New Project ~ Simple Mechanism.

So we’ve started a new studio project ~ the simple mechanism. Basically the project requires that we redesign an existing flawed product which already has/could use a simple mechanism that performs work. Like something with a hinge, lever, gears, etc.

I am redesigning an umbrella(collapsible) stroller.

Pros ~ simplicity, size, cost

Cons ~  grip, height, lack of space, “cheapness”, shock, girly-ness, toy like

Mechanism ~ locking bar, wheels, fold points, possibly the handles

Personal Goals ~Retain nice simple style and price point, while introducing new elements that increase universal appeal of the design.  Introduce customizable elements and sustainable material choices that will increase the life span of the product.

Final Design: P(u)p Lamp

My hanging lamp. Structure created through repetition of a modular unit( a diamond created by the folding of a 9×9 square).

Design made possible through new(ish) lighting technologies that allow for cooler burning bulbs.

Concerned with the idea of “softness” but not stuffedness. Visually tactile lighting.

Production cost(wholesale pricing) approx. $9. Not including bulb. Appropriate wattage LED bulb $30. CFL around $3.

Design Inspirations: Gaudi, Cell Walls, Sea ShellS, Sponges, Sharks Teeth, The Artichoke Lamp, Eva Zeisal, Georgia O’Keefe.

Pup – the “u”  is supposed to have to dots above it. Name is pronounced poop. Inspired by Mira Kim. She said  (in a nice way) that all of my sketches looked like poop. Like actual poop, not like bad.  The dots just make it cute. So silly, sometimes  just can’t help myself…

In the Round

Got some awesome help today. A Gaudi and  a Native American Symbols/Drawings/Graphics book.  More form inspiration. Repetition of geometric form pieces to create a volume.

Seams in vs. Seams out. Interesting dilema. ?

No cutting? Want to use only folded seams minimize waste.

In the Round. Want to prove structure. Vertical mirror will show that it can stand again or fall with gravity and not be visually affected. So a hanging lamp for now.

Final fabric choices.

Lamp Update

Fabric Discoveries/Intentions:

- Coarse linen has the best texture when illuminated, very organic. Need to   also test silk.

- Linen also will be the best choice if the lamp is going to be self-supporting in all orientations –with/against gravity.

- Seams are very important, they are very visible with illumination and they need to be tight, but also stragetic, and not just for structure.

- Color is still up in the air, the green was just the best scrap I had..

Design Goals:

Need to make/appropriate a “soft bulb” that affords for touch and provides an interesting How come…. Leds wired into a hanging  fabric unit might do the trick.

No support structure.

Needs a usage. How much touch? Where would it pop? How can it be versatile and still kick..

Card, Stage Dock, and The Rain

Some left over Savannah creativity(since the Atlanta kind is still in short supply..)

Yeh for brothers today.

My Lamp

My idea is based on this concept of tactile lighting.  I am interested in creating naturally inspired forms with sculpted fabrics(material retains shape-no inner structure). I want the forms to suggest life and growth, and to evoke the need to touch. I also want to break away from the idea that lights have to be hot and harsh to be useful.

A Little Inspiration:

Yeah so that is about it for now.  Lots of study models to go.  Some natural forms that I am considering so far: shells,  sharks teeth, century plants, sponges(circa sophomore), wood grain.  Form has to hold up against, perpendicular and with gravity.

How Many Times Can I Be ?

Thats all well and good, but here I am again, which I suppose is better than the alternative.  Always got keep trying…

Back in Atlanta, and back to 24/7 internet coverage. Cyber life back on.

After a mild bout of extreme drama I need to get my head back into the game.

I am super excited about my classes. Between studio and my Moda class I am gonna be design busy.  Our first project is a lamp. Our long-term Moda project is called “love nests.”  It is going be an biographical exhibit concerned with interesting characters in Atlanta and the objects they can’t live without. We will all be assigned a “good crazy” person and we will go from there.

I am also taking two history classes which both seem really interesting. My Cuban History class teacher has a voice like an audio book reader.

I like this vine. Every year it almost covers to the whole sign, then it dies in the winter, and then it starts again.

I’m Back!

So long time no blog. Numerous excuses, but that sounds like boring talk to me. For those still loyal, and those just bored, here is a update on my life:

– extended warranties are amazing. free -new mother board, new keyboard, new adaptor, so now I almost have an almost entirely new piece of shit old ass dell computer. But still no interweb.

–have been busy painting anything and everything, walls, canvases, chairs, tables, books, boxes.. my mom’s house is a slowly becoming unignored and unloved.

– have finally used fised my sewing machine that my mom broke for me while I was away(or maybe it was me, I forget).  Newest project goggle bags. Yes they do exist..

– Things that I have learned lately, that paint stripper exists and that it is an evil bitch, how to plaster a wall, where the fuse box in a jeep is, how to set a rat trap, how to start and use a lawn mower, what a well drink is, and some other random stuff.

– The plans is that I will be in Atlanta on Sunday for a couple of days. It is strange that I haven’t really been there since Dec. What kind of homebody am I?

adjusting to new cyber-lite life.

so my life has changed quite a bit in the past few weeks. i have gone from checking my email seven times a day to checking it once every three days. good thing? bad thing? jury is still out. doesn’t keep my blog too entertaining. but it is summer time. everyone is officially excused for not checking it for extended periods of time- if they are outside having fun.

on a unrelated note, my grasp of the english language has also drasically declined. fo real. maybe it is all the hanging with nine year olds? or four months of singlish? or even the fact that I haven’t taken an english class in three years? Blogging certainlly does not help. I have tried to stop typing but I find pictures don’t always say it right for me. Even when I do type out a full sentence, I am usually somehow bastardizing(ex.) the language.  so from now on proper english. proper writing can be just as entertaining as making up funny words. vague californifaction ref.

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What happens when I leave my laptop on the floor –

- a turtle comes and sleeps on it.