Katie Hortik
15 posts

Mechanical Jewelry

Katie Hortik
2016, Post 13 - 2016
Overview: I had the pleasure of creating jewelry pieces for special occasions and daily wear. These pieces are intended to be statement pieces, both necklaces and bracelets.  They are composed of gears that turn and interface with each other. Final Images of the Design:   YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2hrGEV3-kg Previous Posts on the Project:     Design…

Design Report Part 1: Mechanical Jewelry

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
5 Comments
Introduction I began this project motivated by the love of jewelry and inspiration from a piece I was given my a friend. I dedicated the last month to playing around with different gears, patterns, and cutouts. I have loved this project and the ability to use my love of both mechanics and art. Since my…

Weekly Update (4/13)

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
3 Comments
With the expo in a little over a week I have been moving beyond prototyping. I have been making my designs with cardboard to prototype. This week my head pins finally arrived and I cut my designs out of acrylic. I have also determined that I will be cutting scrapbook paper using the laser cutter…

Weekly Update (4/6)

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
4 Comments
This week has been a week of experimentation. I have been playing around with several designs (one is shown below). I was able to fixed the misalignment problems by adjusting the designs slightly to make sure that they turn properly. The more I play around with the gears the more desire I have to create…

20th Century Influence

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
2 Comments
I intentionally create a project that mixed several different styles and influences together. There is a slight influence of the Radical Design movement. The design has clean lines and geometric shapes. The color scheme derives from the Pop movement. It feeds off of the bright colors and tends to draw the eye. This is a combination…

Mechanical Jewelry Project Update

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
2 Comments
As I continue with the project, I was originally playing around with the idea of using existing, recycled gears. After spending several hours at the local McGuckins, I discovered that the size of gears I want are mostly found in only plastic. I want to use recycled gears, but I am afraid of the potential…

Top 5 Constraints

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
4 Comments
As I continue to push forward with this project, I am made aware of the challenges that I am soon to face. The school year is quickly coming to a close and I am constrained by the limited time left for design, iterations, and assembly. I am aware that there will be issues with my…

Design Review

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
9 Comments
First Impressions When I first began this project, I wanted to make sure that my personal style was obvious. I am a light hearted person who loves colors and gold. I talked about my art and love for jewelry in my previous posts. Jewelry, especially statement jewelry, is my favorite form of art because it…

Final Project Inspiration

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
2 Comments
When I first declared my major as mechanical engineering, one of my best friends gifted me a mechanical gear necklace. It was made of simple balsa wood and the gears were connected in such a way that they rotated altering the shape of the necklace. I loved the necklace, but the fragile wood soon broke…

What’s My Dream Job?

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
No Comments
As I come to my final semester of college, I expected to have more direction than I first did walking into CU. I could barely pick a major, originally I was chemistry, and by chanced ended up switching to mechanical engineering. However, I find myself just as unsure about my desired career field as I…

Minion Resume

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
1 Comment
After 4 years of mechanical engineering and a life time of DIY projects, I have several skills that make me a perfect minion. I have a strong programming background. While I may not know every language I have a strong aptitude for computing. I also have a basic knowledge of Solidworks and laser cutting. My…

Laundry Basket Chandelier

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
42 Comments
My vision for this project began with bettering the light in my living room. Much like many college homes in Boulder, the main rooms lack built in lighting. There is a lack of lighting over our kitchen table so I decided to design a chandelier that would add character to the room and light our…

Statement Chandelier

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
2 Comments
If you took a look at my college apartment, you would notice that about 70% of my house is re-purposed furniture. With a limited budget and my desire to keep up a stylish appearance, I have done everything from repainted wood chairs to upholstered garage sale furniture and paint art on the wall. However, all…

Simplify It

Katie Hortik
2016, Student Work
2 Comments
A movie poster is is meant to draw the eye, tell a story, and encourage movie goers to spend the movie on their film. They are the combination of commercial purpose and artistic expression. Movie posters began in the late 1800s as paintings, usually of a scene from the movie, with a small block that…

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