Final Project - 3 Themed Objects

For our final project, we designed three themed objects made entirely out of paper. The objects were designed with three different themes in mind.  The three themes I chose included: the concept of pieces, Japanese bamboo blinds, and lastly floral/plant design.  Three separate blinds where crafted. One with its own Japanese-style scenery.

Each set of blinds revolved around the Japanese theme. One included cherry blossoms, the other koi fish, and the last one bamboo. All blinds had a 2d turning into 3d element hidden within them. Mainly it was the floral designs that are moving into the 3rd dimension.

Close-ups on detail:

And here's the final project hanging up in the classroom:

3 Themes

These are the 3 themes for the our final project, the Three Themed Objects project.

The themes are
1) pieces (the concept of pieces)
2) Japanese bamboo blinds
and...
3) floral/plant design

Response to Touch by Diane Ackerman

The article Touch discusses the significant and critical role sensory touch plays in child development. The sources in the article completed several studies on the effects of touch on babies, and found infants stroked three times a day for 15 minute intervals had weight gain improvement, better tempers, and had a closer relationship with their parents. "They [the babies] are better able to calm and console themselves," is what one study found of babies who were messaged daily.

The following are my observations and extended thoughts on the article.

Touch has been documented to play a pivotal role in a child's life, as children known to be deprived of physical contact develop less quickly.  Touch stimulates the nervous system which provides many benefits for good health.  Right from birth, infants desire and need to be held and caressed by their mothers.  Often times when a baby is crying, a mother will pick up the child and caress it in order for it to stop crying.  For touch seems to have a calming effect on babies, as well as people in general.

Physical touch is known to represent and create a sense of closeness between individuals of familial and interpersonal relationships.  For one would not touch a stranger, or distant acquaintance.  To touch a close friend, family member, or significant other would be more likely and also more culturally accepted.  This is because touch is a universal symbol for closeness and intimacy.

Oxytocin, also known as "the love chemical" is a bonding chemical that when released, creates a chemical bond between people.  Any form of physical touch triggers the release of this chemical in the brain.  The first time a human is exposed to this chemical is when they are an infant being breastfed.  The physical proximity of the baby and his mother produces a strong rush of oxytocin. This chemical creates closeness, trust, and intimacy with a baby and his mother, and strengthens the mother-infant relationship.    

All humans need a degree of physical touch as it is an important part of human connection.  Many health concerns are cured with natural touch.  Cuddling and caressing your significant other literally kills depression.  Holding your child's hand strengthens the bond between parent and child.  Petting your pet causes blood pressure to drop among people with mood swings.  Hugging you friend can make you feel happier and healthier.  Overall, touch is the one sensory tactic humans are born with and desire right from birth.  Before one learns to walk, speak, or put words into sentences, the person desires to touch without knowing why.  Sensory touch is used to read pain, pleasure, temperature, comfort, and texture throughout life.  Without the ability to read though one's finger tips, connection to the outside world would be rendered impossible.  Perhaps this is why the phrase "out of touch" is used when someone steps away from reality.  For not being able to touch the surrounding world would cause the inability to experience.      

3D to 2D assignment

For this exercise, I included my architecture relief sculpture of the claw and placed it in a hidden treasure scene.  The paper diamond originally being held by the claw was replaced with a ruby.

Response to Inventory / The Tokens by Christopher Turner

Christopher Turner narrates about the tragic scenario of unwanted babies being dropped off at a hospital in London without substantial medical care.  Turner documented how hundreds of mothers would line outside the London hospital waiting to drop their children off, some with identifiable token signatures attached to them.  There were so many children that a lottery had to be put in place to ensure at least one third of the children were welcomed. Many of the unwanted children were eventually given to tradesmen and often taken into domestic service.  With each child given to the hospital, a unique 3d token or "memento" was presented with the child.

This story is in relation to our current memento project, where we create a memento based on a life event we have encountered.  Although, the mementos mentioned in the story are quite different in the sense that they represent an actual person. The mementos we create remind us of a life experience rather than a person, and for this might not have as deep of meaning resonating within them.  For a memento reminding one of a missed person is far more sentimental.  One can always go back and visit the place of the memory they want to return to, but people are irreplaceable.  As Turner said when referring to the mothers giving their children away, "the tokens remain missing pieces of a larger puzzle: an embroidered heart."

3D Momento

For our next project, we designed a self-made "souvenir" based on a special memory.

When I was 15 years old my grandparents and cousin traveled to the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  My cousin, being a dedicated high school athlete decided to take up the challenge of running the Grand Canyon from rim to rim.  And he succeeded. All 38 miles down and up again.  Me being my overly-ambious teenage self decided to attempt running at least a mile up and down the canyon.  I managed running half a mile down before I had enough and ran the last half mile upward.

The momento consisted of wood carved and cut to look like a mini canyon. The red paint covering
the wood represents the harsh color of the red rocks of the Grand Canyon.  An ink trail, with varying widths was drawn from side to side of the inner wood surface.  Next, a shorter ink trail was drawn back and forth from the tip of one side.  The longer ink trail represents the distance my cousin ran across the Grand Canyon, while the shorter ink trail that is quickly drawn back and forth represents the small distance I ran.

Themes for Final Project

The following are the three themes for the final project. The unintentional central theme of this project turned out to be sections and pieces.

1) Floral design
2) Puzzel pieces
and...
3) Bambo