Luminescence continued...

This project has been a very long, and interesting process for me. It has brought more challenges, and excitement than any project before...

For this project we first started out exploring the effects of light, and the different elements, and how we could experience our own "moment of pause" with light by creating a luminaries. We had a few guidelines of course, these being that we were to use no more than three materials (two from previous projects, and to introduce a new material).

In our first project of the semester we used natural artifacts, and as I sat in my room in my apartment staring at different objects hoping for inspiration I spotted bamboo that I had cut down in Maryland and brought here to North Carolina to use as curtain rods. Inspiration at last! I began my planning process and that is what you see below with the use of towel paper rolls...

It quickly transformed into the real thing! I however encountered many complications. My binding agent (hot glue) would not hold the weight of the bamboo, and it would not stay secure to my metal base.

What next? I cut the bamboo in half using an ax and a sledge hammer (no fingers were lost in the process!), and glued it to a wooden base this time with super glue. It held, but I was advised that it would not last. So I again went back to the drawing board and was advised to cut notches into the wooden base and secure the bamboo (now being semi-circles) into the base. Unfortunately my bamboo did not come out to be perfect semi-circles and this would not work.

Change! Unfortunately as the materials were not working for me I had to change my materials. I was still able to achieve the same effect I was going for originally (warmth and glow). I created a frame out of bamboo skewers (used in several projects), and attached it to a foam core square base (used in several projects), and glued the leaves (natural artifacts) around the frame using rubber cement. It worked beautifully, but did not capture the true essence of a leaf.

Next, as leaf-like as I could get it. I created a base out of foam core once again, only this time in the shape of an eye, this allowed the leaves to take no true form other than that of their own form. I glued the leaves together in a shingle-like formation, and cascaded them down as far as they would allow me to go and finally brought the sections together and glued them.

All in all I am very pleased with the results!