Independent Project

  • Proposal due: Tues., Nov. 23
  • Project update post: Tues., Nov. 30
  • Project due: Thurs., Dec. 9

The last project of the semester is an independent project focused on your particular interests and ideas that you propose. You can create this assignment as an individual project or as a collaborative project with a classmate.

What have you been waiting to make? A soft sculpture? A costume of an odd creature? A headdress of 1000 fabric butterflies? Or maybe there was something from class you would like to build upon. Would you like to create a larger weaving? Did the Encoded Cloth project inspire a different, new idea? Did one of the slideshows from the semester inspire something you would like to try?

There will be two elements to turn in:

  1. Create a proposal about the direction you are taking your project.  Include in your proposals the following: three developed sketches or collages of your idea, a paragraph that states the core concept, a paragraph that articulates your choice of materials, and a practical timeline for your project. Create a blog post for your proposal for Nov. 24 in category labeled Independent Project.
  2. Create your project! Create update blog post for Nov. 30 and a final project blog post to turn in the complete project for Dec. 9 in category labeled Independent Project.

Slideshow: Examples of Past Student Independent Projects


How to Submit:

Create a blog post on this WordPress site to document your Independent Project.

  1. Categorize your post with this WordPress category: Independent Project
  2. Write a brief paragraph outlining your explorations: intended effects, challenges, successes.
  3. Embed clear, quality images of your project.

Assessment

Points for this project will be divided amongst the following criteria:

EXPERIMENTATION/ RISK-TAKING/ INVENTIVENESS: The maker’s willingness to take risks (in composition, formal choices, materials, ideas, and content) is evident. Also important is the maker’s openness to new ideas, chance occurrences, and feedback throughout the creative process.

EXECUTION: Decisions about materials used and the manner in which the work is constructed, fabricated, and composed are deliberate. The maker’s choices indicate an awareness of how formal issues, materials and processes contribute to the interpretation or experience of the work.

DOCUMENTATION: Documentation well represents the works. It is clear, focused, and without extra elements that distract from experiencing the work. It includes both written reflection and photographic or video elements. Photographs are large enough for us to easily view the works.