For my first inflatable, I began by cutting random shapes from the provided silver and white plastic bags. These shapes included a mix of polygonal forms (often triangles or quadrilaterals) as well as longer strips and curves. I assembled them together using a combination of pink gaffers tape on the outside and clear scotch tape on the inside, observing observing the difference in appearance when seams are highlighted or hidden. At no point did I know what the final shape would look like, but I observed about 2/3 of the way through assembly that I had a tendency (though unintentional) to try to make my inflatable spherical. To combat this, I explicitly made a portion of the inflatable protrude which gives the form a snail-like appearance. I followed the process demonstrated in class most closely for this inflatable and had reasonable success making it airtight.
Initially, I struggled with having absolutely no direction for my first inflatable, so for my second, I decided to create two halves and join them together, each with a different prescribed rule. For one half, I had all of my starting pieces cut to the same shape (light and dark greens) while for the other half I kept everything one color (purple). I also flipped my inflatable inside out so that at first, the taped seams were not visible. However, I struggled to join the two halves of the form, and when I did the seal was not very airtight and I was unable to inflate the form completely. To remedy this, I used the pink gaffers tape to cover leaks in the inflatable, which intentionally disrupts the seamless look I had been trying to maintain. I found the second inflatable to be the most challenging because I tried to be the most ambitious in my assembly.
After completing the first two inflatables, I found that I was nearly out of tape – both the supplied gaffers tape and my own personal tape. Consequently, I chose to experiment with constricting the shape of a default inflated shape, such that I could use very little tape. I sealed two gallon-sized Ziploc bags together to create a base shape, then cut thin strips of red, yellow, and blue plastic. I tied, braided, and weaved these strips into other forms, then attached them around the Ziploc bags in various ways to shape the final inflated form. While I had the most fun creating this inflatable, I felt restricted by the inherent shape of the bags; I would have enjoyed restricting a less predictable shape.