Assignment 1 – Cora Hickoff

Reflecting on Inflatables

The first inflatable I made wasn’t really inflatable at all, but it helped me get in the groove. My first idea was to design a shape based on my sketch of these white frogs on lily pads. Creating the lily pad was easy in comparison to the even more organic shape of the frog. Ultimately, the shape didn’t inflate as well as the others, but it gave me the opportunity to try a more planned approach.

Inflatable 1

Inflatable 2

When creating my next inflatable, I decided to have more fun with the process and cut whatever shapes came to mind. I also used the corners of the plastic bags to my advantage to create these protruding spikes.

Inflatable 3

Starting to make more conscious color decisions… used silver plastic to counteract the warmth felt by the orange and red but also allow all three colors to stand out.

Inflatable 4

What happens when you deliberately select colors that “shouldn’t” work together? You get something that’s a mix between “so ugly it’s cute” and “oh gosh, this makes me uncomfortable.” That was my goal with this inflatable.

Used the clear plastic to distort the inside and create a sense of discovery and excitement.

Inflatable 5

Yay! Taping skills have improved! Here I was easier on myself and cut larger shapes and played with the translucency of the colored tape as well as warm versus cool (see tiny red patches).

Inflatable 6

Origin story of this inflatable: I found a piece of danger barricade tape sticking out of the ground and knew I had to use it. Even though the “E” and “R” were left underground, many people will fill them in. I personally find that there is something both stressful and comforting about the tape–it gives some cause for alarm, but also puts one’s life in perspective. Right now, survival is priority. Forget materialistic concerns.

At times, there was frustration when shapes wouldn’t align with one another. That usually meant that multiple strips of tape would be needed, and there was more room for error. This also sometimes caused air to escape… I also found that the larger the shape, the easier it was to go back and fix mistakes. Larger plastic was also stronger and better at holding in air than plastic that had a smaller surface area (which was mostly comprised of tape which was sometimes weak). Overall, I think that while planning is useful and sometimes needed, giving up control can yield really exciting results and surprise you.