Painting Progress

pics

pics

Using the Router

Here are some photos/video of the CNC router at wrk

Current Efforts

I have recently been working with Zack Weaver to try and figure out the best way of creating this 2-ton MDF monster. We have been working in Maya, Rhino and Mastercam to figure out the appropriate settings for the large scale router in the architecture wood shop. It has been 3 days so far and i can say we have both learned a lot through trial and error.....

I think we have it figured out now. Gota finish up some modeling in Maya, export it from Rhyno, program the machine in Mastercam and i think Ill be good to go. Hope to start seeing the sculpture take form in the next week.

sketches

Here are some sketches I have done. They are potential paintings, sketches of the sculpture (in order to get more familiar with it) and other ideas for prints that are on my mind.

Changes! Surprised!?

Its been a while since my last post. A lot has happened both in the conceptual and physical development of my project.

First off, the first draft of my thesis has been written and I find myself a little bit confused. As I was writing it, i found myself contradicting myself here and there. I realized that my ideas about free will and personal choice are ill informed. I think i need to find some reading that will help me better understand the concept of identity within certain cultures, as well as how this identity is constructed and how it affects our personal beliefs and actions. Luckily, I have enrolled in a class that has assigned several readings that are relevant to this idea of identity. Although the class covers japanese identity in the late 1800s, the readings very informative and not limited to japanese culture alone.

My review was helpful. It has broken me away form this mindset of having that to formulate my project and have an end goal in sight. I didn't think this was the case but i now realize that I knew exactly how the piece was going to look in the end. I guess the review really hammered in a lot of the things that have been said to me over the first semester. The review has also pushed me to think differently about the forms within the sculpture as well as the placement of images.

The sculptural element has become less of a grid with more faces added to the pyramids. Also, more chaotic forms appear within the sculpture to help break up the pyramids. I modeled a sample in maya to test out the CNC mill and also test some material. MDF was recommended so i got started with the test...

As for the images, i have steered away from collage. There will now be 5 or 6 images transposed and painted onto the pyramids. I chose to change it form two because there was a sort of limited range that i was approaching. Allowing more images to exist around the sculpture will offer more space for transition, interpretation, and abstraction.

I am very excited to finish constructing the sculpture and begin painting on it. To see the project in progress is always the most exciting part of my work and i think engaging in painting will be refreshing. I have found that painting in the past works well with my mind. It allows me to have a lot of control over what I'm putting down but also allows for a lot of spontaneous action to occur with little consequence.

I will be using the larger CNC mill in the architecture school to complete 9 2x2 foot squares that will fit together to make the sculpture. Special thanks to Zack Weaver for all the help.