We're All Mad Here!

Modular Madness Assingment: Create a 3-dimensional piece that shows rhythm, pattern, and modulation out of similar found   objects.

I was really excited when we got this project and had/have a million ideas as to objects I could use. However, it didn't take me long to decide on using paper plates. I had begun construction on a piece of my own a while back that involved using small, cut circles to create a 3D modular piece, but ended up giving up on it in frustration. This project gave me a way to go back and finish what I started in a way.

First day of installation.

The piece changes with each plate I install, and though I can guide it along, ultimately it decides where it wants to go. Each plate I add drives the placement of the next.

Not Quite....

Sadly, I failed to meet the deadline for the cardboard project, despite many hours spent working on it. For now, it will sit unfinished until I have a break in my schedule to complete and resubmit the piece.

The wasp's head. Though well constructed, requires more detailing. Will add carved,hexagonal texture to eyes.

Though I'm disappointed that I was unable to finish, I learned a lot form this project. Ambition is great, but, as with all things, moderation is key. I went in wanting to make something amazing and wanting to really challenge myself. Unfortunately, I bit off a little more than i could chew, at least in the time frame we were given.

The lace-like wings, my favorite part. Great detail and well cut.

On the up side, the parts that I finished look really good, and I achieved a lot of detail, especially on the wings. So much so, that I was told that I had set a high standard, and needed to show that high level of detail on the entire piece when it is completed. /sweatdrop It's going to be a real challenge, and I hope I can complete this piece to the level I really want it to be.

Ambitious Cardboard (pt....???)

And so our story continues, in which our intrepid artist continues to battle valiantly against her 10-foot cardboard wasp foe...

Again, I'm forced to face the beast of my ambition (in an almost to literal a fashion). Am I sorry that I chose this particular object? Almost 90% of the time, heck yes. But that tiny, remaining 10%, I look at that mass of cardboard and see it for what it can be, what it will be......eventually.



The W.A.S.H. House has become my second home lately. I have clocked countless hours over this last Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun., (and in a few hours) Mon. And yet, final wasp-dom remains illusive. I had many issues with design, though I had no shortage of ideas. My main issue remained one of balancing the assemblage. At first, I was set on having my wasp standing. Though the legs are thin, I knew I could place them in a way that it would do so. The problem came when I added the stinger. It completely counter-balanced everything, and I could not devise an acceptable means of fixing the problem. Well, on to plan B.

Tools of the trade.

Plan B resorted to having my poor wasp lying dead on it's side. Plan B never excited me. I felt it took away everything the wasp stood for: it's ominous, predatory nature, it's delicate-ness. And while I tried to reconcile this by saying it would present an interesting juxtaposition, I still wasn't happy. Regardless, I went ahead as planned.

And then came the real kicker, in which my wonderfully delicate, beautiful wings I had cut out so laboriously stubbornly refused to be rigid enough for the purpose I needed. Well, crap. I was already feeling rather disillusioned with the entire piece, having had to scrap many more attractive designs in favor of more functional ones, and I just wasn't going to give up these wings.

And then, I got an idea.

Why not suspend it? That would give me the look and feel I wanted for this piece. And it was never specified how we would be displaying our pieces, so why not?

Disillusionment conquered.

Textually Active

Assignment: Create visually interesting and appealing patterns using a single repeating letter in your choice of typefont. a) Show translation b) Show translation & reflection c) Show translation, reflection, & rotation

Pieces done in Corel PSP

Translation of K's

Translation & Reflection of V's

Translation, Reflection & Rotation of I's

It's a pattern...It's a pattern...It's a pattern...

Assignment: Photograph patterns in everyday objects and environments.

Oven Burner 6pm 2/2/11  Rhythm Formal

Green Depression Glass Goblet 6pm 2/2/11 Pattern Formal

My Favorite Hand-painted Candle 6pm 2/2/11 Pattern Informal-ish

Bellows on my Kodak Pocket Fold Camera 6pm 2/2/11 Formal-ish Pattern

Flannel Pillow Case 6pm 2/2/11 Formal Pattern

My Husband's Work 6pm 2/2/11 Formal Pattern

Metal Picture Frame 6pm 2/2/11  Formal Pattern

Socks 6pm 2/2/11 Formal Rhythm(colored stripes) Formal Texture (striped weave in material)

Stabbity Death >:(

Thorax and butt-stick thingy (for lack of a tech. term) of my wasp, along w/ a scrapped stinger idea.

That's how I'm feeling about my cardboard project, or at least how I felt about it on Tuesday.

Despite working on it diligently during the class period, I made no actual physical progress. I cut, I glued, I fiddled around, I cursed, and cut and glued some more. Then, I restrained myself from setting it all aflame. It's part of my process....Honest....

I realized that I needed a break, so opted not to stay after class and work on it. I needed to get some new perspective.

I spent most of the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday considering how to go about finishing my giant wasp (again with much cursing and wishing death upon it), but I seem to have come up with some new ideas and have decided to toss my original plan of having it standing in place of having the wasp posed as if it were dead. This conquers the major hurdles of balancing the piece, and though I had been pretty set on having the wasp stand, I think it will still look impressive lying on its side.

I guess we'll see! (Glue-covered fingers crossed!)

Ambitious Cardboard (pt. 1)

Our assignment: To re-create an organic item in larger than life scale using nothing but cardboard and wood glue.

Given our assignment, we were all presented with a table full of objects. Bones, seeds, shells, corals; there was certainly a wide assortment, but nothing really called to me. Then Prof. Davenport mentioned he had some insects to choose from as well. That piqued my curiosity. 

After having taken Entomology while I was a Biology major at Baylor, I gained a new appreciation for insect's almost alien beauty and the depth of complexity they have once you take a closer look.

Among the collection were several beetles, a grasshopper, a cicada, and several wasps. I was initially drawn to the wasp, but dismissed  it as too difficult. However, the idea had already taken root, and I wasn't satisfied with doing anything else. Wasp it was.

I knew my typical approach of messing around with it until something clicked wasn't going to cut it here. This project needed some planning. I began by making many sketches of the individual pieces I would be assembling: head, thorax, hind-quarters, wings and legs. I decided on this approach since insects themselves are segmented. I even dug out my old entomology text to find more detailed illustrations.

I began by constructing a box-like thorax, leaving it open on the sides so that the wings and tail could be attached and supported inside. Later, I will close this with either cardboard or craft paper, depending on how either looks on the piece. A simple hole was cut for the tail to fit into, and initially, I was going to cut the same holes for the wings. However, I decided to cut a cross-like shape in the wing holes instead, to create a snugger fit for the wings and (hopefully) more support.

So far, plans seem to be working out. I still need to devise my method for constructing the head, though I have a rough idea. My only concerns are time, and I've already become well aware that this project will require a lot of out-of-class time. Perhaps a wasp was a tad ambitious, but why do the project at all if it doesn't stretch you as an artist? I remember Prof. Davenport saying that the goal of this class was to make at least one amazing thing. I want to approach all my work as if it's destined to become that amazing thing.