Updates!

So as expected I spent a good deal of my weekend sanding down this whole freaking desk, this operation required multiple energy drinks and about 3 sheets of sand paper. On top of taking the desk apart and sanding it I've been working on some design layouts for the vinyl in illustrator, I'm also working on a quick prototype image of the whole desk with the designs on it so I can see what it looks like and maybe decide on some colors. Those will go up later tonight when I'm finished with them. As of now I have some pictures of the sanding process and my supplies.


Here's the desk in its original state:


Here it is cut in half. The rest of the pieces were too stubborn to come off so I figured it would be easy enough to sand and paint in two big chunks.



And here it is all purty and sanded. I've already used those two cans of black on the bottom half of the desk so I imagine I'll need at least 2 or 3 more cans of black, no big deal though it's a minor investment.

Sketches + update

I have a rough sketch for the design I want to lay out on my desk with the vinyl. I am very fascinated with wave patterns, fractals and radial designs so I decided to use that as my main element. I want the desk to look like waves are coming out of corners and seams of the desk and emanating in different directions. This project isn't intended to be a piece of fine artwork that questions some authority or makes you think deeply about something, the design is purely aesthetic. Like the last project this one is about taking something I use everyday that is sucky and cheap and make it work better and make it look like it's worth a hell of a lot more than it really is. Tonight I plan on taking the desk apart and going through the grueling task of sanding every piece front and back - by hand... I could sure go for a power sander right now. Once the sanding is over with I'll have to get all my designs drawn out on illustrator and cut out in vinyl (instead of just drawing out huge circles and using up lots of material to print those I'll probably make several segmented arcs that go to one circle). I'll keep updating as the process continues.


*keep in mind this sketch isn't accurate in terms of color, the circles will be a brownish color of my desk and the rest will be a glossy black exactly like the nightstand

Final idea for final project

So after this weekend I've decided to switch gears a little bit for this project. I've kind of lost interest/faith in my lightbox art project and have re-directed my interests towards customizing my computer desk. I feel like this idea fits better into my theme of customizing things in my surroundings to fit my aesthetic and functional needs. I also really liked the idea that John put out there about applying vinyl over furniture and applying paint over it to make a negative space design on the piece. So I've been working on some sketches of designs I want to see on my desk and so far I'm working with a theme of radiating waves and circular patterns. I will post some detailed sketches once I have all the details and designs figured out. On top of painting and redesigning the desk I'll be fixing the keyboard drawer and making some new organization systems for cables and general clutter around my desk.

3 ideas for final project

I've scanned in 3 sketches of ideas for where I can go with this project.

1)My first one and the one I'm pretty intent on producing is a light box with custom laser-etched pieces of translucent acrylic on the surface, so it's like a projected still piece as opposed to just a plain print. This idea started when I noticed there were 4 florescent light tubes in my shed not being used at all so I figured I could use some cool new artwork around my house and at the same time put these lights to use.

2)The next idea is very similar to my first night stand project in that I have a piece of furniture (My computer desk) which is something I use several hours a day every day and is aesthetically displeasing and somewhat dysfunctional. My plans for the desk are to simply fix the broken track system for the broken keyboard drawer thing, make some sort of new organization system for my shelves and the mess of wires, and to refinish the whole thing in black. This is not a very intense project so if I were to do it I would probably do it in conjunction with another one of these.

3)My final idea is one that I actually had for the first one but am now transfering it up to this project since I'm doing an over-arching theme of DIY re-design/enhancing my surroundings and it fits pretty nicely in that category. My closet does not have a door, which is not the end of the world, but it is kind of annoying. So instead of just buying a door I'd like to buy the pieces of wood myself and fabricate the thing from scratch maybe even with a custom laser-etched design.

So far I really like the idea of creating custom projection artwork, and if time permits I would really like to do the desk project on the side. I need to go check out the laser cutter and see what types of acrylic look best under fluorescent and to make sure everything is feesable and will look good before I dive into it.

Summary of my experience with the first project

I really really enjoyed the entire process of this project from planning it out by hand to making the entire thing by hand. It's been nice stepping away from the computer for once and getting my hands dirty and learning some new and very useful things. Obviously this project is very self-oriented and personal but I feel like people can learn from my project how cheap and relatively easy it is to do these things yourself. I am in love with my new piece of furniture, and hopefully I'll be able to keep it for the rest of my life as a reminder that I don't need to pay someone a crap load of money to make me a well designed nice looking item, and I'll know that mine is original, no one else has this and that has a value that money can't match. At this point I am thinking about staying the course for the second project and continue with customizing furniture or any other item(s) around my house that don't meet my satisfaction. I want to have this next project be on a slightly larger scale (do more than just one item, maybe customize something other than furniture), and perhaps even advertise what I'm doing to help get my message out there.

FINISHED

The project was a complete success! I got the new top panel pieces nailed in after the glue set, slid in the drawer, and put little rubber pads on the corners of the glass so it can sit securely on the panels. This thing honestly looks way cooler than I ever imagined it would.






Here it is in action:


Lookin sexy