For this post I chose to incorporate aesthetic roots in both my project but also my upbringing as a child and something that I think played a role in defining my childhood and shaped me into the kind of things that appeal to me. When I think of an aesthetic that I used and was attracted to, not even understanding the concept of an aesthetic, I think of “homemade.” Growing up my parents kind of unintentionally highlighted the quality and favorable characteristics of homemade items. Whether it was homemade food, and home cooked meals everyday, gifts that were homemade from sewing and knitting, or fun, random DIY projects that my brothers and I would find randomly and tinker around with, from a young age homemade items have always been something that attracts my attention.

When i think of homemade it makes me think of this little pie shop back home in Virginia called Mamma’s Apple Pie Co. This quiet little shop highlights the desirable qualities and “warm” feeling that the homemade aesthetic brings out.

When it comes to my project I was not planning on having a “homemade” aesthetic. I wanted to design and machine components with high precision and create a very clean, complete, finalized product. However with the changes that have been forced to be made due to COVID-19, my project has turned into more of a DIY, homemade looking Stirling motor. I do have plans to incorporate other aesthetics with the help of Professor Hertzburg such as Art Nouveau or Art Deco by adding some decorations to the motor. I initially wanted to create a sort of steampunk or industrial aesthetic with the stirling motor with lots of moving components, linkages, and utilizing metallic colors. With the limitations of material acquisition and machining, I think this aesthetic will be more difficult to accomplish but my goal is to still shoot to incorporate these themes.