The Box Lamp

This Lamp is now FOR SALE in the Etsy store!

Here's a link to the Awesomeness ---> click here!! Yay!!!

The "Box Lamp" is one of my more recent projects. Done for an assignment at college, the goal was to make a functional piece of sculpture for home use. I started sketching out ideas after seeing some of the interesting Lamps that my Dad and previous classes had completed. The idea for the cutouts in the sides came from sketching through idea after idea and finally trying to just do something simple. The lid (unfortunately I forgot to snap a pic of it...) is completely square and has "L" shape cutouts in the corners to mimic the light passing through the sides, or the shadows where the brackets block the light. I thought it would be a little bit of light coming through around each of the squares, with the majority coming out through the "window" cutout in the center, turns out it's just bright, and I mean BRIGHT lol.

The light shows through the sides and top pretty clearly and casts nice shapes and shadows onto the surrounding walls. The idea of casting the light/shadow shapes originally popped into my head after seeing some other student examples and remembering back to shadow puppets from elementary school :)

Another view from Front and Center...

But how do the squares "float" within one another? How are they recessed into one another? Well, that was easy to figure out, not quite as easy to accomplish. Aluminum strips were hammered into 90 degree, zig-zag style bends to fasten to the back of each square, recess 1/2 inch, and repeat. Four brackets were used per side, and then fastened to each square with brass hardware. There is also brass hardware on the lid, including two cabinet door style hinges, one pull/handle, and two brass hasps (jewelry box closures). To stick with the handmade / industrial / look what I can do theme, an Edison style 60 watt bulb is used to not only provide the light, but also to look super sexy when lit :)

The New Goodies :)

The last few weeks have been pretty fun. I've been finishing up some required classes for my AA, one of which is 3-D Design. The teacher is enthusiastic and has more tattoos than me, I am loving it. Our first project was a paper sculpture. This one below was based on the idea of a radial airplane engine. I was going to use some metallic colors but I didn't feel quite right about it, so instead I went for a nice, warm color palette, thinking about fire and combustion. Kinda reminds me of the sun :)

Radial, approx. 16" x 16" x 3"

This next project is a wire sculpture. Of all the ideas I had sketched out and thought about the ease of making, this Barn Swallow was probably the easiest, and most fun. I used to watch the swallows try and dive bomb my cat at the old farm house in this nice pose, kinda where the idea came from. The frame was made from 5/8" steel rod, the outer contours made from 1/8" steel rod, and then finished it off by wrapping the wings, tail, and beak with 16 gauge galvanized steel wire. It hangs from the ceiling surprisingly balanced and looks like it's just about to fold in it's wings for a quick dive. I think once the summer semester is over it may be taken apart partially and redone with sheet metal to make it more representative.

Steel Barn Swallow, approx. 36" x 36" x 9"

This last painting is one that I've been wanting to do for awhile. It's based on the Ural Racer from Saint Motor Company that I had done some of the pictures for awhile back. After doing the "Tesla" painting I really wanted to do another dramatic, moto-inspired piece, but since it's raining outside and I can't ride today, I went a little nutty with my big brushes and did this one pretty wild and loose. I like it, I've always dug the abstract expressionism, so maybe this could be my new thing :)

Ural Racer, Acrylic on Canvas, 24" x 48"