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.

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. 

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.

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 a 
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.

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.

A&B Object Plan Oblique

This is my plan oblique of the two objects we were instructed to draw. They were a bit difficult to figure out at first, but as I started drawing them, it came much easier to me. I think the strength of my drawing was the line quality for each piece. They aren't consistent between both object, but the line weight per piece stays consistent. Also, my angles met at a very crisp point without any difficulties or mistakes. My main weakness is the ellipses. I drew them using the triangle method, but I couldn't seem to make them look perfect.

3" Isometric with Orthographic

This was one of our very first drawing assignments. We had to draw a 3x3" cube in an isometric view, and then somehow distort it. I distorted my cube by cutting a corner off. 

Stick Project

Final Product

Part

For this assignment we had to create a container for 12 sticks. I had originally thought of 12 as twelve months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 birthstones. I also considered how years continually progress in a cycle: one year ends and the next one begins without fail. This reminded me of a circle, it keeps on going with no beginning and no end. I also wanted to use a unique bonding agent, one that no one else would think of. I thought melted wax would make an interesting final product. So I decided to incorporate all of these ideas into one container. I made the container out of 12 tower-like paper objects, made at a 30 degree angle to make a complete circle. In the bottom of each 'tower', I cut out a different zodiac symbol. In each symbol I put a colored piece of paper, the color corresponding to the birthstone of each zodiac's month. To signify the year growing from beginning to end, I made the sticks for the early part of the year smaller, and they progressively grew larger as they year got later. 

Zodiac Signs & Wax

First Prototype

Unfortunately, the wax was messy, and in the critique, I was told that all the zodiacs were too much for my project. So I simplified everything, and changed my bonding agent. 

Top View

Base

I.created 12 more 'towers' and used a rubber band to hold them together.  I placed the sticks, still progressing from large to small, inside the center of the container, and my final product was complete. I am very pleased with the outcome of my project. I feel that this is my best project yet, and I learned a lot from the process of creating it.

  

Leaf Project

For my leaf project, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do at first. I began folding paper and seeing what shapes and forms I could create with random fold patterns. I found that with a certain way of folding, I could make the paper curve, which I found to be very intriguing. This was my main focus in creating a place for my leaf. 


My leaf was an old rugged beaten up leaf. In the final product, I wanted the paper part to be very simple, as to compliment the abundance of texture in the leaf. I like the way the leaf is the main focus. The curve in the paper creates a focal point and the sharp white accentuates the variations of brown created by the texture in the leaf. The delicate curve is a nice feature in contrast with the rugged scraggly detail of the leaf. Overall I am pleased with my final product. My goal was to create a place for my leaf, that was simple and let the leaf's imperfections and details become the main feature. I believe this was well achieved. 

Favorite Daily Sketch

This sketch was my favorite because we were shown in class a unique method to discover the details of an object. I used trace paper and explored many options for exploring the details. I traced, drew over the texture, and did a contour drawing of my sticks. This was a great help in learning more about my object. 

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration in so many places. I am greatly inspired by people. The sight of children with their mothers, couples together in parks, children playing on a playground. I love gardens with unique flowers; magazines with design ideas; poetry. Inspiration comes in all kinds of places and many different objects for me.