I.A.R 101 Project #4 : UNITY

Using 12 fondue (bamboo) skewers and 12 (4x6) bristol board planes of paper, explore unities of opposites. Create and construct a piece that unifies opposites or possibly things of the same rhythm.

This fourth project was easy when it came down to the process of ideas. my initial idea was to do something from nature or something child like. so i grouped my ideas and came up with two lists. in the first I thought to create; a spider web, a butterfly, flower 'bracelet' or a vine. In the second list I thought of structures such as cradles or ferris wheels. My final idea was inspired by a designer by the name of Philip Treacy. I have posted up a few of his creations to give an idea of what I was inspired by. His hats are beautifully crafted and based mainly on nature. I first went about figuring how I would create paper flowers without deconstructing the 4x6 piece of bristol board. In the photos below, i have carefully shown how i went about cutting and rolling each single piece of bristol to make a flower or the curly accent that finished my "bouquet" of paper flowers. I then glued and clamped area's of the paper flower so that the design would stay. I also used an exact-o knife to twist precise holes into the bottom of the flower where the skewer would penetrate through. after carefully constructing 6 different styles of the flower, I joint the single pieces together to make a "bouquet." As for the head band which would hold these flowers in place on the head, I had to soak 6 skewers in water for them to become easy to bend.

Once I finished the head band I thought carefully about the 12x12 base that I wanted to use to hold my "hat." I did not want to to be "just a base" so I decided to make a paper mache head to stick the hat in, to give off the illusion that the head was wearing the hat. But unfortunately after my third attempt of creating the perfect head I decided to think of a different base for my hat. In the end I thought to make a large flower for the base of my flower hat. I used a 24x36 sheet of bond paper to create this flower. Once I unified the two, (the hat and the base), I had gotten the Idea to make I as one and attach a head band at the bottom of the base so that the piece became one large paper flower hat. In this post are several step by step pictures that show the creation of the piece as well as the inspiration of the piece ( including Channel's Spring 2009 collection - found after the hat was entirely made, and several pieces of Philip Treacy's own work). At the top right, there are photo's of the parti (inspirational collage) and the most recent final piece. I still have work to improve on it, but for now.. Enjoy.