To begin the project, inspiration was first taken from a naturally occurring organic pattern. The final organic pattern was taken from the Honeycomb weathering rocks. These rocks are formed due to salt crystallization or haloclasty. The spray of salt water into the cracks and crevices of a stone formation susceptible to honeycomb weathering is the beginning of the formation of a honeycomb. Thin walls separating adjacent cavities seem to be due to protective effects of organic coatings produced by microscopic algae inhabiting the rock surface.
Image Source : Stock Photos | Google Images
Image Source : Stock Photos | Google Images
From these images, one was chosen and a realistic drawing of it was done on cartridge sheet to understand the form. Using tracing paper, the realistic drawing was traced onto a 3mm sun-board sheet and the negative spaces were cut out.
The pattern was then simplified and was drawn out on cartridge sheet and then traced onto a 5mm sun-board sheet, and the negative spaces were cut out.
A similar process was followed for the final layer which was a super simplified version of the initial organic pattern.
After gaining an understanding of how the layers could be stacked or arranged, the drawings of the three layers that were done on cartridge sheet, were cleaned up and made digital using Adobe Illustrator. The file was then made laser cut ready and different dimensions of the shapes were cut from a 4 mm MDF sheet.
Since the method that we were following was – “function follows form”, after the layers were cut, I played around with variations of the different layers to come up with forms.
Following this, the 2x1 pieces of scrap wood was stuck under the different layers and the organic layer forms were coated with a layer of brown shoe polish to give it a rich earthy color and enhance the texture of the MDF layers.
My final product was a lamp that was created using 3 organic layers cut from 4 mm MDF board, that are mounted on top of each other on a box (12” x 12”) made of 5 mm sun-board, with a bulb in it.
This lamp can be placed on the floor to create interesting shadows on the adjacent wall, or can be wall mounted, to create interesting shadows in a room.
Exhibiting final work and explorations.