MIAD Industrial Project
Jeanne's Creative Space
33cm x 22cm x 11cm
Mixed Media Sculpture Exhibition Text:Jeanne's Creative Space is a model of my grandmother's second bedroom in her apartment, re-imagined as a creative space for her. This is the second half of a year long project with MIAD, and the result is a three dimensional piece that allows the viewer to look in and see how it functions. The reason I decided to focus on my grandmother and this room was because of her recent retirement and the increased amount of free time she is getting because of that. I took inspiration largely from a man named Michael Yurkovic, who creates 1/12 scale size models of rooms. He uses aspects of mid-century modern in his custom designed spaces.
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Planning
Inspiration
My inspiration for this project overall has been the industrial designer, Doug Deetz. Doug Dietz is an industrial designer for GE, most well known for his redesigning of children's hospital rooms. He joined GE in 1989, designing many different kinds of medical machinery for a myriad of tasks: X-rays, ultrasounds and MRI machines. Currently, he works as a design thinking mentor and instructor at Stanford University, as well as the Lead Innovation Architect for GE in multiple GE design incubators. My point of inspiration stems from his work designing children's hospital rooms, because I admired the way he strove to make his subjects comfortable. In class, we watched a video about his creative process and how he really put a lot of thought into how his designs would be received by the children utilizing the space. This made me very aware of what input I was receiving from my grandma, and I made sure to ask her what she thought during the designing of the piece.
My other inspiration for this piece was a man named Michael Yurkovic, the man behind Atomic Miniature (a miniature model and accessory brand). He is most well known for his commissioned piece for Mindy Kaling, of her office in the show "The Mindy Project". Ever since he was young, he had an affinity for making models- and continued to make them even as he became an industrial designer. The beginnings of his more serious work started after he visited a miniatures convention, where he noticed that mid-century modern style pieces were lacking. Yurkovic's scenes all feature homemade furnishings and accessories: nothing is pre-made. Because of his level of craftsmanship and talent, he is one of the most popular miniature artists. |
Planning Sketches
For my planning sketches, they were mostly a hybrid between actual drawings and small notes written on the sides, detailing what kinds of materials I would like to use for certain parts of the model. The first thing I did was sketch out the problem that my grandma was facing, and how her mind would move through first thinking of something she wanted to do, before meeting a wall (like not having space to complete a project). This allowed me to pick apart all of the small problems that I wanted to solve in order to make the space more fluid for my grandmother. I made sure to sketch out the actual layout of my grandma's bedroom and where the furniture all was, because I wanted it to be a model of her room, rather than a random space that I called hers. another thing I took note of in my sketches was the fact that I wanted to add storage spaces in the room, such as underneath the bed and in a closet. I sketched out what would be a cardboard addition to the main box being used as the room, and wanted to cut out a little door that could be opened and a viewer could look inside. I also wanted to remove one of the walls so that it would make for a more accessible perspective to those looking into the space. After speaking with Murf, I also sketched out a design where the room sat atop a kind of handle/stand that someone could hold and lift up to examine. |
Process
Experimentation
My experimentation in this project consisted mainly of the furnishings of the room. In the end, I did a mix of homemade pieces of furniture and purchased miniature furniture. I looked a lot at the Atomic Miniature website to look at the process of Michael Yurkovic, who takes many photographs of all of his projects and what steps he takes to complete them. For my room, there were some things that could be purchased (like a bookshelf, or a chair), and others that I wanted to be custom made so that they would be accurate to the furniture of the room (like my grandmother's daybed). Of course, I finished this project during the COVID-19 outbreak and therefore did not have access to too many fancy materials, versus what I would have had at school. One positive that came out of experimenting with homemade and pre-made furniture was that I still was able to come out with a very personal piece.
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Process
The first step of this project was to build the base structure of the room. The actual space I was modelling my piece after is a fairly square space, so it wasn't too hard to construct. One thing that I kept in mind while making this "skeleton" was that I wanted people to be able to easily see into the space and feel as though they were actually transported to the room. I was able to do this by making a real "window" into the room (where a window is in the actual space), as well as remove one of the walls of the room. I painted the interior a light shade of blue to give off a light, pleasant tone and glued down a light drey felt as the "carpet" for the space.
After I was done building the base, I decided to attach a sort of closet to the side of the "room". This was a good addition to the piece because I felt as though it added a layer of realism to the room, because there is a closet in the actual space that I was modeling my project after, and allowed me to showcase the new storage systems I wanted to implement into the new "improved" version of the room. Once the skeleton and stand for the room were completed, I began to construct furniture for the room. This was done with hot glue and popsicle sticks; I didn't paint over them to give a natural wooden look that I know my grandmother enjoys. In the end, I made most of the big furniture pieces out of the popsicle sticks in order for it all to match, but there are certainly a large amount of found objects in the model. For example, I made a flower pot out of stacked buttons and a fake flower, and a clock out of a plastic cap that I had. This was probably my favorite part of the process because I was making these things myself and got to decide the look of the room's furniture. Once I was finished constructing the wooden pieces for the furniture, it was time to add all of the small details that would really give the room personality. I used buttons and wire to make string lights, used pipe cleaners and miscellaneous fabrics for the blanket, pillows and carpet, as well as hanging up lots of faux posters and paintings all around the walls. While the purpose of the design was to create a more organized, ideal space for my grandma, I knew that she would still love to have it really decorated in order for it to feel like her own. While I was making (or finding) all of the items for the room, I was adhering them to the room using hot glue. I did this in order to ensure that when the viewer is picking up the piece to look at all of the details more closely, the furniture wouldn't be falling over and needing to be reorganized. |
Compare and Contrast
Compare:
- Both pieces, by Yurkovic and myself, are miniature versions of actual spaces. Yurkovic's is a model of a set from the show, The Mindy Project, and mine is a model of my grandmother's second bedroom.
- Small, handmade details were included in both pieces to convey a sense of authenticity and individuality. In my piece, I use specific pictures and small details (like a cat box) to allow the audience to feel more immersed in the "world" created in the model.
Contrast:
- The purpose of the pieces differed. Yurkovic's model of The Mindy Project's set was a commissioned piece by Mindy Kaling's assistant, whereas the reasoning behind my piece was to show my audience a model of what changes I have made to my grandmother's room, as well as a way for them to see how the space functions.
-Technique is another difference between the two pieces. Yurkovic is known for handmaking every piece of furniture and decoration with real materials- essentially the way you would make real furniture, only smaller. My piece has some found objects in them, because the purpose of my piece is to showcase the function of the room.
- Both pieces, by Yurkovic and myself, are miniature versions of actual spaces. Yurkovic's is a model of a set from the show, The Mindy Project, and mine is a model of my grandmother's second bedroom.
- Small, handmade details were included in both pieces to convey a sense of authenticity and individuality. In my piece, I use specific pictures and small details (like a cat box) to allow the audience to feel more immersed in the "world" created in the model.
Contrast:
- The purpose of the pieces differed. Yurkovic's model of The Mindy Project's set was a commissioned piece by Mindy Kaling's assistant, whereas the reasoning behind my piece was to show my audience a model of what changes I have made to my grandmother's room, as well as a way for them to see how the space functions.
-Technique is another difference between the two pieces. Yurkovic is known for handmaking every piece of furniture and decoration with real materials- essentially the way you would make real furniture, only smaller. My piece has some found objects in them, because the purpose of my piece is to showcase the function of the room.
Reflection
From the beginning, I struggled with this project. Industrial design is something i've never even thought about before, and I found it difficult to come up with an idea for a "new invention" or innovation on something that already exists. When I came up with the idea to help my grandmother redesign a room in her home, I still wasn't sure how to approach the completion of this project right away. Over time (and with a lot of research and talks with Murf) I was able to develop a rough idea of how I was going to turn this concept into a physical art piece. I have always enjoyed how dioramas look, and knew that making one would be the most effective way for me to share this piece- since I can't physically bring everyone to the actual room. One thing I really enjoyed focusing on were all the small details that went into the room. Some of the things in the piece were of course purchased, because I didn't have the means to make every piece of furniture on my own, but I made sure to add a personal touch to all of them. In the end, I'm pretty happy with how the model turned out. I think I did a good job of immersing people in my created space and I think the design I developed really suits my grandmother's needs.
ACT Reflection
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon you art work:
Both my piece and that made by Yurkovic are scale models of actual spaces, meant to immerse the audience into the space and feel as though they are really there.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Yurkovic used his skills as a craftsmen and background in industrial design to create handmade miniature models of furniture, which adds another level of realism to his pieces.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Throughout the creation of my final piece, I have learned that three dimensional models (like the one I made) are a form of real art, and not only something kids make in elementary school.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The main idea of this project was to offer the audience a version of my redesigned room, and my inspiration allowed me to brainstorm ways in which I could create a "live" space.
5. What references did you make while reading your research?
While researching, I largely focused on Yurkovic's precise technique and how much attention and effort is required to complete his work.
Both my piece and that made by Yurkovic are scale models of actual spaces, meant to immerse the audience into the space and feel as though they are really there.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Yurkovic used his skills as a craftsmen and background in industrial design to create handmade miniature models of furniture, which adds another level of realism to his pieces.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Throughout the creation of my final piece, I have learned that three dimensional models (like the one I made) are a form of real art, and not only something kids make in elementary school.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The main idea of this project was to offer the audience a version of my redesigned room, and my inspiration allowed me to brainstorm ways in which I could create a "live" space.
5. What references did you make while reading your research?
While researching, I largely focused on Yurkovic's precise technique and how much attention and effort is required to complete his work.
Bibliography
-http://www.atomicminiature.com/atomicminiature.com/Architectural_Models/Pages/Mindy_Project.html#grid
-https://www.fastcompany.com/3062724/this-man-makes-the-worlds-tiniest-modern-living-rooms
-http://www.atomicminiature.com/atomicminiature.com/Home.html
-TEDxTalks. “Transforming Healthcare for Children and Their Families: Doug Dietz at TEDxSanJoseCA 2012.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jajduxPD6H4.
-https://www.fastcompany.com/3062724/this-man-makes-the-worlds-tiniest-modern-living-rooms
-http://www.atomicminiature.com/atomicminiature.com/Home.html
-TEDxTalks. “Transforming Healthcare for Children and Their Families: Doug Dietz at TEDxSanJoseCA 2012.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jajduxPD6H4.