This week we focused on model making. We used the ideas and forms from our A2 drawings to inform the models we made. I have never done any model making before so I was a bit nervous as to how I would do in the exercise. We started with four small models, only having six minutes to do each one. This stressed me out but ut allowed me to generate some ideas in 3D form and it got me used to model making quickly.
I transferred the use of line into my models and also replicated the distortion between dream and reality (a defining aspect in my drawing) with the platic and fabric.
After, this model making, I arranged the pieces into a spectrum from Interior to Exterior. I found that my models were quite evenly spread over the spectrum. The point of this was to find the gaps we had missed and filled them. I was pleasently surprised that I had covered a broad spectrum when creating my models without consciously thinking about it.
From here we created a fifth model that filled in the gap inthe interior to exterior spectrum. As my models were evenly spread, I decided to create a model that was an extreme of the interior point of the spectrum and another that was an extreme of the exterior point.
For the interior model, I used part of a pillow case to create an interior that wasn’t as transparent but still had a soft and flowing aspect. I also used the pillow case to highlight the sleep/awake threshold.
For the exterior model, I created a suspended piece. This form created less of an interior space in comparison to my other models which was my aim. Not being able to be held up by itself created less of an interior space, therfore expressing more exterior characteristics.
From here I arranged my models on an axis made up of two spectrums: vertical – light to dark and horizontal – heavy to weightless. It was here that I found a gap in the dark and weightless section. This didn’t surpirse me because quite often these two terms contridict each other. To fill this gap, I then created a model that created a dark interior space using cardboard which gave it a dark atmosphere. To then create a weightless feeling, I implemented the suspended and hovering aspect with the wire.
With this exercise, I was able to create a broad series of models that still all linked to the main idea of my drawing, the threshold between sleep and awake. Although I don’t like the end result of all of these models, I am pleased with some of the ideas and aspects I was able to identify in these models that I can take with me to develop my idea.
One of my favourite aspects of these models was the suspension. This really replicated the feeling and idea that when we dream we are suspended within this infinite universe. Even though we may dream we are walking on the hard ground or sitting on a chair, we don’t actually feel it because we are suspended within the idea. When inside the dream, everything makes sense but when we wake up and look in from the outside, everything is distorted and unclear. The threshold between sleep and reality is the point in which we travel from the inside of our dream universe and into the real world. with the model making I began to realise that I wanted to focus more on the threshold between dream and reality when transitioning from asleep to awake.
Another aspect I really liked in these models was the use of plastic. I liked it because it could help create a space but didn’t visually block the space off from the outside world. The plastic allows you to look into the space through a screen that often distorts what is inside. The plastic is almost represents the screen we look through when we are at that in between stage of sleeping and being awake where reality is distorted by our dreams.
After creating these smaller models, I realised that I wanted to focus more specifically on the threshold between dreaming and reality. When I started designing my next, larger model, I thought more about representing this threshold while using the elements of my original models that I like as starting points.
This Model originally had a suspended curved wire (one used in the final model) hanging from the front of the structure but I had started developing this model further before I realised I hadn’t documented the model.
In this model, the string represents the certainty of reality. The way that the string is frayed and fuzzy shows how reality becomes unclear and blurry within the process between coming from a sleeping state into an awake state. The suspended wire (not shown in the image above) showed a flowing movement both in its shape and motion, creating the sense of serenity we often experience when dreaming. The plastic was a way to create an interior space without blocking it off from the world around it. It gives the view an opportunity to look through the window/screen and see the threshold between dreaming and awakening to reality. It blurs and distorts what is behind it creating the sense of confusion around reality due to a dreaming state.
Something that was noticed about this model was that it replicated the elements in my drawing but separated them. My drawing shows the layering of these elements and this model explores these elements separately. In order to develop this model, I wanted to remerge these elements in way that they worked together in harmony in a 3D form.
For my final model, I layered all the main aspects of my previous model. I moved the suspended wire to the middle of the frame and surrounded it with string. To add to the weightless feel of the model, I tied the sting to clear nylon, making the string look like it is floating. By layering these aspects, it brings the model together and describes the narrative of the piece better.
Spatial Design by Ciara 