Touch writing

I read the passage about tattoos. I found the passage very interesting and the stories about different people and groups that had them. I relate to this passage in many ways. There was a part in the passage where the author was explaining that tattoos tell stories, show struggles and triumphs, and mark timelines in a persons life. I have many tattoos that signify all of these things. Some are on very specific places on my body where I am the only one that can appreciate the, but have some that can be seen by the public. Some are more personal than others.

I also read the passage on pain. In the passage it explains that people can go through pain, yet sometimes you don't feel it. I can relate to this passage because when I was 25 I got into a really bad car accident with my best friend. I broke both of my ankles, shattered my pelvis in several places, broke a few of my ribs, my nose and had internal bleeding for several days. I ended up having to get 6 inches of my intestines removed as well. I was in the hospital for a month and a half and all I could think about was if my best friend was okay. Was he hurt, is he alive? I couldn't stop thinking about him and his son. Although I was in pain, I was less intense because I was worrying about my friend. They were giving me morphine for the pain, but it was making me sick. Eventually I conquered the pain and told them that I didn't want anymore medication. I don't welcome pain, but I like to think that I have the strength to control it or at least attempt to harness pain.

Architectural Relief

For this project we had to pick two different styles of architecture that we liked and incorporate it into our design. I choose Moroccan and Indian.

I used Vellum to trace out the "windows" and cut them out. I covered them with clear tape so you could see through them.

I made a onion dome out of Balsa wood and used sanders in the wood shop. I though this was the most important part of my piece because onion domes are used in both cultures' architecture.

 

 I used black ink to pain the wood and a light wash on the pillars holding the dome. Note: Sanding the onion domes to be perfect is damn near impossible. Prepare to be covered in sawdust and leave with less skin than you started with.

I created a box, sealed it with wood glue, spray paint, ink and a few other items I thought would keep it from leaking and hung up the floating windows.

I then filled the box with water because in these cultures water is incorporated in a lot of their architecture as well. The floating windows also castes a shadow which wasn't planned, but I was completely find with.

Animal Soap Carving

I happened to pick the hardest animal ever to carve. This project was really stressful to me. We needed to large enough bars of soap to carve a small animal out of them.

This project was slow at first because you had to really remove a lot of soap to start forming the body. I started on the legs first to start getting some sort of a body contour. This is an EXAMPLE of what not to do because the legs a very fragile and when you hold tight to your soap to start working on the body more you may lose your grip and snap off your legs like I did 50 times.

In this project we were required to do two soap carvings. My second bar of soap was way too soft. You really have to make sure you pick out the least soft bar of soap you can find, unless you want to carve butter.

Basically I failed miserably at this assignment, but I did learn from my mistakes. Tip 1: Save all of your extra carving scraps and mix with a little water to re-apply any broken legs or tails.

Tip 2 : Make sure the smell of the soap is something you really don't mind smelling for hours on end because this assignment completely ruined apples for me.

Body Happenings

I wanted to create something that in closed around you. Something that you could get inside and would still be comfortable. Originally I wanted to incorporate a birds nest to signify safety, but the idea was later changed to a "cage."

Here I took pictures of wire that I had bent and wrapped with duct tape. I used my blow torch to get that hole like texture. ( melted duct tape has a really cool look and texture)

                                               
I attached hinges to 3 of the top ribs and 3 of the bottom ribs on each side so that they would open and close. I needed to be able to get into them and get out of them.

I spray painted the entire thing black and lightly went over the "ribs."

This is just an up close, better shot of how I used wire to create the ribs and wrapped them with duct tape.

                       

Here are  some different angles of the piece after I finished the main body of the rib cage. I was now trying to figure out how I was going to attach this onto my body and how I was going to close the rib cage.

I spoke with my professor and we decided that it would  be a good idea if I laced it up like a corset. I also tied a piece of ribbon around my neck and to the back of the "spine" for support. It actually ended up holding very well. Finally we created a video where I would unzip my dress, bearing my rib cage and untie the ribbon and slowly remove it. Eventually the rib cage will separate, open up and no longer protect me.

You can find the video at:

https://youtu.be/LgqR_bzCopM

Soap Carving Part II

I removed my soap animals legs so that he would be on more of a flat surface.

I wrapped the soap in a piece of metal I found while taking apart a phone charger that didn't work anymore.

I added a few more wired that I found in the phone charger and used a butane torch to melt away at the soap.

Here you can see that the animal is stating to loose shape and become a blob wrapped in wires and metal.

I decided to add some black ink to the soap to incorporate with the burntness that the torch had given it.

I also removed the back end of the soap and carved out a piece of his neck, his face has melted away and I decided to add a few more wired and some nails and hooks.

Finally I went back through with my torch and melted him down until I thought it look good.

The soap reminded me of a piece of meat hanging in butcher shop so I decided it would be best if the soap was displayed hanging,

What better way than gallows?  I used scrap wood from the wood shop, sanded the pieces down, and coffee stirs for the wood paneling.

I added hemp to re-create the rope and tried to tie it as best as I could.

I also went back through with my torch to give the gallows a burnt look.

This was my final outcome.

Memento and Writings

I created this memento to represent the relationship between my father and grandfather. My father shared a story about my grandfather at his funeral last semester that I've never heard. It was about my father mowing the lawn and my grandfather coming out to give my father his first beer. The bolt represents the screw that's missing to keep everything tight and together, the hemp represents the pulling motion of the lawn mower to start it, and the glue beads represent the condensation on my dads first beer on that hot day.

Find an image that visually works for the sentences and explain why it relates.

The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale.

I think this picture relates to the sentence because you have this giant girl surrounded by smaller buildings. She is perceived to be a giant, but really she is just normal size. I use my body and the body of others as a sense of scale, especially to things around you. I use my fingers and arms on a daily basis to measure. The body can be used to trick the eye.

The capacity of objects to serve as traces of authentic experiences.

I thought that this picture related to the sentence because it reminded me of trinkets. Everyone is different and reminded me of a specific experiences in time. Authentic experiences that couldn't be replicated and the objects have become the reminder.

The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental and the three dimensional into the miniature that which can be enveloped by the body.

When I think of something monumental and three dimensional, the Eiffel Tower comes to mind. There has been some much negative going on in Paris lately, my heart goes out to them. I think a way that this monumental structure could be enveloped by the body is a tattoo. You are taking something that is so big and beautiful, and cutting it down to side. You are not removing its meaning, your just taking it with you.

Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss.

nos·tal·gia

näˈstaljə,nəˈstaljə/

noun

1. a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

I believe that this picture can relate to the sentence in the way of a memory. A moment in time that was captured and then it was gone. I believe that  you wouldn't long for something (like a memory or a feeling) if it wasn't lost.

To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess both a specimen and a trophy.

This images reminds me of the sentence above. The whole idea of collecting exotic specimens becomes a trophy to me. It's the background of where you found it, what you have to do to get it, and how how will you display it. It might just be a specimen to one person, but the story and the souvenir itself will be a trophy to you.