The first thing we did for the project was choose an activity that is social for us. I chose surfing because at home everyone hangs out at the beach and even if you don’t surf, most social interactions happen at the beach or the beach parking lot.

Here are my stop motion photos.

The next part was to evaluate the movement. I took tracing paper and connected the different parts of my body. I connected my head, shoulders, hands, hips, knees and toes. Mine turned out very interesting because my movement is both verticle and horizontal.

Here is my alanysis:

The next part was to create little wire figurines of us doing our motion and connect them. We attatched our partner’s last figuring to the end of the connection to because this project is about social spaces. I had a very hard time doing this because I only had thin copper wire. I ended up re-doing this in a thicker steel wire but I did not take photos of it before moving onto the next part.

Here are my photos of the copper wire:

(bad quality photos, sorry, I was planning on re doing them when I remade my wire piece but got carried away with the other steps)

Then we dipped it in soapy water to see the minimal surfaces that is created. I did not take pictures of the steel one that I did, but I did take photos of the copper one that I used.

Here they are:

 

(Again, sorry about the quality of the photos)

This step is where I realized that I needed to use a different wire. When we put nylon around the copper wire it collapsed. The thicker wire worked much better under the pressure of the nylon.

Here is my minimal surface inspiration:

The next step was fun. I took inspiration from the minimal surfaces that I saw in the previous step and I created a larger piece and connected it to wood.

I did not take photos before I put nylon on it.

Here is a photo of it after I put the nylon on it.

Then we started to plaster over the nylon. I loved this part. I think that it ended up looking pretty good. I think I learned a lot by trial and error not only in this part of the process but also the entire project. I want to work more with plaster.

I took some photos of the process:

Here is my final minimal surface/social space plaster piece:

I really like how the backside of it turned out to look like a wave. This was very inspirational for my final piece.

The final is not super related to this part of the project. I guess the way that they are most related is by the wave form that my plaster piece created. We had to use minimal surfaces and create a social space. Since I chose the social activity of surfing, I wanted to make a wave like structure to get the feeling you get when you are in a barrel (the before the water crashes, when you are under the wave)

Here are my plans:

My small scale model:

My presentation boards:

The final piece:

My statement:

The best surf spots come with a sense of community. The unspoken rules of water and comradory of surfers creates a tight knit community bound together by a common passion. The physical act of surfing requires specific yet frustrating skills. Patience, frustration, focus, balance and strength are just a few. For most surfers the moment that makes it all worth it is when you become one with the ocean, sanding under a wave watching the wave crash before you. It gives a sense of tranquility for just a moment.

I wanted to recreate this feeling by creating a piece that emulates a barreling wave. I used recycled plastic water bottles to do so because of the unsettling amount of trash seen in the ocean. The surf community is very eco-conscious. For suspension of the water bottles, I used natural materials. I wanted the water bottles to be able to move upon touch, just like water. Step inside and enjoy the tranquility of the water.