Object and Community- Project 2

Research:

1. settlements centered around water
   1. safety of irrigation and steady farming
      1. ex: Mesopotamia and Egypt, reliant on black silt fields of the Nile River
2. Shared culture and religion
   1. Greeks lived spread out in the region, but were unified by traditions
      1. walled city-states (poleis)
   2. Polis fostered their own social identity to create a sense of solidarity that set them apart
      1. Polis-specific festivals and celebrations
         1. reinforced idea of each city’s uniqueness

Mood board:

Sketches:

3-D mock-ups:

Photos of form development and process images:

Materials-  aluminum wire, black and white crystal beads, black and light pink embroidery thread

Structure: PLANERS – Black tulle fabric, tan spandex fabric, plastic pillow packaging

Connectors: black 20 gauge wire,  thread

Technical drawings including dimensions:

Model photos:

 

Styling photos:

Reflection:

My mask and sculptural pillow-scarf serves as something that gives the wearer both a physical and emotional protection as they are surrounded by the “faces” of loved ones.

While brainstorming, I questioned to myself: how am I related to others? With who do I feel a sense of community with and at best, when? I thought of the friendships that I’ve made in the past and making in the present and also of my family, my community at birth. I realized that I tend to stay close with people that I feel similar to. It’s something that we are all keen to do, but this similarity gives us a sense of protection.

I feel the most connected to my little community composed of my friends and family. I tend to make friends slowly, prioritizing quality over quantity. I enjoy simple get-togethers- not loud parties- just sitting one and one with each other, really talking and spending time together. 

At first, I went off the idea of the Greek parties in my research, how they had specific celebrations for their city, and focused on my community’s own celebrations: birthday parties. We get a cake, sing, open presents… it’s simple but I love it. On my mood board, I included photos from my childhood with curvy, layered motifs and patterns. At first, I had an idea to create something party-themed but of course, my idea changed very much over the process.

While sketching, I was not happy with my ideas and just started doodling the eyes and expressions of my family and friends in the photos. Some had big eyes (opened wide by the deliciousness of the cake) some had small eyes, crinkled by their laughter. I was intrigued by these shapes and abstracted them into my piece.

I went to Mood to buy some tan spandex and black tulle and BeadWorld for some decorations. The material heavily influenced the outcome of my project. Originally, I had thought of stretching spandex over wire to create sculptural shapes, but after creating a 3D sketch model, it turned out not how I imagined it to be. Instead, to keep the idea of organic shapes, I created a “pillow” by inserting recycled packaging into a slip I had sewn and embroidered faces onto.

For the mask, I created a frame of wire, and sewed tulle fabric onto it. I wanted the tulle to look somewhat imperfect, like blown across the face to represent how life is not perfect but we can best enjoy it with the ones we love. Eyes are embroidered all around, giving care and looking out for the wearer.

For this project, I wanted to challenge myself to go bigger than project 1. I had difficulties in figuring out what I wanted to do which made me work really slow at first because I felt somewhat lost. I wasn’t sure what to do for the sculptural part as the wire wasn’t working out, but re-purposing packaging turned out to be a nice solution.

In the end, it all came together and I liked the quirky embroidered details paired with the funky shape. Emily and I went to take some photos together and I enjoyed seeing how it looks from a new lens. For the next time, I want to challenge myself by focusing more on the shape than of the details.