The Home Stretch

I have begun varnishing. The chair, currently situated between a lathe and a band-saw (not ideal), will need around 7 or 8 coats of the stuff, so i'd better start getting used to the nauseating fumes. Here's to plastic gloves and face masks!

Under Pressure

Today i spent the day making a shelf for my exhibition space, taking photographs of my models and varnishing the full scale piece. Who knew woodfiller could stand out so much when varnished... Below are a couple of the afformentioned photographs - hopefully i'll be able to get these printed and mounted at the beginning of next week.

Full-Scale Progress

The full size chair has been masked and burned. I'll spend the next few days giving it a light sanding and a few coats of varnish. As soon as it's finished and i've had a spare couple of minutes to take some shots, i'll post them. For now here are a couple taken earlier today;

Action Stations

I've been really busy trying to get everything finished for the degree show and hand-in. I've managed to both mask and burn the scale models, varnishing should be complete in the next couple of days. On friday morning i intend to take some studio shots of the scale models that will be exhibited along side the full size chair.

Masking

I spent the day masking my environment with aluminium tape - not tremendously exciting, but necessary.

Scale Model

The past few days i've been working on my scale model and exhibition graphics. I still have lots left to do and with the final hand in on the 6th of June, things are getting very busy. This afternoon i projected and recorded the concentric circles onto the scale model. Though i'm sure it'll be worth it in the end, this process is becoming very, very tedious.

Assembly

Progress Update

Ashes, Mayonnaise and Toothpaste

I've been looking at different ways of removing watermarks left by the waterjet-cutting process. Apparently, applying a mix of mayonnaise / ashes to the stain and heating with a hair-dryer works. I've also been told to try using white toothpaste. Both solutions sound really odd, but i'm more than willing to give them a go...

Birch-Ply Profile Curves

Today i picked up my waterjet-cut profile curves for the full scale piece. Despite some watermarks, they seem fine. Next step, assembley.

Public Projections

Earlier tonight i drove around stonehaven with a petrol generator, my laptop and a digital projector - finding interesting places and buildings to project onto. Taking these 2d graphics i've been working on and realizing them in a public context helped me evaluate their possible impact when used in the furniture installation.

Furniture Ctn.

Furniture

Hello. Apologies for the lack of updates - i've been snowed under by design reports, CAD models and costings. The furniture design aspect of my solution is nearing completion (form wise), here are couple of pictures of a scale model...

Form Analysis

I've started making cardboard maquettes of my furniture concepts to figure out final forms and dimentions. I've got another 3 versions of the piece below to make, but it seems to be helping a lot. The wooden template standing on the end isn't attached, i just thought i'd better include it, being that i'm making the chairs and bench out of plywood and not cardboard... does that make sense? no? ok.

Aluminium Foil Tape Ctn.

Using around 4 layers of Aluminium tape, i managed to burn a pretty accurate line into a piece of birch ply. Once varnished the contrast should prove quite effective.

Projection Tests

I spent this morning projecting a few different geometric graphics to get a better idea of how they might be affected when stretched across 3d objects.

Aluminium Foil Tape

Earlier today i bought a role of aluminium foil adhesive tape (for an extortionate amount of money) and did a couple of scorch/burn tests. I've been thinking about recording the 2d graphic on each piece by masking the outlines and then burning in the graphic.

Small Actions Ctn.

pictured below; more form possibilities and resin tests.

Small Actions

I've been testing routing patterns and making little profile shapes and maquettes. Hopefully by the end of this week i'll have settled on final shapes/forms - then it'll be a case of drawing each piece to scale (might need some help with that), buying materials and making them.

Thoughts

I've spent most of today thinking about how i'm going to build/paint/stain/varnish/put together the furniture concept i've settled on. I'm basically intending to challenge perception/increase sensory awareness and engage people in a public environment by building a collection of public furniture. Skewed across the furniture will be a projected 2 dimentional graphic - from a specific position/angle (where the projector is) the viewer will be able to see a geometric 2 dimentional shape in a 3 dimentional space. Difficult to explain, even harder to realize full size.

My plan is to make a 1/4 scale version of the idea using specific materials and techniques. To accompany this mock-up - a full scale version of one of the chairs. Baring in mind we only have 8 or so weeks left, i have lots to do - too much, you could say. Anyway, here are a couple of camera-phone photos from todays going's on.

Decisions Decisions

As we only have around 11 weeks left to complete our honours year projects, i've had to make a few decisions. The interactive public art direction has been put on the back burner for now - i may return to it in the future, but i didn't feel it was relevant enough.

Instead i've taken on the optical illusion angle (2d images in 3d spaces) and plan on applying it to a series of furniture. Though there's still a lot to work out, i'm confident it'll both address the issue of sensory stimulation in a public context and function as both product design and sculpture. Over the next couple of weeks i plan to both decide on final forms, materials and routing patterns - i'll keep the 'ol blog updated with any interesting developments/results.

Teleo

With the help of Jim Hamlyn and Jon Pengelly, i've been looking at ways of using a 'Teleo' in the development of some flash based interactive concepts. The teleo is able to communicate with and control flash animations via analogue and digital inputs (sensors etc). A relay module can also be used as a digital output; below is a short video of me turning a desk lamp on and off with a pressure sensitive mat. Very very simple, but fun!

Op Art Experiment

I spent yesterday afternoon painting my own op art graphic in our studio. I've been looking at perspective and ways of subtly challenging perception. This graphic is more of a test run of something i'm planning on doing full scale somewhere at Grays.

Today

Animated Environments

Here are a few graphic ideas i've been testing over the past few days;

Cubicle Experiment - Results

Today i took down 'cubicle' - the second of my experience probes. The experiment ran for 2 weeks and though the results arn't quite what i'd expected, i'm happy people were willing to participate. Shown below are pictures of the mdf boards that covered the walls of the cubicle.