A light bulb went off in my head - Part Two

Inspired by the light shade in my post from yesterday I decided to experiment with more flowing and natural forms. The result of this is a very loose repetitive piece based around loops of paper, opposed to the clean lines and angles of my other work. 
 

I'm particularly interested in the way the curves are effected by the light. Gradients fading smoothly between pure white and gentle shadows. This is heightened by the clean and crisp edges to the paper itself, working nicely as a contrast between subtle and sharp.

A light bulb went off in my head

In Sheffield today I had one of those moments familiar to all designers. A light bulb went off in my head. Or at least, a light shade did anyway. Let me explain... 

I saw the light shade (below) through a shop window, and couldn't resist popping in to take a few cheeky pictures. It provides such a great visual, especially with the light pouring through it, and is unbelievably in-tune with this module.

Until this point I've been focusing mostly on very rigid and tight, almost architectural structures, but I can see now that I'm going to have to experiment with more natural, flowing forms.

The light shade itself is made from felt, which lends itself to the ripples and flowing lines of this style. I look forward to seeing how it works with paper.

There's paper in my paper

So I'm thoroughly bored, sitting on the train, heading into university for the day. I decided I'd have a look through todays Metro and happily stumbled across the beautiful (if not ever so slightly obscure) work of Anastassia Elias.



Toilet rolls are an odd choice for an artistic medium, but you can't deny that the results are striking when viewed in the right way. This goes to show how important lighting and photography are in creating an aesthetic, as well as the importance of trying new concepts and taking risks.

Anastassias work is really worth having a look at.

Paper Craft on Etsy

Etsy is a brilliant place to find inspiration and research. Everything is handmade, and everyone on there is either an artist or designer. As we are currently looking at ways to manipulate paper I thought I'd share some of my favourite paper based designs from the site.

These designs are both made by Elsa Mora, and are so striking due to their sharp clean cuts and delicate lines. The intricate fringing on the bees head and legs adds a sense of realism to the piece. Almost as if it were a real bee suddenly transformed into paper.

I've included this Origami Lotus Flower by Fish & Lotus due to its simple elegance and its use of repetition. I find the idea of the same shape repeating over and over again, closing in on itself very interesting.

This paper sculpture made by RutisRoots again makes excellent use of repetition to produce an interesting organic shape. Interestingly, this piece is made from over 500 pieces of recycled paper individually folded and glued together.