6. TEXTILE AS SCAFFOLD#

Inspiration#

“A couturier must be an architect for the patrons, a sculptor for forms, a painter for color, a musician for harmony and a philosopher in the sense of measurement”. Cristóbal Balenciaga

He was called as “the architect of Haute Couture”, so he saw his trade, as an integral artist. He was a teacher with volumes and forms. “If the structure is good, you can build whatever it is,” he said again. For that reason, by controlling the whole process, rather than designing clothes, he built them … or deconstructed them. At the beginning of the assigment this week, it was automatic to relate it to Cristobal Balenciaga as the axis of inspiration, given that one of the most important premises to develop was: to give special importance to three-dimensional geometries; and this was what he did. This was the right moment to be able to really emphasize the millinery (from the initial point) and thus be able to create my own mold, having total freedom to create a support with which to later be able to experience the molding of different materials. One of my long-term goals is to be able to revalue an almost extinct trade, the traditional millinery, through new technologies, materials, techniques and thus bring it to a contemporary stage.

Creating 3D volume: millinery mold#

Design process:

Milling Machine#

Milling is the process of machining the use of rotary cutters to remove material from a workpiece by advancing (or feeding) in a direction at an angle to the axis of the tool.

Horizontal Roughing

Week 6.TEXTILE AS SCAFFOLD / Miling Machine from Betiana Pavon on Vimeo.

Radial Machining

Week 6.TEXTILE AS SCAFFOLD / Miling Machine / Finishing from Betiana Pavon on Vimeo.

Kombucha Hat#

The kombucha (known as Manchurian mushroom, tea fungus or Chinese mushroom). These fungi and bacteria convert sugar (sucrose) into glucose and fructose and then into ethyl alcohol (potable), carbon dioxide (CO2) and acetic acid, all living in a symbiosis of mutual benefit, forming a body of liquid on the surface of the liquid. gelatinous appearance similar to a jellyfish. If the fungus receives food continuously, this process has no end, that is why the kombucha is called “the fungus of immortality.” . Formula for the growth of Kombucha:

A month ago, as a group, in the laboratory we started the growth of the Kombucha, in different containers, to then use this BIO-material in one of our projects. Fortunately, the Kombucha grew rapidly (during this period it was fed with fruit sugars) and we decided to remove it from its fertilization medium, wash it, dry it and use it as organic leather. This coincided temporarily with this assigment and we decided to dry a cut of it in the hat mold.

This is the result of Kombucha after several days of drying on the mold. The piece has a firm structure and the material has faithfully copied the shape, especially in the part of the helmet. The color is uniform and also has some transparency.

Molded in Leather#

After experimentation with the Kombucha and a natural drying system; I really wanted to try different materials and molding techniques on the shape. The chosen material was leather; There are ancestral background of how to work and mold it. After investigating the issue, perform testing of the material, its flexibility and subsequent hardening, apply the techniques of soaking and molding through vacuum.

Step by Step:

Stiffen-Leather

Crystallization#

The idea of creating a structure like scaffolding and that crystals can grow in it, was fascinating to me; It is like cultivating your own jewel. Following the line of creating objects that can be carried on the head, in Rhino I made a circular parametric drawing, which from lines of cut, can take the shape of the head. For this I used the wool felt as material and laser cut.

Crystal Alum / Process:

Crystallized Results#

This is the result after 3 days of rest. My wish is to continue experimenting with the crystallized felt through the parametric design, but adjusting the proportions for the fit in the head and the thickness of the material.

Downloads#