interiors and exteriors clash. A long time ago, buildings were done by one person. In the future, IARC will bring things back together and things will be unified.
Also, we are always thinking of ways to be eco-friendly. We will continue to influence design trends in this direction.

Shades of Grey

2007-10-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Shading make me feel like an artist. Drawing is not actually a talent I posses. I feel like shading and learning to shade well helps me draw better. By focusing on the contours and the shadows I am forced to really see all of the picture.

Metamorphosis

2007-10-12T00:52:00.000-07:00

I approached this project as I would an essay. What do these two objects have in common. I found a swirl on the back of one of the playing cards that reminded me of water, which related to Kelly's project on water. Both objects had blue in them, so I created blue waves to tie the two together and then moved them from vertical to horizontal.

SelFisch(er)

2007-10-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

In making a sculptural self-portrait I tried to be both literal and subtle. The drawings are all of me, some are just a line I like, while others are more detailed. Each drawing is done to emphasize a more graphic representation of me with a the economy of line that I so greatly favor.
The form came from two places. I wanted to represent life and the way one always seems to come full circle, but somehow more than one started out as.
I started with a spiral, but the actual portraits got lost in the shape. Then one day after a shower I was staring out of my bathroom window. The trees behind my apartment are not trees that would have been selected by a landscape architect, but they have a careless natural beauty that I appreciate.
The two ideas melded together into a loose spiral arrangement that I placed in the ground like it would grow to be a towering oak. The sculpture itself is stark and very much a blank slate. I did this to represent my potential for growth. While the trees are detailed and have depth that I seek. If I can find a place to safely store my sculpture I want to keep adding to it over the next five years and see how it evolves with me.

Preservation- The Magazine

2007-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

We look at magazines almost daily. We flip through at the grocery check-out, while waiting in the doctor's office, while soaking in a hot bath. What we don't do is look at magazines. We utterly ignore the subtle layouts the clever organization of facts. The emphasis placed on certain aspects of a story. Suzanne made us stop and look at how layouts are made and how they affect our reading and enjoyment of magazines. I learned how pictures help explain and how titles and fonts set tones. I also learned how difficult it is to cram all the information and thoughts and pictures I have onto one page!

Master Cylinder

2007-09-22T00:16:00.000-07:00

My initial design for the pencil box called for drawers made up of concentric circles. After some brief experimentation I realized that this was not the most effective idea. There was no center of gravity and the cylindrical box tended to roll away.

This problem was solved by moving the center drawer down to the bottom of the larger drawer. A center of gravity was established and the cylinder was stable. Each drawer was decorated in a different patterned paper to suggest that each drawer was different. The large drawer was for storing markers and was therefore colorful, the inner drawer was designed for pencils and was therefore smaller and decorated in black and white. When I started getting feedback from other students I discovered that many had the impulse to turn the cylinder on its end to make a smaller footprint. My intention was for markers to be stored in the outer drawer, so keeping the cylinder horizontal was important to me.

April saved the day and suggested that the drawers should come out of opposite ends. By restricting access to one of the drawers if stood on end the container became less user friendly and people generally wanted to use the cylinder as it was intended. To reinforce the suggestion that the cylinder ought to remain horizontal, I made the drawer pulls over-sized so that the container could not be set on its end thereby ruining the markers.

Putting a Face on It

2007-09-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

I, like many people, always assumed that I was not able to draw people. My method was always to draw what I see and be as literal as possible. This method left me lacking, and of course thinking that it was a lack of talent that made it so difficult for me to get it right. Thanks to our drawing class I now know there's a better way!

The People We Never Speak To

2007-09-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

I went to Tate St. Coffee House to draw. I only did two drawings there. It seems I was there at a busy time when people were coming and going too much to draw them well. I felt creepy staring at people I didn't know. Then, as I starting really looking at their shapes and clothes I started to wonder about them. I became intimately acquainted with the bald patch on a man's head, I wondered what else is there to him? I will never speak to him, but I know every hair on the back of his head.

You Can Always Go-Downtown

2007-09-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Beautiful downtown Greensboro! From historic S. Elm, to the parking garage on Bellemeade st, to the Erik Beerbower's "Waterflight" these are drawings from my impromptu walking tour.

Egg Project

2007-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I started this project emphasizing the symmetry and line of the egg. I initially did this by creating an origami rectangle to juxtapose the oval shape of the egg, then I added interlocking strips of black card stock to emphasize the curve of the egg. I cut the egg in half bilaterally and placed each hemisphere in its own 'compartment' made by the card stock.

As my sculpture evolved it took on the appearance of eyes and of overly-minimalist modern art.

Ultimately I am pleased with the final product. The egg is bisected vertically and horizontally from which ever angle it is viewed. The large circular stand mimics, but does not duplicate the oval shape, and despite its size, is ethereal enough to not take away from the egg.

Ferguson Re-Loaded

2007-09-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

This assignment was particularly important as it is the first time we were given an image more complicated than a chair to work with. Layering objects properly became essential as did attention to line and exactly how a line fell.

Spaces Between

2007-09-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best way to draw what you see is to draw what you don't see. By drawing the places around an object you are eventually left with the outline of the object. This was a great way to really learn to look at a subject.

Blind at Birth

2007-09-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

Blind contours are painful. The point is to not look - to not entirely be in control of your work. This is the first lesson to learn, and I think the most difficult.

This is a horror show distortion of what my had looks like. My fingers are long and thin, but not so deeply lined, and happily, my fingernails are attached to the appropriate places.

sketch surfing

2007-08-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

When I was given this initial blogging project, the broad scope of what I was getting into was lost on me. I thought I would visit a few sites, find the one I liked the best and review it. Then I started browsing. A world which I had not known so much about, Sketch Blogging, was suddenly vast, and I met many an interesting artist through their work. There was one (fortunately!) that stood out to me amongst the ones I read.

http://www.blobp.com/gastro/

It contains the the work of an artist named Eefje from the Netherlands. It is not so much her blogging style as it is her work and straightforwardness of the blog itself. her sketches are simple, but rich in detail, and of various subjects. Perhaps it's this simplicity, or perhaps her fondness for cats, that drew me to her work, but either way, it impressed me. Her graphite animal drawings, and anatomical studies in shading and faces seemed to telegraph an emotion of contentedness from the artist. Also, her places in pen & ink were a bit of a welcome departure from her other styles, and beautiful. They convey the very European mood of the towns they depict. And of course, simple sketch work such as the spray bottle right at the top are always fun.

Also of note, is the work is the work and blogging of France Belleville at

http://www.wagonized.typepad.com/

This is possibly some of the better portrait work I've seen, especially from a blogger, and to think, they're just sketches. Plus, he's occasionally funny.

All for now. I think I might start posting my own sketches when there's enough to fill a page!