Custom Vases and More!

During the summer term I wanted to do a few extracurricular projects to bolster my portfolio and practice certain elements of the skill set I've been learning at Art Center. My first personal project was to design and build custom planter boxes to hang off the railing of my balcony. I wanted to grow my own vegetable garden, cantilevered off my third story patio. The custom planters were a success, as was the garden throughout the summer...until someone killed them all. But that's a different story.
My second side project was a personalized light box. I did some sketch comps, designed the final vector image in Adobe Illustrator, and laser cut the design out of clear acrylic. I sorted the pieces by their intended finished color and painted the backs, fitting the pieces together again like a jigsaw puzzle. The light box was actually a gift for a friend and it was very well received.



The last personal project of the summer was the pièce de résistance. Actually a decorative custom vase, it was the fruit of quite a lot of labor and a many step process. I began by ideating some concepts for the vase and when I'd reached a direction I liked I used Solidworks to model the final design in 3D. The physical properties of the vase required me to use tools and features in the Solidworks program I wasn't familiar with so the project was really a learning experience, adding to my overall knowledge of the software. I printed the rough vase full-sized in plaster, then hardened, sealed, primed and sanded the piece prepping for pearl paint finish. Using a really shitty HVLP gun, I sprayed the vase (and almost ruined it). I should invest in a better gun because you get what you pay for. Another lesson learned from this project!

I painted the exterior a creamy, off-white pearl essence shade and the inside a bold true red. What made the piece truly beautiful was the way the two colors contrasted each other at the mouth of the vase. Starting as a narrow degree ellipse at the base and morphing into a more abstract organic form as it climbs upward, the top of the piece is actually a name when view from above. The stark red interior forms the interconnected characters framed and punctuated by the pearl white lip of the vase. This project was also a gift but I have to say, it pained me a little seeing it go. The project though never really belonged to me. Its conception was with gifting in mind, and in fact the project may never have been thought of if it wasn't tied to that meaning. Almost needless to say, this present was also very well received. I may make more vases based on this concept in the future, but time will tell because it's a very laborious process. Although, things always take a lot longer the first time...so who knows.