So far, for my project, I decided to reuse the teddy bear pattern I made last semester for an acromatic project. Instead of making some of the patches or pieces a different fabric along with the sashiko pattern, I will make the bear entirely out of denim. However, I will make the … | Continue reading
As a brief overview of my project, I’m creating a lampshade that will look like a strangler fig tree. See my second post (Beauty in Death: Strangler Fig Lampshade) for more information on my inspiration for this project and initial design ideas. [2] Purchased Lamp and Shade [3] P … | Continue reading
Discovering Inspirational Materials for Upcycling Rusted Industrial Elements into Abstract Art Getting started with this project of upcycling rusted industrial materials into abstract art has been an engaging and continually evolving experience. What began as an experimental fora … | Continue reading
My upcycle project has been going well. I found an old lampshade at the thrift store, which I stripped for the frame, although it left some sticky residue that I plan to remove so it’s nice and clean, ready for jump rings and film slides. I made sure to pick a lampshade that I fo … | Continue reading
My project is about upcycling a lamp shade to the aesthetic of Studio Ghibli. So far, I’ve collected the material of the light source and the lamp shade. I had trouble finding a lamp shade that has wired structure. I originally wanted to implement a beaded lamp structure (Figure … | Continue reading
For the upcoming upcycling project, I will be creating a lantern that falls under the aesthetic of a club or rave. The lantern will include old materials such as a plastic sheet, rod (PVC pipe or equivalent) or rope, disposable plastic water bottles, waterproof LED lights that ar … | Continue reading
For the first week of undergoing this project, I spent most of my time preparing and planning. This involves some research into the best techniques and materials needed to produce the outcome I desire. One of the major hiccups in my design plan is deciding which stain or paint I … | Continue reading
My upcycling project is “A Witch’s Cabin” diorama. After settling on a concept and drawing plans, I grabbed the cardboard box that I’d be using for the base and sketched the design inside. Initially, I wanted to turn the box on its side to decrease work, but the proportions were … | Continue reading
Since last week, I have made some progress on my Upcycle project. I have collected all my materials, including a sewing kit, embroidery hoop, needles, yarn, and some cute pink fabric. For the items I plan to embroider, I have gathered plain tote bags, a bucket hat (which I’ve alr … | Continue reading
For my upcycling project I will be creating a portable climbing hangboard out of scrap wood. A traditional hangboard features flat ledges of varying depth and is used to warmup climber’s fingers before climbing or as a way to train tendon strength. This project will not only be u … | Continue reading
For my upcycling project I’ve gathered the foundational materials that I need to complete the project and have scaled the original art piece so I can develop a sketch onto the cardboard. Some things I’m currently missing are a hot glue gun to hold the paper beads in place and a g … | Continue reading
So far, the bed frame design has been going well! I have done a good amount of work this last week, and all of the materials have been officially ordered. I got 3x 6’ long 2×2 wood beam to use as the support legs. Additionally, I got a 10’ long 2×4 wood beam to use... | Continue reading
It’s been a few weeks since I embarked on my upcycle project to turn a piece of scrap wood I found in the dumpster into a functional and stylish cutting board. While I’m not quite finished yet, I’ve made some progress and have had the opportunity to refine my design and woodworki … | Continue reading
The Idea Imagine this, it’s the year 2800, and you have just gotten off a long day at work. Having recently receiving a promotion, you decide to go to the bar with your friends. You are on a tight budget, so you make your way to a sleazy bar on the outskirts of town. At... | Continue reading
Week one of this project mainly involved preparation work. I have collected about 16 cans to work with, which I believe will be more than enough. However, I still want to find some source of wire or something similar to stand in as the lasso or the body frame. So far, I have clea … | Continue reading
On my previous post, I talked about how for my aesthetic I wanted to try and create something both functional and with a Frutiger Aero aesthetic. This meant I needed to find things to use that had many of the elements that can be found in the design of Frutiger Aero software. Thi … | Continue reading
Since my last post, I have decided to go a new route for my project. The other day I upgraded my PC, specifically the CPU (central processing unit) GPU (graphics processing unit) and RAM (random-access memory.) My friend who was helping me with the upgrade said, “You should take … | Continue reading
I have made a decent amount of progress on my modern bohemian planter project and have collected some key materials to begin the project. I have found a few promising candidates for the planters. The first is an old coffee pot that will make for a perfect container to plant succu … | Continue reading
In last weeks post, I detailed how I was going to create a topographic map of Greece and give it to my girlfriend. I drew inspiration from a previous students work, found here. The previous student was able to find a 3d model of a mountain range located in Estes Park. Since that … | Continue reading
Overall Project Following a vintage americana aesthetic, I will be making a chalk bag out of thrifted denim and thrifted ties. The ties will contain red, white, and/or blue in order to follow the aesthetic. Necessary Materials In order to sew a handmade, denim chalk bag I need th … | Continue reading
My upcycle project is currently still in the beginning stages, but I have collected several necessary materials. The first, and most important material, is the violin itself. I was lucky enough to have been given the violin for free, but it has a few issues that I will need to fi … | Continue reading
I did not start the physical building this past week, but I did most of the preliminary work on the project. I measured the dimensions of the Hennessy bottle using calipers to ensure that I got an accurate fitting on my base and the lamp conversion. Based on the measurements, I d … | Continue reading
Overall Design I have made some progress in the last week. I have settled on a spherical design, 5 inches in diameter. The lamp will sit on a pedestal, large enough to conceal the control board and power input. In order to preserve the streamlined space age aesthetic, I designed … | Continue reading
I haven’t started on my textured ski painting; however, I have gotten the materials and started planning how I want it to look. [1] Original ski sport painting on canvas There are some examples where the canvas is just pure snow and skiers. These are much more minimalist, focusin … | Continue reading
With the Artificial Nature aesthetic guiding my upcycle project, I’ve made solid progress in gathering materials and refining my fabrication plan. My goal remains to create a scorpion sculpture using dismantled circuit components, blending organic form with technological remnants … | Continue reading
Unfortunately, due to my Senior Design project, I have not been able to make much progress on my project. However, I have come up with an alternate design for my project. Rather than a view into the box from the side, I think having a top down view would be more interesting. I al … | Continue reading
I am happy to report that I am making steady progress on my Upcycle project! Over the last week, I have foraged for all of my necessary materials, including spare wood, epoxy resin, gold and copper flakes, and sawdust. Plus, I was able to borrow a few silicone bowl molds to simpl … | Continue reading
After searching for materials, I created an artifact in the Pretotyping stage using felt, pipe cleaners, Lego gears, and glue. I sourced these materials from the Idea Forge Pretotyping collection. The artifact resembles the in-game artifact flower called the Marechaussee Hunter. … | Continue reading
My project is a wooden frame built to display old license plates that I previously mounted to my walls using sticky putty. The aesthetic that I’m trying to achieve is Rustic Americana, basically just trying to emulate western American culture while combining it with the use of ol … | Continue reading
Thus far, I’ve gathered all my materials and started making a few cards. Material Collection Many of my materials are things I already own, but I wanted to go to Art Parts to supplement. I was able to purchase some additional scrap paper, doilies, books, magazines, tags, paint sw … | Continue reading
After deciding to make a peacock throne out of tires, I began sketching my design on paper. I soon realized that this wasn’t very helpful as circles are difficult to draw with correct perspective, and the relative sizes of the tires makes a big impact on the overall look. To reme … | Continue reading
My “Upcycled Plastic Pointillism” project is coming along well. In last week’s post I had yet to select a reference image to create in the pointillist aesthetic, and this was the first thing I tackled for the project. The photo I have chosen to recreate is shown below: Taken by J … | Continue reading
I did a bit of research on what method I would like to use to create the coasters. I came across a YouTube video on someone experimenting with silicone molds.[4] His method of melting the filament can be recreated easily, so I will try and do the same. I have created a short BOM … | Continue reading
As described in my previous post, I want to create a 3D printed art piece based on classical Japanese architecture. The main inspiration here is like that shown in the featured image, which is a photo from Marco Garcia of the Byodo-in Temple [1]. I have not made as much progress … | Continue reading
Over the past week, I have begun collecting my materials as well as conceptualizing how my piece will fit together. For my project, I hope to upcycle old broken glass into a light fixture that mimics the effects of the stained glass windows often seen in churches. When I first be … | Continue reading
As mentioned in my previous post, I am making a wearable pop art item out of recycled eco-friendly fabric swatches. At the beginning of this project, I experimented with the idea of making a headband, which led to me being drawn to the design of a bucket hat. After which, I began … | Continue reading
Upcycle Project Progress: Building a Lighthouse Over the past week, I’ve made significant progress on my Upcycle Project, which focuses on creating a lighthouse with a nautical aesthetic using repurposed materials. My goal is to construct a piece that captures the charm of coasta … | Continue reading
Since my initial post, my upcycling project to create a cactus planter from recycled materials has progressed significantly. The idea originated from my desire to add a succulent, especially since my room is in the basement, to my room while contributing to environmental sustaina … | Continue reading
This week, I have made significant strides in developing my laser-cut tree sculpture, which follows the Unexpected Red Theory aesthetic. The primary focus has been refining the materials, design, and digital fabrication process. Material Collection and Planning One of the major s … | Continue reading
In the past week, I did a lot of research into the feasibility of creating a rustic style chess board for my upcycle project. I ultimately came to the conclusion that the time it would take in order to make something like this to the quality that I would like to see would be too. … | Continue reading
So, remember that old lamp I spotted at the old stuff place in my apartment building? The one I heroically decided to rescue? Well, I finally went downstairs and grabbed it—feeling all proud of myself—only to find out…it doesn’t work. Shocking. 🙃 Clearly, someone abandone … | Continue reading
As the focus of my Upcycle project, I decided to design and create a work stand for my sheet metal shrinker/stretcher tool that I could use in my workshop to allow me to manipulate sheet metal into complex shapes with ease. I concentrated my design around a utilitarian aesthetic … | Continue reading
Since my last post I have gone to the thrift store and looked for glasses to make my candles in. It seemed like my manifesting worked from my last post because I found a lot of glassware that I liked! I also found some old candles there that I bought to melt down and use... | Continue reading
The need to pivot from a threads suspended in epoxy encasing a rock has risen. The epoxy believed to be in the artistic provisions cabinet was donated to an art program prior to the beginning of the school year. However, the repository has a considerable number of 2x2x2 in cement … | Continue reading
Project video on YT shorts, < 1 min. https://youtube.com/shorts/zqCCWhxB-Lk?si=Gge8QooH7jQ3jotD For my upcycling project, I am repurposing old skateboard decks into colorful plywood for making jewelry and possibly a bowl. This project draws inspiration from Bauhaus and De Stijl a … | Continue reading
Since my last post I have been making steady progress towards completing my upcycling project! I have stayed true to my original vision of upcycling my old (ripped) pair of jeans into a water bottle sling that can hold my 64oz (or maybe even my 128oz) plastic water bottle. As I h … | Continue reading
After sketching the initial design on the front of the Pokémon TCG deck box, I decided to start modeling the actual box within SolidWorks. I focused on making sure I had enough material to make a box. The main dimensions I went off of are the dimensions of a Pokémon card, which a … | Continue reading
Thus far in the project, I have gone through multiple design iterations in SolidWorks, refining the proportions to align with both the functional criteria for Japanese stationery and the aesthetic principles of Japanese minimalism. My primary focus has been on achieving the right … | Continue reading