Materials- 10 Action Oriented Versions of Hype!

I wanted to do as many different types of hype on as many subjects as I could think of. So, here is what I came up with!

The first one started off as an idea from last semester with the "Think Before You Ink!" idea. It was about how women put on make-up not for themselves but, to impress someone. This was also the most simple version of Hype I thought of being a simple "poster".














From here, I thought about the other common ways we see hype around us, and I thought of video. I also thought about how college students are the most sleep deprived community in our culture (according to my psychology textbook). So, I did a short video to hype sleeping.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Next, I was thinking about all the classes I am taking right now and all the other stuff going on and it lead me to think about stress. Another common form of hype (from the D.I.Y. book) is stickers. They can be placed anywhere and are a simple statement of our beliefs.

Looking at the D.I.Y Book I had the idea to wear buttons. They are a little statement of personal beliefs. I put on a statistic from my "Enjoy Your Lunch" project last semester.

Then I thought about other "badges" we wear on our bodies which made me think of tattoos. They are a statement we wear on ourselves forever that people can readily see. I did a measuring tape and the word "sizeism" on the inch marks.

Then I thought about sustainable design and how there is so much trash. I constructed a wearable glove out of recycled newspaper. It was not perm, but, it would provide a temporary use and make people think about how they use and throw away items.

Next, I think I went a little drastic. I was thinking about those New Year's year glasses. I was wondering if you could use them to make a statement, so I did a little banner about universal healthcare.

I am in love with Starbucks, but it's also quite addictive. I was thinking about groups and cults and a lot of them wear arm bands to display their place in the group. I decided to make a Starbucks arm band.

I was thinking about prom season which is coming up. It is always a busy time for me at work. I remembered my prom and how uncomfortable the shoes are. Most heels are horrible for your feet so I made an info tag about the shoes.

The last thing I worked on was a bow. People look at your face and hair a lot through the days and simple icons and symbols can state a belief without any real work behind it. I have a lot of friends who are gay and lesbian and I have always been a supporter for equal rights. So, I made a small pride bow to show support for the gay and lesbian community.

Materials- 1 Design/3 Materials

I want to focus on the idea of the pressure we are given by the media and the way it can make you feel almost uncomfortable at times. The media has created such a hype around the perfect women that it is hard for regular women to feel comfortable in their own skin. For my project, I want to focus particularly on weight and body image. I want to design something that is a hype around the pressure the women feel to be "perfect".

I want it to be a wearable piece. It should constrict and pressure the wearer if not create pain. I want it to have a dual pressure to the viewer and I want them to feel uncomfortable viewing my piece.

I have done some research before into the topic of media pressure and body image last semester so I picked up where I left off and went into the facts of media pressure and body image. The first thing I came across is the Federal Government's education page. Seems like a weird place to start my search but, I found this (http://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/citizen/partx.html). It was exactly what I was talking about!
The fact that the government feels the need to publish these types of articles proves that there is a problem. Why is there a teaching aide for parents to talk to their kids about the pressures of the media? That just seems insane and it shows that no one is immune from their messages.

The media has lead people to question when is skinny too skinny? Everyone agrees when someone is overweight, but it becomes a tough decision for an agreement as to where the point is crossed on being too thin. I want my design to be something that no matter what size you are it is too tight. I want it to wrap around and grip like a claw the way media seizes onto you and grabs you. (http://anorexia-nervosa.suite101.com/article.cfm/medias_unrealistic_body_image) The media has no stopping point for size, and seem to be focused on finding the thinest models possible.

I originally planned for it to be around the waist like a corset. But, there are a few problems with this. First off, in the scope of the project and digital manufacturing it is quite unrealistic. Secondly, I think it has a meaning I do not desire. People seem them as lingerie and as "sexy". I want it to cause discomfort in the viewer, which I do not think any type of corset design will cause.  So, after some discussion I chose to make a cuff that goes on the upper arm. That tends to be an area women feel is not pretty or too fat. They say they can't wear this or that because of "ugly arms". I want the cuff to make you feel uncomfortable so it is logical to put it in an area of discomfort.

Materials - Examples of Hype!

Here are my examples that I found that I consider to be hype.

I think that hype is something visual that creates an implied urge for whatever the intended meaning is. The first two things that always come to mind are Politics and Media. Both I think are the biggest users of "hype".

Politics-

War is one of the main pulls for messages of hype through the use of propaganda. You have to "hype the war" to get the people to pay the money for the war. It's a very complex system. There is also generally rival hype in the pro-war and anti-war camps. Some of the cruelest atrocities done to man were funded and carried out on the proceeds of propaganda.  Making it one of the most powerful motivators around.

Propaganda is generally in print but, it is also in the form of clothing and monuments. One of the largest forms of propaganda in this country is monuments and government facades. They are a form of hype in my opinion because they seek to display "power" and "might" of the government in a subtext. People go to these places almost in a form of a pilgrimage from all over the country.

























Media-
It surrounds us every single day! On the Radio, In Print, On the T.V. it's everywhere. Everything we see tends to have a link to the media in some way. It dictates how we feel about ourselves and others and how we interact with our environment. It makes us hungry, it makes us buy new clothes, it makes us go to the movies. Hype is the key tool for anything to be a success.

ACC Show!

I just got back to Towson from the American Craft Council Show, I wish I had more time but, I had other classes I could not miss. First impression, WOW! So much to look out it was overwhelming. The time and care that went in every piece and the shear craftsmanship is something I strive for in the future.

I had some wonderful talks with some of the artists, in particular Jonathan Lee Rutledge (www.rutledgejewelry.com) and Rhonda Storm (rhonadstorm.com). They both seemed generally interesting in the fact we were students and readily explained their processes and techniques.

Johnathan Lee Rutledge has some beautiful swooping hook clasps. I have seen a few of these before, but his were very elegant and well designed to match the flow of the pieces. Talking to him about his clasps, he showed me a bracelet where he had integrated the clasp mechanism in with the bracelet to the point you had to really search to find the opening. It seemed for all the world to be a continuous band.  He also talked about a technique where you take gold powered and individually lay pieces of the gold down and then affix it to the stone. It is an ancient technique and he allowed us to hold a piece with this technique on it. His had a pretty neat story of how he became a jewelry which is fun to know that he didn't plan originally to be a jeweler. It was just his calling as he said and it just felt like what he wanted to do. He really had a lovely passion for the work and for the craft.

Rhonda Storm was a fun women and well as her work. She creates these brooches with this chicken figures. They are so interactive with moving beaks and limbs. They shift as you wear them. She explained how they were affixed to each other and how the parts moved on each piece allowing me to look at a few of them in detail. They were lovely and adorable.

I also spent some time looking at the chains and how they linked to each other and how they linked to the main object of the item. A lot of them seem to be doing intricate intertwining loops. I saw quite a few that were interwoven and then rolled through a rolling mill to flatten them which morphed the designs and made them really interested. It gave me an idea to do something with a Celtic knot chain of some sort. I also saw a few that were modeled off of vines were a few strands would weave in and out of each other sometimes becoming knots sometimes being loose. It was quite interesting to see how different artists tackled the challenge of the connections. There was also a lot of rivets, more then I expected really. I guess rivets are simple and easy to do and they are also quick.

Moving on, the show had a new feature of "Green Craft" that highlighted environmentally-friendly processes and techniques. The little sustainable designer in me felt the need to talk to every single booth with this sign. The artists I talked to generally were very receptive and I had some wonderful conversations with them. They didn't seem to mind my million questions about their process, where they got the materials, their technique ect.

Three lovely green designers worth checking out are: Noelle Van Hendrick from (www.zpots.com), Jeff Greengard (drivebybags.com) and Michelle LaLonde (www.michellelalondeaccessories.com).

AMV Making Felt!

Today was the big moment, I took all the bags of dog fur (which by the way, I have found that a 1 1/2 grocery bags of fur is about all a dog produces in a month apparently) and made my masterpiece!

So, I used the wool for the top side and used a pattern loosely based off of Native American wool saddle blankets. My Aunt is a major collector of Native American patterns and artifacts and I remember as a child going to her house for a few hours and hearing her stories. She would give me crayons and paper to draw for hours, in a way, this is a dedication to her support of me at a young age.

The underside (the top side while I was felting) has the natural dog fur. This should keep his allergies down and make it more comfortable to him. So the upper side when it is made will be the wool and the underside will be dog fur.

From there, I used dog shampoo as the soap and heated regular water for the lubricant and felted for about an hour or so ( I did not keep wonderful timing on that). It is drying now, I will trim it and go back and fix some of the thin spots either needle felting back in some of the trimmings or with fresh dog fur.

I am pretty satisfied with the look of it and I am ready to trim it, as soon as this process is complete, with organic cotton and add in the straps and leg protectors/warmers for his back legs.

Short Hair Dilemma

I am working on my felt for my AMV project and I ran into the problem that the fur was short hair and would get thin in some places. I was also concerned I would not have enough to make thick enough layers of wool. I was wondering what I could do to fix these problems and I decided I was going to mix some wool in with the dog fur. My original plan was to mix the fur all together but, I did some internet research and it appears that you can layer fur to create different effects (http://www.gfwsheep.com/flatfelt/flatfelt1.html). I think I am going to try this technique and layer the wool on the bottom to provide an even layer and support and put the dog fur on top. When you felt they mix together, so it is not totally against the thought of making an allergen-free dog sweater and it will have more strength and support.

In the News...

I was surfing around the internet, which I do every Monday morning before Jewelry 2, and it was really a slow news week. Most of the coverage is the same old stuff from before, there is a war in Iran, the chaos in Haiti, a flood somewhere else, some peace talks and the Olympics. All of them seem to be just the regular speculation from before about what will happen and when an end to violence, destruction, and pain will come. So, I tend to avoid the typical "war coverage" news that seems to be so readily available.

Anyway, what actually caught my eye was an article about Coca-cola presenting at a food show in Florida (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6874961.html). Seems pretty mundane right? Well, yeah it was, but the interesting part for me was the information behind the story. Coca-cola was represented by their Latin spokesperson and talking about international sales. The article went on to state Coca-cola was ahead in profits last year because of international sales. Coca-cola has been an U.S. company for years, its very telling when they are finding more of a market outside of the U.S. then in it. Makes you wonder what is going on. Can the sakes of Coca-cola really be the true indicator of our economy? It is an interesting proposal in my mind.

Looking abroad, there news always seems more happy. In Mexico from El Pais, there was a wonderful article about music. The part that actually interested me was, the entire article was about American Actors and singers. (http://www.elpais.com.uy/100214/pespec-471195/novedades/-la-musica-me-hace-feliz-) This was not the first of the articles I found (in spanish) from Latin American countries about American artists and actors. This made me wonder why is there not more articles about Latin artists in the United States. It is so rare to hear of an international band in the United States (unless you are a music buff) it makes me think America really is that self-centered. I love reggaeton which is a type "urban" hip-hop in Spanish. It is hard to find new reggaeton artists in the United States (some notable ones for you all to check out that are pretty easy to find are Don Omar and Wisin y Yandel) because they get little to no air time unless they are on "spanish radio stations". I wish there were a radio station out there that would play what is popular around the world instead of the same 20 songs that are popular in the U.S. right now. The United States needs to become more international on all fronts and that is such an easy think to do.

'10 Problems' Photos

I realized I never made it to posting this on my blog! These were the photos I took of the "problems" I have everyday.

Making Potato Starch

Basically, if you take potatoes and put them with water in a blender it will become a pulp. Next, just boil it for a while and it will begin to separate into a paste (video above). That paste hardens in about 48 hours. It dries clear with the thickness of fabric starch or Elmer's glue.

So, I did my materials samples (finally) and they took longer to dry then I expected but here is a shot of them all together.

The balls on the far right are the button hardening samples. The rounded forms are the different materials cast into tea light trays (some worked some didn't). The center is just the raw dog felt and human hair thread.

J2.Project 1. Inspiration

"Nightmares" by Eterna2 from Deviant Art

"Painted Roses" by Autonoe from Deviant Art

"Peril of the Guardian" by Alector Fencer

"Take me the Ship of my Dreams" by Osokin on Deviant Art

image search from google

"In This Land of Dreams" from Deviant Art (artist unknown)

google search image for nightmares

"Alternate Nightmares" by Gaarathehated; Deviant Art

google search of dream catchers

google search for dreams

I realized I never really posted the images I am working with for my project. So here are some of the ideas I am thinking about for Dreams. So above is the images I want to draw from.