I thought I'd share with you this lovely lady I hung out with in my kitchen last monday!
I never realised how cute the shape of tortellini is until I met her!
As I said, I made another box! well I made two of them, but the other one is not quite done yet. This box was tailored for my portfolio. I wanted the projects to look organised, and tell a story, sort of. I decided to create something to represent each project, so with the holiday doors from Nightmare before Christmas in mind, I designed my portfolio.
I made the box out of grey board and card board, then I lined the black exterior using PVA and black cotton. I was looking for some kind of cotton with more texture, but I wasn't able to find it.
Then I designed and lasercut a symbol for each project that I wanted to include in the portfolio.
Sometimes when I am falling asleep I get all these random pre-dream images in my head, and a couple of weeks ago I had the image of a small town (like the one where I spend the summer in Italy) surrounded by clouds, so I drew it.
I was thinking of making it the new logo somehow, but then I tried it and I changed my mind. I need a new logo. I liked this one because it made me think of something my elementary school teacher used to say about me, that I always have my head "among clouds". But that's how I get ideas for things. Among clouds.
This is the last project I did for uni. It's for the D&AD student award. The brief required to choose an issue and a Unilever brand, and make a design that would bring a positive impact to the audience. I chose Lipton and the issue of health and wellbeing. My solution was the Treahouse: an installation to be placed in Southbank for visitors to enjoy a tea on and bring home one of the pollutants-absorbing plants available. Below are some of the pictures I took of the structure.
The structure was all designed on illustrator and then lasercut by a very skilled laser cutter. The tricky bit was assembling it and bending the plywood different directions. To do so I had to steam each piece, using a very professional steamer (a water-filled pan with a cooling rack on top) and carefully bent them using a piece of styrofoam as a mould.
some pieces came off in the process, but overall I am quite happy with the result. Designing each piece flat made me realise just how important it is to get all the sizes right.
There are more elements relative to this project, but as I understand from the D&AD conditions I am not allowed to show anything that contains the lipton logo... and the rest of the images do! So much for that.
The structure was all designed on illustrator and then lasercut by a very skilled laser cutter. The tricky bit was assembling it and bending the plywood different directions. To do so I had to steam each piece, using a very professional steamer (a water-filled pan with a cooling rack on top) and carefully bent them using a piece of styrofoam as a mould.
some pieces came off in the process, but overall I am quite happy with the result. Designing each piece flat made me realise just how important it is to get all the sizes right.
There are more elements relative to this project, but as I understand from the D&AD conditions I am not allowed to show anything that contains the lipton logo... and the rest of the images do! So much for that.
I had an awesome time working on this project, I loved using the laser cutter and I am looking forward to using it again for future projects.
Just for funzies. For Valentine's day, for my boyfriend. I was not sure what to do. So I made a box. And then I filled with little bags. And then I filled the little bags with little surprise, chocolaty ones. Here's the box.
It did turn out a little girly, which is something I was trying to avoid. But then again, it is for Valentine's day. I did enjoy making a box, but I dont want to use spray mount the next time I make one, it is so not sustainable. Can't wait to make another one!
On my way to Ottawa this winter, I had
a five hour layover in Philadelphia. Having watched movies for the
past seven hours sitting on a plane, I spent most of my time walking
around the airport. Some parts of the airport are quite old, with low
ceilings and awful yellowish lighting, which combined with the tacky
christmas decorations would make any Santa in the world shiver. The
only thing that warmed up the environment seemed to be the rocking
chairs that were scattered on the sides of the hallways. But I soon
found out that there was something else.
First I ate the healthiest thing I
could find, a blueberry yogurt, then I started exploring. Despite the
tasteless decorations and the general lack of warmth, the five hours
I spent in the Philadelphia's airport were surprisingly pleasant and
entertaining. As I found out later, in 1998 Philadelphia's airport
started an exhibitions program, which would bring art and culture in
the airport with the aim to provide the travellers a unique cultural
experience. The exhibitions rotate throughout the year to touch
different themes. What links them is the fact that the artists are
all from Philadelphia.
The first exhibition I ran into was a
series of dolls made using unconventional objects. Pens, bottle caps,
brushes, buttons and other random everyday objects are given a second
life by Ellen Benson who uses them to create human-like figures. Her
style is inspired by South American art, and she visits Mexico every
year to see local craft and ceramics. Ellen has made 600 dolls so far
and aims at making one thousand. While I do find the idea of using
everyday objects to make dolls very amusing, I think the artist
should focus more on the quality rather than the quantity. Some dolls
are very creative and the objects are used in a clever way to achieve
original Michel Gondry-like designs. Others are disappointing.
As I walked on I ran into a band that
was playing Christmas songs, which I thought was really cool and made
the atmosphere more pleasant and warm. It's a shame I didn't manage
to get a picture of them. The second exhibition I ran into was a
series of ceramic sculptures by Victoria Gold. The star of her art
was again something rather unconventional and unpopular: pigeons. I
myself see the presence of pigeons in cities as a forced and
unpleasant acquaintance. Victoria Gold looks at them from a different
point of view, she learns from and about them by observing. They are
not intruders to her eyes, but finely feathered friends with
individual characteristics and personalities.
The last exhibition I saw was the one I
liked the most. Metalsmith Susan Mayers created a series of
chandelier-like sculptures made out of aluminium stripes. Each
sculpture is well studied and the loops are meticulously balanced.
The metal gives up its ordinary attributes to Susan's taste; it
becomes graceful and organic, almost soft.
Philadelphia's airport turned out to be
one of the most fascinating I've ever been to. I always find the lack
of entertainment and the abundance of ugliness in airports very
unimpressive. With a simple idea, this airport made the experience of
many travellers more interesting, as well as advertised the city of
Philadelphia. My five hour lay over did not feel like a waste of
time, and by at the end of it I felt enriched by the city's culture
and innovation.