Picnic

Spent all day finishing up the desk–applying the patina and waxing the finish. Finally got it set up in the Kemper Gallery. Here it is!

More Patina

I've got some pictures for you, my lovelies. I've put patina on one of the bronze end pieces of the Morton Desk. Because that's all we had of the patina stuff, sadly. So I'm going to be a little late to the gallery opening, but fashionably late. About a pint comes in tomorrow, and I'm worried that it won't be enough, but I guess I'll just have to make do. (You can see the original bronze piece on the right, all speckled with black because the patina mixture is in a spray bottle, but the difference between the two is amazing.)



Check out the light burnishing I put on the edges with a brillo pad. It really adds a lot.



Anyway, I should get the other piece done and both waxed by early afternoon, so I'll take my camera and get a few snaps of it in the gallery.

Shoots and Boots

So the petina didn't come until this morning, which wouldn't have been enough time to apply it, so I got pictures taken without. But it's alright because our facilities for pictures are severely lacking. But it was fun to see all the shop professors taking picture after picture of every single detail of the desk. And Troyer was really interested in the recipe and process for the soap finish I used on the birch. So many people kept asking me what I was doing as I was applying the soap, and I was surprised to realize that barely anyone, not even most of my professors, had heard of the soap finish before. So I felt all knowledgeable and such. It was nice.



In other news, I need boots! These chucks aren't cutting it. 5 inches of snow magically fell in the three hours between when I fell asleep and when I was jolted awake by my alarm clock. One question: when did it become winter?

Patina

I've been working non-stop the last three days on shop, since it's due Tuesday. Yesterday, I completed the soap finish on the wood piece. Then I spent a nervous few minutes putting the bronze pieces back on, hoping the wood hadn't warped:



A detail where the wood meets the bronze.



Today, I put the black patina finish on the bronze. And then pictures on Tuesday.

So Weet.

The cast pieces arrived today around 3pm. I'm cutting it severely close, but I think I'm probably closer to finished than about half my class, so it's all relative. Plus, it's just about as far beyond my control as I can get.

I add insult to injury, I made quite the booboo that I didn't realize I'd made until today: I planed my big, pretty birch board about 1/4 inch too far. Luckily, there were some spare birch and maple pieces laying around, so I spent this whole afternoon and part of the evening planing them down to 1/4 inch and getting them ready to glue on the bottom of my desk top. Also luckily, you won't really be able to tell I made the booboo unless you're looking at the underside of my desk, which will never really happen. Anyway, on with the photos!

How they arrived:



And a sort of side view:



And a nice little close-up at the top, where the wood slots in:



I moved them away from the sharp metal saw blade pretty quickly, out to the hallway. They looked so much more golden out there, in the sunlight.



And they weigh about 50 pounds! Each! And I'd say my birchle (hybrid of birch and maple) piece weighs nearly that much, so this is going to be one mother of a desk. So much for "easy disassembly."

OH MY GOD, I AM SO COOL!

Today goes down in history as one of the most awesome days ever. I arrived at Eligius Bronze around 10am and was taken to their foundry, where Steve was talking to Jeff, the guy who would be showing us how to pour the mold. First, he showed us how to create the negative mold out of sand, hence, sand-casting. He put the pieces I made out of Trupan in the bottom of the molding plate, and covered it with a fine layer of sand. The sand they use is actually from the river bed just outside of the city.



After packing the sand in to the brim, I helped him turn over the plate. This is what it looks like at the bottom of the plate. The white powder is actually a resin, although I'm not quite sure what it does.



Then he attached another molding plate and again packed it full of sand.



When he was done, we took the top off and removed the Trupan pieces. Then he created little grooves in the sand as pathways for the liquid metal to travel through.



Then Jeff and Steve put the plates back together again, with the mold-shaped void in the center.



After securing the two plates and placing them on the floor, they were ready for molding!



Here I am, pouring 2200 degree liquid bronze into the mold. It was like harnessing the sun and making it do my bidding.



I also did a couple other pieces of mine.



After only a half hour, even though they were still smoldering, they were ready to be taken out and looked over. Perfect!



Rick says that after grinding the pieces down, welding them together, and sanding them, I get to take over and finish them how I like. I'm thinking of blackening the metal with a petina.

While I was in Kansas City, I stopped by Schutte Lumber and picked up wood for the desk. I had planned on genuine mahogany, but didn't realize that I'd have to fork over a kidney and my first born for it, so I went with birch instead. It's a pretty birch, though. A "glad I have both kidneys and my hypothetical child" kind of birch.

News and Such

It has been another extremely quick and busy week here in Manhappenin'. And, of course, I've got news and such. The much awaited internship poster display has been put up all over Seaton, where students from Landscape, Architecture, and Interiors can show off what they did last semester while playing hookie. Here's my submission:



I decided to do something a little different than a standard poster. It's more like a "map fold" poster, if that makes any sense. I've thought about using this format for mini portfolios to mail out to firms and thought I'd test it out with the internship poster. Here's what it looks like folded up:



Also, in the good news category, I won a few little inner-college competitions in the last week. The first is the t-shirt design for the Landscape Architecture Department. So yay! Free t-shirt!

Second is the metal casting competition for Eligius Bronze located in Kansas City, Missouri. Take a look at their stuff, I'm totally impressed. I especially love the Meadow River Dining Table. Anything minimal makes my heart swoon. I'm currently in the process of making the Trupan prototype for the cast metal pieces. From there, Eligius will take it and create a mold and then use that mold to cast the metal pieces. Then they'll weld and finish it, and I get the finished pieces, which I'll use to measure my wooden table top insert. The most awesome part is that I can at least be present if not participate in the casting process! I'm a geeky shop nerd, so that's like a Christmas present for me.

This weekend is going to be extremely busy. I've got some pretty fun stuff going on with studio, as I'm starting to get down to the tiny details of my coaster. It's still got an insane amount of work to be done on it, but that's how it goes. I'm also hoping to finalize the layout for my book on cute. I guess we'll see.

Glamour Shots

If I ever have children, I know I'm going to be one of those mothers. How? Kelsey agreed to take care of Oggie and Oden while I went home for the holiday weekend. Here's the feeding instructions I left for her:



And here's a bonus picture. (Oggie in front, Oden in the igloo.) Look at how freaking photogenic Oggie is. He's even got the "Glamour Shots" look down.

I Wonder Where I Can Buy Little Top Hats...

Back by popular demand, Oggie & Oden and their amazing adventures!

(Please forgive the awful quality of the pictures. They are at their cutest at night, when the lighting is horrible.)


"Hey, Baby. How you doin'?"


"Waiter! I have a duck in my water! How unsanitary!"


"Noms, noms, noms, Godzirat! Noms, noms, noms..."


"Did I get it? Good."


"This is much better than that head-to-butt arrangement we had going on earlier."


"I lost a pant size in two weeks after starting the Special K diet."


"Think like an armadillo. Think like an armadillo."

Sunset Zoo

My dad and half-brother Max came to Manhattan this last weekend to visit, and one of the activities I had planned was a trip to the Sunset Zoo.

The day was absolutely perfect for anything involving the outdoors. And while it's not the fantastic (and free) St. Louis Zoo, it definitely exceeded my expectations. Here are a few pictures from the day:



A Colobus monkey, being all pouty for the camera.



Look at that smile! These little guys were pretty much let loose in one of the pens and visitors were allowed inside. It was weird to be so close to them without a wire fence in between.



While we were looking at the prairie dogs, Dad told me "not to move," which loosely translates to "something evil is three inches from you and is about to attack." I looked down, expecting to see a tarantula, but instead was met by this fuzzy little face.



How awesome is this photograph? This guy was perched on top of a rock in the petting pen, king of the whole place. Bit of an under-bite, but still happy.

The rest of the photos are in my gallery, so check them out. Stacey, you'll be getting my zoo review shortly. Everyone else, please check out Stacey's blog, Designing Zoos. It's an in-depth look at zoo and aquarium design, with a focus on the future of design for animals. As a (semi) architecture student, I am consistently impressed at the insight that designers have into their clients needs. And zoo designers have it doubly difficult because they can't communicate first-hand with their clients.

And speaking of creature habitats, my rat buddies just got a major upgrade to their living situation. They've gone from a 2-cubic foot cage to a 9-cubic foot mansion, also known as the Deluxe Super Pet My First Home Pet Cage. I don't have a good shot of it yet, but here's a good stock shot:



Yep. That's four levels. And they are loving it! At first they were a bit timid, but Oggie soon started exploring, taking only a few minutes to get a hang of the giant wheel. I've put in a few cardboard boxes, and Oden has taken to moving them about as he sees fit. The hammock is a bit of a wild card. It's obviously meant for ferrets, but every now and then, I see one of the boys hesitantly swinging on it, eyes bugging out as they cling for dear life.

Camera Happy

Okay, so I promise that this isn't going to be one of those pet-obsessed blogs, but it's the only thing that's been happening to me the past few days, so I'm going to write about it.

I think I'm going to go with Oggie and Oden for their names. I tried using a few others, including some suggestions, and I think I've just gotten used to their names already. Although both of my parents suggested Ben and Jerry, which was funny. Other suggestions I liked were Jesus and Jesus (as in Geezus and Hey Zeus) and Gary and Templeton after the old Cardinal's shortstop. I'm actually digging Templeton. Hard to shorten, unless you just go with T. But I do like it. And Gary's good too. Maybe my next two rats will be Gary and Templeton. By the way, that was a joke. My boys take up enough of my time already. I couldn't imagine any more.

Here they are, sharing a drink over intelligent conversation.



This I snapped tonight, hence the horrible flash. When I'm futzing around in their cage–putting in veggies, picking up poo pellets, or rearranging the cage–they'll stop what they're doing, ask me for treats, then get back to their business which usually involves sitting on top of each other or one using the other as a springboard for a gymnastics routine. Occasionally, they'll play fight, but they stayed like this for a good five minutes.



And here they are, smiling for the camera. They get so excited when I put the camera in their cage. They come up to it, sniff it, strike a few poses. And if they're in their igloo, they'll both rearrange themselves so that they're heads are sticking out the entrance.



Even though it has only been a few days, I've learned just how amazingly different they are. Oggie is bolder and more comfortable with me handling him than Oden. He even fell asleep on me yesterday when I had him in my arms and was petting him behind his ears. Oden, on the other hand, absolutely hates being still in my hands. He's fine with exploring, but he'll do anything to get out of my hands and can be easily spooked. Oggie LOVES these yogurt drops I bought them. I have to crush them up into little pieces so he doesn't get fat. Oden is okay with the drops, but he's more fond of candied pineapple (from a trail mix pack I got). This might be the key to socializing and training him. Oggie wouldn't even touch the pineapple I offered him. One thing they have in common, though, is that neither of them has figured out how to use the wheel in their cage. One day, maybe.

Today, during our playtime, I managed to get both of them to walk out of their cages willingly and jump up on my lap to get treats. Oggie figured out the trick quickly, and so he would come up and get treats about every minute or so. Oden is a teensy bit slower, and much more hesitant, not easily bribed by treats. I don't think he got the connection at all. I'm hoping Oggie gives him a few pointers.

I'm okay with being the owner of morbidly obese rats, as long as they're happy.

EDIT: I checked out some pictures of rats at different ages and I believe my rats are somewhere between 6 and 12 weeks. I may just compromise and say that they're 2 months old, which, from the day I got them, means that their birthdays fell on Sunday, July 6, 2008. It's a good reference because then I'll have an idea about when they're full-grown (at 8 months).

Oggie and Oden

I've been hesitant to mention this as I don't want to jinx it, but I've just gotta share the cuteness with everyone. On Saturday, I added two members to my um, one-person family. I adopted two baby rats from Petland (scary name, isn't it?) in Topeka. Without further ado, here they are:



They both have the exact same markings (white body, colored head, stripe down the back) just with different colors. I haven't officially named them yet, although I have a couple names in mind. This one (the gray one) I'm thinking Oggie, and don't ask, I have no idea where I got that name from.



This is the brown one, and I'm kind of torn on the name. I was thinking Oden, because I really like that name (it's the name of a Norse god), but I'm afraid it's too close to Oggie. If not, I'm thinking Pehr. It has roots in Scandinavia (Sweden, I think), and I met a guy named Pehr once, and I really like the name. But he doesn't really seem like a Pehr. It's too harsh for him. He's really skittery and shy. And Oden, for some reason, sounds like a soft name.



Here they are together. They always furiously clean themselves after I hold them, even though I wash my hands right before holding them.



And here they are sleeping, which they do all the time, especially after I hold or feed them. They are always adorable when they sleep because they both fit their little bodies in this igloo. Sometimes one will sleep on top of the other, and I'll sometimes catch one with his little rat arm around the other.

I've spent the last three days trying my best to socialize them, by holding them and talking to them and practically tearing them out of their cages. I know it's going to be a big task over the next month. They came from a store where they weren't handled as babies, and that is a big setback. I'm really really hoping they'll settle and get used to me. I have big hopes for Oggie–he actually fell asleep on my arm today. And when I pet him behind his ears, he does this little clicking thing (bruxing, I think it's called) with his teeth. I'm hoping that's a good thing. But Oden is extremely high strung when I hold him. He won't stop trying to get away from me, and I've been patient, holding him for a good 30-45 minutes before finally letting him go back in his cage. But it really bothers me that he's not improving as fast as Oggie. Time will tell, I guess.

Anyways, these are my babies! They say hi. You know, in their own little way.

Swishy Pants

Yesterday was K-State's second football game of the season. I did not go, sadly, but did happen to be in Aggieville at the exact start of the K-State marching band (and various other bands) parade. Luckily, I had my trusty camera with me.



The best thing is that the weather wasn't all that great and it was a bit nippy, so they were wearing their "warm up" outfits, i.e. SWISHY PANTS!

It was utterly hilarious! I could hear their pants over their instruments. It was like an old-couples-in-matching-outfits parade.

Eureka!

I think I've found my idea for shop. I've been kicking it around since Denmark. It's not completely finished, but here's the "chair" portion of the project:







What I propose is a "hybrid"–a classic Danish lounge chair merged with a striking, modern feature. I want to put two rather large (about 14" diameter) wheels on the back legs of the chair. Then, it becomes easily movable furniture, and you can carry items in the seat portion of the chair, like a wheel barrow. It would be very handy when moving, something I've been doing several times a year for the last 5 years. I know outdoor sun chairs have been designed like this before, so that people can easily move the chair to a sunny spot or to group them together. This would make living room furniture rearranging much easier. It'd actually be very neat to do a couch version of this too, but that's probably longer than a semester project.

I'm still working on the wheels. They won't be the prettiest or most accurately made for this model, but they'll give me an idea of what the final look of the chair will be.

I'm not sure whether I want to do a weave, as it is shown in the model, or if I want to stretch leather or do wood planks with padded cushions. If I get the chance to do two, I may experiment with a couple different options. But that's a question I'll have to bring up with Steve (my shop teacher) on Wednesday.

And now that I've spent the entire weekend doing shop stuff, I think I'm going to take tonight off and see if I can convince the guys to go bowling...

Bertha and Beatrix

I apologize for the lack of posting this week. A mixture of not having internet in the apartment (which is a whole story in and of itself) and pouring EVERY EXTRA MINUTE into my internship journal has left me absolutely no time for myself. My closet is also suffering a bit, with the monstrous pile of clothes inhabiting one of its corners. Buuut, I'm making up for it with pretty pretty pictures of what I've been doing this week.

Firstly, I moved into Studio! I'm loving the digs. And so is Bertha (my monitor) and Beatrix A. Macbook.



Secondly, the internship journal is well under way. In a previous post I mentioned my idea of writing a book entitled "Things They'll Never Teach You in Design School." Well, I'm going through with it. I spoke to my "professor" (I put quotes because Vicky's just grading our journals and posters), and she seemed very enthused about the idea. Here are a couple sample pages and the cover of the book:

[Note: The text is just filler text, taken from the journal's criteria sheet and is the same on each page.]



The book is 7"x7". The cover is a wrap-around image and will be changing before print. I will add redlines onto it, handwritten in red ink of course. The title will also be handwritten, but will be in the same font and size. I haven't decided if I want to scan the final cover into my computer or take a picture of it, with the red pen resting on the sheet. It would be neat to have the pen on it, so that it looks like you're looking down at a desk when you view the cover. I may test both options, post both the pictures and get a vote.







And now, furniture design studio. I'm SO FREAKING EXCITED for this year's furniture studios. I've been sketching like crazy, and yesterday I finally bought some model-making materials and went to town.

This semester, I want to work mainly with wood and upholstery/fabrics. I also want a simple, classic look. I've taken a lot of my inspiration from Hans Wegner and Danish mid-century modern design. This fact alone has gained special interest from Rod, who I will ask to be my major mentor for next semester's furniture capstone. He not only specializes in chair design, but he is the resident genius on upholstery and is a HUGE fan of Wegner.

For this studio, we are allowed to design either a casegood (TV stand, coffee table, night stand, etc.) or a chair. I'm keen on the chair idea. And we only need to create one piece. Of course, I'm wanting to make about three or four. I may have to settle with making two or three of the same piece with minor differences, such as materials, finish, or high/low/no back.

Here are two initial studies. The first is a stool. the main idea is the separating of the base legs from the seat, creating a simple, flush look, but with about an inch-long gap. You'd have to look under the seat to figure out the structure. Right now, I know it wouldn't be structurally sound, and there are ideas in the works on how to fix that, possibly with steel.

The fabric is woven straps, stretched and mounted.







Next is simply a study on proportion. The actual look of the chair is a bit "hospital waiting room" for me, and with one bad choice in upholstery, could look hideous. This model is more of a statement on how I want my final piece to be detailed. I like the flush-ness in the transition from upholstery to wood. The angles are simple and attention to human proportion is important. It doesn't really deal with joinery at all (because the pieces are too small to detail that well), so it's not a "true" miniature, but it's definitely got the aesthetic down.







So that's what I've been wasting my time on this week. I would love to build other pieces this semester, and I've got some ideas I've been kicking around, including a modern head board that integrates hinged lighting. Sketches posted when I make them.

Now, it's time to ask my peoples for a favor. I'm taking a product design studio, and we've been given free reign to design ANY KIND OF PRODUCT WE CAN IMAGINE. Everything from egg beaters to jet plane interiors. I've been doing some research in the library, trying to brainstorm a bit, but I need some input. If any of you have any ideas whatsoever, vague or specific, I want to hear them. I'd like to get as many ideas as possible down on paper and then start narrowing my scope.

These next few weeks pretty much determine how my last year at KSU will go, so it's been a bit stressful the past couple of days. As soon as I have current/future projects worked out, I'll be able to settle into the groove a bit and start using those wonderful time management skills that I've spent the last 8 months honing. I'm still feeling a little out of place back at school, like I'm a "continuing education" folk, but I'm sure I'll feel right at home in no time.