The artifact I will be producing is a Ferris wheel that has become overrun by nature. This goes back to the very first aesthetic I explored! Depictions of this aesthetic include imagery of nature flourishing despite man-made obstacles – how humanity has abandoned, neglected, or mistreated a space that was once vital to everyday life. This style was popularized by multiple forms of media, ranging from photographs, paintings, films, shows, and video games. As concern for climate change and other environmental impacts grew, it was not uncommon for movies and novels in the early 2000s to depict apocalyptic events in succession to a man-made catalyst, and how these disasters would affect humanity.

Originally, I thought of making a ferris wheel that includes photos of my childhood, with the very broad aesthetic of “nostalgia”. The wheel was going to be decked out in a carnivalesque theme, complete with bright colors and jewels lining the spokes. One of the last blog posts, which had us depicting our project in two very different aesthetics, is what made me pivot to the current aesthetic. 

Another pivot I made is that the photos are not included in the project. I did this because it seemed a little tacky, and I didn’t want to take away from the true effort of this project, which is the Ferris wheel itself. I still like how the aesthetic I chose at the beginning of this course has stuck with me through the semester, and I am excited to finish out with an artifact I feel proud of. 

Last time I checked in, I had the cardboard elements finished, and some of the plants crocheted. Since then, I have done the following:

• Crocheted more plants; light green thinner vines, fern leaves, and a lavender string
• Installed supports to make my design more rigid (skewers)
• Assembled the Ferris wheel to its functional state
• Attached my crocheted plants to the structure

Some complications I ran into:

• Attaching the plants to the structure took more trial and error than I thought
• Safely getting the skewers through the cardboard

Top 5 Specifications:

1. Must stand freely

It does do this – so it passed!

2.  Must spin with minimal force

Uses a little more force than I wanted, but it can still spin. Passed!

3.  Must capture the aesthetic

I think it does look like a structure overrun by nature. Passed!

4.  Must have appropriate photos

I scrapped this idea awhile ago, so it definitely failed this specification.

5.  Must have easily recognizable plants

Between the vines and fern leaves, I would guess that someone could recognize these strange things attached to my structure were plants. Passed!

Top 5 Constraints:

1. Time

Every engineering students concern is time. But I finished in time!

2.  Materials

At the time, I did not have a lot of cardboard or yarn laying around. But I was able to make it work.

3.  Crochet skills

I definitely developed a better feel for crocheting because of this project.

4.  Available photos

Scrapped this idea awhile ago, so it’s not related anymore.

5.  Weight of materials

The cardboard help up surprisingly well with the weight of the yarn!

Overall, the project looks a little more robust than I was imagining, but it still challenged my crochet and detailing skills. I’m pretty proud of the result! It spins when you rotate the wheel by hand. 

This link should show how it rotates:

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