Trash Island

First of I should fill you all in on what trash island is... It is a collaborative project between a former KCAI student and myself with the help of other Art Institute students and The Lakeside Nature Center. We held a workshop to construct an inner tube made from construction netting and plastic bottles as the floatation device. Secondhand netting was then used to fill the tube structure. The nettings purpose was to support the roots of the plants we would be filling it with. Plants were donated from the Nature Center and one local Nursery. Then we proposed our floating garden to a committee to seek approval to launch it at Lake of the Woods in Swope Park... It was approved!

We choose Lake of the Woods at Swope Park because it is a heavily polluted public location. We wanted to use the island as a vehicle to speak about pollution not only only a global scale,(specifically the trash island that has formed in the Pacific Ocean) but also on a local spectrum.

It looks great and the plants go through a natural process to aid in water remediation. The trouble is there is no signage to communicate what our intentions were for it to speak and bring awareness to. That is why I am going to utilize the Green Sculpture elective I am in to tie up the loose ends this project so desperately needs...A sign!!!
I came up with this piece of plastic after considering several materials. I think the transparency will lend itself nicely to see the island in the background therefore tying the two together. My first instinct was to clean it up before adhering vinyl lettering but after speaking with my classmates, I think it will only heighten the grotesque nature of what it will be communicating. I still am working through some technical issues, like what type of vinyl lettering to use and coming up with the proper support leg or legs to steak it into the ground. I am really excited about the sign! I think when it is put together it will possess basic sculptural elements, balance and gesture that I explore in my studio practice. Above all I hope our project will communicate the huge pollution issue at hand and encourage individuals to make conscience decisions that effect our environment.

Boat Building Ideas

I am planning on building a boat as my main project this semester, so, in preparation, I have been looking at plans for different types of simple boats. I would really like to primarily base my boat on The American Boy's Handy Book from 1882, but I thought it could be helpful to look at some contemporary tips as well. I think I will end up making a scow, basically, but maybe with curved sides, like a skiff. I'm not sure if I will go with plywood or all-plank construction, it might depend a bit on what the best free repurposed wood I can get is. I am also thinking about the exact function or idea I am intending for the boat to have, so I can hone the design to enhance that. It would be incredible to build a birch bark canoe or a dugout, but I think that might be a bit over my head for this class.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-One-sheet-boat/

The above link is great because it demonstrates how much one can make with pretty major limitations and a low budget. I would not have to follow the same restrictions in making my boat, but it gives a good idea of what's possible. Below are some other ideas I looked at to see a variety of options.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Pumpkinseed-Kayak-build-it-its-easy-sail-away-a/

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Construct-a-Simple-Boat/

http://pdracer.org./

Shae

Manipulating Styrofoam With Steam

Materials 

Recycled styrofoam cups or other styrofoam

Rubber bands 

A stove top or a hot plate

One glass bowl

Step 1

Put 2 or 3 inches of water into a pot and bring to a boil. 

Step 2

Take one of the styrofoam cups and decide where you want pressure to be applied. Put your rubber bands around the cup and it will bend according to the pressure points once set in the steam.

Step 3

Take your glass bowl and add about an inch of water to it. Next place the bowl in the center of the boiling water and put the styrofoam cup into the bowl. Cover the pot and let the cup sit there for 7 or 8 minutes. Monitor the styrofoam here to ensure that it does not melt or release any smoke or fumes. 

Step 4

Remove the styrofoam from the bowl and take off the rubber bands.

Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic (magic) Dome:

Instructables.com has how to build one out of newspapers, pvc piping, and wood with perforated metal strapping for the joints.
These were all really specific to the exact size and materials they used, and to build this I needed to find a system that worked for the materials I had.
So later I discovered a website that calculates the necessary measurements you need to build one at any height.
There is also more than one frequency for a dome, and it had calculations for different kinds.


We did the one with two frequencies (this means, there were two different lengths of struts) and built it at 77.66 inches tall.

Next I did sketches to see how it would lay out and did some measurements I didn't need, to work out how we would build it.

After talking to the group, we decided we could get enough wood to make all the struts. So we got a piece of plywood then stripped it into 1inch pieces - 30 at 42.41" and 35 at 48".

Finding a joint system that could accommodate the angling of the dome was tricky. Using a flexible material allows room for the bend but doesn't have to be precisely calculated. So we ended up using rubber hose which was the right amount of sturdy but flexible.

We segmented the hose into 4 inch strips, sliced those in half long-ways, and screwed the halfs onto each end of the strut. This way we could drill holes in the hose and when we built it, we just connected the struts with bolts in the hose.



So after our team effort in the wood shop making the struts and the connectors, we took the parts outside and connected all the pieces according to this diagram-

(orange being the long struts and blue being the short struts.)

We started with the base first - 10 long struts on the ground connected. then added the next level creating a base of alternating tall and short triangles...




We kept adding until we got to the top...


and with the final joint everything held together!

I suggest using the rubber hose even though it's not the prettiest connection ever, it's flexibility really helps when you're putting it together and can't support every piece at once.

I wish I had pictures of the final thing cause it was cool.
Good job group!

My studio presentation and reading

Hello all,



For my project presentation I've created a blog to document the process. Check it out!:



Nomad Nest



For our discussion and viewing pleasure Sir Ken Robinson:

Changing Education Paradigms



See you Monday!

Clay Ocarina Workshop: My New Project

SOOOO...

After the problems I had with my first project (which I actually have almost fixed now) I decided to switch gears to a project the whole class could do more easily. I decided to use thisInstructable for Clay Ocarinas as a starting point. The Instructable was pretty simple, but it had a link in it to this website, which is very comprehensive, and filled in some of the gaps.

I started by making one myself, which was easy and worked great, so I went ahead and pinched out the hollow bodies of 5 more to get the class started. Materials and tools I used were all things I already had: white earthenware clay, wooden tools, bladed tools/exactos, strips of mat board, and a spray bottle.

The class went really well, everyone followed along with learning the process and had a working whistle within 20 minutes, after a little tweaking of the air slots. The rest of the time we spent sculpting them into shapes which included a tailless platypus, a mohawked sperm, an elephant, a traditional ocarina form, and a dolphin. They are all dried out in my studio now and will be fired on Saturday. Next week I will talk to the class about how we want to finish the surfaces (stains, glazes, paints etc.) After they are finished I will post pictures of everyone with their own piece.

Total success. To anyone who wants to try making their own ocarinas I would recommend taking a middle road between the Instructable page, which doesn't explain quite enough, and the Green Verdigos page, which makes the process a bit more complicated than it needs to be if you are just doing the project for fun. I thought it was also easier, and quicker, to pinch the bodies out hollow than to shape them around a form and cut them off. No matter how it's done, its a pretty simple project with a lot of freedom for variation.

These are pictures of the pieces in a dry state.

Plunger Squat Seat

The squat seat made from a toilet plunger and bike seat was a success! With a couple of alterations from the Instructables instructions we were able to make ours for around a buck! (The cost of the Plunger.)

First we measured a piece of scrap wood to a comfortable squat height and cut to size. The instructables website recommends round wood but we improvised with what was available and used a sander to round the ends of some scrap wood.

• Once we rounded each end of our sticks we attached the bike seats. ( In some cases this took a little elbow grease and some help.) After the seats were secured we then attached the plunger end. (We figured out a washer is good to add for more surface area before connecting the plunger to the stick with the woodscrew.) Wa la! It does not freely stand but we figure that is part of its versatile nature.