For our ITC (Introduction to Craft) class, we have been working on building model staircases through bent lamination of wood veneer as well as on casting plant pots and flower vases with a variety of materials including concrete, timber crete, plaster, resin, and rammed-earth.
Although it took many nights with little sleep, failed experiments and much frustration, the end result was beautifully crafted to scale staircases designed to code and a diverse range of unique casted pots and vases each sporting features specific to the plant they house.
We reviewed and celebrated the finished products together with our two professors and two guest reviewers who commented on our formwork techniques, design process, and craft. Ranging from insulation foam to milled wood and plywood, the formwork used for both casting within and bending veneer to was the biggest challenge, as any slight inconsistency or gaps caused a world of frustration when trying to get the finished product as it added a lot of time sanding, re-bending, and attempting to remove excess pieces. Overall, it was a great learning process and produced incredible work!
