Bottlecap Design Principles Project

Non-objective abstract sculpture assignment
requirements: 1) create a series of 4 projects: 1 for each of the design principles- rhythm, variety and emphasis; 1 ambitious project that embodies 2 or more of the design principles 2) use a material that can be bought or found in bulk; if the material comes in different colors, color should not be the basis of the sculpture 3) despite odd qualities of materials used, all sculptures must exhibit balance and unity
materials: lots and lots of plastic soda and water bottlecaps and hot glue; Silo was used as modeling software



"Rhythm"




Probably inspired by my previous project, I was thinking of the motion made by a droplet of liquid falling into a container and caused a "splash," resulting in this simplistic vase design with the wave motion moving outwards into space from one side.








"Variety"




For this sculpture, I attempted to create a rising tower made of bottlecaps arranged in rings. I was thinking of the strange sight in nature of rock formations eroded unevenly, so that the base doesn't seem capable of supporting the peak. The small disjointed rings at the base of this sculpture are other formations, creating a landscape for the sculpture to rest upon.







"Emphasis"




In this sculpture I attempted to build the bottlecaps vertically, by creating a high wall with protruding structures meant to give the illusion of support. My inspiration was the innocuous image of a wine rack. I wanted to build upon the concept of a spindly-looking construction being strong enough to support something much heavier than itself.






Ambitious project- the design principles used were rhythm and emphasis





The driving idea behind this sculpture was that of a grand staircase, like the kind found in royal palaces or the stately interior spaces of ancient manors. Again, I played with the structural stability of the bottlecaps, by arranging them in an ascending staircase pattern, and then having them curve inward to support themselves entirely upon two small pillars. The "landing" was the sole time in this project I deviated from using soda and water bottlecaps.