Object 1 – Avocado
For my first object, I decided to recreate a pretty recognizable object. I chose the avocado, since it was composed of irregular shapes and would allow me to experiment with some darting in certain areas. My first version of the avocado, originally, did not use any darting techniques and had a really odd – not avocado looking shape. For my second iteration, which is the one displayed above, I focused on using darting for the seed, as well as for the shell of the avocado. By doing this, I could create more pronounced shapes after stuffing the inflatable, since in my first iteration the lack of darts made the inflatable take a rounder shape. It was challenging using darting techniques on the odd shape of the avocado – however I do like how it came out and think it creates a very nice shell looking shape. In the case of the seed, I think I added way too many darts which led to the seed having a very tall size and not very round as I intended. Overall, this was a great learning experience since I was able to experiment with different techniques and learn from my mistakes.
Object 2 – Gathering
For my second object, I chose to focus on using gathering techniques while using two basic shapes in order to create a unique object. I chose to use two cones and use gathering in order to create a type of crescent shape from the two basic shapes. Gathering proved to be a difficult task, since in the process a ended up breaking the string I was using several times and had to start over. Because of this, I chose to divide my gathering into three sections in order to gather the fabric along more spots while also minimizing how much gathering I would have to redo in case the string broke. I also used a technique I found online which used two straight lines of string which were both used to gather the fabric by pulling on them. At the end, I sewed both tilted cones together to create this new, almost croissant looking shape. Although this was not what I had intended initially, it ended up being one of my favorite pieces since the shape is somewhat mysterious and originates from two very simple shapes being put together. I think it’s also really cool how it looks like two completely different objects whenever its flipped over – since on one side the gathering can be seen while on the other only he general shape.
Object 3 –
For my third object, I decided to experiment with user interaction and how that could be incorporated to change the inflatables shape. I also wanted to experiment with different fabrics and materials so for this object, the only fabric I used was old t-shirts that I had in my closet. This provided vibrant colors as well as different textures on both sides of the object. As for the interactive part, I passed a string through the object and tied two little balls at both of the ends of the string. Pulling on the string would cause the inflatable to sort of shrink and take on a completely different shape. However, the string was not very strong and would continue to break if pulled on a little too hard. This inflatable was a lot of fun to make since I was able to consider human interaction with my object. It was also pretty cool to consider how different t-shirts and the materials they were made out of would affect the way my inflatable felt and looked.