Lost Object

For our first 4D project, I was tasked with reuniting my friend Airy with her stuffed animal manatee. As a kid, Airy played with both a manatee mother and a baby manatee, but since then has lost the mom. She mentioned how her younger brother still plays with the baby manatee, and how special it would be to have a recreated version of the stuffed animal she grew up with. 

I first decided to sketch out a simple manatee on a piece of cloth, and used black and white acrylic paint to color it. Airy had mentioned loving how her animal was big enough to hug, so I did my best to keep the manatee's size true to her descriptions. I then cut around the shape of the manatee, and traced the shape on another piece of cloth in order to have two sides. Using needle and thread, I did my best to sew the two pieces together. This part of the process proved to be the hardest, as I had never sewn before. Looking back, I probably should have used a hot glue gun for a better finish. Although I wasn't able to finish sewing, I stuffed the animal with soft fabric scraps so that the overall feel of the toy would be plush and huggable.




Although it could have had a better finish, and the process was difficult, I enjoyed making the stuffed animal and was happy to remind Airy of her childhood toy.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Drawing challenges

Image
When I was told our drawing project had to include some sort of unconventional mark making, I immediately thought of using mirrors as a medium. I was drawn to the creative possibilities of using reflections to add in another dimension to the piece, and to invite the viewer to participate in the art. When thinking about how I wanted to use mirrors in my art, I thought of the work of Karen Nachtigall. For her graduate thesis show, she constructed large, mirror-covered, floating sculptures. Her work explores the themes of illness and how we deal with it. Covering her forms in these mirrors added a captivating beauty to her pieces, that effectively drew the viewers into her art. I hoped to make similar pieces that would encourage interaction and curiosity about the works themselves. Another artist I drew inspiration from was Simon Berger. Using a hammer, he creates detailed portraits and images on glass; a medium typically associated with fragility and destruction. I was drawn to Berger...
Read more

Ritual and Personal Space Installation

Image
In my first semester of college I took a writing intensive seminar style class in literature. I remember learning a lot, but I also felt that I never shared as much as I should have in class, nor did I write as well as others in class. I was constantly worried about what everyone would think about my ideas, and it prevented me from fully experiencing what the class had to offer.  I decided to address this insecurity, as well as my problems with writers block, in my personal space and installation project. In my personal space and installation project I went back to the same classroom every day for 5 days and I sat in my same spot around the seminar table to write. I set a 20 minute timer and wrote non-stop, without allowing myself time to think or hesitate. By the end of the 5 days I had filled both sides of a large newsprint paper.  This performance art piece shifted my experience of the space from one of intimidation to one of comfort and self-expression. I also now have a p...
Read more