Place/Making Leaf Project Process

My Process from the beginning:

When first given the place/making assignment, I had the idea of simply making a series of holes on a sheet of paper. Each hole would have its own unique size. The leaf however could only fit in one of the holes; the one it fit into. But, I had to question where would the holes go on the paper and why would they be there. The leaf I first chose for the assignment was small and had a curvature shape. This shape could be represented in the placement of the holes. 

This idea soon led me to understand that what I was actually wanting to do was conceal the leaf within the paper. Why celebrate the leaf? In the wintertime leaves seem to "disappear" off trees and it makes one                        search for it. That is what I was wanting to accomplish with my project.

Having that mindset, I decided to make a box for the leaf. On this box, would consist of a hole, so one could look down inside and see the leaf. My first construction was made at the first group meeting in which we had two minutes to make our object/product. However, it was proven to not be "quality" made when Tommy picked it up because it broke. So I constructed a more rectangular box with the leaf design on the front. This leaf design and rectangular box idea came from a reading I did on ancient Egypt and the history and discovery of pharaoh and kings tombs. This model was more detailed and thought out, but I still thought something better could be made.

I sketched an idea of another type of "tomb" I could make that would relate more to the leaf. This design had the rectangular box become the shape of the actual leaf. This was a good idea, but it was very difficult to construct.

 I started to get frustrated with my ideas and sought to find a whole new approach. This led me to making a paper shaped bird. The bird would hold the leaf in its mouth. It is something we often see with government and also with the story of Noah's Ark. I thought it was a start to something, but after constructing it, it really didn't look well. It also had no real significance to the leaf.

So I move back to my idea...

Constructing paper to hold a shape without using any adhesives was a challenge. So for my next idea (still with the box concept), I pondered on ways to make a "place", which for me was a somewhat enclosed box. To have better construction and stability I chose to go with an origami style approach. With this thought, I made a series of boxes with different dimensions and some with slightly different styles and uses.

 The picture above shows the thought process and steps of progress towards getting close to my final idea. The first box I constructed is on the right and each idea after is followed to the left in chronological order.

I really liked the first two boxes I made. They were the same design just different dimensions. The triangular flaps each had two parts to them, just like the leaf I had chosen. When the flaps were folded in and the leaf sat on top, it made one not only have to "search" for the leaf, but were also attracted to it with the triangular lines on the flaps all facing inward. Though I liked this, I tried to experiment other ways to use the flaps. Perhaps have them all hanging out, or just two like the leaf has two connected together, or have it a new different design all together.

Here are close caption views of the models grouped in their similarities in chronological order:

Why should the box be cubical? Would it have better aesthetic if it were a rectangle?

Here is my quick discovery that a rectangle was too bland for my leaf and in no way complimented my leafs shape and structure. The cubical shape didn't compliment either.

I experimented with different shapes. I did further research on my leaf as well.

In research I found that the name of my leaf was a Fire-powered Nandina. The leaf starts off green in color, then becomes seasonal (on fire), and then will eventually die (go out). This is like a torch. The fire is inflamed and then eventually dies out. Why not celebrate the name of the leaf, give it support to withstand what it is meant to do, and still hide it so one has to find it? But once the leaf is found, one can see its flames and becomes empowered and ignited themselves.

Below is the construction ideas and processes for my final:

The final product of this project can be found on the blog posted prior to this one.

Hope you enjoy and become "inflamed"!

Ashley