End of the Year Craziness!
So sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written, I got caught up in all the craziness that comes with the end of the school year! Lots of late nights, no sleep, and stress, but let me share some of the highlights of the past couple months!
My friend Amelia and I were invited to host a radio show at the Brown University Student Radio! We were asked to host a country music night and were so thrilled about it! We spent a week curating the perfect playlist for our hour set, it must have gotten out around campus that we are big country music lovers. We can’t wait to do it again next year and have already started planning our next set list.
We also spent a lot of time working on getting documentation for our pieces. For one of Ameila’s pieces we drove to Beavertail Lighthouse to take pictures of the creature she made. It was so much fun climbing on the rocks and finding the perfect spots for pictures. Amelia then helped me with my documentation in my room. We had to build a sketchy wooden tripod to balance on my bed to be able to get a high enough angle above the bed. I’m so glad I have friends that make doing homework fun and something I look forward to!
My Grandpa also came over to visit me at school! It was so much fun being able to show him around where I live and spend my time. We went to church at the First Baptist Church, which is right in the middle of the RISD campus and also the oldest Baptist church in the U.S. I then gave him a studio tour before walking to get sandwiches for lunch and showing him more of Providence. We then drove to the coast to explore Beavertail and Newport before heading back to Providence for a seafood dinner! The next morning, after my class, we met up with his brother and wife for a Cinco de Mayo lunch and catch-up! I loved having my grandpa visit me at school and can’t wait for his next trip over!
Most of my time was spent working on my finals for my classes. I spent hours and hours making thousands of beads. After a lot of trial and error, I developed a recipe for making the beads. They are made of corn starch, PVA glue, baby oil, lemon juice, and coloring. I made them in batches of about 600, kneading the dough, rolling the beads, baking them until they are hard, and then drilling holes in each of them. It was quite time-consuming, but became therapeutic. I also made my own loom from scrap wood I found lying around and was happy it worked for what I was trying to do. I then spend about a week setting the loom up and weaving all the beads together to make a fabric-like surface.
I also worked on different ways to digitally model beads and 3D print them. At first, I was a bit weary of the 3D printer, but by the end of it I loved playing with it. I started printing fabric-like patterns and surfaces, treating the 3D printer like a sewing machine. I then took the beads and flattened them to a couple of different thicknesses, drilled holes in them, and wove them together in the shape of a flattened chair.
I’ve been really interested in the flattening of domestic objects and creating surfaces that have the same or similar movement qualities as fabric. I’m excited about the progress I made with my work this semester, and I’m really looking forward to expanding upon my ideas for my senior year.
Even though I was super busy in the studio, working on my finals I still tried my best to hangout with my friends before we all separate for the summer. Millie and I went to see Lake Street Dive downtown at the Providence Performing Arts Center, it was such a gorgeous venue! Amelia, Jameson, and I attended the Murder Mystery party that is put on every year. Usually it’s a closed guest list, but this year it was opened up for applications and we were selected! It was a lot of fun! Between studio sessions we spent most of our breaks outside in the church yard across the street. Many times would just all sit together on the bench in silence, listening to the birds and cars because we were too tired to speak. Those moments were always my favorite and the ones I’ll miss the most.
I finished all my finals, and my critique went well! I loved seeing all the work everyone made and listening to them talk about it! Jacob flew out to help me pack up and move out. Once we loaded up the car and brought everything to the storage unit, we headed out! The drive was about 14 hours, so we just did it in one shot! Since being at home, I’ve been spending time at home, hanging out with friends, having movie nights, updating my website, and doing odd jobs here and there.
I’ve also been getting ready for my trip to Maine. I was invited to be a part of a leather and metal workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine. It’s two weeks long and in the middle of the wilderness, but I am so excited!
Talk more soon, have a good week!
Love, Sophia
