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

Materials Research

What materials are made from vegetables?

CURRAN

1.   What is the origin of the material

CURRAN is a carrot-based material

2. What are the methods of refining the material

It is manufactured using a top-secret method that has been five years in the making. Nano fibers found in carrots are extracted and combined with high tech resins enabling tough, durable components to be molded to whatever shape, degree of stiffness, strength or lightness required.  The strong nano-fibers from this carrot "soup" are then extracted so that they can be processed in a variety of ways. 
Most of the water is removed and hi-tech resins are added to the mix. This mixture can then be molded and heated to make a strong material.

3. What are the environmental impacts of the material

No harmful impact

4. What are the sustainable aspects of the material

Around 30% of carrots get rejected, and local producers supply the company, CelluComp Ltd, with this secondary source not used for human consumption.

5. What are the range of objects that are made from the material

Currently the company makes fishing rods using this material. They also plan on making snowboards and car parts, and even battleships.

(http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/curran.html)

Jute

1.   What is the origin of the material

Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. The jute fiber comes from the stem and ribbon (outer skin) of the jute plant.

2. What are the methods of refining the material

The fibers are first extracted by retting. Then stripping begins: non-fibrous matter is scraped off, then the workers dig in and grab the fibers from within the jute stem.

3. What are the environmental impacts of the material

4. What are the sustainable aspects of the material

Jute fiber is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable and thus environmentally friendly and sustainable.

5. What are the range of objects that are made from the material

Industrial yarn, fabric, net, and sacks, floor coverings, carpet, backing cloth (CBC), and canvas. It is also used for making fashion &  promotional bags.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jute)

What materials are made from Animals?

LEATHER

1.   What is the origin of the material

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide.

2. What are the methods of refining the material

It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry. The leather manufacturing process is divided into three fundamental sub-processes: preparatory stages, tanning, and crusting.

3. What are the environmental impacts of the material

Leather is a product with high environmental impact, most notably    due to:

▪                the impact of livestock

▪                the heavy use of polluting chemicals in the tanning process

▪                air pollution due to the transformation process

 Leather biodegrades slowly; it takes 25–40 years to decompose. 

4. What are the sustainable aspects of the material

Cow leather is a bi-product of the beef industry, the vegetable-tanned variety is the most sustainable one.

5. What are the range of objects that are made from the material

     Clothes, shoes, handbags, furniture, etc.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather)

  

WOOL

1.   What is the origin of the material

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals.

2. What are the methods of refining the material

Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. Then it gets washed.

3. What are the environmental impacts of the material

Wool is an animal protein, and as such it can be used as a soil   fertilizer, being a slow release source of nitrogen and ready made amino acids.

      4. What are the sustainable aspects of the material

Each sheep produces large amount of wool over the lifetime. Wool can also be recycled by cutting or tearing apart existing wool fabric and respinning the resulting fibers.

5. What are the range of objects that are made from the material

In addition to clothing, wool has been used for blankets, horse rugs, carpeting, felt, etc.

 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wool)

What materials are made from Minerals?

CLAY

1.   What is the origin of the material

Clay is a naturally occurring aluminum silicate composed primarily of fine-grained minerals

2. What are the methods of refining the material

Clay is excavated from the deposit site.

    

     3.What are the environmental impacts of the material

No impact

4. What are the sustainable aspects of the material

     Clay is naturally-occurring geologic sustainable material.
   

5. What are the range of objects that are made from the material

     Bricks, cooking pots, art objects, dish ware, etc.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay)

SAND

1. What is the origin of the material

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.

2. What are the methods of refining the material

The raw material undergoes intensive, repetitive routines of   screen sizing, washing, and classifying until a stockpile of the desired sand grain size has been extracted from the “raw sand”. It is then dehydrated and dried to obtain the final product.

3. What are the environmental impacts of the material

4. What are the sustainable aspects of the material

Sand mining is a direct and obvious cause of erosion, and also impacts the local wildlife.

Sand's many uses require a significant dredging industry, raising environmental concerns over fish depletion, landslides, and flooding.
Sand can be recycled.

5. What are the range of objects that are made from the material

Glass: Sand is the principal component in common glass. Used in Water filtration, Sandbags, Brick, etc.

      (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand)