The End is Near!

November 23rd, 2012, 9:14 pm

This past week has been the most exhausting and busy one. It was our last week for the project and we made two different models of public seating space and a planter using painted tires. We also made sure that we had achieved the goals we set out earlier After painting the tires, the group got back on Monday and Tuesday to work on building the bench and the planter. Portia and Mohammad (Rafi) set out to work in the morning, and the other group members eventually joined them and worked till sunset.

Careful measurements had to be made on the tires to pin point the location where holes needed to be drilled. We used bolts to hold the painted tires firmly together so that it remains stable when people sits on them. In order to build the second bench with a back-rest feature, we pushed rebar through the drilled holes and used bolts to support the structure. In the beginning, things were progressing quite slowly, mainly because of the difficulty in making measurements amongst other things. Once we sorted out by trial and error process, work was divided accordingly and it went pretty smooth and fast. There are still a few finishing touches that have to be done in order to fully complete our project. This includes making the planter and putting in the potted flower we have purchased. Rosina has kindly put together a video to show at the exhibition, and we have begun to work together to write our legacy report.

 

Portia and Sajid are sitting in the ‘Public Bench’ made of tires.

Overall, it has been an enduring and exuberating journey and we are looking forward to sharing our experiences about this project with the class and special guests next week at the exhibition.

 

At the end of the day’s work on Tuesday: Exhausted Portia sits in the ‘Public Bench’ with the back-rest feature.

 

 

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Sanding

November 16th, 2012, 8:09 pm

This week our group has been spending the majority of our time in the Lebel Building.  We have a goal in mind and are trying to complete everything on schedule.  What we want our final project to portray is an interesting way to look at and learn about invasive species.  We narrowed down our focus to 5 species which include the emerald ash borer, gypsy moth, tubenose goby, rusty crayfish, and zebra mussels.  We were lucky enough to have found some ash bark with evidence of the emerald ash borer present.  Professor Rod has also given us about 5 gallons of zebra mussels to use.  This solid evidence will be great for presenting our ideas visually.   Because our brainstorming process is complete, we have started to get to work!  This week we began sanding our mobile unit.

It took us several hours to sand down our mobile unit by hand.

Caleigh leaves no angle unsanded.

Almost ready to be painted.

Tomorrow we will be meeting up at Lebel for final touches and will begin painting!

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Tire Cutting!

November 2nd, 2012, 9:17 pm

Portia and Sehrish watch as Rosina and Rafi cut the tire in half!

After an unsuccessful first attempt at cutting the tires, the gang rolled up their sleeves, and armed with new material, got to it once again.

We rented a bolt cutter and a sawzall from the Lebel building, and began hacking away once again. At the suggestion of a Masters student, who was hanging around the Lebel building during our work, we fastened the tires as shown in the picture so that it is easier and safer to cut right down the middle. It was a very slow process getting through all of the metal bits embedded in the tire, but we managed to cut at least two full tires.

Later in the week, a few of us met Rod to discuss further options to make the cutting process faster. He showed us how to use the bench saw to cut the tires quickly and smoothly, as the blade is much thicker and runs on a powerful machine.

This upcoming weekend will hold a lot of importance as we test out the correct painting supplies and sealers.

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Final proposal for Midterm presentation

October 19th, 2012, 8:29 pm

We found this chair to be closely related to our model which will help us to build ours.

 

Our group spent the better part of this week preparing for our midterm presentation. With our final sketches ready, all we need to do is to play with the materials to implement the physical model. We were able to find 25 free used tires of different shapes and sizes, and will be using different tools borrowed from the Lebel Sculpture space, setting up shop there for a few days to continue our progress.

 

We are thinking of installing this kind of table with the chairs shown at the top.

 

This weekend will be make or break in our realizations for our chosen material!  We’ve taken out a few different tools, depending on how difficult the tires will be to cut will be the deciding factor in our final outcome to be displayed in the course’s gallery show at Civic Space.

 

Another version of table-chair made of tire

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