The objectives of this assignment were to, practice the use of the laser lab, creation of a 3D form using planer materials, and use of mechanical connectors.
Materials Used:
- Illustration Board 15″x8″
- Chip Board 15″x8″
- Embroidery Floss
- Sanding Block
Initial Design:
I chose to create an icosahedron and for the design, I decided to illustration an eye. The concept was to see how these eyes would appear if a light was inserted in the middle and turned on. How would the shadows of the eyes appear in the surrounding environment? What feelings or thoughts would it evoke?
I had previously created a piece entitled “Eyes of God.” The concept behind it was to express the feeling of judgment one faces in society. How it can be overwhelming in all of its shapes and sizes. How disturbing it could be.
For assignment #9, I wanted to see if I could create something similar in 3D.
Process:
The print-ready design, which had to be kept at 0.001 point thickness and a pure RGB blue.
The laser cutter cutting the design from the illustration board
Before I combined all the pieces I decided to sand the illustration board as I found in my Studio 1 class that sanded down illustration board gave a suede texture. Lastly, embroidery floss and a sewing needle were used to connect each of the pieces.
Final Piece:
Reflection:
It was an interesting experience in that I had to construct the piece using. However, I found three aspects that are in need of development.
The first is that, although the concept behind the piece was solid, the execution was short of what I wanted to do. The design of the eyes was not innovative in any way. Unlike my illustration which took more thought and exploration, the design I created for the polyhedron could have been made by anyone else.
The second is that I realized that the materials for the piece could perhaps light on fire if the light inside got too hot. If this were to be reproduced on a larger factorial scale, it would need to be made from materials that did not melt nor conduct heat well neither At first, I thought metal would be the best option but it would depend on what type. Stainless steel or brass might be good options since their conductivity is considerably lower than copper for example.
Lastly, the mechanical connector was embroidery floss. Although this is a totally viable option, I think more risk could have been taken on my part to pick something else.
In all, there is much room to develop this assignment into something more characteristic of myself and challenging. It now up to me to see where this goes.
