Students are writing about their progress towards their Upcycle assignment. The requirements are to create an artifact with a defined aesthetic, from waste or inexpensive materials. Students chose the artifact, materials, method and aesthetic.

Blog Post 1: Aesthetics Exploration

Explore an aesthetic. We will go over the definition and examples in class, but keep this assignment in mind. For your first blog post, identify an aesthetic, include at least 6 images and/or videos illustrating it, and discuss the context a bit. When was it created? Who were the big players? What influenced it? What…

An Upcycling Progress Report

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Thus far in my project, I have managed to salvage wood from the machine shop in the ITLL, and make a plan to move forward with. From the sketch that is both the cover photo of this post and down below, one is able to view my plans. As most of the wood I’ve reclaimed…

Post 3: Upcycle Progress Report

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My upcycle project is going mostly according to plan, I’ve successfully done all of the major work by hand. I’ve decided to sacrifice the porcupine model as my testing / prototype so that I can more successfully execute my vision for the hedgehog. Already this method has proved beneficial, making changes for the second piece…

Upcycling Progress Report – Succulent Garden

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As elaborated in my previous post, I am creating a succulent garden centered around upcycled music equipment and accessories and displaying a 70s aesthetic. After experimenting with molding records, I realized that full 12″ EP/LPs would be too large to comfortably fit inside any hole I could bore in the fretboard. I reached out to…

Upcycle Progress : Contemporary Architecture Model

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Before I could begin creating my model, I had to come up with a basic floor plan/design that would allow me to know the dimensions needed to build this small-scale house. While I did decide to start from scratch and create my own building, there needed to be a starting point of inspiration. As I’ve…

Upcycling Project Update – PTFE Sculpture

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My project is about re-using the spare PTFE tubing that would otherwise be thrown away. I will use this tubing to display an update to my most successful design which is my Magnetic PTFE Joiners. I want to make a desktop-sized sculpture that has arching tubes connected by my magnetic PTFE joiners. Read the rest…

Upcycling Progress Report

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For my upcyling project I am trying to make a press. Like a bookbinding press but for small art pieces and flowers. The goal is for it to use gravity rather than mechanical advantage to apply force, and to ensure that it doesnt take up extra usable space on my desk I’m attempting to make…

Upcycling Progress Report – Bottle Cap Buffalo

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For my project I decided to make a 2 dimensional buffalo out of old beer bottle caps. I have started gathering the caps and have realized that I will need roughly 150-200 caps in order to finish this project. In order to full fill this amount I’ve started reaching out to breweries such as Left…

Upcycle Progress Report

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My intended plan for the upcycling project is making a Gorpcore bag. This project consists of the deconstruction of old clothing and footwear that will be resew into a fabric for what will end up being being a sling bag. So far, I have collected the materials and being deconstructing. I have noted the cotton…

Upcycling Progress Post: Pastoral Light-Up Set Piece

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I chose the pastoral aesthetic for my upcycling project, mainly because it invokes feelings of springtime that I am in desperate need of. Unfortunately inspiration for the actual project has been hard to come by in my day-to-day life – going outside hasn’t really given me much reference to what springtime feels like, and I…

Upcycle Progress Report: Guitar Strap

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For my upscale project, I have decided to use beer box faces to create a guitar strap that resembles the look of a college apartment beer wall. So far I have cut up multiple boxes into 1 inch strips. I have weaved them together into a pattern that allows the viewer to be able so…

Upcycle Progress Report

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For this week I continued working on sketching out my plan and actually building some of the smaller, individual components. I realized that I was adding extra steps for myself with the scotch yoke connected to the right-angle which would then convert into linear motion. I could just connect the yoke directly to the beam.…

Upcycle Progress Report – Recycled Bird Sculpture

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For my upcycling project, I am creating a bird sculpture out of discarded aluminum cans. I chose the Gray Jay to model my sculpture out of. It is reasonably sized, as I intend to make my sculpture to scale, and it has a bleak color palette. This fits well with the feeling I would like…

Blog Post 2: Upcycling Project Aesthetic

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What is your upcycling aesthetic and why? For my upcycling project, I will be created a miniature model of an Earthship home. This type of home combines Santa Fe style architecture with the use of sustainable materials and infrastructure. I am choosing this design aesthetic because of my fascination with the concept and for the…

Upcycle Progress Report – Organic Architecture

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For the progress on my upcycle project I have finished creating a base for my miniature model house I plan on making. It is made using recycled cardboard from a UPS shipping box as well as a tissue box. I used the UPS box carboard as the landscape and cut multiple different layers to simulate…

Upcycle Project Progress: Enchanted Wine Bottles

Even the best-laid schemes can go wrong from time to time. That’s what occurred with my most recent upcycling endeavour, where I intended to use three wine bottles and fairy lights to create a romantic atmosphere. Despite making some headway on the project, I sadly ran into a problem when I tried to laser cut…

Functionalist Hammer upcycle

The aesthetic I wish to explore is functionalism; this is idea that a things pure value and beauty is derived from it’s use (or function). I may not agree directly with this aesthetics’ cut and dry approach to beauty but I do believe that things which are functional and beautiful are more valuable that one…

Upcycle Progress Report // Dadaism Collage Featuring Nat Geo

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For my upcycle project, I plan to make two to three collages with themes of war, climate change, and the impact of Covid-19. I am using National Geographic magazines as the media for my collages. I’ve been combing through them and cutting out anything that I think might help to demonstrate each theme. I’ve been…

Upcycle Progress Report: Metal Motorcycle Paperweight

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As described in my initial post, my main idea was to create a paperweight sized motorcycle made solely out of nuts, bolts, and screws. While the expected budget for this product was approximately $150, a goal of mine was the minimize the manufacturing costs as much as possible. Because I wanted to keep costs as…

Upcycling Project Update

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In my last blog post, I left off with a good sense for what I wanted to do for my project. This was to develop a better gear storage rack in my closet, with a rural/ industrial aesthetic. I had brainstormed on a few material ideas, including metal piping, and chain-link fence. Thinking more about…

Upcycle Update: Bioinspired Violin Picture Frame

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Manufacturing of the envisioned design is progressing well. As predicted, there would be a lot of fine detail that would need to be done to work with the unique geometry of the violin. Currently, manufacturing is being done with 3 steps Step 1: Disassembling of the current violin The violin has several steps necessary to…

Upcycle Progress Report: Headphone Stand

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I chose a headphone stand for my upcycle project as a way to improve my carpentry skills and to create a functional piece of art for my workspace. I decided to choose minimalism as my inspiration, and so it is a relatively simple design composed of a base and a “tree” to hang the headphones…

Minimalism Bike Fender Progress Report

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The upcycle project I am working on is a rear bike fender made from an aluminum can. The first constraint I am working within is the size of an aluminum can. I would like to use just one can so I needed the dimensions to find the maximum amount of material I could use. The…

Up-cycling Progress Report

For my up-cycling project, a cybernetic punk soldering table. I have made good progress in design and material sourcing, but still have notable manufacturing time ahead of me. In terms of materials, I have all the required materials to complete my project. These consist of a large collection of aluminum cans, which must be cut…

Upcycle Progress Report – Keyboard Pixel Art

In terms of progress for my upcycling project, I have acquired the materials I need and selected an image I wish to recreate. My materials for this project are a keyboard (from which the keys will be used as pixels), a background canvas, glue, and possibly paint. I selected a keyboard with an obsolete connection…

Tensegrity Table Update

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For my upcycle project I chose to pursue building a tensegrity table. I acquired all my materials from the makerspace located in the idea forge on CU’s campus. My materials can be seen below, consisting of two rectangular ply-wood boards, one 1.25″ diameter wood rod, about 5 feet of paracord, and about six inches of…

Upcycle Project Update

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My upcycle project is going well and I am making strong progress. I have finished up the CAD model and have created the initial CorelDraws to be able to Laser Cut the cardboard. In addition, I have collected the materials I will be using: cardboard and a ball bearing. My next step will be to…

Upcycle Update – Desk Toy

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For my Upcycle project, I am making my own rendition of a Turner’s Cube out of a scrap piece of aluminum. To start, I researched Turner’s cubes online. After seeing varying designs and types, I understood the aesthetic I was going for, cubes in circles that are not free floating. I designed my cube in…

Upcycled Cargo Pants Progress Report

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Before I could begin sourcing my material for my project I first had to have a come up with a basic form for the pants. That way, when I looked for potential cargos to alter, I would have a solid idea of the sizes and colors of the different sections of the pants. As you…

Gorpcore Style Belt Bag

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For my upcycle project I decided to create a belt bag in a Gorpcore aesthetic. To achieve this I decided to use a variety of ripstop nylons for the exterior of the bag. This was my first ever sewing project that required patterning a design and cutting different layers for it to be assembled. I…

Upcycle Progress Report: Articulated Wings

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For my Upcycling project, I have decided to use PVC pipes, bolt, nuts & fabric for making articulated wings. So far so long, I have finalized on the all the materials which I will be using to create a budget articulated wings. Although, I was also interested in automation by using stepper motors or pneumatic…

Upcycle Progress Report- camping chair

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Last week I had decided to make a camping chair out of bike tubes, but I hadn’t decided on a design. After pondering multiple designs, I decided to make the chair out of two pieces that will fit together instead of making a folding mechanism. I also measured a few chairs in order to come…

Upcycle Project Update – Don Julio 1942 Lamp

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Up to this point, I have collected all materials necessary for my upcycle project, and am now working on final manufacturing processes and assembly. Unfortunately, I was unable to utilize the upcycled stained glass I found, and instead decided to use copper sheet I purchased from McGuckin. I decided to downscale my lamp to one…

Upcycling Progress Report – Collage Planter

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My upcycling project is coming along nicely as I enter into the second week of designing. I’m building a two layered indoor planter. The aesthetic I’m using is the 35mm film aesthetic I discussed in my previous post. At this point in time I’d say I’m about halfway done with my project. To start out,…

Upcycle Progress Report // Heider Iacometti

Last week I said that I would make a xatu out of recycled cans and so far I have made some progress on my design. On top of that, I believe I have all the materials that I need to complete the project. I have well over enough cans of different colors to meet my…

Upcycle Progress Update: Smartphone Stand

The very initial vague clue about my plan was that I just created my logo the week before the Spring semester started. It’s a combination of the character of my first name and last name(Andrea Wang) as AW. Here are the initial rough design of my logos on Figma(iterating in progress): The product I want…

Upcycling Project Progress Report

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So far I’ve been able to make 2 knots. The knot here is called, 吉祥結 (Jíxiáng jié) which is known as the “auspicious knot” or the “good luck knot”.  This knot is usually hung up around to bring good luck. It is also sometimes associated with the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin. I originally had the…

Lamp of Bones: Upcycle Project Update

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Introduction Dark and creepy feelings, creative shadow designs, ornate tracery, and animal bones are so far the highlight of my Upcycle project. I am sticking to the Modern Gothic design aesthetic to create a lamp that will be a centerpiece piece that projects light across the room. So far I’ve received excellent feedback from people…

Upcycle Progress – 70’s Cat House

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For my upcycling project, I am building a 70’s themed cat house. I am gifting the final product to my co-worker! I knew I wanted to incorporate the use of cardboard. I started by taking a big box from my closet and cutting it up. I then used a glue gun to begin assembling the…

Upcycle Progress Report

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Admittedly, I would like to be farther along on my project than I am. So far, I have acquired the piece of technology that I am going to destroy in the name of this class. It’s an old Panasonic VCR found at Goodwill, bought at a much lower price than it was probably sold for.…

Upcycled tobacco pouch progress report

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I was able to gather the materials very easily for this assignment. I only needed parchment paper and a shopping bag. I used a bag from my normal shopping and grabbed some parchment paper, which I needed anyway. Here you can see my materials. Next I cut the bag up into 14.5″ by 6″ panels.…

Upcycle Project Update: Artificial Nature

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Since my last post I have been gathering materials to use in my project. From a variety of recycling bins, including both in my home and more industrial spaces such as the engineering center, I have found boxes, tubs, bins, cans, computer parts, and more. This array of materials is giving me the freedom to…

Upcycle Project Progression: After Hours

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For my upcycling project, I chose to design a replica of a familiar place on a snowy night to depict the After Hours aesthetic. The place I chose to design is a bus stop in Boulder that I have been to on many late snowy nights. I have also started gathering the materials that I…

Upcycle Progress Update: Biophilic Pencil Holder

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One of the most time-consuming parts of my project is the living part of the plants. This week I planted some leftover seeds from my grandmother’s garden in hopes that some will sprout for my final project report. I will take these seeds and transplant them into my upcycle pencil holder once it is complete.…

Upcycle Progress Report: Spacecore

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Here is my progress so far on the Upcycle project. Sadly, I have been swamped in homework for the past two weeks and there is no sign of an end in sight. That being said, I am doing my best to put in my full effort for this class and this project in particular. I…

Upcycle Progress – Grenade Moth

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So far in my project I have created some cad models to try and nail down the general look I’m going for. I still need to do more work on this front before fabrication starts. I have some materials I’m planning on using for the project but nothing set in stone so far. I am…

Collection of Upcycled Wine Bottles

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For my Upcycle project, I decided to make a collection of items with rustic aesthetics out of wine bottles. To achieve this, I decided to look into glass cutting and the type of textures you can get from glass. As glass is brittle and usually hard to work with, I had to be careful, so…

Boro Style Tapestry Progress

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So far I have been able to collect all of the materials for the tapestry and determine exactly how I want to go about constructing the piece. I have selected to use mostly darker denim material that I picked up from the thrift store. I have been cutting apart the pairs of jeans along the…

Upcycle Progress Report: Ornamented Earrings

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The inspiration for my upcycling project came from Central European folk ornamentation, and in particular, the work of Slovak artist Štefan L. Kostelničák. Central European folk ornamentation is incredibly varied across different regions, time periods, and even among individual artists. It champions the creativity and imagination of each individual who engages with it. At the…

Upcycle Project Update – Lantern Pattern

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For my lantern design, the four faces will have the design shown below. I made the design in Clip Studio Paint. Normally, I’d just laser cut the cardboard, but it’ll be difficult for me to travel all the way to Boulder, and I don’t have access to a laser cutter where I live, so I’m…

Topographic Carving Update

My Upcycling project has been proceeding with mixed success. I worked to determine the area I wanted to focus on, and decided on Long’s Peak and the Dream Lake area of Rocky Mountain National Park. After working hard to generate STL files using topographic data by setting the size, setting a z-scaling factor, and determining…

Upcycle Progress Report

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My upcycling project is going pretty well right now. So far I have collected a bunch of recycled cardboard from the engineering center of various sizes. The card board is not very sturdy so I bought a cheap baseboard from a local Walgreens that I can use to place my model on top of. The…

Upcycling Project Update

  My upcycling project changed from what I originally posted about in last week blog post. My first idea was to make a wooden light out of some scrap pallet wood from my senior design project, but after talking with josh and looking at the scope of the project, it wasn’t very feasible. I then…

Upcycle Progress Report – Twisted Wire Bonsai Tree

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Progress on my Bonsai tree has been slow, but as expected, quite therapeutic! My first task to tackle was the untangling of the telephone wire I purchased from Art Parts. The wire came wrapped in smaller bundles with colorful ribbon. I considered the possibility of keeping the ribbon, but I thought the juxtaposition between materials…