Project 4: Tangible Intangibles (Abstract balsa wood sculpture)

Project 4: taking an abstract concept and making it tangible.

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Saturday, April 11, 2015 8:08:47 PM

For our latest project, we were allowed to choose our own word from a list of adjectives. Then we had to sculpt the essence of our word out of a 3"x4"x14" block of wood.

I originally chose "earnest" (as in "The Importance of Being..."), and my design bestfriend chose "elegant." We both switched sketchbooks after a day of drawing ideas, and eventually gave in and stole each other's words. I'm so glad--she handled "earnest" a heck of a lot better than I could've, and I had an amazing time drawing elegant ideas.

My muse for "elegant" is Erte. Born Romain de Tirtoff, Erte designed fabulous, elegant, extravagant art deco fashion magazine covers or costumes and sets for the Folies-Bergere, Harper's Bazaar, and even Mata Hari before she was executed as a German spy.

I'll start backwards and post the final result furst, since I'm excited about how this one turned out.

Elegantissima

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Saturday, April 11, 2015 8:13:47 PM

My sculpture has a hole through its base; I cut feathers in half and slid them into grooves. The base is covered to look like a fur stole/muff, so I staged a PETA attack and threw red paint on it.

• Attached Files:
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Elegant Inspirations: Erte

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Saturday, April 11, 2015 10:42:05 PM

Elegant: Regal, Glamorous, Luxurious, Stylish, Sumptuous, Ornamented.

*Note: If you have time to view only one image, it's worth checking out "InspirationSumptuousErteHimselfFancyPants." It's a pretty spectacular silver pantsuit Erte designed and wore to a party.

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• 508_4_brunet,lisa_InspirationSumptuousErteTheGuadalquivircostumeforTheRivers.jpg(30.4kb)
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Brainstorming for Balsa Wood

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Sunday, April 12, 2015 9:45:06 PM

We drew 30 rough sketches for our word. Kimberly Gray and I traded sketchbooks and drew a few for each other, so a few of these are hers (and a few of hers are mine), just for fun. The longer I drew, the weirder the sketches got. More Dr. Seuss-meets-underwater-creatures than elegant sometimes.

As a future art director, I'll be drawing up sketches and letting an advertising team, a superior, or the client choose the best idea. So I asked Eben Hall to weigh in on the best one to execute. He chose a curvy one that looked a little like a trophy, and more like an octopus tentacle than I intended.

Lucky for me, it was the thumbnail I already wanted to execute.

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Clay and wax models

Posted by   Lisa Brunet  at Sunday, April 12, 2015 10:17:26 PM

The wax version of my curvy tentacle-trophy looked oddly like a sea slug with fleshy lobes. I simplified the curves for the final wood project to make it less goofy and more elegant.

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