Here it is, the final gallery of shade structures on site at the Farnsworth House in Plano, IL where they will remain on public display (and available for public use) throughout the summer. The Assignment was to design and build an installation that must provide shade for at least one person. It had to be strong, sturdy, transportable, and make efficient use of materials. The material pallet consisted of cedar and white corrugated plastic, plus one third material of our choice. We were given two 4x8 sheets of the plastic, and eight 8' cedar 2x4s, plus pine 2x4s and cardboard for mockups. The gallery shows the projects in the order one would encounter them, starting with Mike Revord's little pavilion on the river, and working counter clockwise around the loop formed by the two main paths on the grounds. Going back to set the projects up was really amazing...the woods are almost unrecognizable from the dormant grey trees that first concealed the House as behind a tangled curtain of black lace. Now it is completely hidden when approaching from the lower riverside path, until it bursts into view from behind the newly-formed clouds of thick green leaves.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Ah well...
The modular, reformat-able, slot-assembled shelf I've been working on is turning out to be a failure. Here's a photo of the pieces during the painting process:
The problem is I used some tempera paints I got for free mixed with a high proportion of water, in an effort to make a mixture that would soak into the wood and sort of stain it. When I checked on it this morning, the pieces now have a much rougher surface than before, which is unfortunate because I spent a long time sanding them all with increasingly higher grit paper to make sure they were smooth. Worst of all, when I touched them, the pigment easily came off on my hand. I think that's normal for tempera, but I thought I could avoid it by laying many coats of very diluted paint.
The problem is I used some tempera paints I got for free mixed with a high proportion of water, in an effort to make a mixture that would soak into the wood and sort of stain it. When I checked on it this morning, the pieces now have a much rougher surface than before, which is unfortunate because I spent a long time sanding them all with increasingly higher grit paper to make sure they were smooth. Worst of all, when I touched them, the pigment easily came off on my hand. I think that's normal for tempera, but I thought I could avoid it by laying many coats of very diluted paint. The good news is, the first of 6 or 7 pairs of shoes I rescued with the intention of painting and selling are now painted. I'm pleased with the results, I just have to treat them with some kind of sealant to make sure they hold up.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Color Project 2011
I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but finally got around to it now. These are photos I took of some of installations built by us first years.
We started this project by picking a painting at the Chicago Art Institute, and analyzing in depth the color composition. We then made watercolors, collages, sketches, and geometric studies to understand the painting's composition as much as possible. The next step was making a collage based on the original painting. I don't have mine anymore (prof. never gave it back) so unfortunately I can't show to you. The final component of the project was a 3d color composition made from MDF and different bright paints. On review day, the projects were installed around Crown Hall, and remained there for a few weeks to add some much-needed color to our bleak little winter world of black steel, cherry oak, glass and snow. Below is a gallery of the photos I took. Flip through them or sit back and enjoy the slideshow.
We started this project by picking a painting at the Chicago Art Institute, and analyzing in depth the color composition. We then made watercolors, collages, sketches, and geometric studies to understand the painting's composition as much as possible. The next step was making a collage based on the original painting. I don't have mine anymore (prof. never gave it back) so unfortunately I can't show to you. The final component of the project was a 3d color composition made from MDF and different bright paints. On review day, the projects were installed around Crown Hall, and remained there for a few weeks to add some much-needed color to our bleak little winter world of black steel, cherry oak, glass and snow. Below is a gallery of the photos I took. Flip through them or sit back and enjoy the slideshow.
[some] systems back online
It's been an insane last semester, and as I feared, I totally ran out of for any communication with the outside world, let alone a blog. Now that it's summer, I'm going to make an effort to document the projects I'm working on, and hopefully get my online presence into some kind of cohesive order. I will be redesigning this site (so expect it to change erratically as I experiment with it) and setting up an online portfolio as well as an Etsy store.
Stay tuned
--Tyler
Stay tuned
--Tyler
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