elevation of cabinet walls

This is a sketch I drew yesterday depicting my studio kitchen project cabinet walls. I designed the cabinet walls to be accessible and functional for the Corwin family.

This sketch is on white bond paper and with pencil.

Light Project Images

Article Writing

How the Design Process is Similar to Writing a Story
We are all familiar with what the word story means and how we are to write a story, but have we ever stopped to think about how writing a story relates directly to the design process? In the design process there are steps that a designer can take to create a well crafted, thought out and structured design. The same is true for the writing process, you need to create some sketches and write down some brainstorming ideas, then you need to think about how to break those ideas down and create a central idea or theme you want to get across and finally, a structured, well crafting and well thought out story is produced.
Why even bother with a process? Why revise and not go with your first instinct or idea? What is revision and why is it necessary in both the design and writing processes? Process is apart of the beginning, middle and end of the project. Process shows the brainstorming, the break down and building of structure, chipping away repetitive, unnecessary and abstract details that distract from the work and eventually to the final process model, the presentation of your complete process. Revision is included in our process work. When we revise, we are sifting through all of the information to create a story [both in design and writing] that has a central essence and exudes commodity, firmness and delight. This is achieved through fine tooth combing, or revising, our work up until the very last second we edit the project. Finally, we should never go with our first idea, start to finish in an instant. A first idea may become a final project, but it should never just remain as is. There is always something that could be different, better thought out and examined and maybe pushed further or in a completely different direction. Revision leads to craft and craft leads to well structured projects.
When we examine writing, as a concept, we see revision, research, essence, character, process work, details, information, interaction, imagery and word choice, and pictures that can be drawn up in our minds. All of these words, we can use to describe any type of design process, including writing, because they are creative and inventive fields. When we create designs, perhaps we should think of how we would formulate a story and vice versa. There is so much out there to be created, editing, brainstormed further and turned into a story and to become apart of those around us. We need to utilize these principles and rules of thumb for both writing and design to create great stories. Stories need to speak for themselves, draw up images and take people to a new place or give them a new feeling. Great design and writing takes people to a new world and takes them from where they are to where you want them to be. Although writing and design can be taken differently, there is still a sense of control in both realms and a sense of capturing the senses of another person. Stories are very revealing and can be extremely powerful works of art.

Portal

The portal we created was about the Pyramids of Giza and was created using cardboard, wire, and white and black paper. We installed our design which was based off of individual's within our groups brainstorming. This was the result and is placed in front of Patrick Lucas's office door.

Extracted Abstraction

      We were given white cardboard and black illustration board and had to create a journey. My journey I envisioned as treacherous and a rock climbing experience. 

Black & White Project

top perspective view of my black & white model

    left side view--of the "turn over in the kingdom" triangles

front view---journey triangles, skewer, kingdom triangles

      

 --The Project---

This project was created from black illustration board & white bristol board. I cut even 2 inch triangles & carefully crafted them so that they reflected a working journey. The black triangles reflect the story's journey of the main character who goes through three stages: servant, free man, prince in the same kingdom he was a servant in at the start of the story, hence the three point shape. The journey was a rough road but at the end, was for the best. I made the center of the triangles smooth because in most cases, and in the case of this story, the human goes through a trial and not until further observation do they realize the rough parts really were beneficial at the end. 

The white, larger triangles are opposite in position due to the turn over in the kingdom when the servant becomes prince. That is why the journey leads into them. 

Finally, the black skewer piercing through the center of it all reflects the unexpected point in the story when the free man falls asleep and is about to give up trying to complete the last task set before him by the princess and he awakes in the morning to little helpers, ants, piling up the last of the seed he needed to complete the task. 

I was pleased with the result and now, part two, is to create three models further abstracting this model. Until next time! 

Short Studio Update!

The latest project we are working on in studio revolves around the idea of abstracting a journey through our fairy tale we were assigned at the beginning of the semester. It has evolved into a black and white project. My first approach was to create black triangular forms with white triangular portions fitting into it. Now, we are to make three models further abstracting the first model that correlate with words we were given. Mine words are: Contrast, Symmetry and Balance. 

Off to the drawing board! More updates to come!

Living On the Edge Group---Day One

Today my group and I [Living on the Edge] group from the Pathways + Edges + Boundaries Project decided to undergo phase two of the project and take on creating our first mold. First semester we had several different approaches to the assignment and concentrated on four specific final molds being placed alongside the studio arts building. However, this semester we have decided to refine that to two shapes (a circle with a circular center and a square with a square center) in half shapes rather than full forms and burying them into the group, rather than placing them on the ground with a base. 

These are some visual images from our work today. 

[ Black + White Project ] Thumbnails

These are all apart of a 30 part thumbnail collection I created from my project done in Black + White. I created 29 black triangles out of black illustration board, a broken and refined skewer painted black, and white bond paper for my white sections. The purpose of the model was to create a mood that reflected the journey of our fairy tale done earlier in the semester. Then, draw 25 or more thumbnail sketches of various sections of this model. 

Interior Wall + Artifact

In this project I utilized balsa + bass woods, color + texture (carpeting + exposed wood on walls for photo frames). I am showcasing the colors on the tri wall and the single wall, my locket bracelet with paper hearts spurting from it on the one wall.  

I used yellow on the walls to help accentuate the innocence in discovery and to correlate with the pastels of the hearts. The navy blue carpet represent nobility found in the story's main character, the trusty servant boy. 

My artifact

I made this peek-a-boo metal heart + paper bracelet to reflect my fairy tale, "The White Snake". I utilized metal pieces that were slightly pulled apart by stretchy, silver string + pastel construction paper. The use of the light colored paper was to make the bracelet have a sweet, giving, approachable effect, because that is how I viewed the main character, the servant and his generosity. He was always giving. The reason I used the various colors of hearts were because the story had many different parts but they all centered around the same idea and the result of the story was based upon the idea of love. Therefore, the various colors, but utilizing the same shape, form the parts that make the whole in the story. The metal heart was for the servant's initial role in the story, serving the king and it is cracked open, because of his curiosity to see what the king was eating each day . 

The concept of my bracelet was "curiosity is not always a bad thing, but rather, can sometimes lead to love."

Daily Pathways + Edges + Boundaries Class Discussions

In the end, when it was time to focus on casting our molds, the class collectively decided to focus on the words: progressive, interactive, gateway. We all wanted to utilize similar things to help unify the islands, the building edge and gateway. The unifying styles we decided on were the following: waves, texture, ground plane, circle/square. 
Each of the groups from each island and the building edge presented their project proposals before the class by one elected speaker per group, This was really beneficial in seeing what the class got out of our discussions and individual group meetings. There were curiously a lot of similarities between groups, which made the final decisions a bit easier. 
We needed to discuss as a group what we wanted and did not want to do for the final result of the project. A lot of the groups were wanting similar things and some others were stuck in the mud about their ideas. So, we decided to sort of vote on the things to keep and not to keep. A big idea that a lot of the groups had but were not possible were: the use or direction of water and seating. 
IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS

Pathways + Edges + Boundaries Throw Up

These are images from Chey and my adventures outside to see what shapes are on the property we would be working with. 
After going through Google images and other processes of ideas for my group: Living on the Edge, we decided to go outside and sketch our area where we would be installing our potential concrete creations. I was sure to incorporate the corner where the building meets the street and where the sidewalk turns sharp to the right towards the entrance of Maud F. Gatewood Studio Arts Building. My group was interested in this area of work. Also, I wanted to work witht he curves and straight lines that are all over the art building land.