>Art Meets Science
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Yesterday was a busy day for me; I had a lot of errands to do... It seemed like a long day, and I was glad to come home and think about my beaded '43 Chevy fire truck. As you know, completing the bead embroidery is the laborious part of each of my pieces, but the challenging part is actually constructing them... I usually think about the design factor for each piece days in advance=:0
Despite what I said about not being a fan of anything 'sticky', I threw caution to the wind, and got out the glue again. If you remember the last time I used glue, I had to fight with a big ol' glue bomb. So, I got some new glue. This kind flows out of the tube quicker, and it seems easier to work with, although I'm not certain of its strength.
In the above photo, I cut out a piece of black vinyl, as well as a piece of that acid-free matte board that I have. Then, I glued the 2 pieces together. Next, I cut out two 24" long pieces of matte board. I folded them to create angled pieces. I trimmed each piece to match the shape of the truck. Then, I glued each folded piece together at one end. Afterwards, I glued the 2 angled pieces together to create one monster support system. At the wide end, the cardboard structure measures approx. 2" tall (5 cm)=:0
As I was creating this, it reminded me of my brief stint with Olympics of the Mind. Has anyone ever heard of that? I believe it is called Odyssey of the Mind now... Anyways, for a short time, I participated in this problem-solving competition with other students when I attended Westlake Middle School in Erie, PA. We had to design something made out of balsa wood that had to support x-amount of pounds. I wish I could remember the purpose of that... It was an odd project. I guess I would have been more interested if we were trying to design a replica of a roller coaster or something similar. But, for some reason, the project was boring to me, and I quit the group... I think at the time, being a musician was much more interesting to me than hanging out with the kids from my Honors Science class. LOL.
Well, today, elementary science met complex art, and I think this will re-occur in many more of my pieces because I want my end result to make the viewer ask "How did she do that?" and "What will she think of next?"
http://media.imeem.com/m/vTrgXwb63I/aus=false/
I discovered that I like using this matte board to create structures with. It is strong, yet flexible, and easily manipulated if need be... Next, I laid my beadwork on top of the structure...
...and, the structure is able to hold the weight... And below, you'll see that the nose of the truck is curved around the front of the support. These two aspects will really make the truck appear to be 3-dimensional. Furthermore, this will be my heaviest and most realistic piece yet=:0
Now, I just have to figure out how to back the pieces, so that they become one. And, since I want the truck to hang on the wall, another scientific part will be to find the natural 'center' of the piece so that it hangs level. Its design will not allow me to display it on an easel, at least not without designing something very specific... Know any Honors students up for the challenge?? =:)