Final Report Part 1

So, here is my final project. My entire game plan with making is got a little messed up. First I got the flu and was stuck in bed for a week, then some other nonsense came up in my personal life, then this weekend, I wasn’t able to use the machine shops because of various expos, but I still managed to get it done to a point I’m satisfied with.

This project was a continuation of my upcycle project. I chose to use a spacecore aesthetic, and I really enjoyed doing it and really liked the way it turned out. My previous project was more of a depiction of space from the perspective of standing on a planet and looking out. This project is from the point of view from looking into a solar system or cluster of planets instead. In my mind this puts a bow on my projects through the semester and makes it a set of artistic decor. I could definitely see myself continuing this series even further, exploring other avenues of artistic expression, while keeping up the spacecore theme.

Although the design isn’t as pretty and polished as I expected of myself, I think given everything that’s been happening in my life lately, I still think I did a decent job. I was successful in making the rings of planets spin about the center shaft, and with minimal noise. Due to friction, they don’t spin for very long, but it still satisfies the primary goal of my vision. When it isn’t spinning, the planets still swing and sway, with is mildly amusing to me and fun to look at.

I think the planets are pretty colorful and pretty, and I’m happy I did not try to make them all different sizes. Even being the same size, the way I painted them makes each of them unique and interesting. As for the rings they hang from, I was expecting the rings I ordered to be a little bigger, so that was a bit of a bummer, and it is surprisingly difficult to find these kinds of metal rings online or out in the world. I suppose I can’t really think of anything practical and functional that they would be used for. The only ones I found were in arts and crafts sections, so I guess I used them for their most practical purpose.

I would have loved to spend a bit more time painting galaxies, spaceships, ufos, shooting stars, and more on the base of the piece, but I think overall the design turned out pretty noisy visually (not literally), so I ended up choosing to spread around some glitter to represent stars in the night sky, and I think they do a great job.

Using wire to hang the rings instead of fishing line was a bit of a give and take. The wires don’t look as good as fishing line would have, but it enables the rings to be able to spin more easily. I think fishing line would have had a better chance of getting caught on something or getting tangled, whereas the wires holds its form for the most part, making it easy to move as one unit.

Overall, I wish I had more time to polish this up, but given the circumstances, I’m happy with how it turned out. I hope you all are too.