Better Late Than Never: Cross Dowel

This little guy is called a cross dowel. Use him in combination with a bolt when you want to create strong right angle joints without the use of machinery or special tools. These devices are often utilized in the making of furniture so as to allow large pieces break apart and fit into small room accesses (ex. IKEA).

Found Object

This assignment allowed me wrap my head around a number of possibilities when considering a 3-dimensional composition. In the end, I decided that a functional approach was best considering the amount of useless junk that was piling up in my house. The end result is a coat rack that I will be giving my girlfriend for Christmas.

I began the creative search by uncovering an old canister of sorts in an abandoned barn. This cylindrical vessel served as both the center of my stand as well as a mounting point for the upper portion of my piece. I chose to add legs fabricated from a rod frame and sheet steel to give the appearance of volume. These forms also serve to strengthen the structure and increase its load bearing capacity. The upper portion of my sculpture was sourced from an apple tree that was recently struck by lightening. My girlfriend and I had a picnic under this tree on our first date and seeing it in this condition deeply upset her. To heal the distress mother nature has caused her, I have sought to give her a piece of this tree that once brought us so much joy. Recently I returned to the tree and retrieved one perfect branch. It has since dried out and served as a great device to achieve an emotional response while functioning in daily life.

Found Object

Soo here's my found object project. The object that I chose to build with was a propeller that I found in my grandfather's junk pile. He used to always work on boat motors as a hobby and I remember being completely fascinated with watching them in motion as a kid. I only found 3 actual propellers and since this wasn't enough to really build with I decided to choose it as my object to cast for my ceramics casting class, so most of these are clay. The arc structure that is binding the propellers is made from various things that I found in my junk/art room which consisted of things like 1/4 inch rod, rubber pipe, mesh tape, masking tape, wire and then I unified these with a few layers of paper mache. I just wanted to create a form that emphasized this idea of motion that propellers make me think of. I wanted to try and add a sense of mystery to the piece as well by making it appear as if the propellers were entering the ground and re-emerging in a cork screw /spiral shape but I think this could have been conveyed better if I would have cut the propellers near the ground to make it appear as if they were entering the ground, but I liked the way they freely balanced and I knew cutting them would cause some stability issues. Originally there would have also been a second smaller light blue segement to balance the seperate dark blue one which would have also helped show the cork/spiral entering/re-emerging from the ground, but I used those 3 propellers in our metal project, and I definitely like them in that one more.

Found Object

When I was riding my bike one day this fall I stopped to rest by this tree. The tree had tons of tiny pine cones on it, they were a little less than an inch in size. I had never seen pine cones so small before, so I picked one off and looked at it more closely. I began to notice how perfect it was. To be so small, it had such intricate details and symmetry. I then thought about all of the things in nature that are naturally perfect (flowers, trees, leaves...etc.) When relating this to my found object project I compared the perfection of nature to the perfection of machine made products. How we have created all of these products that hurt the environment and they are trying to imitate the perfection of nature. So, I used soda cans to try to recreate this perfection of nature. Which brings in human creations that can never be mathematically perfect.

Found Object Project

For this project, I used chicken wire, straws, and paper pulp for the construction of my birds. I changed my idea around, originally wanting to do something with an ugly wooden serving tray.. then got this idea of using straws. So then my weathered angry birds were born.
They're obviously not perfect, and the way the paper dries on the chicken wire is sort of gnarled and misshapen looking. They have a lot of personality and are very stylized, which I like about them.
I wanted them to be sort of fat, like a caricature of what what birds really look like. The whole semester I've been doing really abstract sort of shapes, so I wanted to do something different. While these are definitely abstracted birds, I had a lot of fun responded to how they should look.
Atttttackkk!

FINAL_ Found object

i call this a microscopic survey of destruction.
Ideally one would move the arm with its many perspectives to view the destroyed Olympus (sort of ironic). There are still some kinks to work out as far as function goes, though I am quite satisfied with it visually. The found objects in the piece are the typewriter, the lenses, and the lamp arm.

The found object that I have incorporated into my piece is the plastic syringe located on the left hand side of the photo. I was inspired by the syringe at this point in time because I have been dealing with some medical issues with my Dad. This is also the reason that I chose to include the cluster of white and red blood cells. I also decided to display the piece as a necklace because I wanted to relate the piece back to the medical field through the use of a stethoscope-like object.

found object!

I made this piece out of a Starbucks bottle, paper pulp, jute, and acrylic.  I was inspired by the shape of the bottle and its figurative characteristic. I created an Eskimo because I was inspired by their ability to use modern objects for other purposes than what most people use them for. The US gives Eskimo villages household appliances such as dishwashers to help them "modernize". Most Eskimos reject these objects and use them as dog kennels and things that they deem more necessary.

found object project

 Cat Boyte

Found Object

So I found this saw in the scrap pile and really liked it. I didnt really know what I wanted to do with it so I started playing around with compositions and then it kinda resembled a fish to me. So I got inspiration from the tons of fishing trips my dad and I take together and from the bonefish design. I wanted to keep is simple as to not detract from the saw, but all my objects in this piece are found from the scrap pile. I plan to hang it on my dock at the lake.

Found Object Sculpture

I had many different ideas for this piece that morphed and changed as processes failed or materials became too expensive. Originally I thought to attach long flowing skirts to the piece, but couldn't find the right one. Then I decided to use men's boxers, as I like to use somewhat taboo items in my work for humor and shock. However, instead of looking interesting, it merely looked as though I had thrown a random pair of shorts on the sculpture; not cohesive at all. Ideas of attaching draping fabric to the outside of the metal were played around with, but in the end I decided that I wanted to attach fabric scales to the interior of it. I wanted the piece to look like the red fabric was an underbelly of sorts; something vulnerable that might typically remain of sight; the tentacles of an octopus came to mind. The outer edges are metal and dirty as though they have dealt with harsh environments, whereas the interior is soft and delicate; protected from the outer world.

joint fasteners

Divergent corrugations are set at an angle to draw together the 2 parts that are being fastened, providing a tight fit.  They are continuous cutting edges, and the bottom and sides of the fastener are razor sharp.  

another.... wedge anchor!

So it seems that wedge anchors are one of the more popular unknown hardware items!  But to reiterate, it is essentially a bolt with a nut on the end designed to hold things to concrete.

thought these artists were kinda cool

These are just some of my favorites that Ive stumbled on thought ya might like to see...

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8fv15L/myloveforyou.typepad.com/my_love_for_you/2010/03/kate-mcgwire.html

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1cihxo/whatthecool.com/post/973293104/sheep-sculptures-made-out-of-rotary-phones

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8IOj05/thisiscolossal.com/2011/05/al-farrow-new-reliquaries-religious-sites-built-from-ammunition-and-firearms

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7IwsF3/www.voiceyourtemper.com/obsess-were-obsessed/artgraffiti/430-odani-motohiko-sculptures

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/21jHkX/www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/12343/lead-pencil-studio-non-sign-ii.html

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8zAfKY/24flinching.com/word/gold-seal/inspiring-artists/drowning-beautiful

you know what it is!

I found this in Lowes... its a Arrow professional Rivet tool. The name explains itself. It makes rivets. Some people call this tool a "rivet gun". Its 19 dollars at Lowes. The tool makes about four different sized rivets. This hardware item is good for making cold connections using metals like tin. I actually really want one now!!!

betcha wanna know what it does.

Wedge Anchor.

Oh yeah thats right! Its a Wedge Anchor. The nifty little gadget is designed to secure large objects to concrete. This contraption works by inserting it into a hole drilled into the cement. Once inserted it expands, wedging itself into place.

This is apparently some sort of shelving peg, and the guy is Valentine, the nice man who was helpful enough to explain what the peg was and its function.
When making a shelving unit a way to add the shelves is to drill holes vertically along the interior sides and then squeeze the rounded part of the pegs into the holes. Then you can just rest the shelves along the right angle part of the peg instead of permanently attaching them. In this way you can easily rearrange the shelves or remove them entirely for easier moving of the entire shelving unit.

UHO-Furniture Tee Nuts

So I decided that since this is a carving and construction class I should learn more about screws, nuts, and bolts so I can make better joints. I found a Furniture Tee Nut with Spikes. Furniture Tee Nuts are small cylinders that have threading for bolts to be inserted. The nut is hammered into the wood and then the bolt is screwed into the nut. This enables two pieces of material to be joined together. After the pieces are assembled the nut can be removed but as far as I know it seems that keeping the nut in the wood would increase the structural integrity of the piece. The nuts are most often used in furniture production and woodworking where the pieces are assembled in bulk and then later placed together.

-Brittany

Flashing

I learned that flashing is put on the dormers of a roof to prevent leaking through the joints. It also sits against the chimney to do the same. It almost works as a gutter on the roof to run the water out onto the roof instead of in the crack. It is usually bent into an "L" shape. There are many different kinds of flashing. You have copper, which is usually used if it is going to be exposed, for decorative purposes. Then there is aluminum, which is used when you don't plan on being able to see the flashing. Finally there is vinyl, this is a newer material and what you would call modern day flashing. 

-Merideth

lowes hardware assignment

Hey so, while walking through the hardware section at Lowes there were a lot of things I'd seen before and a lot I hadn't (which had purposes not to hard to infer) but i came across this little piece of hardware next to the gauged wire and cables and whatnot. The guy who i asked at Lowes said that this thing I'd found is called a wire-cable thimble. After telling me its purpose he added that this is the most useless piece of hardware ever. Evidently it's purpose is to maintain a looped structure in places where a cable has to fold over itself. He said its useless because as soon as the cable gets tension it bends this piece of hardware accordingly and when the tension is released the thimble maintains the new bent form thus falling out of place. Sounds frustrating but now I know

What's the difference between Grade 5 bolts and Grade 8 Bolts?

Vs.


These different kinds of bolts can bear different amounts of weight and different kind of weight. Grade 5 bolts have been hardened and are often used for automotive reasons. Grade 8 are a lot stronger in that they can hold more weight, such as in suspensions. All this being said, the Grade 5 is a bit cheaper than the Grade 8, and it really depends on what you need to be held together. For reliable, heavy duty applications, Grade 8 would be best.