Lick and Lather Response

Lick and Lather really is quite an interesting thought...to feed yourself, with yourself and wash yourself with yourself. And then after time, you're gone. I think that it makes sense because each person fights their battles differently, and I think that some may eat so much that after time, they aren't themselves anymore. Or, each day when we shower we scrub off the day before and anything we don't want and we loose that part of ourselves. The more time you spend doing an activity that may harm - or even better yourself - you start to loose who you are and you start to become someone else. So with soap carving and adding or subtracting is just like this, as an artist I will add to the soap something better or worse, as well as take things away, creating something else.

Memento Design Discussion

When I thought about a memory I would want a memento from I remembered that when I was little I would go out into the field in front of my house (it's no longer there - it's built over) and run in the alfalfa and catch bright yellow butterflies all day. This is why i created a butterfly net out of two paperclips and thin strips of paper. The butterfly is made of the same two things as well as yellow ink. I thought also that when we're children we are catching all of our dreams in a "net" and gathering them all in order to hope that when we get older we can achieve them all. I felt that this piece was still very elegant but had a child-like feel to it.

Christopher Turner's Inventory/The Tokens Reading Response

Christopher Turner's Inventory/The Tokens is a fairly melancholy piece. I felt bad that these mother's had to give up their children because of desperate circumstances. It doesn't help either to imagine the process that these mothers went through to decide an appropriate token to leave with their baby. They had to choose something memorable that they could remember in case they would later be able to reclaim their child. But not only did it need to be memorable for them it needed to be memorable for the hospital in hopes that the hospital would keep their little one safe. This process was probably incredibly heartbreaking. The mother's may have wanted to find something that they felt could keep their baby "safe." Whether it was a little token of hope or encouragement the baby's mother probably wanted some peace of mind to know that even though she was unable to take care of her offspring someone else could. Some even left half of something so that if the mother became able to care for her baby she could come back and reclaim it.

This just makes me think more about the token or souvenir I'm going to create. There has to be a lot of thought that goes into it - it can't just be a few items thrown together. I need to channel the energy that these mothers had in order to create a very memorable token.

Metamorphosis Design Discussion

When I began sketching for my design I was originally thinking I wanted to create a fairly normal/standard bedroom set.Once I began building I realized that I wanted to carry out a "bug" theme with the whole design. I started out creating the bed frame which has twisted paper in three loops for the legs - very reminiscent of bug legs curled up. The head board also has this twisted paper effect as well as tiny paper strips hanging down that were to be reminders of feelers. The slats that hold the two sides of the frame together are meant to remind the viewer of the bug's breast plate. There is also horizontal black lines on the bed frame that are meant to echo the bug's breast plate.

The twisted paper effect is also seen on the legs of the chest. Not only is it seen there but the bug's actual legs use this technique. The blanket on the bed has a double meaning. It is meant to seen as old and used and patched up. When I made the patches though, I wanted them to look as if they were bugs as well.

When I was making my color choices I thought that this was a very dark time in this family's life. It wasn't always this way however so that is why I chose the base of such bright colors. This was meant to symbolize the happier and brighter times the family had before their son became a bug. The darkness that covers everything - including the bug himself - is meant to show that this difficulty brought a dark shadow over everything and made everything seem dim and depressing.

I am very happy with this design and all of it's bug like features. Even the precariousness of the headboard as well as the way the bed stands was to symbolize how unsteady Gregor was when he first became a bug.

Metamorphosis Design in Progress

Images of Design in Progress

Sketches One

Sketches Two

Beginning thought process

Putting the bed frame together

Bed frame.

Bed frame, chest and mattress.

Painted Chest.

Painted chest and bug inspired blanket.

Painted bed frame.

Expressive Forms Discussion

 

 

Calm

 

When I was thinking about the word "calm" I was imagining some sort of calming water. Not necessarily just still water, but water that was flowing gently. That's why I covered a curved piece of balsa wood with the clear tape. I was hoping that it would give the effect of moving water. I did the four tiered pedestal in order to give the curved piece some height and to make it took more like movement. I used four tiers because it was an even number which for me is calm and then I also used circles because they invoke a feeling of calmness.

Dangerous

 My inspiration for "danger" came from the idea of a trap. I made the back "window" type piece leaning slightly so that it looked like it could fall at any moment. I made it with clear tape so that it was like you couldn't see the trap and would just walk into it. The spikes hanging down could be used to either imprison someone or to kill them. The bottom piece is also covered in clear tape, sticky side up in order to further trap someone.

Old

For the word old I had originally thought about making an arch or something like that and then weathering it. However that idea didn't work and actually fell apart. From those scraps I actually created this piece. I thought that just because something is old doesn't mean it cant be made into something again. I did still make the piece weathered because the original fell apart which in my mind made it seem like someone had neglected it, but then someone loving came and repaired it.

Chaotic

For "chaotic" I channeled my inner kidergardener. I imagined if I were that young again I would just be cutting up pieces of wood and pouring glue out and sticking things together. It is quite a naive thought but to me that is chaotic. But also quite freeing.

Metamorphosis Outline and Vocab

Vocab
Melancholy- a depressed state
Amelioration- to make tolerable
Entourage- one's attendants or associates

Outline

·         Gregor Samsa woke from his dreams as a monster bug

o   Armor hard back

o   Brown arched abdomen

§  Divided into rigid bow-like sections

o   Numerous legs

§  Small compared to the rest of him

·         Lived in a proper human room

o   Slightly smaller

o   Flowered wallpaper

o   Gilt frame hanging on wall

·         Felt an itchy spot near the top of his abdomen

o   Covered in small white spots

o   Felt it with a leg

§  Felt like a cold shower all over

·         Hates his boss

·         Slept through alarm and missed the train to work

·         Mother knocked at 6:45

o   Answered and his voice was different

o   Father and sister also came knocking

§  Sister didn’t leave

·         Hard to get out of bed

o   Too wide

o   Uncontrollable limbs

§  Small

·         Eventually threw himself from bed

o   Hit the bedpost

·         Got out of bed head first

·         Still in bed at 7

·         Decided to try and rock out of bed

·         Manager showed up at Gregor’s house

o   Gregor fell out of bed

o   Boss went to the door

o   Whole family is trying to talk to him

·         Sister began to sob

·         Manager is very mad

o   Gregor responds

§  Moved close to chest in his response

·         Try to get on top of it to open door

·         Slid off onto a chair

·         Mother sent sister to get the doctor

·         Father sent servant to get a locksmith

·         Was excited to see that everyone was trying to help

·         Pushed himself to the door with the chair

o   Grabbed onto door

§  Has sticky stuff on legs

o   Tries to turn key

§  Has no teeth

o   Used his jaws to turn key

§  Hurt himself in the process

·         Brown fluid came out

§  Got the door open

·         Manager backed away

·         Mother passed out

·         Father seemed angry

·         Manager wanted to get away (scared

o   Gregor didn’t want him to leave for feat that he may lose his job

·         Gregor realized that walking on all his legs was much easier

·         Mother wakes and runs into the kitchen terrified, and crying for help

·         Manager leaves the apartment

·         Father tries to get Gregor back into his room

o   Uses a newspaper and Manager’s cane

o   Gregor’s pleading makes no sense anymore

·         Gregor is going back to his room

o   He is too big to fit through the door

§  Made it through

§  Hurt himself in process

§  Left blotches on the white door

§  Got stuck in the door

§  Father pushed him in and left Gregor bleeding

Part II

·         Awoke well-rested from his sleep

·         Was really awakened by the smell of food.

o   Someone – presumably his sister –  had left sweetened milk for him

o   He did not want it though

·         Hid himself under the couch

o   It made him feel better

o   Spent all night there

·         Sister came in his room in the early hours

o   Noticed he hadn’t touched his food

o   She brought him many different foods to see what he would eat

§  On old newspaper

·         He ate the rotten food she brought him

·         Sister fed him everyday

o   Once in the morning when parents were asleep

o   Once after the noon meal when parents napped and the servant went on an errand

·         Servant girl begged to be let go and she was

·         Family business failed

o   That was why Gregor was supporting the family

o   Planned to send his sister to school

·         The family didn’t have much money saved up to live on

·         Was losing his vision

·         When the sister came in she would immediately open the window

·         He liked hanging from the ceiling

·         Sister removed the chest and writing desk

o   Mother didn’t want to  remove the chest

§  Should leave the room as it was so that when Gregor wasn’t sick anymore his room would be the same

o   Did he really want to have everything removed from his room?

§  Wouldn’t he then forget his human past?

o   Sister didn’t care

§  Removed  chest

§  She and Mother began cleaning out his room

·         Climbed on the wall to conceal the gilt frame he made

o   Mother saw the brown splotch and fainted

§  Sister went to revive her

·         Gregor followed her

·         She got scared and slammed the door in his face

·         He worried and began climbing on everything

·         Got dizzy and fell

o   Father came home and sister said that Gregor had escaped

§  He hadn’t so he went straight to his room to wait to be allowed back in

§  Father didn’t believe it and began chasing Gregor and throwing apples at him

·         One hit him and he was severely wounded

Part III

·         Gregor suffered from his wound for over a month

o   No one removed the apple

o   Couldn’t crawl around

o   Family let him listen to their dinner conversation

·         Father never took off his bank uniform – even to sleep

·         Father slept in his chair and didn’t get up until Mother and Sister lifted him up

·         Sister began not taking very good care of him

o   Food was thrown in, and swept out

o   His room was dirty

·         Cleaning woman came in once and was not afraid of him

o   She would open his door each day and night

o   She came in one day and Gregor looked at her

§  She prepared to throw a chair at him

·         Gregor wasn’t eating

·         Anything useless was tossed into Gregor’s room by the cleaning woman

·         Sister played her violin one night

o   Gregor loved it and began creeping out of his room

o   He is seen by the three boarders

·         Sister tells family they should get rid of the “monster”

·         Sister slammed Gregor in his bedroom door

o   He couldn’t move at all

o   The pain was going away

§  Even the pain of the rotten apple covered in white dust in his back didn’t hurt much

·         Around three am Gregor breathed his last breath

·         Cleaning woman found Gregor dead

·         Sister noticed now that he was dead that Gregor hadn’t been eating

·         Mr. Sampsa ordered the boarders out

·         Cleaning woman cleaned Gregor’s room and left

·         The family took a tram ride and then realized their new dreams were to find a husband for Sister