Here are a bunch of sketches of ideas:

Here are the rough final sketches:

Part of the process:

The final result:

For the bluemonster, soon after I began I recognized similarities between it and ugly dolls which I remember being popular as a child. For the nose, I first used tape to create a shape, then pinned on to that a striped fabric I made then hand sewed it shut. All facial feature like the mouth eyes and nose were also hand sewed on. If I could change anything  about it  now I would add filling to the limbs and maybe add weights or magnets to them. I was very happy my strategy with the teeth sewn onto the mouth looked cute.

I think that the duck came out looking more professional than the first one. I though it looked very tim burton like. The look was cleaner and played with more things rather than the monster which was somewhat simpler. It came out a lot different than the sketch of it looked because when I made the head circular originally I was upset with the look. I decided to separate the body I had made into two to get the fun cylindrical shape for the head and body. The neck process was similar to the nose for the monster, but longer, I sewed tubes together to make a long cloth and then brought the sides together, this was machine sewn. I added wire in the neck and  the wings to let the duck be posable but with more time and thought I would have added something for the wire to attack to inside the ducks body so that it wasn’t freely moving. I was very happy with the final result though and plan on doing projects like these again.

The original proposal included 6 panels, 3 of which would explore unique techniques of actuating, constraining, or presenting inflatables, and 3 of which would delve into different methods of cutting, layering, or exposing texture. Because of limitations on time the project was reduced to 3 panels. One which focussed on layering, one which experimented with flaps, and finally a panel which used vacuum forming to expose a texture.

Each Panel was labeled to distinguish from Vacuum or Textured.

Since there was no such an opportunity for checking our improvements through this whole semester during class, this independent project was a great chance to see what I have learned from each assignment for me.

The image above is the selection of  geometric shapes that I created for the project. I wanted to create them as the warm-up activity before heading to complicated forms. However, the endless repetition of geometric shapes was really challenging for fabric. Since every corner and edge should be sewed perfectly for the complicated forms, I kept failing to complete forms that have more than 10 sides. Therefore, I changed the goal of this independent project for exploring simple three dimensional geometric forms with different types of fabric.

With many differences, I did enjoy the experience of making geometric shapes with different types of fabric that we have used in class. I really liked how all the geometric shapes in soft forms feel like a sphere ball without any sharp edges and corners. I would love to explore the simple geometric forms in various types of fabric such as cotton, silk, velvet, canvas, denim, and hard paper. For hard paper and canvas, I would like to challenge some complicated forms that I failed for this project, since they have hard surfaces to easily create sharp edges and corners.

(1) Scarf

(2) Shirt

(2) Sweatshirt

(1) Belt

(1) Dress

(1) Pants

This is when I ran into problems, as I couldn’t find a deer template with the low-poly geometries that I had wanted to create a mask, and therefore I attempted to create my own pattern. I used plasticine and a wireframe to model a deer head. I then would try to create facets by cutting off faces on the model, but I soon realized that the faces I created were not precise and it was difficult to maintain clean edges between faces. I opted for another approach, to cut out pieces in paper and then impose them onto the model, but I realized that this was very tedious since the pieces needed to be exact, and the plasticine model needed to be adjusted every time.

Hence, I scrapped the idea to use plasticine, and instead explored 3D modeling. I taught myself how to create low-poly models from higher resolution models, and then export them to a papercraft program to unfold and transform into templates. However, I ran into further trouble when I couldn’t find any deer head models that fit my needs. I also did not have any 3D modeling experience.

From my exploration of deer head models, I did find a model of a deer skull that I thought would make an impressive model, although not a mask. Therefore, I went ahead and made the deer skull. Starting with the digital template, I scaled the model up to the size I had wanted, and printed them on 11 x 17 inch construction paper I had cut out.

I then began constructing my model, carefully cutting out each piece and gluing them together. I first made one half of the head, then the other, and then piecing them together down the middle. I then made the antlers, leaving one slightly unfinished. After our critique, I actually preferred the unfinished look to what I had originally planned. I remember a comment during my critique mentioned that the raw look of the model is what made it unique, and differentiated it from something that could have been bought premade. I also ended up making a display stand from wire so that it could be put up on a wall.

From this project, I learned a lot about how to approach papercraft, about techniques to gluing that would ensure a proper hold between pieces, about ways to create straight and clean folds, and a little about 3D modeling as well. If I were to make the project again, I would definitely look more into 3D modeling, and perhaps use a faster drying glue to speed the construction process.

I decided to use a silky creme colored material for one outfit and canvas for another.

Overall, the process of creating these outfits proved to be more difficult than I initially thought it would be. I was used to making clothes out of plastic which is something that usually comes after learning basic pattern making with conventional materials.

I had learned to sew by making outfits out of PVC, a material that has different qualities than regular clothing materials, especially when I comes to being stretchy/wearable. The next step for me was to learn how to make clothing that could be worn everyday, comfortably.

The problems I encountered were mainly about sizing and patterning. As individual pieces, the clothes could work, however as an outfit the silk pieces did not look as put together as they should have.

I am proud of what I have accomplished and I plan to continue making clothes this summer.

The “cloud” seemed both simpler and more attractive: I liked the combination of sky blue soft fabric and the industrial-looking nylon inflatable. I didn’t pay much attention to color in my past projects but this one gave me a distinctly calm feeling. I adapted a pattern for a sphere to produce the cloud’s football shape, and pre-cut a hole in one side for the umbilical.

I wanted to keep the “constraints” idea present in the piece, so I added the black and brown strings for aesthetics. I was hoping they’d distract people’s eyes from the actual constraining string (the white one) and they accomplished exactly that, which felt like a success.

I think the piece would benefit from a bigger scale and perhaps more “clouds.” It would be fun to experiment with inflatables that are closer to the size of people and cars (like Nancy Davidson’s bigger work) and see how the string constraints change the way we interact with them. If I had started earlier, these iterations would have been more possible.

The final project was an opportunity to truly explore an interest of mine. I chose to look at the form and qualities of air dancers, the inflatable tubes found typically outside car stores. Initially, I thought the form was simple: air entered a tube and the weight of the top made it fall over and reassert itself once pressure rebuilt. However, I came to learn how complicated this form was, and all the factors involved in replicating the motion. After much trial and error, I decided to downscale the project to make fabrication and testing much easier. Once I did this, there was already a different quality to the inflatables. At the size, the tubes were much more sporadic, flailing, and agitated which lends to a very different experience than the large ones. I then explored several ways to modify the original shape. I tried making a round base, splitting the top, and splitting the bottom. Each one had very different behaviors reflected by the air flows. Overall, I learned a lot of about the material, air, and the relationship between that material and air.

For this assignment, I started with broad ideas of media arts to incorporate into inflatables as the medium. At first, it was challenging to find a way to narrow down what kind of inflatable shape I want to focus. However, it was easier when I simply thought about what I want to convey through this project to my classmates who are my audience.

Recently, I have been missing a lot of times when I had time to enjoy what I have and a few hidden joys that are hidden under the simple routinary life. Thus I decided to go for option 2 and create television inflatables that are in shape of old television which we used to have back in the days. The video editing process was enjoyable to me especially because of I recently learned how to use video editing programs. Also, to visualize two videos on two separate screens, I got help from Olivia to learn how to use madmapper. It was a great experience to learn various programs while working on a project I’m passionate. Creating a nostalgic mood through video was challenging and after the critique, I now have few more editing changes I wish to make.

Since it was my first time to combine video media and inflatable, I think it took some time to figure out how they interact and what synergy they create by existing as a whole. This project left me opened up the potential area to research more on media arts and artists who are involved in the field.