INDN 341: Process Evolution

Now that I've got my concept for what I want down, it's time to start getting my design on! The initial thought was to create a fully self-supporting shade that had really interesting geometric shapes, an idea that I conceived through the sketch below.

The way I saw this design taking place was through a series of triangular pyramid shapes that were open at one side, allowing untainted light to get through. The shades would act as a shield for people's eyes, so that they wouldn't be able to look directly at the light, but would be able to see the light hitting the ceiling, as well as the muted light through the PVA-infused fabric.

I then decided that creating a light that utilised the property of the fabric and PVA that I discovered last time would be way cooler. The property was that the fabric infused with PVA would retain "memory" of the creases in it, allowing for a really interesting look when light was shone through it. The beauty of this warped and twisted material actually looks really stunning. I enjoyed it, and I think it would be perfect for a small night/ambient light.

This is the design that I'm currently rolling with. The shape is a simple rectangle but will allow me to essentially create a little fabric bag that goes over the LED strip lighting that I will douse in PVA and generate interesting forms with. To allow for user interaction, I'm going to equip the light with a small spray bottle that will allow the user to lightly mist the shade with water to then be able to mould the light to their own design. This will in turn create a different look for the light emitted from the LEDs, as the fabric will be twisted and shaped differently in different spaces.

The fabric is going to be pinned between five parts of the same block of wood, with the routed centre providing the recess for the LED lighting. The different sections will then be attached to each other with little steel rods and brackets. I'm working to try and make these as minimal as possible, so as to provide minimal distractions from the beauty of the whole piece.

I got this beautiful cotton fabric which is lighter and thinner than the original calico I was using, so this should be a lot better to work with when imbuing it with PVA. This fabric is less dense than the calico, so it definitely will let more light through, but I think that still shouldn't be too much of an issue. In fact, I don't think it'll be an issue at all. That's some primo sewing by me in the image above. Glad I remembered how to do running stitch!

At the moment the shade just looks like a sack, because really that is all it is. It's ultimately going to be sitting over the light, and crumpled and stiff it should look beautiful.

When turned inside out, it starts to look like what it's actually going to become. I designed it to wrap around the full size of the central section of the wood, so hopefully, my woodwork skills permitting, that's going to happen.

As you can see, the fabric still has a really good look to it when  held up to the light. Can't wait to see what it'll end up looking like.