Elyse Shapiro Studio Progress Feb 6-12

Studio Progress Update for Week of February 6th to 12th

This week was very important to my project in terms of vision and structure. After going through a great slump with the progression of my IP project, I have made some major decisions that will alter the nature of my pieces due to the material. I am no longer utilizing textiles in my pieces, but rather have decided to focus on the the true passion behind this work- stencil cutting. By minimizing the materials I am working with, I have decided it will be more successful if it is less complicated. For my new lighting fixtures, I have decided to cut stencils of Detroit, but have narrowed my subject matter to the remaining infrastructure of Detroit today; this will allow the imagery to be more cohesive from piece to piece. I have also decided to cut color from my pieces. They will be cut into thick black paper, and have a layer of vellum printed beneath them. The vellum will serve as a distribution tool for the light source within, while providing more detailed information for the imagery when the light is turned on. Though there is no color in the pieces, I feel that the black and white imagery will be complementary to the imagery it is intending to portray.

As I begin to work on my first piece, I have decided to take imagery I collected from photographing the Packard Plant in Detroit. As with my initial imagery, I have decided to fabricate the actual images to make them more rich and provide additional sides and views of the plant. Once compiled in photoshop, the imagery looked as follows:

Once compiled, I created this image using photoshop. The area that is orange is my guide when cutting the black paper. I printed the imagery and attached it, not following the lines but using them as an idea of where to begin.

Atop of the imagery as I was cutting it is the detailed stamp layer that will be printed on the vellum. Below, you can see the details that will be printed on the vellum and placed beneath the stencil cutting. This is important to me as I cut the stencil layer because I can see where the most pattern, detail, and grain lay.

After countless hours of cutting, the final image is completed. The image has a lot of additional details that were previously non-existent. The image is highly stylized but I think is quite compelling.

I am eager to see what the imagery looks like placed on top of one another, and am looking forward to better creating a more functional and industrial looking lamp. The metal will now be visible, and rather than getting messy with glue, I am interested in experimenting with sandwiching the two layers together between the polycarbonate and a mylar piece. Once screwed in, I hope the pieces will be secured and clean looking with no visible adhesive materials. Another decision I have made regarding the structure is to attempt to use nails/ studs/ rivets to secure the polycarbonate to itself, rather than zap-a-gap. This will make the pieces appear more industrial, but cleaner and more thoroughly put together. The studs will be placed periodically at a short distance and will be taken into consideration of where they lay within the stencil cutting.

In-studio hours, week 6:

Monday- Project reconstruction and idea sketching session (4 hours)

Tuesday- Go to Detroit to photograph closed schools on the east side, the packard plant, and other interesting abandoned buildings (7 hours)

Wednesday- Compile imagery for first lamp shade, develop stencil layer and stamp layer for vellum. Begin to cut stencil (8 hours)

Thursday- Cut stencil in studio (10 hours)

Friday- Cut stencil in studio (7 hours)

Saturday- Complete first stencil cut, remove old imagery from polycarbonate barrel, work on potentially creating old stencil cut into new imagery on black paper (6 hours)

Total: 42 hours