Shape Project & Photos

This project was one of the hardest for me yet in the sense that I had a difficult time wanting to do it at all. The assignment was to build a cylinder, a pyramid, a cube, and a cone out of foam core, chip board, and styrene. Do the math. That’s twelve shapes. And since I didn’t really like the idea of making one let alone multiple versions of each shape, let’s just say I was super excited!

Alright. Enough with the sarcasm. For this project, I had to figure out not only how to construct each shape, but I also needed to work with the different materials. Each shape and material had its own challenges. Foam core was sturdy, which was good for building a cube, but inflexible when it came to the cylinder. This was also true for the chip board, although it was a bit more pliable. To get the curve, I scored the material and then was able to bend it to how I wanted it to be (almost). Styrene, on the other hand, was something I had never knew existed, and I got pretty excited about using it when my teacher explained that it could be curved. It’s just getting the curve to stay without getting the styrene glue all over the form that is the trick. I found out that the glue literally melts the styrene together, whether you meant it to or not.

Despite, and probably because of, this project’s difficulty I learned a lot. Yes, there was the introduction to various materials and the challenge of constructing each shape with those materials. But the greatest challenge was finding the will to do the project. Whether it will be a project for client in my career or just a gigantic pile of dishes that need to be washed, I will have to overcome my lack of motivation and, as Nike “said”, just do it. Perhaps that will be my new motto…

Eventually my entire class put all of our shapes together making this pretty great piece that kind of looked like a wave. Or a cobra. It was great to build it all together. I may or may not have also really liked taking it down and stuffing it into not one but two large trash bags, never to be seen again.

For the photos, I arranged more shapes that I made and went around town taking pictures of them. It was a great opportunity to do something a little different than drafting, and it got me out of the Interior Design building. Although it’s a slightly pathetic attempt at being a creative photographer, I had fun getting out of my comfort zone. Maybe I’ll take some photography classes, or save up for a nice camera and figure it out for myself.