Project 2: Trophy

Ideation

After researching and observing various well known public monuments and a selection of trophies, these were the original 20 trophy ideas I came up with:

• Tea Cup- Best Cup of Tea
• Ear of Corn- Best at Corn Mazes
• Wilted Flower- Worst Gardener
• Okapi- Most Unique
• Phone- Best selfies
• Castle- Daydreamer Award
• Dog- Most Loyal
• Snail- Slowest Person/Driver
• Airplane- Travels the Most
• Ghost- Experiences the Most Ghost Tours

Three Objects

From the twenty objects listed above, I chose three to create out of clay to explore further. Those three were the Wilted Flower, Castle, and Compass.

Process

After creating the three objects out of clay and bringing them into class to discuss with my classmates, I decided the castle would be the best option. The compass was too one sided, much like the plaques we did for the first project, and the flower seemed like a more feasible option for the next project. With this decision made, I made another castle out of the oil clay so that I could use it to make a sand mold with it more easily. In the second iteration I attempted to go for a more whimsical design and specifically designed it with the parting line in mind so I could make it a two part mold. Once the model was complete, I proceeded to make a two part sand mold with the pattern. The result of the pour and the subsequent stages of finishing the castle with sanding, grinding, and eventually a bit of patina, can be seen below.

Below are the stages of the mold itself, from right after removing the pattern, through pour preparation, to opening it after the pour. The pattern had to be destroyed to remove it from the mold. I think having a pattern that could be removed without destroying it would have been a better idea for referencing when cleaning up the final aluminum piece. If I was to complete this specific mold process again, I wouldn't make the sprues quite as large, as I think my piece used a lot of extra metal. I also learned the importance of having a tight mold. It is easier to clean up any possible flash when it it relatively thin. If it hadn't been, some of the angles around the tallest tower would have been hard to clean up. I would also give more attention to the step of attaching the pouring cup because it seems like some metal escaped at the connection point between the cup and the mold.

Base

A common image associated with daydreaming, the proposed subject of this trophy, is the image of a cloud, sometimes like a thought bubble. It also came up in my working critique in class that looking at clouds and trying to find shapes in them is a way of daydreaming as well. I also think daydreaming requires some creativity. For this reason, my ideas for my trophy base include ways to incorporate clouds or ways to depict creativity. Below are sketches of my four final ideas and a cardboard mock-up of my final pick. The bottom of the base is stacked plywood spray painted black and the clouds that the castle sits in are plywood pieces glued together and spray painted white. I chose to use two laser cut pieces of clear acrylic to hold the clouds up. I really wanted them to look like they were floating and I think the acrylic helped achieve this. Even though the clouds look unbalanced, and the castle is heavy, the trophy itself doesn't seem heavy and is not unbalanced due to the pieces of acrylic. The contrast between the white clouds and black base also emphasizes the lightness of the clouds, as opposed to the heavy base. 

Final Piece

Sometimes daydreaming can get you in trouble, when you're in class and not paying attention. On the other hand, when daydreaming involves dreaming about your goals in life, that can make you more motivated to achieve those goals. Research shows that this kind of daydreaming can be beneficial and I think people who set goals, dream big, and work towards those goals deserve a trophy. It's a lot of work to stand up for what you want and not give up until you achieve what you've dreamed of. I created this award of a castle floating in the clouds to symbolize those purposeful and creative dreams that help us achieve more.

In response to the final critique, I sanded the largest surfaces of the castle a little bit more to increase it's shine, and also the contrast within the castle itself. I also angled up the name plate so it could be seen from more angles, and adjusted my title to better convey my idea behind my piece to the audience. I wanted it to be clear that daydreaming was being presented in a positive light.

Imagining a Better Tomorrow, Trophy for being a daydreamer, wood/acrylic/aluminum, 8.25" x 6" x 6"