Initial Stage
Arm Cast
Completed Structure
Final Details
Process
The assignment required us to use 75 percent wood and make a decorative, functional or and sculptural piece that related to a part of our body and could be worn by us. The other 25 percent could be any type of supporting materials including wire, fabric, plexiglass, sheetmetal, chipboard, rope etc.
Using wooden popsicle sticks I constructed a sculptural robotic arm. I first began by attaching the cast that is worm on the forearm. I did this by stacking two wooden sticks vertically and then continuing the pattern horizontally. After drilling holes in the sticks, I used aluminium wire and weaved it through the holes. I finished the ends by the process of ‘bailing’.
The second part included the fingers and knuckles. In order for the piece to be functional as well I measured the segments of my fingers and cut a thick square dowel into various sections using the ban saw. Next I drilled holes in the small pieces and repeated the process of weaving the wire. However in this case I imitated the shape of jump rings that attached each section together and also finally connected the knuckles to the arm cast.
The last steps included adding another “softer element” or material to the piece. I stumbled upon white woollen thread and decided that it added a unique dichotomy to the overall industrial look of the arm. I thus weaved the thread into the blank or empty section that seemed a little incomplete at the back of the forearm. Finally the entire piece was spray painted a metallic silver colour and left to dry. I chose this colour as it gave the illusion of the arm being made out of metal instead of wood.
Reflection
Since I was inspired by wooden tribal jewellery as well as protective gear such as shoulder armours and wooden knuckles, I am extremely pleased by the end result of this piece. I feel like it incapsulates several different themes and ideas into one. It is not only personalised to my measurements but also influenced by my heritage. If I could work on the arm further I would refine the fine details and maybe add more thread so that it is evenly spread out across the piece. I would also love to construct another wooden piece that accompanied this one and could be worn on the other arm.
