Digital Sketchbook

April 24, 2017

Digital Sketchbook

Project One

Masking Tape Shoes

11" x 3.5" x 4"

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IN PROCESS: The picture above shows the way I constructed my masking tape shoes. By cutting up my physical shoe I was able to break the finished shoe into pieces that were to be placed together. The sole of the shoe was painted onto the tape through a stamping process.

Project Two

Balsa Wood Sculptures

3.75" x 2.25" x 2"

This dodecahedron sculpture is built on the principle of repetition. The opening of the dodecahedron helps point out the repetition of identical pentagons and the contents that would have been contained if the shape were to be closed. Wood glue was used to give organic shape and color to the heavily rigid and desaturated dodecahedron.

4" x 4" x 5.5"

Space is demonstrated in this piece through the cradle-shaped wood structure. It is evident in multiple places such as in the areas of the tilted cradle, the space underneath the main shape, and the interior of the cradle. The strings throughout the cradle emphasize the interior space due to overlapping and the gradients of the white paper inside of the cradle which draws the eye backwards.

2" x 0.25" x 1.75"

Scale is emphasized in this piece due to the varying sizes of the squares. Branching off from each side of the supports, the squares are proportional in relation to the opposite end of the skewer until they gradually decrease in size to meet in the middle. The simplicity of the base and side supports serve a purpose to draw the eye in towards the scaled squares.

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IN PROCESS: In the first picture, the sculpture is shown prior to the wood glue drying and gaining its unique color. By dripping the glue over the top of the sculpture I was able to get organic lines due to the drying process and the way the glue expanded on the paper surface. In the second picture, my sculpture is shown prior to being placed on the base. The base was yet to be stained and added with masking tape that is seen in the final solution.

Project Three

Soap Carving

4" x 2.5" x 3.25"

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IN PROCESS: Being an artist means that you can create art anywhere you go. The first picture shows how I worked at the beach and how basic the shape of the sculpture was at the beginning of the process. The sculpture is seen as being rectangular and is seen prior to its curves or detail being added. The second and third pictures show close detail shots of adding the hair and acquiring the curves and depth of the limbs on the side of the bear.

Project Four

Map Relief

32" x 18" x 3.5"

This project is influenced and guided by my personal childhood memories. Jumping from couch to couch in order to not touch the floor (which was considered lava) as a kid was a game in itself and one that is a prominent memory. The other memory that is associated with the piece is playing hide and seek around the block. Only being allowed on one block as a kid limited the areas to hide so finding hiding spots and paths were always of utmost importance. The different sized white boxes symbolize the couches I jumped across as well as the main places I would use to hide around the block. The strings symbolize the different possible paths and routes I would map out in my head to play those two games. White dots were placed on the background to reinforce and reiterate the importance of my "hiding spots."

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IN PROCESS: The first picture shows my thought process and digital sketch I did on Adobe Illustrator prior to any definitive action on the physical project. The second picture shows how I constructed the paper boxes for the map relief. I measured each square face and added particular flaps so that the box folded into itself without the need of excessive glue. The third picture shows my constructed and scored boxes upon the foam board. At the time I was determining where to place my boxes in relation

to each other.

Project Five

Memento

2" x 2.5" x 0.80"

Memento is a piece that is centered around a particular memory of my childhood. When I was born, my great grandfather gave me a yellow plush rabbit which I named "Bunny." The rabbit is made of light yellow cloth and has silk ears. At about five-years-old I accidentally tore a hole on the rabbit and my mom sewed the hole back together with bright blue thread. The touch I associate with the memory is the rubbing of the silk ears. I was told that as a baby I would rub my thumb on the silk ears in order to fall asleep. The piece is constructed of only three materials: cloth, silk, and thread. I used the blue thread to sew the yellow cloth together and measured out my own personal thumbprint for the silk. My thumbprint sits atop the piece so that when it is held the thumb naturally sits on the silk. The silk tag was also added in order to show the commercializations of the product which originally had "Fisher Price" branded on it. This piece encompasses this rabbit and its significance

to me.

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IN PROCESS: The first three pictures show the original rabbit that I based the Memento project on. The main features of the yellow cloth, blue thread, silk, and tag can be seen on the plush. The fourth and fifth pictures show my experimentation of different stitching for my final piece. The issue that was hardest to resolve was finding a good balance of stitching on the top silk thumb piece. Different stitching ranging from regular stitching, cross-stitching, and the whip stitch were all tried until coming to the final solution.

Project Six

Masked Identity

36'' x 30'' x 24''

In this project I pulled together thoughts, ideas, and qualities about myself that I wanted to display through my mask. As I came to a definitive thought, I originally wanted to create a dodecahedron mask to represent how particular and organized I am as a person. After consideration, I ended up making the dodecahedron but wanted to give it flare. Inside the pentagons I placed multiple triangles in order to warp and add multiple faces ranging in size. Looking closely at the piece, a glimpse of the original pentagons can be seen. By leaving the pentagons within the piece, I wanted to represent the large events in my life such as family and education. Each of the large pentagons symbolize segments of my life and the interior triangles represent the small (and large) events that took place in order to shape the important moments in my life. I added "Me, Myself, I" on the surfaces in order to pull together who I am and that I should not be ashamed of that. Building onto that concept, my final pictures represent just that. The first picture portrays my body and stature as being uncomfortable and sulking as I hold a mirror. Transitioning into the second picture my posture is a bit more relaxed however my body is still rigid and the focus can be seen on the mirror. Completing the sequence, the final picture shows me being entirely confident, relaxed, and unfazed by the blank mirror. The mirror itself is symbolic because in Renaissance paintings mirrors were believed to be a literal and metaphorical reflection of oneself and also a negative representation of pride, temptation, and sin. I decided to include a mirror to show that though I am multi-facetted, it is important to not get wrapped up in personal selfishness regardless of my successes in life. I represented that idea throughout the photography process in that as my posture became more relaxed less of a reflection was seen in the mirror until there was entirely no reflection in the final picture.

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