Bio-Mimicry: Crown-Mask

                                               

The final assignment of our bio-mimicry project was to create a piece inspired by our natural object that would interact with the human body. I took many inspiration from the artichoke both metaphorically and physically. I originally wanted to do a crown that would mimic the circular patterns of the artichoke leaves. However, after studying the artichoke more, I was inspired to make a crown that would hide the face. The purpose of a crown is to indicate the high status of an individual while at the same time drawing attention to them. I wanted to take the opposite approach by removing the person's face from the piece. An artichoke is actually just a developing flower. It creates a thick layer of petals that protects the flower inside and give it time to develop. I wanted to take this concept of hiding the beauty until it's ready. I accomplished this by creating a crown with a mask that covers the person's face. The mask portion of the crown is made of silver wires wrapped with a plastic cover. To connect the wires together I used a weaving technique using smaller and more flexible wires to wrap the larger ones together and stacking them on top of one another. The back portion of the crown is meant to represent the hidden flower. The back portion is made up of thin gold wires looped around and tied together at a single point. The thin wires were chosen specifically to make the patterns hard to see, hiding it from plain sight like the flower of the artichoke.  I also wanted to take this concept of a "hidden gem" further by elaborating the back portion more. I added more loops going downward to hide it behind the person's back while the viewers are focused on the mask. I wanted to create a peacock like effect with varying sizes of the loops. I wanted to add a little weight and delicacy to the crown to imitate the delicacy and weight of the flower. The rings added to the loop and elongate is suppose to make the wearer aware of the swaying movement out of their control going on behind them. The circles were inspired by the the various pattern from the top view of the artichoke when cut in half. The exposed neck felt empty, therefore I created a necklace to fill that space. The necklace used the same material and techniques to create the mask, however instead of weaving the middle portion of the necklace I wrapped it in gold to draw attention to the necklace. the gold helps the necklace stands out more when competing for attention with the mask.

Printmaking : What I Value

Growing up as an immigrant, I value my cultural identity as an Asian American the most. Leaving my home country at such a young age and being thrown into a foreign land has had a major impact on me. I was expected to assimilate into the new land and leave the old one behind, but I couldn't. I was bullied when I was younger for being an immigrant. therefore as a defense mechanism to protect myself, I tried to erase the parts that connected me to Vietnam . I use to hate my parents for being so ''traditional''  with all the Vietnamese customs and traditions. I would try to avoid or rebel against these traditions, hating how it was forced upon me. I tried so hard to get rid of my Vietnamese side to fit into society. As I grew up however, I begin to crave the parts that I wanted to forget. I started to notice and appreciate the complex history of the customs and the intricate details in the artworks. I fell in love with my culture again. I started reading books about the history, art, customs, cuisine, geographic, anything I could get my hand on about my home. I couldn't get enough. My artworks started to become a fusion between western and eastern ideals. Growing up as an Asian American has presented me many struggles. I don't feel completely part of one community or the other, but I view this as an advantage. I am able to take inspiration from both culture and combine the two. Even though I am still struggling to find balance between the two, I wouldn't change anything about it.

Bio-Mimicry: Wire Experimentation

In these wire experiments we are trying to get to know our materials more. The wire is a very flexible material when it is thin, but as it grows in thickness it is extremely hard to bend.  For these experiments I wanted to use the thin wires to recreate patterns and movement within the artichoke. The artichoke has numerous movement directions not only depending on what angle you view it from, but also how you slice it. I used the outer shell as inspiration for my pieces. The shell is made of up very organize petal in a the form of a loop. Therefore, while working on this project I wanted to focus on those loops. I made the loops vary in directions and patterns using different color wires to differentiate.

Bio-Mimicry : Interaction with the Body

We interact with the natural world in may ways throughout our lives. We have adapted numerous times as problems are presented toward us. A lot of our adaptations are inspired by nature. Clothing for example are very complex and serves many purposes. From providing us warmth to keeping us cool. We use inspiration from animals such as sheep and their wool coating to help keep us warm in the winter. Inspiration for clothing can also come from plants. Patterns and flowers are used to add an aesthetic to the piece of clothing. We also adapt through combination of chemicals such as medicine or hair dye to change our appearance. 

Bio-Mimicry Study : Structures and Patterns

To continue of in-depth study of nature, we had to pick one of the two object we previously studied. I chose the artichoke because the structure of the artichoke is much more complex. The artichoke also allows for more in-depth observations when cut open and observed from various angles. This time we were assigned to look at the structure and patterns appeared on the artichoke and compared it to other natural or man made materials. The pattern of the petals on the artichoke resembles many plants such as sunflowers and the lotus pattern. The pattern can also be found fish scales and reptile skins such as snakes. The petal acts as a barrier to protect the core, therefore the outer layers are a lot tougher than the ones inside. The shapes of these petals are almost triangular shapes. The stem also forms patterns when looked at from different angle such as from the top. From an aerial view, the tubes inside the stem that surrounds the main channel form dew like shapes and surrounds the channel in a rhythmic way. 

Bio-Mimicry Study : Artichoke

The second object I chose for this project was an artichoke. The outer layer of the artichokes are made up of an even pattern of petals laying on top of one another in between petals. This creates a very uniformed look. The petals has an outward motion, however as time passes and the artichoke began to decompose, the petals begin to shrivel up and create and inward movement. Unlike the outside of the artichoke, when cut open you can see that the petals a re layers even more on top of one another, almost in a line waiting to reach the surface. Toward the center the petals are more delicate, and as they grow outward they become more sturdy and defined. The stem of the artichoke is  made up of multiple lines that attaches to one another to make a main channel to transport water. However around the main channel, there are also small tubes to help transport the water. Like the carnations, the artichoke also has a center from which it grows out of, the stem.

Bio-mimicry Study: Mini Carnations

                                              

 The purpose of this project was to study in depth, whatever that may means to us, two objects from nature. For my first object I choose carnations.  Carnations are very delicate, but they have a evolved a very complex structures to survive. While studying the flowers I noticed that the flowers has an outward movements, the lines on the petals acts as directional arrows pointing outward. The buds of the flowers are very centered. The underdeveloped petals are grouped together towards the center, and as the bud blooms, the petals starts going outward.  In the pieces I wanted to exaggerate the line works of the flowers to show the movements and directions of the piece.

Laser Cutting : Bridge

For this project we were tasked with making a sturdy bridge out of a 12x12in piece of masonite. The goal was to figure out how to make a sturdy bridge that spans 18 inches from  a 12 inch piece of masonite. We accomplished this by making two pieces that connected together using a zipper like structure. One piece was 12 inches while the other was 10 inches. We then built a support structure using 2 pieces of masonite glued together. We also added a small piece angled upward to each side of the support to prevent the bridge from flipping over. The final touch was the four slots across the middle of the bridge to create a stronger structure when pressure is applied. Overall our bridge held 52lbs.  

CNC Mill : Tower

                                        

For this project we were tasked with making the tallest tower possible out of a 12x24 in. piece of MDF. We first had to make the model in illustrator then running it through Aspire. Our plan was to use as much of the board as possible. Therefore,we started to carve out the inside of the pieces to add more height. By alternating the size of the pieces it allow for the weight to be more concentrated at the bottom and becomes lighter as the tower got higher. We then ran our designs through the CNC mill which cuts out the shapes for it. The pieces fit together perfectly, however we didn't account for the flexibility of the Masonite as the tower rises. We had to improvise by using some of the pieces to create a more stable base. Our tower reached 109 inches by the end of this project.