Project One progress

    I've had to revise my plans a bit, as my original idea proved to be too intricate and technical to achieve in such a short time frame. I've kept some of the original concepts, such as rotating faces with patterns cut out of them, but I've opted to make the piece more interactive by having the viewer pull a string in order for the piece to move. As for making the piece a vessel, I'm going for an iris mechanism that's opened through the activation of the piece, which then will allow the viewer to see into a compartment inside, intended for holding some sort of object. I'm not certain what I want the piece to hold, but I'm leaning towards a set of earring, or a pair of rings.


    I tested out a few variations of pattern based on one of the fractal patterns, including a version that is one singular closed curve, but given that I want the pattern to be cut from a single sheet, a closed curve would leave a pattern with few points of contact with the frame, and ultimately be quite fragile, so I decided to use the design to make some tiles that could be repeated without compromising the structure of the material.




    I experimented with some designs for the flower faces, using the offset tool repeatedly to create concentric lines within the outlines I traced from the floral pattern I had chosen. I also took that fractal inspired tile I made, and filled one of the flowers with it. It was incredibly tedious trimming the pattern at the boundary, so I'm sure there must be a tool that would make this easier, but I wasn't able to find any such tool.



    In terms of a 3D mock-up, I did it all in Blender because I was a bit behind trying to refine my ideas, and I'm far more proficient in that program than in Rhino. 

    I'll be using some simple gear mechanisms to transfer the motion throughout the piece. I've also decided that I'll be using a pale plywood to cut my shapes from, because I feel that as an organic material light weight material, it's more fitting for the project. I'll also be staining some of the parts with a teal copper sulphate solution that is a byproduct from my work making brass jewelry. 




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