Bethany- Site Specific

May 4

I did a lot of work this week on this project to finish up. I started by finishing up the house. It needed the last wall and trim as well as the stairs. The 3D printed stairs turned out really well, and I painted them to match the wood. My husband helped me make a floor-plan in CAD to layout where everything would go.

After I finished the house, I started working on making the stair piece. I tried a few different variations with different colors and thicknesses, but I was really not liking how it was looking. I ended up making them ceiling pieces that have the four pillars of the organization on them: proclaim, grow, live, last. I feel like this is also pretty site specific. I wanted them to be fabric patterns, so I designed a pattern that was doable, made a new sketch for the room, and made a mock-up of the “live” panel. I wanted them to be short enough that people wouldn’t hit their heads on them, so I made them about as low as the doorways.

For the prayer room, I had to iron the fabric into folds because it was too stiff to drape at such a small scale. I pinned the bottom into wrinkles and then just set my iron on top for a bit. I accidentally cut up one of my panels for the stair part when I was working that out, so I had to redo that one.

 I hung everything with fishing line and some toothpicks.

I think overall, I am more happy with this design, and I think it fits the assignment a little better as well.

You can see the sewn mock up in the center with a dark piece of paper backing it.

April 27

Well, due to a really hard week and other frustrations, I am going back to my original idea with revisions. This version focuses more on the social aspect of installation and has a clearer message. This would be a temporary installation that would be focused around a single event. I would still have the fabric on the stairs, but instead of lace they move from darker to light to signify my transition away from a dark place. The fabric will get longer and drape down to the floor the further down on the stairs it goes. There would be fabric in the hall and through to the next room guiding viewers to a fabric square where they are encouraged to stand with another person. The lighting in this room is fairly dramatic, so there would be cast shadows onto the viewers when they stand in the fabric areas. The doorways have curtains with religious quilting.

 In the main hall, there would be a space to write names of people that the viewers have met at the event or in the past at the house and what it meant to them.

My friends have been really helpful with my progress. My husband and some of the guys from the house took measurements and photos for me.

From the measurements and the photos, I've been able to start on my model. I made the walls out of cardboard and then papered and painted them to match the wall texture. I made some wood trim out of balsawood, but I ran out. I will have to get a little bit more before finishing the doorways and walls. I also cut and painted the Styrofoam to look like wood flooring.

 To make the tile, I have a photo of one block that I made into a pattern that I am going to print out and glue to the ground.

As for the stairs, I am a little intimidated. Another friend of mine has offered to help me 3D print some stairs, but if that doesn't pan out, I think I will make them from cardboard and balsawood as well. I made my base a little too small on accident, so I will need to add half an inch before adding the last walls. For the fabric, I plan to cut up some scraps from my last project and coloring them with markers. 
Then I will hang them from the walls and probably some kind of ceiling piece for the stair section. 

April 20

My new idea is to make a memorial to my friend Ryan who passed recently. He loved making music and was an accomplished trombone player. I want to make a trombone statue in front of the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts since he was so involved in the music program. It would be a cast metal trombone draped in a blanket that reads “make a joyful noise,” which is a Psalm I think both perfectly describes his life and can relate to other musicians as well. 

I would like it to be outside the entrance of the BCPA. I had two spots in mind, but I think I like the one off to the side of the steps.

Option #1

Option #2-preferred

To make my model, I was going to cast my brother’s trombone Christmas ornament, but unfortunately he left it back at home. So instead, I am making one out of sculpy, which is pretty difficult. I forgot to take a photo, but I am not great with clay. I am hoping to make the trombone and then cover it with fabric after it is cured. Then I will spray paint it all a bronzy-brass color.

I haven’t gotten to do much with the landscape. I may want to lazer-cut the exterior of the building or otherwise just use a photo. 

 

April 6

I want to do my instillation in Harvey Hall- a house that my college ministry uses to host events. It is named after the original owners from the ministry, Jesse Harvey, Steph Harvey, Ian Hal, and Tylinn Hall, and it is where I first met a lot of my college friends. It also serves as a pivotal turning point in my life, when I had gone from being severely depressed to finding friends and community.

I was inspired by artist Tomislav Topić, who makes these colorful paneled works made from thin sheets of transparent color that become vibrant when looked at in a mass. It creates the illusion of volume and shading.

Artist Tomislav Topić

I am thinking of doing a piece that hangs over the staircase in Harvey Hall with multiple panels each featuring a section of lace. When looked at from the front, the lace would cover the whole section, and from the side each this piece would be about the impact and strength of communities  and how encountering different people at different times in your life shapes who you are. I think the lace works in communicating this because lace is an intricately woven material.

Side view of stairs

 Front view of stairs

If I were to make this, I would need to get fabric, lace, and some sort of hanging device that wouldn’t damage the house. I would also need permission from the guys that live there currently.