Instead of working on any completely new projects, I am going back to some of my favorite ones from the past two years and taking them a step further. Specifically, I am looking back at the bent metal chair that tipped over and the ball of leather pieces held together with cord.
Even though I presented the metal chair as a final product, I always felt it was more of a prototype that would inform the final piece. For my thesis exhibition, I will be using this project to demonstrate the development of an idea from a 2D sketch to a series of full-scale, 3D models. I am currently in the process of using what I learned on the first two attempts and building a third "final" piece. I am using a 3D computer modeling software to try and work out some of the details before I commit to a final design and start building. We have a new 3D printer at the school so I can draw the piece on the computer and then use the printer to make a physical model. This technology is often called Rapid Prototyping and people make some pretty amazing things with this technology (see below).
I have been working on redoing the connections on the leather ball that I made in the fall. Originally, all of the leather pieces were held together with colored leather cord. I hadn't anticipated the weight that each cord would have to account for and it has gradually started deteriorating. I am replacing each leather cord with plastic-coated steel cable which should easily be able to handle the weight of the leather pieces. I still love the leather cord though and am working on some new ideas that will allow me to bring it back.
In this sample above I am using the leather cord to create a hinge between the two leather pieces. I was inspired by a visit to Slater Mill and the huge leather belts that power the machines (see subsequent post).
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