Sunday, December 6, 2009

unintentional design - human behaviors

While walking around my usual surroundings in Eugene, I began to realize how decisions people make, whether conscious or not, have some type of order to them. Some are more obvious than others, while some are more silent and hidden.



The person who brought this chair outside placed it against the wall, to feel more secure and protected, as well as directly connected to the surrounding space. Placing the chair in the middle would make a person feel vulnerable and detached.

This path was worn by many people, over a great time, choosing to walk this way instead of on the paved path. Whether these people chose to take this new path because of its direction, distance, or just its appeal, we will never know. However, it is now strongly carved out of the ground, equal in relevance to the original.


This cone was placed on the corner. And while no obvious danger seems near, the cone may be cautioning passerby of the close intersection or street traffic.

This cone was most likely dropped in the water as an accident, but now still serves a purpose to warn animals and other creatures in the water of the large, prodding branches extending into the water.


While this cone could have been placed anywhere in the open field, a person chose to put it close to the fire hydrant. It's not near enough to suggest that the fire hydrant is broken. In a way, the two objects being near each other is comforting, so neither of them have to be alone.

The cup placed on the circular seat emphasizes the already present repetition of circles and adds an element of scale and color.

The incline of this portion of sidewalk forces many bikers to break quickly to slow down, leaving behind their mark. All of these incidents, added together, create a flowing pattern which make a mundane sidewalk much more interesting.

A recessed stairway window in my apartment building acts as a shelf for people's rejects - junk mail and a dryer sheet - which don't even manage to make it up to their apartment's trash cans.

A series of pipes would seem to have only one set purpose, but given on object with the right proportions, it can make a perfect cubby hole as well.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

progress on project 2

For the second project, I decided to go with my children's book idea. I will use museum board for the pages, and laser cut the images and words into the pages. I have drawn many of the pages on illustrator, some of them are below. I am also thinking about making this a mixed media project and painting the pages after they have been laser cut. Or, if I have time, I might make two books, one with paint added and one without.




Tuesday, November 10, 2009

project 2 ideas

This time around, I'm in the tool focus group. I'm unfamiliar with both the laser cutter and the vinyl cutter, but interested with them as well. I wanted to do a project involving one of these tools, and after thinking about it, the laser cutter seemed to offer me more of what I was looking for out of the project. Here are my three ideas for the project:



Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Project - Final Wrap Up

I am in the personal space group, so I decided to tackle what I thought was the largest problem in my living space. The problem was that my space didn't feel personal and lacked an individual touch. It also felt very temporary, almost more like a hotel than my own place.

In order to address all of these problems, I decided that making something myself would be the best way to make something more personal. Even more so, having my roommate and I make something together would be more one of a kind. Therefore, I came up with the idea of a series of paintings to liven and enhance my space.

The colors chosen for the background are all of a cool color palette, in order to add an air of tranquility and calm. According to a color chart I found, each color also has a more specific meaning behind it. Green is compassion and clear perception. Blue is clear thinking and organization. Purple is artistry and spirituality. And white, used for details, is cleansing, protective, and simplification. I also chose the branch motif for the paintings as an object that could flow effortlessly through all three panels, connecting them together, while each is still their own piece.

Below is a sequence of photos showing the progression of the transformation of the space where the paintings are hung up. First it was cluttered with boxes, then cleaned out, then decorated.


These are some close ups of the paintings, to better show the colors and the details.

My roommate and I both agree that these have made our space a more pleasant a welcoming place to be.

For others who want to apply this to their own lives, I would suggest that making your own art is much more meaningful and satisfying than buying something in a store. You will cherish it longer and always have fond memories.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

this weekend

The book that I made Thursday turned out really well. I used gorilla glue to bind the spine and it's holding really solidly, but I'm slightly worried that if I open the book too widely that it might crack. I think that next time I make a book I'll experiment with a different glue.

I've bought the canvases to make my paintings. I got three, to make a triad. The exact contents of the paintings I'm still working out, but my roommate and I have come up with a few ideas that we like and are discussing. We are going to decide on an idea tomorrow and then start painting. I'll post up pictures of progress as soon as each painting is started and the finished progress.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

my activites today

I got all of the materials for book making, and made my book, using the sewing method. I'm just waiting for the glue to dry, which won't be until tomorrow, but I think it will turn out alright.

As for the main project, I took time today to go through my proposals and decide which would really be the best one for my problem. I think that making something myself would be the easiest and best way to make my space feel more personal, and having my roommate and I make something together would create an object that is even more one of a kind. Therefore, I think that I am going to have my roommate and I make a small series of paintings to put around the apartment to both make the space more interesting and add a personal touch. I am going to talk to my roommate tonight about how many paintings we want to do and what we want the theme to be. Tomorrow I will go get supplies and start the project!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

my progress today...

Today I took pictures to add to my book, which I am planning on making on Thursday, and also to document part of my problem and help solidify which of my proposals would be best to choose for my final solution.

I lived in a house last year and this year I live in an apartment, so the amount of storage space that I have has shrunk. My roommate and I are still trying to adjust and we still have a few odds and ends in boxes because there is currently no space for them. Some examples are my light collapsed into its box and some pots and pans still in a moving box because we ran out of space in the kitchen cupboards.

I'm not entirely sure how these problems can be solved, besides these solutions:
1. get rid of / donate things until everything fits somewhere
2. store the least used items somewhere else
3. come up with some way to store the excess items in the apartment, however this is difficult, considering the lack of space in my apartment to begin with