Depot Project Concept Model

For every project we begin with a concept. The concept for my Depot Project began with the armrest of a bench found in the depot (a picture can be found in the Textile Design post.) I pulled three words from this object, contrast, movement, and rustic that became the driving force for my concept development. The parti is my 2D representation of all three words combined together. I then moved onto my 3D model. Contrast can be seen between the straight dowels and curved portion, the wood and metal, as well as the black and white circles. Movement is evident through the dowels that move right through the curved metal, and in the overall curved shape. My interpretation of rustic is the idea of imperfection. I implemented this in the varying dowel lengths and the circles that are randomly put together, interlocking in various ways.

Textile Design

These pictures illustrate the process I went through to design my own textile for the Depot project we are currently working on. The first image is my inspiration object, the armrest of one of the original benches found in the Depot. From this picture I pulled three elements of design to continue my exploration: Contrast, Movement, and Rustic. With these three words I drew partis, small sketches, that I felt represented the combination of the words. My top eight are pictured. The next step was to choose my favorite two that I would turn into patterns. I rotated, flipped, mirrored, etc, to my parti modules to create different patterns. Two patterns for each module are shown. Once I created these patterns, I played around with various color schemes that I felt helped add to my concept with the three words. I focused mainly on complimentary colors to help add to the contrast. Once I chose my favorite pattern and color combination I created a 36"x36" pattern to represent what a yard of fabric, with that design, would look like. Using Spoonflower.com I uploaded my module, only to find my pattern was more complex then the few rotating options they had to offer. To fix this issue I simply uploaded the entire 36"x36" pattern onto Spoonflower's site and centered the pattern on the yard of fabric. After seeing how the fabric moved with the textile printed on it, I may have liked the pattern to have been smaller, but overall I'm very pleased with the final outcome, that is shown in the last image. I'm planning on incorporating the module in my Depot project by designing a coffee table that uses two modules side by side to create the legs.

Client Brief

For our adaptive reuse project, I have selected the artist Todd Horton to design a residence, studio, and gallery space. Todd is a painter who currently resides in Edison, WA. He grew up in an artistic family and spent many years traveling to countries like Japan, Germany, and parts of North Africa (along with many more) painting and teaching. The oil on canvas medium allows Todd to apply a quite distinctive effect that looks either "squeegeed" or "dripped." This gives the paintings a sense of movement. The two subjects he typically does are landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, and animals.
Because he resides in my hometown, I have visited Todd's studio, and one of the galleries he shows his work. Being able to walk through his studio and see how he works really helped me understand his process. It will allow me to better meet his needs in this project. Knowing how his work is currently displayed helps me understand one way to focus on his paintings, but also inspires me to find new and creative ways. I'm excited to work alongside him to create a space that will inspire him.

 Dark Sky Blurred

36"x36" 

Oil on Canvas

 Eagles that Drift Like Dreams

36"x36"

Oil on Canvas

 Field of Dew

30"x30"

Oil on Canvas

 Running Water

20"x20"

Oil on Canvas

You can find more of Todd's work at www.toddjhorton.com as well as a full biography.