portfolio
kristina kvavle pinegar jessica wolff, professor design 1 fall 2020
table of contents 01 significant artist presentation 02 crafting cubes & cyliders 1
diagramming nexus
2
topological tranformations
3
visual hierarchy: mondrian
4
creating pattern, color & texture
5
making place
6
making space
01. significant artist presentation
Logan Lewis and I worked in a partnership and researched the sculptor, El Anatsui, who mainly works in Ghana, Africa. Using found materials such as bottles caps, Anatsui binds them together forming a sort of metal fabric that is fluid and moldable and truly beautiful. His works are internationally exhibited and are inspired by community connection and colonialism and lts lingering effects.
02. crafting cubes & cylinders
Each week throughout the semester we were charged to draft and build a cube, cylinder, and an exploratory object with a different material. We then photographed the models and drawings and edited and uploaded the images. The materials progressed in difficulty and I discovered I really love modeling. I took my time to learn which tools worked best and tried each week to create something I was proud of. The cube and cylinder creations may have been my favorite part of the semester.
1. diagramming nexus
For our first project we were divided into groups and encouraged to get to know one another by creating diagrams to visually show who we are by comparing our similarities and differences. We started by asking each other questions and recording the answers. We chose to draw by hand rather than work digitally like our classmates. Using an 18x24 sheet of foam core, Corey Wentzel drew an outline of a tree, Jaylen Thomas shaded the tree, and I added leaves, water color and labels to the branches. Each of us were represented by a different color. We learned a lot about one another and it was a good way to break the ice at the unusual beginning of our socially distant semester.
2. topological transformations
qatari coca-cola bottle
Project 2 had us finding a household object and making drawing studies and models out of cardboard. While most of my classmates chose a shoe, I chose a small Coke bottle in order to challenge myself to get better at cutting circles free hand. I discovered while building cylinders that it was difficult to make clean edges on circles and thought choosing a cylindrical object could help me improve. It did! The seemingly simple form was surprisingly complex. I found the best way to create my drawings was to take a picture of my object and create a grid over the image and transfer the drawing that way - a skill I continued using in future drawings. I also learned to change my blade often and take my time. I’ll never look at a coke bottle without appreciation for its design again.
3. visual hierarchy - mondrian Each student was assigned a painting by Piet Mondrianto to interpret for Project 3. I had Composition 1921 and started by drawing diagrams to explore various parts of the painting. I noticed line length and strength, the number and size and positioning of color blocks, and created rules for a future model while deciding which areas were voids. My rules were transparency and connection. The model was built with foamcore interior, cubes made from basswood and cellophane, and wire mesh. I imagined, “a structure built of plexiglass and metal, large and shining in the sun in the middle of a grassy field. Coming closer, the visitor realizes they can climb up inside and explore each level, like an adultsized playground.� Because my idea was so literal, I struggled to find a way to make the structure interesting from all sides - a detail that was noticed in the critique of my presentation. The drawings were also more involved than any I had previously done. The axon was especially challenging taking over 8 hours in total after restarting multiple times. I learned a lot during this project and saw my modeling and drawing improve over early attempts.
Practice Models
4. creating pattern, color & texture
Project 4 presented an opportunity to carve stamps and create patterns. I carved multiple stamps and enjoyed the process of testing patterns in ink paint inspired by Japanese shibori prints. I then created a color wheel that did not include primary colors. Designing a plaid from those 6 complimentary colors was surprisingly difficult. Finally, exploring texture, we folded paper origami style. I love the flexibility of working with paper. I had a blast folding many, many experimental folds before landing on my own design of a tessellation style pattern with 26 spikes of increasing size I titled, “Make Your Point�. The same 6 colors from the earlier color wheel were added to the final arrangement and also to a stamped pattern. The project was perfectly timed in the semester giving my hands a chance to heal from the cuts and burns gained in the Mondrian and Coke bottle projects.
5. making a place - octavia Project 5 started by arranging early cubes and cylinders in a variety of configurations and photographing them in different lighting conditions. I then sketched the photos with various mediums. We chose a passage describing a city from the book Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Creating text and diagrams from the passage lead to the use of our cubes and cylinders to recreate our city. I chose Octavia, a spider web city that hangs suspended between two mountains. This project included drawing sections and a plan of the city with scale figures. I pictured Santorini in the sky after choosing my white foamcore and basswood with copper wire cubes and cylinders. For continuity among the structures of the city, I added wood on all white elements and white paint to the wood elements. I created a web, connections and my scale figures out of copper wire and a wood frame with nails and blue thread for the mountain holding up the web. This project stretched my mind as I sought to create a place based on an abstract concept. I learned the value of diagrams and saw how my classmates who had clear concepts early on benefitted from that clarity in their final drawings and models.
6. making space - octavia
Further developing concepts from Project 5 and the Invisible City Project, I created new diagrams and chose the more specific themes of suspension, connection, airflow, and choosing life over fate. I then built a new model with 4 remaining cubes and cylinders and built 2 more out of chipboard than adding a stucco like exterior and a sculpture of a wire mesh mountain. I experimented with watercolor painting for my conceptual image and worked to improve my drawing and photography skills and understanding of scale. With project 6 being our final project, I put in even more time to try to produce something special. I tried to follow instructions on how to write a script for my presentation removing myself and the word “I� and focusing on the concept and the why behind my design. I wanted to portray a vibrant city full of life in spite of the threat that someday the web will break and the city will fall. The Octavians choose to live connected anyway.