Week 6: Trophy Part 1





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Week 6: This week, we continued with our groups in our 3D sculpture course. My group was to work on woodcutting to create a trophy this time by using a laser wood cutter and Adobe Illustrator.Here are the results of the second week working on it. There were a few mistakes but it allowed me to reflect on and improve the design.

Craft: For the craft, I used the following equipment: Adobe Illustrator, a Mac computer, flash drive, a laser cutter, Baltic plywood, tape, a straight edge, and wood glue. Adobe Illustrator was used to creating the file in which the laser cutter would use as a guide to cut out the shapes of the design that I had created. The laser would cut out the shapes, and the wood glue would blind the shapes together forming a single shape. Using an extensive array of tabs, the pieces would interlock and stick together cohesively. The concepts of space were used in this process because to clearly define what sides were going to have certain sizes and tabs, I had to be aware of the space used by them by using the illustrator grid guides.

Composition: For the composition of this project, I first started off by going into Adobe Illustrator and designing the trophy following three segments: the base, the column, and finally the centerpiece. This was difficult because I had to visualize a 3D form on a 2D plane. Making sure that parts connect together was very difficult but after trial and error, I managed to visualize the 3D object. To make it simple for me and for the visual look that I desired, I utilized simple shapes to construct my project. Taking the concepts of shape and lengths of different sides that I borrowed from the cube, I developed a construction of the shapes that I would use for each segment of the project. The hardest and longest one to create was the centerpiece, a cutout of the Czech Republic. Making sure that it appeared as close to the real thing as possible made the whole process extremely long due to the complexity of the shape. Once I set up all the linework in Illustrator, I set the line size to that of 0.001 inches so the laser cutter would work properly. I colored each shape pairing into a specific color so that I knew which went with which set as for my workflow. After that, I transferred my files over to the workstation computer with a flash drive. I used the laser cutter's program to cut a 24inx12in Baltic Plywood panel into the shapes I used several boards for this project, unaware of how much I would need to construct the trophy. I then etched the trophy text into the board of the centerpiece and I'll say it looks very nice. What followed was a long process of gluing the panels together with wood glue. What I had not anticipated when I combined them all was the imperfections in the wood, laser cut, and the warping of the wood when I glued the pieces together. Having sturdy and heavy materials to weigh down the shape. It proved a challenge and there were some imperfections that need to be sanded down. Making sure the shape and the dimensions were right was important in getting scale and the shape perfect.

Concept: The concept of the piece was to create a trophy for a member of the Saint Xavier community. It could be an artist or a friend or a colleague. I chose a friend, my roommate. The reasoning for the simple base and pillar design is because of the pragmatic nature of it all. My roommate, the subject of this trophy is a very pragmatic and efficient person. As such, I decided to create a trophy that shares in his personality. The centerpiece was done in the shape of the Czech Republic, the homeland of his paternal line. Combined, I believe I have captured his personality and heritage well. As this sculpture class is about shape as it is self and place, I had to keep those in mind. For the place, the centerpiece draws the viewer into the concept of the land of the Czech people. The shape represents a vast land despite its small size. The self is in regard to the person in which this piece is done for. I created everything in relation to his person. It is tall like he is. It is pragmatic in construction and rather thin for the column yet it sits upon a large foundation which in my interpretation is his heritage and background. All these things were concepts that I took into consideration when planning and constructing this trophy.

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