mbalajee@andrew.cmu.edu – IDeATe: Inflatables

Push/Pull Objects

For the push/pull assignment, I wanted to experiment by trying to make an inflatable which could be a single piece of fabric. I then wanted to make something interactive, and also be able to join objects together. For my final object, I wanted to incorporate all of this, and also make it interactive.

This was my first object, and my first attempt at connecting objects together. I was initially aiming to create a completely different object, but because of certain mistakes, I was not able to make the mushroom. Instead, I was able to make something like a flower (probably seen in a game of Mario).

For my second object, I wanted to perfect joining objects together, and also be able to plan out an object and make it exactly the way I would like it to look. So I chose to make an ice cream cone, and I was able to make successfully make it. I tried making it interactive, however, I had stuffed it too much and hence could not pass a thread through the inflatable.

For my final inflatable, I chose to make an interactive object, which could serve as a couch cushion but was intended to just be an abstract object. I was able to perfect joining objects, and also made it interactive by adding two tiny spheres to the end of the inflatable, which could change its size depending on how much it was pulled.

Music Tower – II

My music tower is based on one of my favorite songs called “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic. The song goes through a series of different, unique, mismatched progressions, which happen to all make sense. The song seems like it would be made by someone out of this world, which gave me the inspiration to make a space-like, but also a very extravagant tower, with the musicians being able to choose where they want to play, depending on how they want their songs to sound.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5WJU527RQNyMLuKecjsL8V?utm_source=generator&theme=0

I found it difficult to figure out what the correct cutting surfaces would be, but after a lot of trial and error. I was able to cut the object correctly, use its modular nature to work on a portion of the object, and replicate the cutout patterns for the entire object, as shown below in multiple images.

Unrolled Pattern

Outline of unrolled pattern

Music Towers – I

For my first music tower, I have chosen the album Zaba by Glass Animals. The reason I designed the tower to give a medieval outlook is because of the cover art for the album, and the songs in the album going off of a time when things were less developed, but more peaceful and enjoyable with each other. The reason I chose to make a castle tower form was because of it’s accurate connection to medieval times and the representation of a less developed world.

Towers:

Improvisation Inflatables

For this entire project, I used my creativity, curiosity and logic to create these inflatables. For my first inflatable, I was curious to see how the fabric would take shape, and how the tape and heat sealers would affect it. I just cut up random pieces and put them together. For my second inflatable, I wanted to work on a colour scheme and so I used a black and white colour scheme, and I also wanted to form a shape. So I chose to try a pyramid, by adding a strip of cardboard on one side to create a firm base. For my final inflatable, I wanted to create a minion or spongebob, however, I could not get the legs and shoes connected correctly, so I made a figure which I could personify, in a way.