Ceramics and 3D Design - Spring 2011
Taught by Associate Professor of Art, Daniel Graham, this course was an introduction to the concept of 3-dimensional objects and creating them. Although 3D was easy for me to grasp, it was an experience in itself to watch students who never understood 3D space. This course used 3D building techniques like papercraft, wire sculpture, welding, and clay sculpture.
Papercraft
I have dabbled with papercraft for years, but this project had a unique twist. Our 3D designs had to be constructed from a single sheet of blue paper without segmentation and it could only be constructed by using slot-and-hole methods. My design was originally going to be a dinosaur's head, but time-constraints forbade it.
Wire Sculpture
With aluminum wire that easily bent with a pair of pliers, this project required us to recreate our shoes. I had a pair of DC shoes, which is distinguishable by its logo.
Welding Sculpture
For this project, we had to create a sculptural extension of ourselves. For some people, this could be a bodily extension of themselves, or a metaphysical extension. I chose to create an extension of internal conflict.
The spiraling armature can only fit on my exact arm length and width, which makes this piece extremely person that no one is able to relate with. The claws represent pain that is brought by internal conflict, and the mask can easily blind your vision and consequently your judgement when faced with certain encounters.
Ceramics
For this project, we had to create a bodily gesture that had great significance to us. Some chose teeth, feet, or even their belly button to sculpt, but I chose a hand gesture that looks like a dinosaur that I would pretend-play with my younger brothers.
We first placed our gestured body part in dental alginate and then use plaster to create a reference mold to sculpt from. From that reference, we then hand-sculpted a larger version with clay.
