lite:light:structure:skin

It’s that time again, the final project of the semester.  My fall semester of sophomore year ended quiet similarly to the fall semester of my freshman year, in the sense that we were assigned to make lamps for our final project.  Remember this? 

 Freshman year, we played with light through bristle board.  This material was slightly opaque, which allowed you see objects or shadows through it.  We switched it up quiet a bit this year, by working with a material that is not transparent whatsoever: Aluminum.  This was pretty tricky, because I was so in love with how light played with my last lamp.  Our bulbs for these aluminum lamps were also at least three times larger than for our bristle board lamp.  The massive size of the light bulb was so intriguing to me, so I wanted to show it off in my final product.  I also wanted to experiment with more rectangular shapes, because I usually tend to create things of a more organic shape.  Below is my process book.  Like the last two projects, clicking on the first page of the process book will bring up a separate screen that will make it easy to flip through the pages.  In my process book are experiments I did with aluminum and chipboard, my concept statement, image inspiration, my prototypes and process, and my final product.  Enjoy! 

Well that's that for the semester! Stay tuned for next time!

Mongolian Nomads

May Tviet, our professor in Materials and Processes, recently traveled to Mongolia for an art exhibition called Rapid/Transit, along with two other artists.  During this trip, she was interested in how nomadic and consumer culture intersected.  She without a doubt had an amazing experience, and even had her work presented in the Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery.  While she was there, she stayed with a nomadic family in a yurt.  A yurt is basically a home for nomads that can be taken down and put up like a tent.  The primary structure of a yurt is a wooden frame.  The frame is made up of wall sections, a doorframe, roof poles, and a crown, which is a structure in the middle that holds the roof poles.  The frame is then wrapped and covered in a number of materials for insulation.  First, felt and wool are laid on top of the frame.  Then they add a layer of canvas as a waterproofing system, and another layer to protect from the sun.  All of these materials are held together with straps that wrap around the whole yurt.  Yurts are made to be comfortable and warm, but also allow air circulation from the crown at the top.  May Tviet showed the class photographs of her helping another family assemble their yurt.  This allowed us to see the process of building this structure in action.  

Rapid Prototyping

In Materials and Processes, we were scheduled to take a mini field trip to the engineering department to experience rapid prototyping.  Unfortunately, our trip canceled, so instead we reviewed the processes in class.  Rapid prototyping is a way to make quick, full-scale models.  However, it is also used to make assembly parts, and even works of art, such as sculptors.  There are many different methods to do this, some of which can be done at the University of Kansas.  Stereolithography (SLA) is an additive manufacturing process that uses a polymer bath and laser to create a model.  Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is also an additive manufacturing technique that uses a laser to fuse plastic, metal, ceramic, or glass powders to create a 3D prototype.  Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) can be described as ‘plastic printing,’ and is made from material being extruded from a nozzle that creates layers to make a model.  Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) is a system that layers paper, plastic, or metal with adhesive, laminates them together, and then is cut to a specific shape with a laser cutter.  A very interesting thing that is coming to the Art and Design building soon is The Maker Bot.  Maker Bot Industries came up with a way to bring desktop 3D printing to peoples homes, whether they are designers, engineers, artists, or people who just want to experiment on their own.  We looked at the Replicator and the Replicator 2 (a larger version of the Replicator.)  This mechanism allows you to design and be creative in your own household, and bring innovation into everyday happenings.  The features of the Replicator and Replicator 2 include a dual extruder, LCD display, and gamepad for direct use without a computer.  Maker Bot Video  I recommend everyone watch this video about Maker Bot Industries.  It really shows off all of the unique things you can do with it.  I am extremely excited that we will have one at the University of Kansas.  

GRIP Equipment

A few weeks ago, the founder of GRIP Equipment gave us a visit in Materials and Processes.  Justin Atwater Taylor, who launched GRIP Equipment, is not only a professional disc golfer, but also attended the University of Kansas.  He began fabricating the GRIP disc golf bag as his thesis project during college.  During his presentation, he described his entire process of fabricating a product and starting a business.  Taylor started off by observing, interviewing, and giving surveys to disc golfers around the United States.  He studied how players interacted with their equipment, and found out what worked and what didn’t work during their experience.  He took all of this info, and turned it into a functional and balanced gear bag that is comfortable and serves many uses.  Taylor created many different prototypes and tested them on the top disc golfers, and refined each model until the final bag.  He worked with many outside fabricators, including ones from around the world.  He explained how he had to communicate with these fabricators to get the results he wanted, through typed word and photo editing.  Taylor showed us all of his prototypes and the final bag design.  He presented his process, which made us aware of the steps we must take to start our own business.