Elements and Principles of Design: Student Work

Final Solutions:

Texture

I incorporated several textures into this piece.  The masking tape was weaved to create an interesting, bumpy surface.  Though the texture of this component is apparent through feel, I think it creates an even more appealing visual texture.  I added the pins to the top of the sculpture to create further protrusions and to anchor the weaving in place while keeping its edges free.  On the inside of the structure, I poked and gouged the wood to create a rough texture and added pyramidal scraps of wood, which are also found on the outside of the structure, to add a very prominent sense of topography and three-dimensionality to the sculpture.  I think the piece is very strong because even though it is meant to represent texture, it is also very unified through the repetition of triangular shapes.  This is also the strongest and sturdiest of the four sculptures.

Scale

I took the idea of scale very literally when thinking about my plan for this sculpture.  The basis of the sculpture is two square pieces of wood, one large and one small.  I chose to segment the large piece into three stacked rectangles in order to integrate an angled layering of tape that would further emphasise the difference in size between the two pieces.  The pins were functional in this piece and were very helpful in creating sturdy joints.

Unity

The word unity, beyond its denotative meaning, connotes a sense of elegance, delicacy, and simplicity to me.  I wanted to somehow evoke both the literal and emotional meaning of unity by creating a sculpture that reflects these other principles, as well.  I chose not to use any of the materials other than wood and (structurally) glue because I think they would have provided too much variety and distracted from the concept.  I chose to make the sculpture as symmetrical as possible, meaning that it looks similar from most angles, so there is unity in not only the sculpture itself but in how it is viewed.  The main feature of the sculpture is comprised of four thinly shaven curls of wood, which I think evokes the delicacy and elegance I associate with unity.

Variety

My intent in this piece was to portray variety through the use of several materials and through different uses of these materials.  Tape was employed in different lengths, widths, directions, and heights.  I combined geometric and organic elements in the base by rounding corners, carving out sections, and faceting edges.  I incorporated different textures, poking holes in the wood, piling scrap wood onto the base, letting the wood glue pool up in some areas, and adding topography to the focal wave of tape by adding pieces of wood and tape in between the layers.

In Progress Images: