How to build a Hearst Tower by Jonas Blume

Carina Liebmann's 1st Semester Projects

The wire projects using different curves was challenging because of the rule that it could only stand on three points. I do think, however, that this rule did make the sculptures more interesting. Although I struggled with balancing my project I found the process of bending the wires and making interesting shapes enjoyable.

The Fibonacci planes project was one of my favorite projects, despite the fact it was for me the most tedious. I made people-like forms getting smaller in different directions from one large form. I used fabric and large stitching to cover the wire planes, hoping to achieve a sense of comfort associated with dolls or stuffed animals.

I enjoyed the plaster condom sculptures project a lot. The whole process was fun, especially getting covered in plaster while trying to make hollow plaster pieces. I was very happy when I managed to get all my plaster pieces to hold together permanently. I used a lot of curved shapes and tried to position points so the lead to different parts of the piece. I finished it by painting it a shiny white that has a cool tone, which i feel gave the piece more of a slithering movement.

For the sound project I put a circular tube at the bottom of a skirt. I filled the tube with marbles and when the skirt sways the marbles makes noise. For added noise, and because I wanted suspenders, I made suspenders with chains dangling from them.

For the movement project I choose the movement of a bat. Particularly the ability of a bat to wraps its wings entirely around itself, or expand their wings. I made asymmetrical wings on a hinge which wrap around a spiky drop shaped form, or can be expanded outward from it.

For the final project I got the word Dynamic. As soon as I began to try to picture this word I imagined an outfit which stands out. I decided on a hoodie, with a large hood and belt. the colors I chose also were with the intend to make the piece stand out. I used grey and black to contrast with the shiny gold and electric blue.

Portrait Project!!!

Here are some images of us working on our portrait projects! Eagerly sanding away to make our plaster portraits look as realistic as possible. So much fun!

Jordans stuff from stuff with some stuff of stuff

spiral close up of wire piece.
a different close up of a wire piece
a wire design influenced by the Fibonacci sequence
phallic? ive been told yes. i thought it looked more like a fish tho
plaster piece view #a
same plaster piece view #b
animal movement: Lion jaw(hungry)
animal movement: Lion jaw(not hungry)
given word project backside of piece (insert pun here)...it says forbidden
the side of the given word project that was seen.

these are pictures of things. these things came from other things, which came from materials, which were made in a process, which started off as an idea. I brought these many things together the way they started off individually, as ideas. many ideas together as one idea to serve the purpose of trying to communicate another idea.

Perri Schneider's 1st Semester Projects

This was our first project, we were to make a wire sculpture that only stood on 3 parts. This was definitely challenging however I had a lot of fun with this project. I worked a lot with texture and space, using 3 different types of wire. One that was smooth, one that was galvanized and made up of many smaller wires, and one many very thin wires.

Our next project was based upon Fibonacci's numbers. This project also reminded me of the planets, which was very enjoyable for me. The materials I used were wire and cheese cloth. It was hard at times to cover the wire with the cheese cloth, but in the end I was very happy with the way it turned out.

This was our plaster condom project. At first I was a bit puzzled by the whole plaster in a condom idea, but this was definitely the most fun project. We spent a lot of time in the plaster room playing around with different shapes, and even making hollow shapes. There are 5 different pieces to this sculpture, and in the picture below you can see how it can be interchangeable.

For this project we had to play off the idea of sound. My sound was all the combined sounds of fall. I used wire, and tracing paper to imitate the sounds of rustling leaves freshly fallen from the trees. I used a lot of jewelry making techniques in this project, which were very familiar to me since it is my major. I even had a comment from a classmate who said they would wear the necklace out in public.

This project was based off of our class field trip to the Natural History Museum. I decided to the innerds of chameleon. With the color changing capabilities on the inside and the caging surface on the outside. I used cheese cloth, balsa wood, and wire to create this. Unfortunately it did not turn out exactly as I had planned it, but I am content with the final outcome of the project.

My chosen word for this project was infinity. I wanted to make a sculpture that seemed never ending and also giving a trickery effect to the eyes. I accomplished just that. I used many, many, many different colored straws and attached them to a wooden stick, which I then hung from the ceiling. I spun the whole sculpture as the class watched it, hopefully mesmerized.

Mary Mohr's 1st and 2nd Semester Projects

1st Semester

For this project we poured plaster into condoms and used those shapes to create a sculpture. This was my first time ever working with plaster. The process of pouring and mixing the plaster was a lot of fun.

For this project we were supposed to create a sculpture using Fibonacci's sequence. I used tissue paper, wire, and colored tape for this project. My inspiration for this sculpture was a peacock and how their feathers are very colorful and different sizes.

This project was my first time working with wire to create a sculpture. I created an abstract flower using different colored wires. I really enjoyed this project and it is one of my favorite sculpture pieces I have done.

2nd Semester

This particular sculpture was inspired by a plant form. The plant that inspired me was the Rafflesia flower. This flower is the largest flower in the world. It gives off the scent of rotten flesh to ward off predators. I used the idea of the rotting flesh and the disease like qualities that the flower uses in my design. The black stripes on my piece represent disease. Any animal that might want to eat these flowers would see the black stripes and would back off immediately.

This sculpture was inspired by a particular piece of architecture. My inspiration was a beautifully and intricately decorated synagogue located in the middle of New York City. The synagogue has large posts with beautiful round tops that I drew most of my inspiration from.

We made plaster self portraits heads in the second semester. We first molded our heads out of clay. Then we made a plaster mold and poured plaster into this mold. We then had to refine and sand our plaster heads once they came out of the mold. The process of make these plaster head was long, complicated, frustrating, but VERY worth the final result.

Nicholas Weltyk's First Semester Projects

Fibonacci Sequence

Our first assignment was to create a series of shapes changing in size in order of the fibonacci sequence. When creating my piece I glued pieces of fabric between wire circles suspended by a single wire. When creating it I was inspired by mobiles as well as our solar system.

Plaster Mold

We filled condoms with plaster and squeezed them to create forms with our hands. The molds were also shaped by hand afterward and put together to form a final piece. Mine was inspired by asteroids. With one side having little craters and the other being smooth.

Animal Movement

This assignment was to create something inspired by the movement of an animal. This piece is based on a camel's eye which has two eye lids. The inner one is more transparent so the light blue cloth is somewhat sheer. The outer piece is very heavy almost like denim. The actual sphere is made of styrofoam and plaster. To keep the shape of the eyelids both pieces of fabric were sewn into spheres and then sewed around moveable wire semicircles.

Chosen Word

For this assignment we were to choose a word at random from a jar and construct something that portrayed the word. Mine was Pressure. I did a very literal depiction by building a clamp and placing a breaking object in it. The clamp is made of wood and metal. The red sphere is plaster.

The Sound Suit

We were to construct something that could be worn and made noise when we moved out body in a certain way. I constructed a device I wore around my torso. When the strings are pulled the disc with the teeth spins. On the other side of the teeth is a circular sheet of sandpaper. Under that another sheet of sandpaper faces it in the opposite direction. When the teeth are spun the sheets scratch against one another emitting a the noise from their friction. It's meant to look like they're being flossed