Touch

I chose to do the chapters involving 1. Tattoos 2. Hands

Tattoos

"Beauty created through brutal means"

For my drawing, I followed the idea that tattoos are a form of self deconstruction.  It states that fully tattooed people live shorter lives due to the skins inability to breath properly and some inks can be poisonous.  "Beauty created through brutal means".  Tattoos are such a beautiful thing that cause great pain and destruction of the skin.  I drew a skeleton hand holding a rose in a tattoo-like style.  The hand is holding a rose that is based off of the Japanese tattoo called irezumi.  However, I only used one flower to depict it.  The rose it wilting and pedals are falling off.  I drew this and the skeleton hand to show the destruction that tattooing can cause.  

The Hand

"The hand is the visible part of the brain" 

The hand is such an important component of the human body.  It is so delicate and sensitive, yet extremely tough and durable.  Our hands are used for everything from building, grabbing, feeling, and consoling others through touch.  The amount of work that our hands are capable of is insane.  I drew a hand with a brain growing from the palm of the hand.  I did this to show the direct link between the brain and the hands.  My inspiration was the quote found within the Touch article, "The hand is the visible part of the brain".  

Body Happenings Final Pictures

Statement 

For my Body Happening, I chose to make a slingshot that connects to the arm.  The majority of the slingshot consists of wood and the remainder is elastic, screws, tape, and glue.  I added a trigger to it to allow the user to only have to use one hand to set of the sling shot.  The trigger wraps underneath of the users arm and just by simply pulling upon the trigger, it will release and shoot the amo.  If you look at the front of the mechanism (where the elastic is attached), you will see two cylindrical pieces of wood.  You can add or subtract these pieces to increase/ decrease the tension.  In the following video, you will see how easy it is to set of the trigger and how powerful the slingshot is when shooting a four inch piece of wood.

Body Sculpture Happenings

In Process Photos

Trigger

Trigger

Momento Sculpture

In Process Pictures

I took a block of balsa wood and cut it with a saw.

Screws and hinges were then added.

Final Pictures

Statement

My memento involves an accident where I ended up breaking my hand while I was skateboarding.  I had surgery and permanent screws were drilled through my bones.  Sadly, my surgeon messed up during surgery and I now have limited mobility and strength in my right hand.  In addition, the screws stick out of my bone causing intense pain anytime they are touched.  

My sculpture incorporates screws, hinges, and a wooden skateboard ramp (scaled down).  I started off by choosing a piece of wood and cut it into the shape of a ramp.  I chose wood mainly because that is what the ramp was made of.  I then added hinges to the wood and screwed them in so that they were in a fixed position.  The one hinge on the top of the ramp is fixed in an odd way representing limited mobility, and the bottom hinge has screws sticking all the way through it to the point that they protrude out of the bottom of the ramp.  This represents the screws in my hand and how they protrude out of my bone.  

Masking Tape Shoes

In Process Pictures 

Final Pictures

Statement

To create a pair of masking tape shoes, I deconstructed a regular shoe to get help me get the correct shapes and proportions.  Building up the sole of the shoe proved to be a major challenge, but I was able to build it after trial and error by rolling large strips of tape into tubes and stacking them on top  of one other.  I did this until the correct hight was achieved.  To help me with both shoes being proportional to one another, I built them at the same time and cut out each piece at the same time as well.  This was a major help in building the shoes.

Architecture Assignment Part 2 

Final Pictures Extended

Images from Visual Research

I incorporated three different architectural movements within my sculpture.  These include Egyptian, Gothic, and Post-modern.

Egyptian

Gothic 

Gothic

Post-modern

Statement

For my architectural Relief, I used a total of three different architectural movements.  I conducted research and used the pictures above as my inspiration.  My idea was to use the simplicity of the Egyptian architecture with the complex and futuristic look of Post-modernism.  When building the sculpture, I decided to keep everything dealing with Egyptian architecture to remain balsa wood.  In contrast, everything Post-modern would remain foam board.  I did this to show a sharp contrast between the two and how they can still live in harmony together.  I have always been interested in the unique designs of Gothic windows, so I included them as the transparency within the Post-modern section.  Ive noticed how gothic windows start off complex near the top and become more simplistic as you move away from the focal point.  That is why I included a detailed gothic design, made of paper, and then cut out simpler shapes for the remainder of the windows.  A light source was then added inside the windows to help illuminate the gothic style windows.  

Architecture Project -Tyler Odachowski

(Architectural time periods are Gothic, Egyptian, and Post-Modern)