David Carson- Ted Talks

David Carson talks about re-inventing design to push boundaries of intuition. He states that following one's intuition can not be taught, specifically in design, but is a vital part of creating something appealing and useful. Carson talks about emotions sent and received through a design. He uses the example of 2 garage doors, one with printed letters saying "no parking" and the other saying the exact same words but written in spray paint and underlined three times. Carson uses humor throughout his speech to make certain points about design. Most of these things are ironic points of interest, including the 5th printing of a book titled "The End of Print", an exhibit about photography being the end of painting, and minimal graffiti on a minimal street sign. One of the strongest points he made was that legibility is not the same as good communication. In the People magazine from 9/11, Carson speaks to the bad design of the terror story combined with the ads, and how they negatively affected one another. Overall he criticizes, evaluates, and jokes about every aspect of design and their unintentional irony.

Summary of Project

This project was a great experience. I was really terrified at the idea of using a bandsaw at first, since I have no experience in a wood shop, but was I went on, I felt more and more

comfortable with it.  The bulk of the work for my vessel was done on the sanding belt. I spent at least three class periods (over 9 hours) sanding and rounding the edges of my tornado to produce the effect that I desired.

I did face a few struggles, such as being too simplistic. That is why I decided to add the  tray to hold my grandmother’s bracelet. I felt like not only did it add dimension to my story, but also made my vessel more complex, and added a needed flow with the similar pearls in the angel.

Another struggle I faced was being able to stand the tornado up straight. After flattening the bottom edge, I drilled a hole in the base and in the bottom of the tornado. I then glued a dowel rod inside of the hole, to add additional support.

Overall, I’m really glad we had this project.. It opened the doors for me to able to create even more things, that I didn't think I could do before

Concept Statement

While there is a whole lot more to this story, I had to condense it. If you would wish to hear the whole thing, leave me a message or ask me in person and I will be happy to share the whole thing with you.

The spiraling tornado on this vessel represents a changing moment in my life. After watching my grandmother collapse from cardiac arrest in Branson, Missouri and being life-flighted to the Springfield Hospital, I knew she was lucky to be alive. This thought was reinforced when the Joplin tornado occurred the very next day, completely destroying the helicopter she was in and the nearby hospital. While in ICU, my grandmother received an angel, which gave her comfort in knowing her life had been spared from death several times. She now gives angels to anyone she knows that maybe sick or going through a hard time. My grandmother has inspired me to create this vessel and to showcase this angel that she gave me and her bracelet to remember how easily one’s life can be taken. 

Final Vessel

I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to stain my vessel or not, but I'm definitely glad that I did. It makes it seem like a finished project and also creates the sense of a tornado with the darker color. 

 The pearls on the angel worked really well with the pearl bracelet. It made for an overall better representation of the story and contrasted well with the dark background.

Construction Process

I began with a fairly large block of wood. Then I cut the outside curved shape that I wanted. After that I took a small layer of wood of each section and increased the amount as I went to the bottom. While receive lots of criticisms at first, asking if this was my final piece, I wasn't positive, it was the correct move to make, but I stuck with it because I knew I could create what I was imagining. 

Once I started sanding and rounding the edges, I decided that I made the right choice. After 9+ hours using the sander, I managed to complete the rounded edges. 

I then created the base, which required more sanding and rounding. To attach the base to the tornado, I drilled a hole in both and glued a dowel rod inside of them. I also thought it needed another aspect, so I added the tray for the bracelet. 

Summary of The Nature & Design of Aesthetics by David Pye

In this essay, the idea of different materials and their efficiency is brought up. While something may be strong and sturdy, it may still rust. On the other hand, if it’s made out of wood, it won’t rust, but it may not be quite as sturdy as a metal would be. Another aspect to consider is the size that the material is available in. If the material is too small, it would be difficult to cut precisely. If it is too big, the material would be difficult to maneuver. Next is discusses the idea of flat surfaces. Any flat surface can be attached to another flat surface, but if the top is curved, and the bottom is flat, combining the two now becomes difficult. 

The article then switches course and talks about how we view beauty in art and how art is a way to view someone’s personal life, views, and idea of happiness. Everyone defines happiness differently and not one definition is true.The purpose of design is to promote human happiness, but it can not

simply produce happiness, but merely expand upon one’s already existing feelings and opinions.

Practice Runs

I created a rough example of the shape I wanted to make out of foam core. It was my original idea, which was more abstract and had straight edges. 

 Although I was terrified to use the bandsaw, starting off cutting small pieces to try it out helped me quite a bit to get over my initial fears.

 Then doing a practice run of my project wasn't too difficult and I became familiar with the machine.