Caja Cafe

3-D Design is a core class for all those wishing to be an art major here at USU.

*Side note: I got accepted as an Art major! I'm in!!!!*
And there was MUCH rejoicing!

Everyone I've talked to had something to say about the class...and it was never very enlightening. Needless to say, I was frightened of what was to come when I stepped into the sculpture lab back behind the dumpsters that first day of class.

I have spent hours, mind you HOURS!!!!!, working on projects for this class. I'm sick of whatever medium I work with after each project. I'm sick of wire, pasta noodles, paper, magazines, clay, and cardboard. I have no desire to ever look at them again! EVER. But quite frankly, that desire is futile. ;) 

Bless my roommates' hearts. These projects are not only time consuming, they are space consuming! I always have a mass take over of the table, or of the floor.  But despite the three o'clock/four o'clock mornings, I'm proud of the things I've been able to create. It's basically what I always did as a kid. My creations were more along the lines of beanie baby houses, paper bird cages, and anything to do with staples, tape, and duct tape. This class...took these creative elements to an all new level.

Metamorphism across five relief tiles - Watery Grave

It also took us to an engineering level. Boo.

With a partner, we were required to come up with some sort of design made solely of paper products. It then had to be able to transport one person 25 feet. Paper products? The weight of one person? Moves? GAH!!!! My brain was not prepared for this. Julia and I worked on a design that began with the concepts of a tricycle and a chariot. After consulting our engineering neighbors, we were given a lot of advice. Maybe more than we ever needed, but nonetheless, it was helpful. With all the information being fed to us, we came up with a fairly fabulous design.

My living room was consumed with shreds of cardboard for many days. The neighbors next door spent many hours checking in on us and watching us create this monstrosity. I think it was more fun for them watching us put this thing together, than it was for us! This project was large-scale, so we used drills and saws and box cutters...plus 8 bottles of Elmer's glue. With all these dangerous and sharp tools at our desposal, I managed to shove a paper clip through my thumb. That was slightly disconcerting...

We went cardboard scavenging. Lee's gave us 30 boxes, and we've officially annoyed the tar out of JoAnn's by making several returning trips to obtain sturdy cardboard tubes. We also went to the Herald Journal and bought roles of butcher paper for $1. We didn't use the butcher paper. We only wanted the tube it was on. :)

We were also allowed to use hemp rope...because it's natural fiber...with all of these things, we created our masterpiece, Caja Cafe. Translation: Brown Box.

It was a proud and happy moment when I sat on the box and it actually supported my weight. It was an even prouder and happier moment when I was able to roll down the hallway all by myself - wheelchair style!

Me and Julia

We packed Caja Cafe into the trunk of my car and transported it to class the next day. As I was pulling it out of my car, I noticed the axel of the wheel was coming unraveled! WHAT?!?! No way! Not now! Not when we had worked this hard! It just had to hold!

Everyone's paper product "vehicles" were intense! I couldn't believe the ingenuity behind some of them, but then, looking at ours...it was pretty ingenius too. ;) It looked so sharp and stable. Mandy, our teacher, was impressed and talked highly of the design, but when it came time to try it out, I sat on it, and the axel unraveled even more. It didn't hold. After all that - knowing that it worked! - we couldn't even show everyone. It was one of the biggest let downs of my life! Julia and I were crushed! But we weren't the only ones with failures. More than half the class had similar issues. I still don't know our grade on the project, but I hope Mandy is generous and realizes what we put into it!

The saddest moment was chucking Caja Cafe into the recylce bin. After all that time put into it, not being able to show it off, and having it end up in the dumpster? Oh how sad the moment was....but I tell you what, I learned a lot. That was the whole point of the project. We weren't focusing on the artsy element, but rather a mental process.

It was stressful, beyond belief! But in retrospect, it was a great project...I will grudingly admit.

Now we have to create a suspension bridge that spans 6 feet and holds two person's weights....also only using paper products. I think we have a pretty sturdy design. Jealous? I'll be sure to report. ;)