Observations on Craft and Aesthetic

The aspect of the piece that stood out the most was the silk screen fabric that we chose to use in an effort to use a material that was both reusable and in agreement with out thought given to creating a non-traditional meditation space that was both a part of its environment and created its own . It was especially beautiful among the trees where the reflections of branches shown in the sunlight on the beautiful days afforded to us. Due to the nature of the fabric and possibly our sewing skills, there was rippling at the seams that caused subtle variations in the fabric. However, the flaws were visually balanced with the minor lack of tension in the fabric that allowed the breeze to make the material flutter, complementing out fabrics rippling. In terms of our knots, we got some wonderful feedback from someone who mentioned that the knots initially drew them in as they could visualize us yanking on the knots and the time we put in to them. This is a testament to how the care in the piece can be seen and even visualized by others. One bothersome visual of the piece was that the wall fabric and the string pulling it together was visible underneath the floor. This eyesore could be avoided by paying more careful attention to where we end the fabric, having it be right underneath the first piece of bamboo. Throughout the project we were grappling with the idea of using grommets on our piece. In the end we only used them underneath the piece which I believe was really important. Here is an example of seeing all the possibilities in a given situation, as for a while we thought that grommets were the only way. However, in caring about the piece and what effect it had we were able to realize and experiment with other ways to attach the fabric. The sewing machine ended up being successful and lead us to our vision. Although the floor looked very beautiful and was kind of a showcase of the bamboo, it was also apparent when in use that it could have been tighter and prevented Kim from falling through. Here are some pictures that capture the qualities of the fabric, the craft in the knotting and sewing, and the overall presence of the piece.