The Thesis Begins

All second years are now working solely on pieces which will be included in our thesis exhibition in the spring. There are no hard and fast rules on how many pieces we have to make and we are free to include any relevant work from the first year of study. As a way of planning out my time and ideas, I mapped out the exhibition space, putting work I know I want to include into position and then attempting to fill the holes. For my thesis research, I am looking at systems that are activated and influenced by physical human interaction, along with ideas of absence and presence, and thinking about low-tech solutions.

For my first hole-filler, I am making a big, ball chair. The idea began with thinking about the earth's systems and how they are often in conflict with man-made systems. The form of the chair references the shape of the earth and an internal network of strings allows the user to mold the form to their wishes.

I have gone through numerous design and material solutions and after a small panic attack yesterday evening am finally more settled on a course of action. The interior of the ball will be made of two different densities of upholstery foam to help control the flex of the shape. This foam shape will be covered in fabric with the base and back of the ball receiving an extra structure of boiled leather for stability and aesthetics.



The leather pieces will be laid out to reference the cracked mud common in areas of severe drought. I am still working on the proportions of all the elements and this cardboard and tape study was an exercise is line reduction. I don't typically use a lot of color in my work but am looking forward to finding ways to communicate the use of the object through various points of color in the composition.