In my readings for my honors project, i've come across a connection with objects and tragic events (example 9/11) it then crosses over into the memorial, gravesite, etc. Why do people leave behind things like teddy bears, notes, etc, are they intended for the deceased/missing? Is it the publics response to tragedy, expressing emotions/ feelings through leaving objects? After tragedy people have an urge to gather. 

Something terrible happened to a family near by and immediately people started leaving behind flowers, stuffed animals, notes, candles, etc. 

HONORS: 3rd story

"This is probably going to sound ridiculous, but here goes. Before I had my kids and nursing helped to straighten out my boobs a bit, I was lopsided. 

Like, the right boob was almost a full cup bigger than the right! It was very embarrassing and only my closest friends knew about it. For either my 15th or 16th birthday, I truly cannot remember, one of my girlfriends bought me a zebra print push-up bra. It was also a water bra, and my girlfriend happened to be handy with sewing. She had taken out the water pad from the right cup, so that the bra would automatically even out my ta-tas! It was mostly given as a gag gift, and all my girlfriends and I had a good chuckle about it. The bra no longer fits and it certainly has seen better days, but I've hung onto it. My friend and I no longer talk, but I often wonder what she would think if she knew I had kept the bra all this time. Whether she knows it or not, telling people about my lopsidedness was a huge step for me towards self-acceptance. I guess that is what the zebra bra means to me! haha!"

4:17am- I can't sleep!
Another story collected for my Honors project:

"I do have something that I have an attachment to and don't know why. Maybe 7 or 8 years ago my mom got on a walnut kick and bought some. I didn't eat them, but I learned that I could spin a walnut like a top. So my brothers and I had walnut spinning competitions. After much trial and error, I found an unbeatable nut, one that would spin for over a minute without stopping. I called the nut "the great eye" and painted an eye on it. It never lost, and I saved it. I've had it ever since, and about a year ago one of my brothers found it and wanted to challenge it in another spinning competition. I realized that "the great eye" must have rotted inside, because it didn't spin as well anymore. I refused to tarnish its record in another spinning competition. I also wouldn't let anyone crack it open. I still have the nut. it's one of those weird things that I'm choosing to keep."

Honors

part of the wall that's dedicated to my honors project

used to be so blank! now there are ROUGH sketches

ALL the feet I have now have silver caps.

I went to a few thrift stores over the weekend and none had ceramic figurine animals with good feet! oh noooo. I need to find more!

sketches update

my area is growing off the bulletin board

latest edition to my dryer sheet collection

nice sketch

Updated 10/26/09 7:51pm

HAPPY FALL!

honors update

Every weekend i've been taking the opportunity to do some thrift store/ yard sale hunting for objects that reference my honors project. Currently it's been ceramic figurines that i've been searching for. 

I've been pretty picky with what I choose to work with because i want them to feel antique-ish, not too cutesy, and around the same size. 

I know it's been frustrating for whoever has been with me and thought they found a winner when i turn it down. Since the work is all my take on the stories, the objects have to evoke a certain feeling with me. I can't explain it but i know if a figurine is good enough or not.So far, i've found a lamb, elephant, 2 cats, seal and a dove. i should probably stop buying some and work with the ones I have. 

I have been experimenting and brainstorming with them. I've been cutting, bashing, breaking parts off on purpose and accidently then grinding the sharp edges down so i don't hurt myself or anyone else. Surprisingly, it takes forever to cut through them especially if they are glazed! The cutting wheels spark a little and the ceramic starts to burn when i cut them. I thought it would be easier to cut them but it's a fun and evil job at the same time. I joke with Sherri that she has had an evil influence on me :)

I have made maquettes of:

1. melting (sheet) wax to piece back together parts of the lamb and elephant

2. silver caps for the elephant feet & cat paws

3. maquette prong settings for extra pieces that had broken off (nickel silver wire in 2 different gauges, sterling silver will be used to the final prong settings)

[broken wing pieces- prong set w/ nickel silver]

[back of the prong setting]

[all the broken elephant pieces]

**update 10.20.09- i took the pictures today and i got a lot more prong settings done and finished a few more caps.)

[my progress so far -10.20.09]

Right now for honors is the experimenting/ maquette making phase.

I needed it because it's fun and not too serious. I can play around with different things and see which ones work better. It's nice to actually be working with materials and not writing a proposal. I get enough writing for my other class.

i tried to come up with a design brief:

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

→ Focus on materials(the transformation of them) and techniques

• inspired by 'Design For A Living World' exhibit @ Cooper Hewitt 2009

• especially the vegetable ivory and black pearl project

TECHNIQUES:

cold connections (no energy/vapors used)

-rivets

-sewing

DRYER SHEETS & STEEL:

-”plentiful material... revealing true glamour”

• trash transformed into a precious material like a stone or precious metal

• evidence of our consumption (goods & energy) and materialistic attitude

• turning consumption into a positive thing

• extending the product life and keeping it out of landfills (transforming it into something else)

• “balance between consumption and conservation

FORMAT: brooch/ long necklace

• sit against clothing

  → waste product referencing original function for which it was made

• precious jewelry

QUALITIES:

• beautiful

• elegant

• delicate

WHO: galleries, art jewelry collectors

WHAT: wearable collection of wasted products presented in a new innovative way

HOW: create brooches and necklaces/pendants with dryer sheets and steel whole referencing their original context/use with clothing

WHY: promoting another chapter of product life and sustainable design 

social issue

Anita's last project really stayed with me and i'd like to maybe explore civility more for my next Social Design project. 

From the national civility center:

The Principles of Engagement are guideposts for attracting collaborators and establishing relationships among them. 

1. View everyone in positive terms.
   Seeing everyone as a potential resource and agent of change helps to level the playing field and engage all stakeholders. 
   
   
2. Develop a common language.
   The language we use can either unite or divide people.  How can we discuss change if we don’t understand each other?  Being aware of the problem, and agreeing on the terms to be used, is a good start. 
   
   
3. Build strong relationships and trust. 
   It is impossible to overstate the importance of trust, which builds bridges across boundaries and makes relationships solid.
   
   
4. Remember our shared humanity. 
   It is easy to forget we are all humans, with more commonalities than differences.  Common sense and history tell us we can work together to solve common concerns—and that when we separate ourselves, we are less effective. 
   
   
5. Value both the process and the results. 
   The gap between the two causes many people to give up on collaboration.  Results-oriented people need actions with observable outcomes, and process-oriented people focus on continuing the methods that drive the action.  Both are crucial for improving communities. 
   
   
6. Look both within and outside the community for guidance.
   People living in communities need to take responsibility for their problems and find actions that will address them.  But we also need to recognize when to accept and use resources that are available

social issue

This morning around 730AM, i was listening to story on NPR about today's patients. There was a family physician who was interviewed, she described a huge generation difference between patients and how they act in the office. She said she had noticed that her older patients tend to believe her diagnosis much more than her younger ones, they don't question or argue. Yet, today's younger generation comes in with background information found on the internet convinced they have certain diseases. They said that even when the doctor is 99% sure a patient doesn't have something but the patient demands testing, they will do it because they are afraid of getting into a law suit. It all comes back to consumption and over exposure to ads. Pill commercials flood tv with their symptoms and everyone thinks they need that pill. The excessive amount of information available to us is a good thing because we become more educated but it's also a bad thing when we are paying for what we want, and getting what we don't necessarily need. 

**updated: 10.19.09

I just heard another story on NPR that i wanted to mention quickly before i forget.

Apparently there's been talk about taxation on sugary drinks like soda like cigarettes. Soda contains a high amount of sugar and could lead to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. There were two men who were dating this issue. One reference was made how it's like cigarettes and how it's not. All in all i think it's all about consumption and the choices we make. 

Consumption seems to be coming up again and again.

I GOT THE GRANT!!!

Towson University's research committee finally sent me the email. 

After fighting for it, i finally got it! jan told me so all along. :)

a sad day

Yesterday everyone got the acceptance email of their grant request, they received the $500 towards their projects but me. I take it so personally and i feel like my project isn't good enough, or up to everyone else's level. It makes me question why i even tried to take on such a complex subject. I thought it would be a fun challenge and an interesting topic to explore but now i'm doubting it. It sucks because i'm sure i could have continued my ideas of my senior project work for Honors and it would have so much easier. I have done too much research, readings on objects and their relationships with humans to turn back now. 

I just had such high hopes to make this collection in silver rather than bronze since i got criticized for it for my locket series. I am going to keep fighting for the grant until they say NO. 

It also helps to have such a supportive team behind you. I would not even be where i am if it wasn't for the teachers that cared and believed in me. There are 3 teachers that have changed my life in such a positive way that i couldn't put to words how much i appreciate it. i'm so lucky to have that. 

kicking myself

My new thing is to KEEP A LIST! I used to avoid the "to do" list because it stressed me out way too much and then i'd procrastinate working because the list overwhelmed me. BUT i have started making lists again because without them, i forget things and then suffer from it! I am actually writing things in the planner and keep a list by my bench since i tend to forget the planner. There's something sooo gratifying when i cross something off, even if it is "go to class" :)

I also think that if i sort of keep a record of what i do each studio day (just studio & honors), it will give me a better idea of how long something takes me, when i should stop reading/ sketching and work, etc. I get to school early and leave pretty late and i have no idea how time flies, so ill start with today. 

Today:

- sketch and post on wall

- group check in, see where everyone is at (Advanced Studio)

- design review with Jan

- discussed my copper model, simplified band design now in silver

- cut out design in silver

- pierced 2 different designs out of steel

-getting better at piercing steel! yay!

- riveted pieces together (nicer than maquettes)

- liked the end result, hope everyone else does too

- cut out another silver band

*photograph progress

This semester has been extremely hard to get going for me. I don't know why, the vibe just isn't the same as last semester. I feel like i've been bogged down with reading, research, studying, and writing the grant proposal and proposal so far. I LOVED the reading part! I read maybe four books so far and i could keep going if someone didn't tell me to STOP. i want to make a ton of stuff and KNOW what why i'm making it. So, i'm very very glad Jan was assertive in telling me to put down the books and start.

 I felt like I was in a rut because i hadn't sketched or even gotten my hands on any metal. Thank goodness I finished the proposal after several drafts and i started sketching and making maquettes. I'm feeling a little better now that i am starting to move but i have been beating myself up inside because of it. Plus, writing is a HUGE struggle for me and it's such a weight off my chest to have that done.

another maquette

home sweet home

my area! 

my messy bench

sketches, info, photographs, etc

Our little home. I love Jacque's lamp shades! :)

I wanted to start experimenting with the piece surrounding this story:

So when I was little, my great grandmother on my mother's side was still alive, and we'd visit her little apartment in Kutztown...she lived close to my grandmother just in case something happened but was too ballsy to live anything but on her own. I wasn't too keen on the visits because she didn't have much to play with except for some picture viewer things (like those red binoculars with picture wheels inside of them). But one time we found a bunch of little animal figurines. There was an octopus i think, a cat maybe, and definitely a zebra. I remember the zebra the most because it had those crazy huge painted Precious Moments eyes. Anyway, all of the figurines were broken, but I didn't care. In fact, it made me like them more...they were these shiny glazed ceramic things with little broken off hooves and feet. So I asked if I could have them and everyone looked at me funny. I took them home, a 3 hour car ride in a tiny stuffed box, and made a bed for them in a box i had made out of popsicle sticks. What's better is I took cotton balls and taped them to the rough broken parts of the creatures. kinda like bandages. To this day, they are in that box on my shelf because every time I look at them, I can't manage to throw them away. They've survived more room cleaning purges than I can count, yet they remain. I guess it's just how frail they look. I dunno. There's something innately beautiful about keeping something no one wants and taking care of it until you feel like somehow, it might just get better. -Emily 

I couldn't find broken figurines as easily so i bought a cheap one for $1, another yard sale find. I decided i wanted to work with the head but cutting it off was a lot harder than i thought. i thought i could saw it off but ceramic is much harder to cut into! I ended up using an assortment of flex shaft tools especially the cutting wheels for sprue cutting. I felt so evil chopping the cute head off this little lamb but it had to be done if i wanted to keep moving. 

sweet box i found

i found this box over the weekend. I absolutely love finding treasures at yard sales. There's something so cool about finding something valuable to me in piles of someone else's unwanted junk. 

the box was somewhat scuffed up so i sanded it even more to enhance the aged look. I thought it would be a neat place to keep my inspirations for my honors project.

also, i was so happy when i thought i found some walnuts in some potpourri but it turns out they aren't walnuts. Nuts!

more dryer sheets

Since i came up with the dryer sheet earrings last semester, i knew it was a material i wanted to continue to work with. i have been brainstorming a collection combining used, torn dryer sheets, steel, and sterling silver referencing traditional Korean costume/design. So it's sort of a collaboration of all my projects from last semester! I like the fact that the dryer sheets and steel will change/transform together over time and that there's a mixture of modern and traditional styles.

Here's a few shots of a maquette and some other pieces: