Mack Smart
Cohort 1
Mushroom
Topsy Turvy Cake
I do see a connection between Cotton's work and our cakes. Not only are both items food related, but they're also whimsical and often structed in a fun, somewhat curvy way. Our particular scultupure communicates a warm and calm wedding. We simply went off of Madison's favorite colors for the palette and we agreed to her design because it was fun and a bit different than everybody else's.
I think our three strongest elements in the piece are line, form and color. Not only is line one of the strongest elements in the piece due to how much it's used. Form is the overall cake, as ours is more square and blocky than others. The purple is used as a focal point, which is where the element of color comes in.
This is quite the cop out answer, but our strongest principle here is contrast. The purple of the flowers greatly contrasts with the the overall brown of the cake.
I think what I would have done differently was make the brown of the lines a tad bit lighter or even a green color, so it can have more contrast.
Objects of the Past
My craftsmanship for this overall series was pretty good. I was able to find effective ways to glue the paper to the items. The way it was done really helps give the series a fun way to look at the piece. Especially with the way I used both blocky torn paper and the long thin strips of paper.
Some of the visual strengths for the final object have to be the sporadic use of color. To keep the focus on the overall object, I made sure to scatter the color throughout the cup, making sure the bigger burst of color was at the bottom, where it wouldn't really be seen. One of my visual weaknesses could be considered to be the way that the piece was glued back together. It isn't glued back to where you can understand some of the writing and it really bugs me. Again, the bottom also has a bit of a tear that I wasn't able to concretely fix.
I used the subject and visual elements to generate the concept I came up with by thinking about how a Monster can could help generate a fun concept. At first, it started as a project about nostalgia, then it turned into a vent project. The colors used within the final piece help viewers receive the message. As does the paper used, if you were to know the context of the script used.
I actually did learn something a bit unexpected whilst creating this! I learned that being burnt out isn't simply the act of not wanting to create things, but it's also the act of having too many ideas in your head you just can't create. This is why we have this piece. It can be interpreted as my ode to burnout.
What I would do differently is find a better way to glue it back together. The way it's done now doesn't make script match with what it belongs to. If you were to try to read it, you would be confused a little bit.
Influences
Design Ideas
Drawing in Space Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/gelatinousdisaster/drawing-in-space/
Design Preparation
Milestone One
This is very much where I didn't want to be at the time of this milestone. I wanted to have the rings put together and the fabric cut out by the time this stage occurred. Essentially, I wanted everything ready to be put together and finished with. However, sometimes that is not the case and it's better to work a bit slower to meticoulsy get things right than it is to rush things.
Drawing In Space
My craftsmanship in this project was lacking. At the beginning of the second half of the semester, a bunch of different things had hit at once, so my mind wasn't entirely into the project. What I could've done to improve this craftsmanship was that I could get over myself and put my heart into the project. Also, I could've put more thought into how to do the tentacles.
I believe the visual strengths in ths project is the green support rings. They bring a sense of rhythm, as one would want to look at the whole thing, to simply follow the rings. Another would be the overall flimisness of the structure, as when it's hung up, it can be moved. A visual weakness are the tentacles. They're slim and they don't take up the space I would have liked for it to. I also think that the slimness of them really throws off the balance.
I used the research I did to help generate concepts and ideas by thinking about how I could use strong and clean lines to create a piece, although messy sounded quite appealing. When thumbnails were made, I thought about how I could incoporate the lines and the sea slug is what eventually came to mind. I also wanted to use curves, so again, sea slug. The concept of me wanting to go into marine biology in junior high came along when I was discussing the project with a friend. If I had gone into the field, I would've gone into the study of either sharks or sea slugs.
I did discover something unexpected while working on the slug! Then again, I'm not the brightest, but I figured out that if you put heat on one spot for so long, an area around the spot will bend. I did freak out of this, but I find it funny now.
I would do the tentacles over again. They're too slim and don't take up the amount of space I wanted them to. I would make them out of yarn that I would braid together to both give it that thickness and some texture.
