From the beginning, I wanted a piece that could represent the human spirit in all its heroism and strength. Triumph and adventure was the aesthetic and mood that I wanted to evoke when looking at the statue. I wanted it to achieve the correct proportions and hold a pose that would convey the desired energy…

Presentation and Critiques When I first thought of what I should make for my upcycle project, I wanted to use whatever discarded material that I already have to save time and money. With this in mind, I looked around my place and found several cardboard boxes that are just sitting there waiting to be thrown…

For my project, I decided to upcycle a decorative vase I had by using leftover magazines, newspaper, and other paper material lying around my house to form an art piece that fits the Merz paper mache collage aesthetic. I have been interested in the Merz aesthetic ever since I found out about and researched it’s…

At this time for the upcycling project, I have managed to make the final product somewhat close to the initial idea. I started off with using solar panels from my calculators to charge Li-ion Rechargeable Button Cells(LIR-2032), 3.6 V that would power a Red LED inside a Crystal Ball Souvenir. My circuit consisted of a…

  Completing this upcycle project has definitely been a fun and interesting experience. It is always fulfilling to use low value materials to create something valuable and/or useful. I don’t mean to detract in any way from the value of creating pure art, but I personally find the upcycle process especially fulfilling when one produces…

  The conservation slogan that I remember most from my childhood is the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. These R’s are supposed to be applied, in order, to all consumable products that people use. So where exactly does Upcycling fit into the R’s? Is it reusing? Recycling? If you make something that you would’ve bought,…

Just a little recap for my original plan for this project… I bought some Nerf guns at the beginning of quarantine to curb my girlfriend and I’s boredom. It quickly devolved into being paranoid of walking into a room due to the fear of catching a Nerf dart in the eye. As the months progressed,…

For my upcycle project I was really inspired to explore further the low poly aesthetic.  The low poly aesthetic while visually stunning in it’s simplicity has two different forms.  3D and 2D.  The 3D low poly art is a fully rendered computer model with triangular facets which is shaded in accordance to simulated light.  It…

For my Upcycle Project I used cardboard to create a model car. The aesthetic that I tried to achieve was a modern supercar style and based the car off of a Lamborghini Aventador. The modern supercars have a distinct look with their sleek lines and low profile to the ground giving them a very noticeable…

For the final artifact for the Upcycling Project I created a polaroid picture frame. The inspiration for this artifact came from a poster I have in my apartment that is shown below. From this poster, I wanted to combine the classic / retro aesthetic of old hockey sticks with a modern aesthetic.  How I envisioned…

As mentioned in previous progress posts, I constructed a mobile out of old climbing gear.  The aesthetic that I was striving for was that of the climbing gear itself.  I wanted to both show the beauty of it due to the inherit simplicity, and the fact that it hadn’t changed much over the years.  I…

Presentation Video How Frame Fits Together Video For my upcycle project, I repurposed a climbing crash pad to be used as a small couch. I built a frame out of plywood for the pad to sit on comfortably, which was the main fabrication portion of my project. My goal was to apply a sleek minimalist…

Presentation Video: https://vimeo.com/user134296562/review/515596643/2d35099ce2 Did you know that recycling is bad for the environment? It takes a lot more time, energy, and resources to recycle a plastic bottle, aluminum can, or glass jar than it does to produce new ones out of raw materials. Even after the tedious sorting, transporting, and distributing of recyclable materials, many…

Intro to Viking Aesthetics Viking art is estimated to have started at the end of the 8th century. It was first developed by the Viking tribes of Scandinavia in territories that we now know as Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Vikings decorated almost everything with elaborate carvings and contrasting super-positioned materials. Currently, Viking art is mostly…

For this project I decided to focus on the aesthetic of sailing. Sailing is a part of my family and has been passed down through generations. Every year my family travels to Michigan to sail and partake in our favorite hobby! For those of you who do not know what a Hobie cat is, it…

For my project, I decided to upcycle cardboard boxes that I already owned and the racing bibs I have received over the last three and a half years into a work of art embodying the old school athletics aesthetic. The inspiration behind this came from running my last indoor track meet at the University of…

The aesthetic I chose to incorporate into my upcycle project is the tropical aesthetic. I chose this because the topical aesthetics is one of my favorites. I think the tropical aesthetic captures a fun lifestyle that is missing during quarantine. Along with this I think the tropical aesthetic is one that can be well captured…