TOOL

Assignment: Create a tool to help with your everyday problem
Problem: Spilling coffee

Tool: Coffee Cup Holder

HYPE!

HYPE! Project

Pet Adoption

     For my Hype Project I decided to promote pet adoption. For this purpose I created a bag, using three materials: felt (bag - laser cut and engraved through Ponoko), acrylic (charms – laser cut and engraved through Ponoko), and metal (snaps and chains).

      The bag has words engraved on its surface –ADOPT A PET – on one side, SAVE A LIFE – on the other. Four charms support this message (don’t shop – adopt, stop animal abuse, be a hero-adopt, stop puppy mills). I believe that when this bag is worn, it will attract people’s attention, and act as an advertisement for pet adoption.

Charms:

Bag: 

HYPE! Pet Adoption

Communication/Interconnectedness Project

Attachment Bracelets

Words:

Loyalty and Devotion

Allegiance and Commitment

Materials:

Rapid Prototyped Cuffs

Felt Chain Links

Leather

This piece represents the connection between two people - a couple-  and their relationships.

And, although the cuffs seem strong and solid, just like our relationships at times, the fragile and soft felt chain can easily be torn apart and broken, which represents fragility of this bond between two people, and  floating, unstable, and  impermanent nature of human relationships.

Project Flat Pack - CHAIR

Project Flat Pack - CHAIR

Artist’s Statement

     The assignment was to create an object utilizing flat/pack method.  The object I picked was a CHAIR.

     When I was designing this chair, I wanted to come up with something I haven’t seen yet, something original. I decided to play with the geometric shapes.  Normally, the chairs you see in the stores have four straight legs. So, I decided to go with two curved ones. Also, I eliminated the back, but kept the armrests.

     In my design I wanted to use as few parts, as possible, so that the chair can be easily assembled by anyone. As a result, my chair ended up consisting of only 3 parts: the seat part, and two legs that continue into armrests.

     The material I originally planned on using was the clear acrylic, 8.99mm thick. But, it was very expensive (material+work), so I had to choose another material.  Most materials, available at Ponoko, were not thick enough for my design, so I had to go with the thickest one available, which was Veneer MDF (Double-sided) - White Oak, which was 5.7 mm thick. I used the largest size material -P3 - 790.0 mm long x 384.0 mm wide. The chair ended up being 15.5 inches tall, 15 inches wide, and 8.5 inches deep.

     Ideally, if this chair was produced, it would be life-size, a size of a regular chair – about 40 inches tall, 39 wide, and 22 inches deep. It would be made out of clear acrylic. It would also have lace pattern engraved onto the entire surface.

    

     

Artist who uses LEATHER

Hendrik Vrey

“Born on 11 September 1951 on a farm outside the small town of Niekerkshoop in South Africa, but growing up surrounded by the raw, stark and powerful beauty of Namibia (then South West Africa), Hendrik Vrey has dedicated over 40 years of his life to developing a truly unique and special art form - Pyrography.

Pyrography means "writing with fire" and is the traditional art of using a heated tip or wire to burn or scorch designs onto natural materials such as wood or leather. In 1967, Hendrik rediscovered this ancient technique, and has developed it to such an extent as to be considered the best in the world in his field. Starting out by burning pictures onto apple box planks with pieces of wire heated by a campfire, today he uses electrical soldering irons on tanned cow hide. An extremely versatile artist, his themes range from portraits and character studies to landscapes, wildlife and many, many more.”

http://www.thenamibiaguide.com/en/content/hendrik-vrey-leather-art

http://www.hendrikvrey.com/

Artist who uses JUTE

Tendai Johnson

From the Artist's Statement:

 “Of equal importance is the conceptual and expressive potential of material that I use to make this visible in my creative investigation.  I have been incorporating jute (burlap) for this very reason.  It is a material that is widely used for utilitarian purposes in Zimbabwe, as well as in many non-western nations.  In my work, jute is metaphorically used to situate the cultural meaning of place juxtaposed with humanity’s changing conditions.  I express this metaphor through the following process: an initial under-painting in acrylic, followed by an obsessive application of various sizes and shapes of jute, using its interweaving nature as a “cross-hatch” in response to planar analysis; and a final layer of oil paint on the surface of the jute.  Additionally, jute is adhered to the canvas by a polymer binder, which is an invisible plastic element that was developed in the west. In this process, I attempt to express a new hybridity that reflects the increasingly globalized society of today, whereby individuals live on the borders of cultures and between cultures, identities and positionalities.  Thereby, I attempt to integrate image, material and color as inseparable and expressive elements of the human condition.”

http://tendaijohnson.com