Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Final Luminaire

Shadow effect
Luminaire in daylight

Illuminated in daylight

Illuminated in the dark

This is the end result of my Luminaire project. I am very satisfied with the end result, and the final critique went very well. This project went through an entire process and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Wood Project

We were assigned a project to create a system out of wood. When  I think of a system, I think of something that needs every component in order to properly function. Solar system, eco system, digestive system, the list could go on and on. So I took this idea and ran with it. I decided that I wanted every piece to have to depend on another part of the project.


We had to use an 18" piece of 2x4 wood. I cut it in half lengthwise and then cut those 2 pieces into 3", 4", 5" and 6" pieces. The two 6" pieces joined the 3" pieces, and the same for 4" and 5" pieces. Corners were held together by finger grooves. The weight of each side counter-balanced the piece as a whole, helping it to stand on its own. After joining pieces together, I cut the S shaped grooves into the wood, and these were also another component in the final project staying together and balanced. This was my final project:

Left Side      
Corner
Finger Grooves
Inside top view





Luminaire Project

I have really enjoyed this project. I like that we are creating something that actually works and can be used once the critiques are over. My inspiration was knowledge. I initially wanted to create a sphere, made out of mylar.


 After some experimentation, I decided against the sphere idea, and decided to create a cube. I felt that a cube represented knowledge much better, because there is so much knowledge that comes to mind as soon as you think of a square. 4 sides, four 90〫angles, symmetrical, cut in half creates rectangles, diagonally cut creates two 45-45-90 triangles, all sides are equal. 


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My idea evolved to be a cube made out of mylar, and held together with eyelets. I used vellum to experiment, in an effort to reduce costs. I weaved together a small version, as shown above.








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Then, I tried a larger scale and added the eyelets. I was going to use silver ones, but again, in an effort to reduce costs, I  used blue ones to save the silver eyelets. 


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 Again, my project evolved. I decided against using eyelets, because they made the cube look too busy. My next step was trying to make the cube with the mylar. After sampling a few different bonding methods on scrap pieces, I chose rubber cement. However, once the whole thing was put together, the glue was very visible and unattractive. 







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Finally, I made the choice to use vellum in the final product. It was much sturdier than the mylar and it looked much more finished. 

Thursday, October 28, 2010

My Sketches of Light

                                                                             



This is my sketch of a water bottle.                              This is a sketch of a Vitamin Water Bottle.
I observed it under less harsh sunlight.                       I drew this under very bright sunlight, 
i enjoyed the curves of the bottle and the                    which made very drastic changes in the 
way the light went through each bump.                       values. This drawing took me about 45 
I took about half an hour on this observation              minutes to complete. I used different line
but I would have liked to spend a bit more                  directions to add interest and texture.
time on it. I used cross hatching and, although         I wanted to explore how the drawing would
I'm not very good at it, I tried to do a gradient             look if it wasn't totally realistic. I made the
in the bumps of the bottle.                                             transitions less subtle and I really kind of
                                                                                          like the outcome.
Both drawings were done with drawing pencils, around 11:00 to 1:00 in the studio windows.








This is a drawing of a leaf done by Rajee Wilson. I really like the way the leaf looks realistic, yet you can still tell its a drawing. The shadow is a bit darker than you'd expect, but it adds a nice character to the piece. The veins in the leaf are drawn in very nicely, and that adds to the realistic feel of the artwork.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Cenci Goepel & Jens Warnecke


What is light? 
I think light is a very important aspect, not only in design, but in everyday life. Light can accentuate important features, hide insignificant places, create  illusions, even completely change the way you view something. The different kinds of light (fluorescent, natural sunlight, incandescent, etc.) Lighting can make or break a space, and it affects the way a color is seen. 








What quality of light is most important for the artists?
'Light Graffiti" or "Light Painting" 
The two artists travel all over the world and, using torches, fires and flashlights, capture the beauty of the night. Their artwork with the use of light is absolutely beautiful. They first discovered the phenomenon by taking pictures with candles, lighters, and long exposure times. 












At dusk, when other landscape photographers stow away their equipment, 
we get ready to work. Whether its in the wind-swept patagonian desert or in the icy northern part of Norway: wherever we travel we explore landscapes that reveal 
magic beauty in the dark. A bit of moonlight, a faint glow of northern lights, some modified torches or a carefully placed 
fire: that is all it takes to uncover what is hidden in the dark. And when the sun comes up the next morning, no trace remains to show that we have ever been there.
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The pair travels all over the world. They have photographed in MANY many places: Karijini National Park, Australia; Finnmark, Norway; Sandstone, Australia; Ilulissat, Greenland; Provincia Santa Cruz, Argentina; Eagle Bay, Australia; Death Valley, California; Briksdalsbreen, Norway; and many more. 


They met years ago, and by chance, discovered the beauty of light painting during the night. They fell in love after a few years of working together, and now they travel all over. They enjoy traveling and taking the pictures all over the world, and have an ever-growing list of places to see and photograph. Shown are just a few of their pieces.



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I found a few artists who Goepel and Warnecke would probably relate to. Their artwork can be found on this website: Lichtfaktor


The artists' work looks very similar to Goepel & Warnecke's, but it is different in the respect that their work isn't in a landscape in nature. There are people in the pieces, and they don't seem as planned out as the ones in this post. However, the looks of the lighting are very similar.


I find this use of light to be very intriguing and quite engaging. It makes the viewer want to stare at it, like the object will suddenly move and go somewhere. I am very interested in this form of light, and there are so many things to be done with it. 
Who knows, this may be the art of the future.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Chair Drawing

Orthographic Views
This assignment made me realize just how different an orthographic view can look from an actual object. This drawing, in my opinion, looks nothing like the actual object. I can see why it is also important to have a pictorial view like an isometric or oblique drawing, to give the viewer a better idea of the object.

Paper Clip

Isometric, Elevation Oblique, Plan Oblique
Orthographics
We had to choose an object to draw. I chose a bulk paper clip, which came with a bit of difficulty. It took a lot more concentration and time than I was expecting, but I am happy with the end result. These are my orthographic, isometric, elevation oblique, and plan oblique drawings.
I think the strongest part of my drawings was the orthographic views, more specifically the side view. It was difficult to get all of the curves and circles correct and I am happy with the outcome. 
A weakness I think I have is the width of my elevation and plan obliques. They are equal, but for some reason they two lengths look very different.