Form and Function: Jodie -ALL

TO PULL

I ended up going with the paddles for door pulls for our van. We do not have the doors or the cabinet made yet, so wherever it is easiest to attach the threaded inserts on each paddle are just fine!

Thing that I pull

an oar, a wagon

The ceiling fan currently has the "BB" chain that pulls...

pull tabs I find on the prairie off old pop/beer cans

these look like mens ties to me

They do!!!! I'll ponder this new view of them for something else if and when the time comes...

My final idea that I came with while camping this weekend, a handle/pull shaped like an oar that we can use to pull us into our van.

I plan to measure an actual oar and scale it down accordingly. It will need to mount on a 2x4. It needs to be big enough for our hands to fit through so I envision it having a way to mount on the 2x4 off the back of the shaft and then a hand would fit between the bottom mount and the blade. I think I will carve a topo map design on the shaft and waves on the blade, all depending on how big the actual oar is. It will mount on the bed frame we just installed, and hope to have finished this week so I'll be able to take more detailed measurements.

Next version:

I've switched from oar to paddle as the shaft is shorter.

Question:

Would the shaft be strong enough to use as a handle to pull us up and into the van if it is about 4.25" long, .75" wide and about .5" thick if it's screwed into the 2x4 at the blade/widest part of the paddle?

If that would work, I'll start modeling and carving Wednesday and bring something to show you in class Thursday.

This is the corner of the van where this will go if it works. There will be plywood and a mattress on top of the 2x4 frame and a cooler under this part of the bed, so the paddle pull can't hang down too far past the 2x4...

TO HANG

Hooks for our van - I am excited to patina these and the door pulls with the same color and create a fun and one of a kind van experience! I am thinking ammonia... for a greenish/blueish water theme... Over break, I used the drill press in the steel shop to fully ream out the hole for the screw, and then used a bigger bit to create an area to counter sink the screws I bought so they will fade a bit more into the background... Sadly, they are silver colored, not bronze colored as they need to be metal screws to screw into the van "walls". I am hoping I can bead blast them and patina them in some way to make them blend in more.

In keeping with the water theme from our "to pull" project, I've decided to go with the flow... pun intended. Water is my life source. It brings me joy in all its forms. Clean drinking water, gentle rain while I sit in hot springs, snow, and of course rivers to raft. Growing up in the west, water has always been a source of recreation for me. Canoeing and fishing my way through childhood has given way to paddle boarding around the plains lakes. As the climate shifts, so do the waters. Where once a migratory bird sanctuary, is now just mud flats. This changed in my lifetime and concern runs deep for the future of our waterways and all that thrive with them. There has been talk of big dams not having enough water to supply hydroelectric power for years. It boggles my mind that stricter guidelines are not being enforced and more native grasses and plants are not being planted around the new construction at UW and around the west as a whole. Diversity. Isn't that what makes the world more interesting? Plants and species thriving in a native climate... Soooo, on that note, back to water. I love that water finds its own balance, filling and conforming to the space it has... And space, our van is empty of anything FUNctional other than a bed at this point. So, hooks. Hooks that look like waves and water are my "to hang" project. In searching for wave/water/river hooks, nothing came up at all for what I envision, so it's hard to conceptualize what material I would use as currently I only know how to weld pencil rod. I like the steel shop and would like to push my skills and learn new techniques, maybe blacksmithing? I know there are options, I just don't know what they are...

These are my hook ideas. The octopus is the closest thing I could find to a "wave hook" concept.

TO LIGHT

What is happening with this?

As much as I like the plasma cutter, I opted to save that for future work so as to make it my own idea and not something to light. I have opted to go with the old gas cans with solar lights that I can turn on/off so they won't be lighting up the patio at all times to keep in line with the dark sky concept of less light pollution. In the second picture, you can see the "bird feeder pole". I have 2 of these that have a single hook that I brought into the steel shop and sanded the paint off. One pole for each gas can will be planted in oak barrels to give them more height. I also cut off short sections of square steel pipe/tube(?) and welded 3 of them onto each pole. These support 3 lengths of steel rod that will act as a trellis for plants to grow up and create a living privacy "fence" between our driveway patio and the neighbors house that is about 4' away...we have a 1/4 lot so we don't have a big yard. I don't have a vehicle that would allow for me to build this as one piece, and since the neighbors property line is about 2' from our driveway, I can't build something more permanent w/o going to the city and getting the property measured. As a result, I hope the 3 cross rods make the piece more stable. I can't bring in the oak barrels as they are filled with dirt. I thought about using the pipe bender to make the cross rods wavy, but that concept just didn't look right with the 2 very straight bird feeder poles. It's a very simple design that will be covered with plants when we actually sit outside and enjoy the patio. I am currently using 50/50 vinegar and water to rust the bird feeder turned gas can holders as well as the 3 cross rods to "match" the rusty gas cans. . I also welded on a bit of pencil rod (which you can see in the lower right corner) as an option to hang shade cloth or fabric with grommets to create more privacy while the plants grow and fill in the trellis.

Here are pictures of the gas can lights on the trellis installed in the oak barrel planters. Next spring (hopefully sooner if weather allows) the planters will be moved further apart, creating a larger trellis for for plants to grow up and to provide privacy from the neighbors house

I have been considering adding something near the top of the hooks to create more height and privacy, but have yet to come up with a good idea worth exploring, so I went ahead and rusted the poles knowing I could sand off and weld something on if anyone has any fantastic ideas.

See below the next 4 pictures to see another "to light" project I started years ago that I could use ideas to finish it. I just thought of this last night as I rearranged my studio to make space for rusting. I didn't feel like it was an option for this assignment as I have most of it done already. I know it's late in the game, and not part of this assignment other than "to light" so if you choose to ignore this, go for it!

Below these pictures are images of the woodbine (similar to Virginia creeper) that I will plant and have grow up the trellis part of this patio light.

Fall color of this plant is amazing!

Summer color

Berries!

Flower lamp

Description of the lamp. The entire piece is basically as tall as I am, 5'4". The shade is paper mache over chicken wire with decorative paper as the outer layer. It has a copper pipe stem and the flower pot base is filled with plaster and rocks for stability. It was recently re-wired by an electrician when he pointed out the light socket I had installed wasn't up to code. When doing so, he also changed the on/off switch and added the wooden box and the cord in a different color. While it is now up to code, I am not happy with the look of the 2 different color cords and would happily take suggestions on how to hide/blend them into one. I have thought about covering them in decorative fabric, but not sure if that's safe...

Overall picture of the lamp:

Detail of the on off switch you use with your foot. I would also like to make this "prettier".

Close up of the lampshade

Close up of the flowerpot base

Plasma cutter - to light

So, in class you mentioned if we were going to change our "to light" idea, to do it now. So, I did... Sort of. It wasn't until you said this and after demo-ing the plasma cutter again that a few proverbial lightbulbs went off. So, at the very end of the day when I had time, I went down the plasma cutter rabbit hole looking for ideas. I have loved the look of Cal Lane's art since I first saw it. It wasn't until yesterday that it fully clicked that I could create something similar, and not just "pretend" it was the same with the bullet holes as with my previous idea (scroll down). So, I am attaching a few ideas I took screen shots of. A shovel will not be my project, I am just attaching them for the ideas on how these artists use space and the cutting of shapes that keeps the piece all together. I am pondering the idea of a round wreath like piece that has a solar light behind it for a subtle mood lighting for our yard. Or, perhaps turning it into a table with a light under it. I will spend more time today rummaging in my yard for things I could cut up and add these later today. I was so excited about this concept that I couldn't sleep! Thank you for the knowledge you are imparting to my brain. It is sooooo excited to learn how to do something that I've admired for years.

I wrote a wee bit about each pic too.

I know I have something rusty and round, I'll bring it in to see if it could be cut up, or if there is a reason it can't be...

This is a the idea the spurred a table with a light.

I love the shadows that the light casts...

Again, I have the round piece, and ponder if this was sitting on the ground with a solar light behind it...

What might I have that I could cut up....I will look and post accordingly later today!

Another table, the only one I saw, so maybe making the legs out of steel and welding them on?

Ideas about cutting out shapes so the piece stays together

I was thinking water and waves (go figure!) and the fabric part of this would help me figure out how to cut and create this idea.

A stunning "to light" idea

I wonder what would happen if I did this to my fire pit that is more "upside down dome" shaped....

Patio lighting

We do not have any shade trees in our yard anymore. The deck on the southwest side of the house is where we used to hang out in the summer, it's waaaaayyyyy too hot now that it just broils in the sun all day long. As a result, I've been slowly turning the driveway into a patio. We were out there a few weeks ago with a friend who lives in Spain, and as we chatted into the night, it was odd chatting in total darkness. I thought a bit of mood lighting would be nice and came up with this idea.

I have 2 old gas (?) cans I found on the prairie near town that are shot full of bullet holes. I envision hanging these with solar lights for mood lighting in our side yard. The bullet holes in these rusty things remind me of the artist Cal Lane and how she cuts lace like patterns into rusty oil drums.

Her lace shovels first caught my attention years ago when I was a landscaper/gardener. I love everything about them. The delicate lace and flower pattern crafted from something so sturdy and utilitarian. This shovel also reminds me of the faces my friend Mike Lowham makes out of old shovels. I don't have any pics of these...

My old, bullet hole ridden gas cans. While not as graceful as Cal's work, I knew they would become "chandeliers" the minute I saw them!

Top view

Bottom view

This is a double "bird feeder" pole in my front yard that I tried these on to see about scale and if I like them. I do! I will fabricate something similar that has more wavy curves perhaps.

The one on the left does not have a hand, so I'll wire one around it so it hang and can sway in the wind.

Before I went too far down the rabbit hole of designing the pole for hanging this, I wanted to see if the solar lights would give the feeling I was going for. It isn't as bright as I had first thought, and I am ok with the subtle look and think if I loosely stuff the string of lights in these that it will be a bit brighter than the ball of them...

I have yet to learn tons about casting, so if it's possible, I'd like to cast at least one yucca pod for this project. I have used these in my sculptures in the past and I would love to see one cast in iron. I see these daily on my dog walks and have had yucca growing in my yard my whole life. They were such important plants to the Native Americans, and while I've never used them as a paint brush or fiber to make shoes, I respect how versatile and hardy these plants are. And these native plants don't need much water to survive, making me all that much happier for the little moisture we do get, to support plants that need more.