Final Project-Biographical Toy

For this project, I made a duck beanie baby toy.  When I was a child, I had a stuffed animal duck that I loved and wouldn't go anywhere without.  One day, I left it in an airport and never saw it again. I was upset, but always remembered how much I loved that toy. Instead of just doing a stuffed animal, I decided to make it a small beanie baby. For the body, I used an old bottle and filled it with curled up orange and yellow paper. I made the head and feet from cotton balls and painted them orange, yellow and gold. The arms, mouth and beanie baby tag were made of cardstock paper. For the eyes I used matching bottle caps. I transformed what was once a small bottle into a child's toy made from recyclable materials. Unfortunately, my camera broke during the process of making this so there isn't as much documentation as I would have liked.

Packaging Using Polyhedral Structures

When researching ideas for this project, I came across a lot of shopping bags that were humorous and very clever to promote whatever store they were for.  After seeing a bag for a bikini store that had a woman wearing a bikini bottom, I became inspired to make one for a bikini top.  Since we had to use polyhedral shapes, the bag was in the shape of a pentagonal prism and I decided to use other polyhedrals for the actual bikini. It was difficult to make the bikini part smaller, since it sticks out a lot from the bag.  I painted the bag a light pink since the store it is for is only for women and used a black bikini to give it a bold look.  I used glitter paint to write the stores name on it to also make it attractive for women.  The bikini straps are used as handles for the bag.  To improve on the bag, I would utilize the bikini top for some sort of storage and would make the text a little darker and easier to read.

Polyhedral Structures Phase A

the sketch...

In order to address the problem of turning polyhedrals into a mask, I decided to use these shapes for specific reasons.  The polyhedral used for the main face of the mask was chosen because i felt as though it could easily be used as the main part of the mask.  When looking at masks from different cultures, Venetian masks stood out to me.  As soon as I saw the polyhedral that I used for the ears, it instantly inspired me to create a mask that resembled a cat.  I then chose a smaller polyhedral for the nose and painted the mask black with metallic gold to give it a more dynamic feel.  I used the pattern on the right side of the face and the left ear to make it less symmetrical but still balanced.  After the critique in class, to improve the mask I would possible add or cut away from the lower part of the face to make it more interesting.

White Serial Planes Sculpture/Object

     For both projects, transforming one object into another was challenging yet exciting.  When working on altering the book, I did not know where to begin.  We had to make a flat object have volume so I began by opening the book to the middle.  I wanted to form it into an object by folding pages and building upward.  I was inspired by the looseness of the paper to make a flower.  At first, I debated between a bouquet of flowers and one large rose, but ultimately chose the rose.  I began in the center by taking one or two pages to form the middle.  Eventually, by cutting the pages organically and moving outward I was able to create the flower.  I then cut some of the binding off of both sides to better create the shape and eventually formed the leaves on both sides.  From this project, I learned that to create volume, you need to build upon what you are given and having a plan definitely helps the process.  Paper was a great medium to work with because of its flexibility.  The fact that the book had a binding also helped me create it with a sort of base.

     When thinking about turning the foam core into a white sculpture, I was inspired by music.  When thinking of serial planes I thought of a music staff and eventually decided to create an abstract guitar.  When researching online, I came across an abstract guitar with a wavy neck.  To begin, I used a smaller foam board to plan how I would create the guitar.  I decided that by putting the two sides of the guitar together by another piece that wraps around, I would be able to create the body.  After creating the body, a problem I came across was the neck.  I created it so that it would swirl in the end, but it was not able to stand properly.  By adding a small long piece along the back, it was then shaped correctly.  When making the guitar, I also made sure that it was able to stand on its own.  From this project, I learned that precise measurement is important for a flawless execution.  The foam core board was also good to work with since it is a stable medium.

The finished product! =)

Project #2: Altered Books

For this project, we had to use a book to create a three dimensional sculpture, using techniques such as cutting and folding.  Using a financial accounting textbook, I created a rose with leaves.

The finished project from above:

Reaction Paper for Project #1

For me, creativity is something that everyone has, whether they’re able to find it within themselves or not.  It comes from an inspiration, and it is something that reflects how you feel or how you would choose to express yourself.  People are most creative when they are pursuing something that they typically enjoy, which allows them to discover their own imagination through passion.  Although I may not pursue a career within the arts, being a psychology major, art gives me a separate outlet to explore my own creativity.

For this project, we had to think out of the box by turning a cardboard box into something completely different.  One of my first ideas was to create a guitar, but I suddenly became inspired by the camera I was using to making the long box into a large camera.  Looking back now, it probably would have been more challenging and interesting to create the guitar.   To design the camera, I used an image online of one and modified it to how I wanted it to be.  I started off doing the project by deconstructing the box completely and then deciding how large I wanted to create the camera. The only adhesive material that I had was metallic duct tape, so that is what I used to connect the pieces of cardboard together.  Although the material was pretty flashy and very noticeable, for some reason I liked how industrial it made my camera look.  If I had used some sort of glue, my camera would have looked a lot neater and cleaner cut.  After constructing the main structure, I used smaller pieces of cardboard to construct details such as the buttons and three-dimensional parts around the camera.  I utilized the metallic tape for the actual lens part, which is covered completely. 

What

 I forgot to do was finish details on the back, which I have now learned that I need to design the entire structure from all perspectives.  I also learned that the more you are able to add roundness and curves to the structure, the more it looks less like a box.  Next time, I would try to add rounder corners and details to the camera.

Project 1: Anything But a Box

So for this project, we had to deconstruct a box into any object, and I chose to turn this box into a camera! I probably should have used glue, so disregard the unattractive metallic tape I used... or just be convinced that it gives it character =)