Blog Post 9: Top 5 Specifications Top 5 Constraints

Beginning with the most obvious of my specifications, the main goal of my project is to create some original woodwork for my bedroom that combines my own personal aesthetic as well as my parents. Building upon this idea, I aim for the pieces to deeply embody my y2k Roxy surfer girl aesthetic—so much so that the elements drawn from my parents’ style ultimately serve to accentuate and elevate my own. Next, I would like for my project to feel like it would be part of the set design for either Pushy’s bedroom in the film Blue Crush 2 (2011) or Violet’s house in Watching The Detectives (2007). Although these two films take place in different settings, the common ground that exists between the two living spaces is that the interior design is both eclectic and sentimental, yet deeply diy-centric. Next, another top specification I have for my main project is that the materials that it is made out of– the woodwork– is a color and type of wood that matches with the rest of the wooden elements that already exist within my bedroom. I want this small series to be a natural contribution to the flow of my bedroom’s design, and look like it almost came as a set with my room, rather than being a new added element that doesn’t really match and looks out of place. And finally, I will know that I have succeeded with the final design of my work if I place them in my bedroom upon completing their fabrication– and my parents do not even realize that they are a new addition. The reason being is that anytime I hang up or add something new in terms of decor to my bedroom, 9/10 times my parents within a day, will tell me to take it down as they don’t like the vibe it adds to the rest of the house. So, if I am able to create a woodwork series for my bedroom and hang them up without my parents realizing or telling me to take them down, then I know I have succeeded in creating a design solution that combines my own personal y2k surfer girl aesthetic with that of their clean and pristine coastal aesthetic.

Now onto the constraints. I would say that my biggest constraint would be the fact that my parents’ have a hyper-minimalist aesthetic. Several times a month my dad will come into my room and tell me that my bedroom would look so much better if there was nothing on the walls. This limits me because working with a style that thinks less is more, definitely contrasts with my playful, and whimsical beachy aesthetic.  Next, another constraint I face with this project is my level of woodworking skill. Although I have worked in the woodshot a couple times throughout my studies at CU in the Art program, most of the works we made were more practical and simple pieces that are very much beginner and/or entry level. And I want to make something that is complex in its nature– combining two very different aesthetics– I will likely have to create something elaborate and multifaceted. On a related note, because my woodwork series will likely be intricate and layered in nature, a constraint that I will likely face is timing. I have a bad habit of spending what feels like 800 years on the smallest details of a work because as an artist and a craftswoman, I am very much a perfectionist. So, challenging myself to create a small series keeping my goals in mind within a relatively short time frame will be a major constraint to say the least. The last of my top constraints for my main project would be creating a major work of art, with little to no color. Because I will be using wood as the primary medium for my works, this will allow for a sophisticated feel that will be appreciated by my parents, but will lack vibrant and pastel colors that are usually a huge part of my self expression. Thus, working with a medium that leaves out one of the major characteristics that conveys the essence of my self-expression will be tough, but is a challenge that I am hoping to grow from and help my work reach new levels, without needing to rely on the powder of color.