References
Link to Pinterest: https://pin.it/4JJikWC
(I've searched for plastic art on Pinterest and found various of references. I picked three of them that are most relevant.)
Sculptures Made from Repurposed PET Plastic Bottles
These are sculptures made from repurposed PET plastic bottles. The creator has really strong imagination that changed the form of the plastic bottles and almost create a brand new thing. By repurposing the PET bottles, it can be used as a decoration which is quite visually pleasing. However, safety problem needs to be considered because plastic sheets may prick the hand.
Shaping and Reusing OLD PLASTIC
The plastic lamp is made by reusing household plastic waste and using a panini press. The materials are really easy to collect, and the tool of reprocessing almost can be found in everyone's house. Considering about the sustainability, it depends on the number of plastics that are using. But the reprocessing process is quite safe and won't release any toxic gases.
Recycled Plastic Soda Bottle Pendant Light
The recycled plastic lamp shade is constructed from repurposed plastic soda bottles. They're all collected a friend of the creator who consumes insane amounts of soda every single day. Each bottle is clear with a hint of gray when unlit, but when you turn on the light they start glowing and twinkling, reflecting the light source like glass or crystal. From the sustainability perspective, the plastic soda bottle are firm enough and can be used in long term.
Learn from China
(I've found several local craft techniques and local materials that Chinese people have been using on Pinterest. And I select the three most interesting ones to describe their potential.)
Wood Carving
This wood carving is made by a 78-year-old Chinese nanny who's a craft master. She has carved out a reputation as a skilled craftsman with her beautiful wooden creations. Nanny uses the most primitive tools - a hatchet, carving knife and ruler - to fashion the intricate carvings, a tradition that has gradually faded into obscurity. The wood can be carved, the same as the plastic bricks. When it's thick enough, it's quite possible to carve different patterns on the plastic to make a 3D painting!
Chinese Lanterns
Chinese lanterns are the most important symbol and decoration for Chinese lantern festival. It is made by cutting red papers into different shapes and patterns. This can be applied to plastic sheets made by plastic bags or bottles (when pressed). And this technique has strong flexibility because it can be applied to any soft materials.
Leather Craft Technique
The leather craft technique is really useful for connections. It helps people tight up things together firmly. This can be applied to the connection between string and the decoration. Since the combination fo reflective paper and other plastics are hanged from the top of the room, it needs steady connection to avoid falling down.
Observe
#Trash can be collected
plastic bottles (in garbage recycling station in NYUSH) I will put them together on a surface and press them by using the heat-compressor.
bottle caps (from bubble tea shops) I will shred them into small pieces by using the shredder. And then, put them in a mold and bake them in the oven at certain temperature.
plastic bags (from convenient stores) I will put them together and press them by using the heat-compressor.
Experiment
My initial idea is to make a mirror-like decoration to make the room visually bigger when Huang Ayi sits on her chair and looks up. The decoration is hanged from the ceiling of the room by using strings. In this case, the weight of the decoration must be light. What's more, since I'm gonna make different shapes of the materials, they must be able to bend into other shapes. The materials I can collect are plastic bags, plastic bottles, bottle caps, and reflective papers which are PET, HDPE, and PP. And the main machine I'm gonna use is thermo-compressor and oven.
I made a research on the firmness of different kinds of plastics and the melting point of them. As a reference, I can know about which one is easier to bend and at which temperature shall I bake them. I tried various ways of combining PET, HDPE and PP to test which thickness and firmness is better. I also compressed and baked them separately to see the outcome from different machines.
I got a conclusion that the combination of PET and HDPE works the best. And the oven would make the material too dry. So I would use compressor in future production.
Meeting with Community Partner
Participants: Cleaning Ayi Huang Jiuhong, Student Kevin, Emily, and Mr. Chunhao from CEL Office Interview Time: October 26th, 2020 at 16:00 - 16:45 Purpose: Updating our design proposals with our community client and further understanding of her needs, favorites, and life. What I learned about our community partner:
Huang Ayi at first refuses our help since she thought we need to put a lot of effort that would influence our academics.
Huang Ayi keeps expressing her gratitude after we told her that it is our responsibility to work for her and it won’t affect our grades.
Huang Ayi is satisfied with the water bucket trailer idea since she accepts the proposal without hesitation.
Huang Ayi is a little worried that if we put decorations in her room it will be taken off by the policies.
Huang Ayi like plants so she put her own plants in her room and both the restrooms.
Huang Ayi works from 7:30-20:30 everyday and she took the bus every day to school.
Huang Ayi would not spend too much time in her room.
Huang Ayi loves to clean and tidy so she asks the school to paint the wall all in white.
Huang Ayi likes to use her phone to watch TV series in her leisure time.
Huang Ayi also likes our proposal of the ceiling decoration since it would not cause trouble for her
What else happened at the meeting? What did you notice?
Huang Ayi starts to put herself in the same position as us, the meeting is more likely a friendly talk instead of a former interview.
When asked about the manager, Huang Ayi started to worry about if making a decoration would cause trouble.
Before Chunhao came Huang Ayi was more relaxed, but after a few minutes, she became rather relaxed again.
What I would like to learn more about and how to find out?
We would like to find out what patterns she is more favor
We would like to know the sizes of the room and also the water bucket,
We need to contact the manager of the building to see if it is okay to add decoration in Huang Ayi’s room.
What went well?
We get a lot of useful information about Huang Ayi’s private hobbies and favorites.
Huang Ayi is not as shy as last time since the bond is deeper between us
Huang Ayi elaborately showed her room to us that can help us modify our proposal
What went wrong
There is nowhere to sit during the meeting since everywhere was dominated
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