Kristen- To Hang

       

TO HANG

11/17/22 Update

    

    I still stand by this idea. I originally planned on sewing it, but I wound up crocheting it. I've never made my own crochet pattern, but so far I feel like I have a good understanding of how to make a more sculpted form. The tail went along smoothly after a few tries and getting the right weight of yarn. I think the head is going to be tricky because it's the most organic and complicated. I have about two rows left on the body and then I'll start the head. I'm going to stuff the head which will be the only stuffed section. 

    I'm also looking at types of clasps that would allow me to change out the strap so I can use different sizes.

11/1/2022 Update

I bring to you the case of what can be argued as an object that hangs. One could argue a purse HANGS off of your shoulder. 

I would like to also bring the case of my newest favorite animal, the Olm. Also known as the axolotl's strange European cousin. 

These two cases are seemingly unrelated, but I raise you my idea: The Olm Bag:

    I want to take another shot at sewing. I really enjoy working with textiles and I am pretty proud of my Barbie Mushroom wearable from last spring. This olm bag brings me a sense of creating a little friend which is a great motivator for working on projects as a little bonus. I am playing around with the idea of size. 

    The original olm is approximately 8 to 12 inches long and quite skinny. As a functional little bag I want to size this up so it could actually be useful. A diameter of 5 to 6 inches is ideal for this piece. Trying to do math for a length appropriate to 5 inches as become impossible for me because the diameter of an actual olm is a decimal number that has thrown me off. I found over 6.5 feet for the length so artistic liberties in proportions make need to be taken to make a functional bag that hangs off a shoulder. OR I could just make a really small bag that holds Chapstick tubes. 

    As I said before I want to do more sewing. I love how sturdy sewing makes a textile as an object. I also love this weird shape and the simple colors of the olm. They're very rare in the wild and only found in underground caves in Eastern Europe. They have no eyes thanks to years of evolution. Crazy enough they can survive off of one meal for 10 years if food is scarce and the longest record of an olm staying in one spot is 7 years. These guys are crazy.

I just had the thought that curtains hang. Curtains are also flat. What if they had three dimensional relief? My cat would adore it unfortunately.

These are inspired by the Jadot and Kehayoglou furniture pieces.

I plan to sketch an idea for a curtain rod that would be inspired by the curtains above.

        Another idea I had for Hang is a key holder with a built in dog leash holder. It would be very convenient for my needs to get a key holder.

        The forms are inspired by fluffy moth antennae. I imagine this would be cast in bronze and the green is my attempt to depict the ammonia patina. There are three regular sized hooks on the right and a large one on the right is to hang a doc leash on. I also hang the harness so a larger hook would be hand to hold both at once.

        Another idea I had for Hang is a towel rack. I went abstract with the sides while thinking about working in wood.

TO LIGHT

11/17 Update

    I'm going back to my original idea based on the Chinese money plant that I realize I never uploaded! 

    I feel I goofed it by not uploading this which it was my favorite idea! My main idea is that I make these leaves out of cast paper (I think I'll have to dye it with tea or coffee for a subtle brownish ten like my photo). I'll make a bulb out of the cast paper that will go around the light bulb. I'm getting the lamp off of Facebook market place as my Goodwill trip was a bust! I'm going to make a note in my planner to update the blog when I get a lamp! 

    These are the photos straight from the sellers, so they aren't the best quality images, it's at least something for now. These are two I'm looking at and will try to get at least one. The top needs spray painted so it's not that horrid teal color. Does it need sanded or just primed before repainting it?

11/1/2022 Update

    After casting the branch in iron for my BFA project, Luis mentioned it looked like a wand. One thing lead to another and I am intrigued by the idea of making this branch a light fixture. In my idea I would like to fabricate thin paper flowers that are translucent as to allow the maximum amount of light to emit from the tiniest light diodes or light bulbs (here is where my lack of light fixture knowledge comes in. I want the lights to be super tiny and dainty. Looking up what my options are I saw a lot about LED light diodes).

    At the moment of drawing this I did not have any particular flower in mind. The forms I drew resemble lotus flowers and they could be convenient in the wide petals working well enough to create a sturdy flower form when hardened with glue.

    This is definitely a continuation of whimsical nature I keep making when I'm not making whimsical and bizarre nature (I'm looking at you Olm Bag and Moth Eating Fungi). 

    A real challenge I have is how to incorporate the wiring required for the lights. Incorporating a vine or moss structure to this idea could be a way to mask the wiring.

                                        

I don't want my rough sketch to be the poster child for this post.

    To Light

        

        As I mentioned earlier I am interested in muting the light. This was my first idea but the light pouring out of the top would still be too harsh.

            For these, I got a box of wire from high quality spiral books. The wire has a nice line quality that inspired ideas from Dr. Seuss's truffula trees.

          Below are flowers I'm inspired by for this idea of diffusing the light.

This is hopefully my last spur of the moment idea. Lights are usually on ceilings, but never on the floor. How about a rug lamp? It's not easy to wash, and it's a pain for mobility.

    

        I mentioned I am interested in creating a form that emits a soft light that does not trigger my migraine sensitivity. I am intrigued by the steel fabrication with paper additions. 

        Paper casting is another option I am interested in. I've attached a sample of crocheted wire. Paper casting and enveloping with crocheted wire would help reinforce the paper.

 

        I  am drawn to a few examples from the presentation during class.

        I pulled these off of the presentation, but I love to subject of the first one and the warmth a soft light of the bottom two. The bottom two look like they're made out of paper which I am intrigued to work with.