Laser wheels of plastic steel.

So from the list of workshops that we had to choose from, laser cutting was the one that appealed to me the most as I loved using it at sixth form and thought it'd be worth it to learn to use the adobe illustrator software properly as I had only used 2D design before, not illustrator. We were first assigned to meet at the Design Museum to visit the current Paul Smith exhibition. From this we were told to gather as much insight as we could for our projects. 

Fig 1. Paul Smith Exhibition (own photography)

Fig 2. Paul Smith Exhibition (own photography)

Fig 3. Paul Smith Exhibition (own photography)

Fig 4. Paul Smith Exhibition (own photography)

A reoccurring theme throughout this exhibition seemed to be Paul Smiths focus on travel in the photographs and equipment/accessories he collected. I found the placement of them equally shared out throughout the collection, vaguely grabbing my attention throughout. The room with the bicycles and skis and snowboard definitely added character and almost a source to Smiths travel photo's he had collected which interested me extremely.

Fig 5. Paul Smith Exhibition (own photography)

Fig 6. Paul Smith Exhibition (own photography)

Fig 7. Paul Smith Exhibition (own photography)

Once we had taken in everything from the exhibition we were told to browse around London stores to gather inspiration for an accessory or product we wanted to create. From the exhibition I knew I wanted to keep the idea of travel close to me therefore keeping my eyes peeled for anything suitable. We headed straight to Selfridge's (well almost, after our stop to McDonald's that is) as their superstore seemed most appropriate for anything really. I had no clue as to what I was looking for, and struggled for a while as everything seemed basic and obvious. But as I begun to admire the huge baubles being hauled mechanically with massive clamped hooks on chains, I took a quick snap. Then in the technology section I found a motorbike poised beautifully with shiny wheels, which I also snapped up. These were the only photos I managed to collect however I felt they were all I needed.

Fig 8. Selfridge's bauble (own photography) 

Fig 9. Selfridge's bauble (own photography) 

Fig 10. Selfridge's Yamaha motorbike (own photography)

Fig 11. Selfridge's Yamaha motorbike (own photography)

This amazing wheel is the main source for my final piece as I played around with the shape and size of the middle plate quite a bit till I was happy with a final line drawing. With the line drawings we produced we had to place into illustrator to figure out how we would process the laser cutting. 

Fig 12. Own illustration

I wasn't sure of what I was to to create for the final piece but I knew I wanted to create a crazy wild piece with influences from Iris Van Herpen ft Suzuki type of collaboration, very tough but artistic. 

Fig 13. Collaboration Moodboard

With the line drawing I created I started to make different versions and also mini wheels to also laser cut which I thought would work well with the other pieces I had created. Once I was finished with drawing out on illustrator the designs I wanted to cut out, I decided on making a statement neckpiece which could represent a shell/armour in a way. I chose to do this onto silver mirrored acrylic perspex and blue perspex which would compliment eachother well and have the tough edge I wanted. 

Fig 14. Laser Cut wheels

After many hours of waiting by the laser cutter, watching each tiny whole be burnt out individually, I finally had my all my cut outs ready for the final thing. I had created some designs of neck pieces so I went from there, attaching different wheels with jump rings, making something small to begin with but gradually adding more and more until I had a final piece. 

Fig 15. Final piece

When I was making the piece I tried to spread out the large and small wheels equally which is highly effective for the piece as some parts are in your face as others are delicately laid. This piece is both a neck-piece and collar/mask to keep the sense of travel and protection involved in a semi-obvious way. I feel that the effort and time I have put into this piece has really paid off as it seems to sum up my project perfectly and embodies the influence I began with and the collaboration of the designers.

Fig 16. Final photoshoot