Tokens: Reading Response

Inventory/ The Tokens

Christopher Turner

              In many ways we hold onto small keepsakes that serve as a memory of someone or some time in our life. Turner describes a more literal experience where unequipped parents would leave there newborn babies at the London Foundling Hospital with a small “token”, such as a necklace, brooch, or button. Many of the small tokens, sometimes fabric cutouts, would be later matched to correspond with a swatch given to the mother. This identifying object would help the [illiterate] mothers to connect with their children and prove kinship when they decided to return. As designers it is our job to create sentimental pieces that evoke feelings in the viewer. I feel that I best responded to this article in the making of my “Voodoo Grandma” memento doll. I used materials that were both hers and mine. In projects like this, the sanctity of the “token” is most important to the maker (that’s me). It is a reminder that we are one, even though we’re not together.

Touch: Reading Response

Touch

Diane Ackerman

             The sense of touch can be more powerful than we understand. From the time we are born, we rely on touch to help us grow, understand, and manipulate the world around us. Ackerman responds to the many ways that people use touch as a survival tool. It is essential to human nature, because without the urge to touch, there would be no species or parenthood. There would be no sex. Without touch, there would be fewer effects to a given cause. As a reaction to 3-Dementional design, touch is how we communicate ideas and make them visual. Throughout the semester I have been challenged to craft tape shoes, paper cities, soap squirrels, voodoo dolls, architecture relief sculptures, and much more by using our hands as a core tool.  After taking 3D Concepts I now realize that a promising future is literally at the tip of my fingers.

3D to 2D

2D Mandala

Taking a 3-Dementional project and making it 2-Dementional has been made simple because of programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator. For this project I thought it was appropriate to immolate the work of one of my favorite graphic designers, Saul Bass. His work is bold, minimalist, and worked with a small color palette. 

3D Mandala

Final (1) 2D Mandala

Inspiration: Saul Bass 

Modern Graphic Designer

Themed Objects

Tribal Jewelry

The final project was to create three themed objects made from paper. It was important for me to make something wearable, so I began to research handmade jewelry from different cultures. To no surprise, African tribes use brightly colored materials, mostly from nature. Many recycle paper products such as magazines and newspaper to create vibrant, tightly wound beads. I used the same concept to create a beaded headband, earrings, and neck piece.The three objects are worn from the neck up to make the them easily relatable. 

Final (1) Tribal jewelry

Final (2) Tribal jewelry 

Final (3) Tribal jewelry

Inspiration: Neck rings & silver ears

Inspiration: Tight rolls

In process (1) Hot glue & gold leaf

In process (2) Bead strategies

Memento: Voodoo Grandma

Voodoo Grandma

My original idea for a memento was to create a voodoo doll, but as the concept continued to grow I was inspired by the lasting memory of sewing with my grandmother. She was constantly taking my measurements to make me new clothes and costumes. Being that I was the only granddaughter, this happened often. I was limited to three materials: stuffing, fabric (from my shirt), and evil eye beads (from Grandma's collection). 

• The stuffing represents the softness of my grandmother's embrace
• The shirt represents my body and measurements 
• The evil eye beads represent protection against evils. This projects negative energy away from the head.

Final (1) Voodoo Grandma

Final (2) Voodoo Grandma

Inspiration: Measurements

In process (1) Plain Jane

On Longing by: Susan Stewart-- Personal Response

Personal Response

I chose to visually respond to the five impactful quotes by: Susan Stewart

(1) "The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale."

(2) "The capacity of objects is to serve as traces of authentic experience."

3. "The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the 
3-Dementional into the miniature that which 
can be developed by the body."

4. "Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss."

5. "To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess 
both a specimen and a trophy."

Soap Squirrels I & II

Soap Squirrels I & II

Carving miniatures from large soap blocks required me to think 3-Dementionally and work much slower than my normal pace. Smaller areas, such as the ears and feet, were the most fragile to carve. I used two different brands of soap; one that proved to be a more creamy texture and one that was more flaky. Treating the soap with caution as it continued to get smaller was a challenge in itself. After the project was done I recycled my shavings into a ball of soap so large that I have been using it for weeks. 

Final (1) Soap squirrel I

Wooden base

9 Changes to a squirrel

The first "trial" squirrel was later used to make drastic changes that could reflect a transformation. The requirements focused on at least 4 changes that were additive and 4 changes that were subtractive. 

1. (+) Gold leaf

2. (+) Red Paint

3. (+) Wire wrap

4. (+) Tail feathers

5. (+) Septum piercing

6. (-) Holes in tail

7. (-) Shaved tail and back legs

8. (-) Blown dry

9. (-) Microwaved

Final (1) Soap squirrel II

Glass vase

Final (2) Soap squirrel II

Changes (1) Gold Leaf (+)

Changes (2) Red Paint (+)

Changes (3)  Holes in tail (-)

(4) Shaved back legs (-)

Changes (5) Wire Wrap (+)

(6) Septum Piercing (+)

(7) Tail Feathers (+)

Changes (8) Blown dry (-)

(9) Mircrowaved (-)

Comparison: Model & Soap

In process (1) Multitasking

(Surprisingly, nothing started to melt)

In process (2) Creamy soap