Describe the general character and specific design features that led you to choose the object you chose to work with.
The object is an all white combat boot with neon pink shoelaces. It is a large, chunky platform boot made out of leather and synthetic material. It has a zipper closure on the left side and a tab on the upper back of the shoe. I decided to choose this as my cultural object because of the simplistic and complex nature of the boot. I enjoy the indented pattern on the bottom of the sole and I wanted to challenge myself to translate it to wire. I also like how the boot has a lot of negative space and doesn’t have many main contour lines so I could use my imagination to give the sculpture volume. Another reason I chose this as my object is because of the colors in it: pink and white. I wanted to see how I could incorporate these colors into the sculpture without using colored wire.
Reflect on what your object choice might say about your cultural identity; how, as a functional object, does your object facilitate participation in a community of shared culture?
This shoe reflects my cultural identity because of the nature of it as well as where it comes from. The brand of the shoe is Jeffrey Campbell, a shoe designer based in California. Since I have grown up in California my whole life, when I first became interested in fashion, I started paying attention to brands that were close to home. Shoes and fashion in general has always brought me closer to people who share the same interests and style as me. The boot is strong and durable, yet also has a delicate, bright feel to it because of the colors. These aspects of the shoe reflect my personality because I can be very stubborn and passionate at some times, and relaxed and carefree at other times.
Evaluate how you met the assignment objectives by describing the line quality or qualities, and character used in your sculpture. Be specific, especially in explaining your strategy for employing cross contour to create structure.
To show line quality in the structure of my shoe, I used a higher gauge wire for the main contour lines, and a smaller gauge wire for the cross contour lines. I used the thinner wire to create topographic lines in the negative space on the toe and heel the boot. This helped show the volume of the object in the sculpture. The large contrast between the two gauges of wire shows the difference in actual and implied lines.
Discuss how you made decisions about how to use line direction/orientation, thickness, character, metal/color, and how you laid out connections in your design.
I chose to use silver-colored wire throughout the sculpture since the boot itself is all white and I thought it would give the sculpture a cleaner look. I used coil connections throughout the piece so the sculpture would look more uniform. I wanted to mimic the simplistic look of the boot, especially since the sides of the boot have a lot of negative space, so I did not include a lot of cross contour lines. I added some topographical lines to define the form of the boot by the heel and the upper toe of the boot.
Describe what linear material besides wire your chose to include in your sculpture, and why you chose that material.
I chose to use the same shoelace in the boot in my sculpture so give the boot character and color. I laced the pink shoelace through little grommets made from wire into my piece. I also chose to hand sew a white zipper into the side of the boot to reflect the materiality of the zipper in the shoe and to display the white color that is present in the actual boot.
Describe something you would do differently if you could make your sculpture again.
If I were to make my sculpture again, I would spend more time on it in order to give the sculpture more volume, form, and weight. I would put more contour lines into the sole to build a stronger base. I would add more cross contour topographical lines on the sides of the boot to add volume and shape to the sculpture. Adding more cross contour lines would make my sculpture seem more complete, so I would focus my time on that. I would also focus on translating line texture on the boot into the sculpture, such as the horizontal lines in the platform part of the boot.
Identify an aspect of your work that is particularly strong.
My favorite part of the sculpture is the grommets I made for the laces and how I connected it to the shoe. I created little rings by wrapping wire around a pencil and cutting it, and then I coiled thin wire around the rings to connect them. I like the way that the grommets sit in the boot and how to laces flow through them. I think I captured the laces of the actual shoe very accurately. The grommets and pink laces also give personality to the sculpture.
