• A FINAL REFLECTION ON MY SEMESTER ACROSS STUDIO 2 AND SEMINAR 2  (Overall Integrative Seminar and Studio 2 Reflection Post )

Cross Course Reflection LP Post

• N00607353, that is me. Antonia Groh. Everyday I see this very number as I swipe my ID at the gates to the new school.
  When I started here at Parsons in September 2016, I began my journey through the first year. To be part of one of the greatest design school on the planet,  that made me weak in my knees, especially because I worked so hard to get here ever since my elementary school years. So walking through these gates every day, even though it may sound very cheesy, made my day each time.
  I am majoring in fashion design, undoubtedly one of the most well-known courses here at Parsons, as one can see from the many established alumnus and Parsons own Wikipedia page. Yes, you heard correctly, Parsons has its own Wikipedia page, and now I am part of it wuhu!As it was my first year here at the New School, I did not exactly know what to expect, because no matter how prepared one is, one never truly knows what it will be like 100 percent until you do it. So when looking back now over the last months of these semesters, I must say I am so grateful to be a part of this amazing program. Apart from the fact that the facilities here are invertible, I am so happy to be part of a community in which I am accepted and understood. This is correct creatively, as well as work ethic wise, as I enjoy the thrill of long nights of working on my project because once it done, it is a feeling of accomplishment that not much else can measure up to.
  Furthermore, I was also positively surprised with the way my classes were arranged, particularly as registering for classes in America is drastically different from my home country and the first time dealing with CRN numbers was rather challenging. However, it was a tiny issue which was soon resolved and luckily everything turned out well. Within the time frame of these classes, I have generated a variety of work and feel as if my working methods have evolved along this.
  Refining and fine tuning skills I had previously acquired, such as adobe suite, as well as learning new skillets, for example how to operate laser cutting machinery, a 3D printing machine and how to weld, were all part of my experiences here at Parson. Particularly within the first semester when working on my projects for Space and Materiality class, I feel I gathered a vast variety of knowledge of new techniques, as I was working on a project regarding the magnification of three eggs utilizing every day overlooked objects. This project required me to use materials such as q-tips, earplugs and toothpicks and their manipulation using my own techniques and strategies, also inclining the creation of a wood to create, which had to be specifically measured and put together with vigorous attention to detail. Which may sound very tedious, was actually Yan amazing opportunity to gather more skills in generating woodcut objects, hence I was excited to learn new techniques.
  Hence I would say, my Space and Materiality class was one of my many highlights this first Parsons year.
  Another highlight this year was coding a website from scratch. This was rather challenging, but it was exactly this which made it my favorite project, as it made me require to quickly gain a new set of skill, very particular to a certain process, which otherwise i would not have utilized at this level otherwise.Yet there was another class which truly stood out to me as well. As I am not a born English speaker, I took a mandatory English course, for which I was lucky enough to have the wonderful Pamela Vittero as my teacher, who was honestly one of the best faculty members I have ever been taught by in my entire school life. Her passion for the subject she teaches and personal achievements were truly inspiring. Hence one of my highlights was making her acquaintance and thus meeting one of my new mentors.

• Overall Integrative Seminar and Studio 2 Reflection Post

• Regarding my Studio Two and Seminar 2 class, I was thrilled to have chosen system and strategies, as it helped me to further my knowledge of the topic and thus refine many of my skills, particularly in the field of research, as well as writing. Overall, I felt that the studio and seminar classes connected rather strongly this semester. This was particularly due to the connected theme (in my case greenhouses) over both courses. Which was interesting, as last semester this was not so much the case. However, I felt it worked well, as this way a more detailed research was possible as I could focus my attention on one topic, yet broaden my awareness into many directions and thus broaden my horizon. Furthermore, I felt I got a clear understanding of what research is and how I acquire information when researching any topic. Based on my current experience, I would say research is the ‘looking for’ and gathering of specifically relevant information that will explain and advance the project one is trying to generate and acclimate. By this I mean that I understand that research is not only the gathered information but the way of with one finds this information and how one uses and most importantly interprets this knowledge.  Over the course of the semester, I felt I developed a more broad and open-minded approach to researching and understanding systems. Particularly as a maker, I feel as if I have tried new ways of incorporating the skills I wanted to develop further ( such as welding) into my project as a way of advancing these but also because they were relevant to my theme. I feel my concept of both research and my own practice changed slightly over the time of the semester, in the way that I started to research not only historical backgrounds when doing research, but also the ‘small things’ such as materials, surfaces and how they were made and utilized in other scenarios. I feel like this was particularly evident in my final piece as I welded parts of it and had not welded before, hence I had to do research on welding. This I did both online by watching videos and reading about it as well as ‘physical ‘research, as I practiced and watch other students using the welding facilities in the metal workshop.
•  Studio : Process, Documentation and Reflection Post of Final Studio Project
• For my final project in Studio 2, my initial idea was to construct a wood board which I would later place my photograph onto.
• I took these photographs whilst being in vienna, as one of the cities palaces has e beautiful greenhouse from the 18th /19th century in its garden.
• I then attaching a metal piece to the wood panel so that the piece can be hung up and stitching into the photograph at specific areas. After this I constructed a 3D printing file, printing a ‘real life ‘ version of the greenhouse metal construction seen within my photograph. This way the 3D part will reach out of the actual frame and create a holographic effect when placed upon the piece correctly.  I then would have installed artificial lighting so that the 3D parts are lit in a manner that creates a ‘holographic shadow’, which creates the impact upon the audience, as it creates yet another dimensional layer.
  However, as I started to build my explorations and mockups for my final piece I felt it was not as successful visually as I imagined, therefore I explored and brainstormed ideas of how to make it more impactful. When doing so I looked and observed the hologram portrayed at Lee McQueen’s fashion show again.
• I realized the hologram was generated using glass-hence I felt I should create a sense of glass within my exploration too. This led me to think of plenty ideas of how to incorporate this factor within my piece as it is a crucial part of a holographic image. Yet due to the limitation in time, I could not fabricate a full functioning hologram, hence I decided to alter my idea and rather than creating a full fletched hologram, create the illusion of one. This I achieved by placing a mirror onto a wood panel, and placing a 3D print on top of it, then connecting part to the greenhouse skeleton with its reflection using thread which is relevant due to my research on artist Kumi Yamashita-(image )
  this way I created an optical illusion, in which a sort of sense of an alternate reality is given. This is due to the second half of the greenhouse not being present yet feeling as if so. Furthermore, the mirror reflects not only the greenhouse skeleton but also its audience, hence the person(s) observing the structure seem as if trapped inside- which is an homage to a real hologram, in which the light reflection is captured within the glass construction. (like the woman in the hologram for McQueen). I first created a mini version so that I could explore the idea in a functional manner, and also check which materials would work.
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  However, further developing my final plan and final piece, I decided that the hologram would look immature and thus not as successful. Hence I decided to still create a sense of a hologram, yet I did so by placing an image of the inside of a greenhouse inside the frame, onto the mirror, instead of only singularly using the mirror and the reflection of the metal grid placed upon it. To further emphasize this I cut away part of the image so that one could see the image as well as the reflection of the welded metal greenhouse grid.I also added botanicals to the piece to add a 3D element as well as to create another dimension.  This way the feeling of looking into a greenhouse would emphasized and hence be more successful as well as being more relevant to my research question. Also, I feel this way my piece is more impactful as it speaks to the audience member more. Furthermore, I also feel this way the piece became contextually more interesting and successful.
  Overall I feel my final outcome is successful and clearly portrays my final thought process and final idea. Furthermore, I feel my ideas process has been clearly observable within my developmental LP posts. If I had more time and was to change something, I feel I would add even more botanicals to the structural metal parts, yet I feel the piece is impactful to the audience the way it prevails now as well. My thoughts moving forward are to continue using the skills I have learned over the last months and utilize them for my next project.
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Studio Two: Final Exhibition and paragraph

‘Greenhouse window’ by Antonia Groh

My endeavor was to generate a ‘window’ into a greenhouse structure. I did so by creating an artificial environment within a frame so that one could experience the feeling of looking into the interior part of the glasshouse within the comfort of one’s home. This way the sensation of being inside the structure would be ever present wherever the hanging is installed, thus virtually anywhere. The piece is inspired by the beauty obtained by nature, even if captured within a greenhouse. Thus the piece is meant to convey a sense of urgency, representing the ‘window into a lost world’, embodying the need to maintain the health of the planet earth and its botanicals, otherwise one will only be able to experience its beauty through an artificial window like the given. By hanging this piece anyplace, ‘Greenhouse window’ raises awareness, acting as a subtle reminder of the matter, whilst also functioning as a wall decoration to brighten up one’s living room.

Research Question:

The role of the Greenhouse within the environment/

Which role does the Greenhouse play in sustaining a healthy planet?

How will I install the piece to generate greenhouse feel:

I will install this piece by hanging it on a wall rather high up, at an angle, as if one was looking up into the greenhouse.