Final: 3D Planes Cardboard Project “Boundary”

Brainstorming for this project proved to be extremely difficult for me. I felt constrained and unimaginative, creating simple 3D geometric shapes. I tried to think “out of the box” (no pun intended) but I ended up with a bunch of cubes. I decided instead of forcing myself to think of something totally new, I would just roll with what I had and try to make a cube as interesting as possible. Soon the idea hatched to make a cube inside a cube seeming to float in mid-air. So I sketched a plan and went to work.

I wasn’t prepared for the amount of math I had set myself up for. Because I was making each edge of the square its own 3 dimensional rectangle, I had to make some edges shorter than others. After measuring and counting how many sizes of each side I would need for each square, I got to cutting.

Even after checking and rechecking my math, I still managed to write down the wrong number. Instead of making eight 36” boxes to fit with the four 48” boxes to create the big outer box, I accidently made eight 24” boxes. This resulted in a rectangle shape instead of the perfect cube I was going for. Instead of throwing the eight boxes out, I decided to just reduce the 48” boxes down to 36” so the 24” boxes would be the right size to complete the cube.

The next problem I faced was the paper tape I had bought. It was strong enough to bind the smaller box rectangles together, but it was not binding the individual rectangles together to create the entire box. I ended up using almost an entire roll of masking tape to support the box, then covered it in paper tape. Because I am spray painting it black, I will need to cover every edge and open area with tape.

For my last few steps, I need to cover both cubes with the spray paint as well as hang the smaller cube within the bigger cube using clear fishing line I bought.

My original idea was to hang this entire piece from the ceiling to give the whole thing a really weightless feel to go along with the floating cube on the inside, but my plan B is to find a nice, elevated spot outside where  people can get a good view of the floating cube inside of it.

 

My piece is titled Boundaries. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, boundary is defined by the following:

bound·ary

noun \ˈbau̇n-d(ə-)rē\

: something (such as a river, a fence, or an imaginary line) that shows where an area ends and another area begins

: a point or limit that indicates where two things become different

boundaries : unofficial rules about what should not be done : limits that define acceptable behavior

I feel this piece applies to the definitions above because of the material and context within the design. Boundaries have a lot to do with area, as does planes and the use of flat cardboard. Cubes have a very defiant area, but is confused in this piece because of the inner cube. Is this piece all one cube with implied lines, or are they separate cubes? “Unofficial rules about what should and should not be done” can be applied to the concept of physics within the boundaries of the piece. It is not normal or typical behavior for something to appear to defy gravity, therefore it exceeds the boundaries of acceptable behavior.

“Boundaries”

Downtown Cincinnati Structure/Detail Studies

“Tyler Davidson Fountain (The Lady)”

Werner Reiterer, 21c Chandelier

Decorative Piece

Cincinnati Contemporary Art Museum

Downward view from Carew Tower

View of down town Cincinnati, Ohio

Plaster Project: Non-representational with Void

I do not like wire. I can’t seem to get it to cooperate. I don’t know if it is because I’m not patient enough or if it because I just haven’t had much practice with it, but making a wire frame for my piece was the most difficult part. I went through several different frames to increase the size and try to adjust my techniques, but in the end… I really just prayed that the plaster would do most of the work. I guess one positive thing I could say about the wire was that it created a biomorphic, unsymmetrical kind of appearance which gave my final piece a very interesting shape. I decided my voids would be shown through the spaces between the “legs.” Though most people designed theirs to be more like a “hole” through their piece, I was thinking more about negative space and how it shapes the sculpture as a whole. Void, defined by google, is an unfulfilled space. So I also incorporated a small dip in the center of my piece to evoke the feeling of emptiness. Most people commented on how or what they would fill the space with.

Though wire doesn’t seem to be my thing, plaster was a totally different story. I loved the entire process! Learning how to make the right amount of plaster at the right consistency kept my attention and forced me to really focus on how I was going to smooth this thing out. I found a couple different strategies. First, I discovered if I started out with thin plaster, I could quickly dunk my burlap in and make a general “skin” around the wire frame. Then as it hardened, I just dove my hands into the bucket and started piling it on. After one layer of burlap and many layers of plaster, I eventually covered the entire piece. Though it wasn’t the prettiest, I at least had the entire thing molded out and covered.

My final step was to smooth it out. I knew I wanted it to be smooth, though near the end of the process I started considering other texture ideas. I used a rasp to smooth out the big chunks. After carving away at it for a while, I made my own personal plaster mixture that was SUPER thin. This filled in some of the cracks I over-grated and helped smooth out any little imperfection. After doing this about three or four times, I let my piece dry over the weekend. Then before bringing it to class, I gave it a finally sanding to get it as smooth as possible. Though there were a few spots I could have smoothed out a little more, I think my final piece was pretty good! I was really pleased with the outcome and am interested in making another! I also may try hanging it on a wall; maybe making similar pieces of different sizes and shapes and displaying them all together… like little amoebas clustered together.

[New final photo coming soon!]

Ceramics: Final Stage

 

Before going to class on the first day of our ceramics project, I had read an article about elephants and how they can mourn and comfort each other during a death. This stuck to me because of how many people I have lost in the past few years and how I still feel lost on how to mourn and get over the loss. I have lost my grandpa, my first dog, my good friend, and other relatives all within the past two years. When I look at this elephant, I will not think of just them but know that one day I will look back on their memory and not be sad anymore. I want to learn from the grieving process of the elephants and remember that it is all a part of life.

Though I ended up going through multiple elephants until achieving this final piece, I am happy with my results. I worked very hard on getting the realistic skeletal structure of the elephant’s face to come through as well as the wrinkles and the natural flow of the ears. After making the first one, it was got easier and easier to remake them. I chose to stain my piece with wood polish, and then smudge white acrylic paint over the tusks for a worn, ivory look.

 

As for my vessel, this one came to me as I was creating it. I originally made the tree trunk to be a container for the elephant to sit on, but decided I would keep the elephant a separate piece and go a different route. I then began to build a nest, not sure what I was going to put inside. After layering bits of clay to form the nest, I then debated about whether or not I should put a bird or a few eggs. Then I realized those weren’t my only options… I could put anything in there I want. I relate this piece to myself because often times people who first meet me tell me I am not what they expected me to be like at all… so in order to portray that I filled the nest with cube-shaped eggs. One is cracked and coming out of it one will be surprised to find a fried egg leaking out onto the outer edges of the nest.

 

 

Flawless (Photography and Graphics by Kendra Carper)

 

 

Ceramic Making: The Beginning

I’m not quite sure how I feel about clay yet… I remember making pinch pots and learning how to score and slip in high school, but I also remember not being very good at it. I struggled on the first day we went to the Ceramics building. I was very unprepared and had no idea where to begin. I played around with a few ideas for a while, but ended up scrapping an entire coil pot I had spent almost all of class making.

The next class was a bit more successful… I had made a few drawn sketches of what I wanted to make. For my vessel, I was thinking of making either a hollow elephant head or a turtle shell. After taking a few opinions from my peers, I decided to go ahead and try the elephant head (though it seemed rather difficult.)

In the end I really liked how it turned out! Making the entire head and trunk hollow was difficult, and his tusk an ears are EXTREMELY fragile… but if his trunk manages to stay up and he doesn’t fall apart, I would consider this a successful piece. I have also made a hollow, cylindrical  vessel for him to sit on like a lid. I have yet to decide how to decorate it, but hopefully I will finish it be next class so I can start working on my next piece.

Drag Queen Music Video Production Stills + Photoshoot

Ceramics from Islam

Islamic potters are known for their use of white and blue color schemes as well as luxurious metallic sheen. European  ceramics original inspiration and technical knowledge comes from Islamic countries. According to Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Arts, success of the Islamic art is based off of “a love of colour, a taste of geometry and pattern, and the ability to adopt and adapt.”

Landscapes in south-west Iran supply pomegranate groves with colors of scarlet flowers and rose. In avoidance of human imagery due to religious reasons, “geometric and floral designs flourished in a way unknown in the icon-oriented Christian world.” It is thought that Islamic culture does not receive enough acknowledgment for originating and inspiring the works of Europe and Asia.

As the Islamic world “acted as a middleman” in major trade routes of the world, the European searched for Oriental silks and spices. In using their ability to “adopt and adapt” to the demands of the Europeans. Islamic and Asian potters began to play off one another’s ideas to appeal to the European traders.

“The skill of the Islamic potter now lies in the way he adopted the Chinese model, and adapted it to his own taste.”

White tin-glaze was soon created by the Iraqi potters, and Chinese white porcelains led to the development of stone-paste bodies to try and mimic the translucency of the Chinese imports. With the addition of color and arabesque design, the resulting innovations now created their own unique style with a specifically Islamic character. 

“It is a matter of great urgency, in these days of international, inter-racial, and inter-religious tension, that Islamic artistic and cultural traditions should be understood and appreciated in non-Islamic areas of the world. It is the hope that this will introduce the works of the great craftsman potters of the Islamic past, and that through understanding and appreciation of their unique contribution to the history of the world ceramics there will grow a much deeper respect for the Islamic world as a whole.”

 Dish with poly-chrome glazing , Presented by the American Research Center in Egypt, 1974

Two different traditions of glazing were inherited: a glaze fluxed with soda or potash, called an alkaline glaze, and a glaze fluxed with lead-oxide, called a lead glaze.

A new period of experimentation was under way. For this piece, different glazes – green, brown and yellow – have been used to portray a highly stylized peacock. Although the design itself is remarkably sophisticated, it is evident that the experimental phase is not yet complete. Alongside the decorated areas, the potter has left parts of the bowl surface completely un-glazed.

 Jug with epigraph decoration, Bequeathed by Professor A. H. Sayce, 1935.

After initially using the stone-paste body to imitate the white Chinese porcelains, the Islamic potter in his accustomed way started to add color. First he added a single color to the glaze – cobalt for blue, manganese for purple, or copper for turquoise. In a lead glaze copper turns green, but in the alkaline glazes used on stone-paste, it turns turquoise, and it is this turquoise which has been the hall-mark of Persian ceramics and tiled domes ever since its introduction in the eleventh – twelfth century. The design on the jug is calligraphic. The words and letters had a holiness of their own.

Bowl with radial design and drop-shaped cartouches (1638), Gift of Gerald Reitlinger, 1978.

As figurative decoration declines, the commonest designs are now geometric with a variety of arabesque patterns used as fillers.  This piece has a ‘Maltese’ cross which is emphasized visually by its color, by its wide, white border, and by the wide, white surround to the pear-shaped cartouches in each of its arms.  The primary cross-shape is emphasized by its pointed arms, and by the use of the same arabesque design as a filler for each of them. The four secondary arms have square ends and the designs used as fillers alternate, two and two. The result is that although the bowl is decorated with an eight-point radial design, the eye reads it as a cross.

Jug with flowers against a fish-scale background, Bequeathed by C. D. E. Fortnum, 1899. 

 The appearance of recognizable species of flowers on Iznik ceramics was due to the rise to eminence of one particular artist, Kara Memi, at the court of Suleyman the Magnificent. Kara Memi transformed Ottoman illumination by introducing naturalistic flowers, such as tulips, roses, hyacinths and carnations, to replace the traditional, stylized, Islamic floral motifs and arabesques.

Although some traditional elements were still retained, the naturalistic flower designs clearly captured the imagination of the Iznik potters. First making their appearance in the 1540’s, they were accompanied by a new color scheme. To the blue and turquoise of the preceding decade were added a soft sage-green, a manganese-purple, and a soft greenish-black for outlines. Experiments were made with coloring the background, and a fish-scale pattern introduced to help alleviate the monotony of a large area of single color.

Resource: http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/7/674/676

Sense of Touch: A Lasting Impression

October 30th, 2013. I lost one of the most important people in my life. He is the reason I am who I am today. He is the reason I have a home, the reason I was born, and the reason I strive for greatness. His death seemed impossible and inevitable all at the same time. I knew he was sick, but he had been sick for a while. Every time I heard he was getting worse, I put it behind me and pretended it wasn’t real. He was my neighbor, my role model, and my grandpa. 

George Carper died of Prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers found in older men. He went through every treatment possible, flying across country to find the best doctor possible. His will to live was strong and he fought until the end. In his last weeks of life, my grandpa was provided an in-home hospital bed where he could stay in the comfort of his home while being connected to an IV.  When I visted him, it was like visiting a stranger. He slept for the most part, and when he was awake he didn’t seem to recognize anything. After suffering a couple strokes, he was hardly able to talk. This was one of the hardest things for me because my Papa was the most intelligent man I had ever met. He was a mechanical engineer and was an extremely important person in my community. When asked his name, he would respond in grunts and confused looks. I could tell he was in so much pain, but my grandma was too afraid to give him the pain medication he needed. Finally my father (his son) stepped in and gave him the medicine. Then a miracle happened.

Seconds after the medicine dissolved, his eyes popped open. He stared out the window and spoke as if he had never been sick. He noticed the birds outside, spoke his name, and looked my father into his eyes and told him he loved him. We were all in total shock and used this precious time of consciousness wisely. We all had a chance to talk with him before he started to slowly return to his lethargic, confused state. As I began to leave the room, I walked up to his bed one last time. I knew this would be the last chance I got to say bye. I told him I loved him and that he was the greatest grandpa I could have ever asked for. I then began to walk away, only to be stopped by a dry, wrinkled hand wrapped around my wrist. “Goodbye honey.”

The sensation sent chills down my spine. I didn’t expect him to grab out to me, let alone speak to me. Only moments before he had no idea who any of us were. I will never forget how it felt to have him recognize me one final time, even in his worst condition. My Papa was the most successful, honorable, truthful man I have met to this date. I tried my best in everything I did just to hear his praise. I am so glad to have made him proud so far throughout my college career, and I will continue to do so. 

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/Cincinnati/obituary.aspx?n=George-S-CARPER&pid=167777344

“Line” Design Project: Construction Day

So after frantically trying to gather all my materials, I finally began and nearly finished creating my art piece! This work is totally interactive and the pipes slide in and out so anyone can create their own version. In the photo below, it is missing one tube because it cracked. It will soon be replaced and the entire box will be filled. It was a long, cold day in my garage but with some help from my dad, I completed the construction! Now all I have to do is clean it up and decide on whether I should paint or stain it tomorrow.

Though the design is somewhat simple, making this piece took a lot more consideration than I originally thought. Because I had rendered it out on SolidWorks, it was already scaled out. But because I was using a 1/8 circular saw blade, the loss of 1/8 of material had to be taken into account for the measurements of all of the cuts I made. So if a plank was supposed to be 11.5 inches, I had to add .125 when I measured, knowing that the .125 would be removed in the cutting process. I also had to take into consideration that I did not want the pipes TOO tightly packed so they could easily slide around one another, so I left a small space inside the frame (meaning I made the bottom and top horizontal pieces of wood a tad bit longer than necessary.)  Since it had to fit six pipes across, I measured the diameter of the pipes, multiplied by six, added .125 for material loss, and another small fraction for the extra space.

Another measurement I made included the exact diameter and length of each pipe because though they were supposed to all be the same, there are always going to be some small variation in size. Because my smallest pipe was  almost a half inch smaller than all of the other ones, I had to base our final cut length of pipe off of the smallest pipe.  I only had enough pipes to make the EXACT amount of tubes, so it was crucial I use the pipes in the most efficient way.

(Almost) Finished Piece

Materials

Safety First!

Full Length Pipes and Circular Saw

Pipes

Wood Planks

Cutting the Pipes

The Wooden Frame

Constructing the Wooden Frame

Math

Measuring Pipes