I was setting up in the gallery and John came rushing in. And so started another critique.
I didn't like the way the clothed stool looked because the implied curves are obscured. The clothing also fits shoddily, and the mechanism by which it gets onto the stool looks like the crotch of tidy whities. John did not like the carpet from the beginning and still advocated for it's removal. I liked how it designated a space, but acquiesced and removed the carpet. The thinking is, if the carpet is for protecting the stools, then you shouldn't be having people sit on it. It's a design flaw if it can't take wear and tear. It feels better rocking on the concrete, for there's less padding to restrict the movement.
John suggested another way to clothe the stools, but I simply wasn't having it. He then asked what I was going to do with the goo, and boy did he not like the answer.
I had planned to leave a bucket of the goo next to the stools so people could play with it and/or sit on the stools. Formally, as well as contextually, the goo then has nothing to do with the stools at all. John therefore suggested that I fill a ball with the goo and put it in the spherical space beneath the seat of the stool (which was meant for a wooden ball). He ran off to grab some balloons to test the idea of filling that space.
I had planned to leave a bucket of the goo next to the stools so people could play with it and/or sit on the stools. Formally, as well as contextually, the goo then has nothing to do with the stools at all. John therefore suggested that I fill a ball with the goo and put it in the spherical space beneath the seat of the stool (which was meant for a wooden ball). He ran off to grab some balloons to test the idea of filling that space.
So I walked home to get my car and drove to the Reuse center, Salvation army, and ultimately Dollar Tree to buy PVC Vinyl balls of varying diameters. I tried several methods of sealing the cut-open balls, including welding it with a soldering iron, rubber cement, a patch with rubber cement, pva glue, and cyanoacrylate glue. The cyanoacrylate glue was the only method that sealed the ball filled with glue, but it was brittle and cracked easily with flexing. John suggested trying Weld-On, material for repairing pool-liner, or material for repairing bike tires. At this point I don't feel that this is the direction to go, and while John says "it can be done," that doesn't necessarily mean that it should.
I will probably go and and get more pvc balls of a good complimenting color and just put those, filled with air, in the chairs. Whether I include goo in the final gallery piece is TBD.
At this point, I no longer care about the project, and I might not even put it in my portfolio. In terms of research and learning, this IP has been highly successful. In terms of making objects, it did not pan out nearly as well as I had hoped.
*EDIT: Okay, that was rather harsh, and I was feeling out the angst in the moment. I think I've just been staring at this work for so long and struggling that it's getting to me. I can't sleep at night because I'm imagining what kind of projects I'm going to do when this is over. Bottom line, the craft of the stools isn't great, and the material could be better, but they have an interesting aesthetic.*
However, it is important, Theo, to remember that this stool is a prototype and not a final piece. Do it over in quality wood or plywood when you have the time, make it flat pack, do that kind of stuff in the near future. Explore further without gallery deadlines and professors peaking over your shoulder.
I'm going to take the small stool with me to work next Tuesday and have some kids sit on it for pictures in the gallery. I need to find appropriate process photos and take pretty photos of the final pieces, print them on free dumpstered photo paper and then pin them up on the gallery wall. Over the weekend I'm going to work on my next thesis draft and look for said process photos, maybe retake some if I still have the mock-ups around.
I will probably go and and get more pvc balls of a good complimenting color and just put those, filled with air, in the chairs. Whether I include goo in the final gallery piece is TBD.
At this point, I no longer care about the project, and I might not even put it in my portfolio. In terms of research and learning, this IP has been highly successful. In terms of making objects, it did not pan out nearly as well as I had hoped.
*EDIT: Okay, that was rather harsh, and I was feeling out the angst in the moment. I think I've just been staring at this work for so long and struggling that it's getting to me. I can't sleep at night because I'm imagining what kind of projects I'm going to do when this is over. Bottom line, the craft of the stools isn't great, and the material could be better, but they have an interesting aesthetic.*
However, it is important, Theo, to remember that this stool is a prototype and not a final piece. Do it over in quality wood or plywood when you have the time, make it flat pack, do that kind of stuff in the near future. Explore further without gallery deadlines and professors peaking over your shoulder.
I'm going to take the small stool with me to work next Tuesday and have some kids sit on it for pictures in the gallery. I need to find appropriate process photos and take pretty photos of the final pieces, print them on free dumpstered photo paper and then pin them up on the gallery wall. Over the weekend I'm going to work on my next thesis draft and look for said process photos, maybe retake some if I still have the mock-ups around.