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DANIEL WILL SON
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Big and Tall Chair The Big and Tall Chair came about when I was working at DNA Workshop. They had a CNC mill and encouraged myself and the other intern to make use of it. So we did! After about three weeks of tinkering in Rhino 3D I decided to price out materials and go for it. The primary material is cabnetry grade plywood, with threaded rod used to hold the seat together and a piece of one inch square steel tube for the foot rest. In the end I widened the seat for two reasons: because a wider chair would apear more accessible to more people, and because the leg thickness was doubled up in order to hide the screws and threaded rods. The original intent was to make four of these chairs and finish a table for my apartment. Only two chairs were completed before my internship came to an end.
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Shop Storage Solution While at DNA Workshop one of our projects was to design, build, and install a set of cabinets for the shop. We used birch plywood and milled everything based on drawings created in Rhino 3D. The only terribly challenging part of this project was creating a drainage solution for an A/C unit that had been installed slightly askew. We milled those pieces as well and covered them with sheet tin. The entire object was to be hung over the existing dust collection tube above the cabinets.
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Mug Rack The first small project I completed at DNA Workshop was this mug rack for my wife. Before we met I collected mugs, and come to find out she also collects them. Our apartment does not have the cabinet space to accomodate so many of these ceramic treasures, so it made sense to come up with a storage solution. The cool thing is that when we have guests and we serve them hot beverages they get to come over to the mug wall and select which vessel they want to use. Construction wise everything is slotted together, with a few finish nails at the corners to hold them tight.
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Sculpture Capstone This is my capstone project from my last semester in the sculpture program at LSU, spring 2012. It is an entirely wooden construct made of poplar, pine, hard board, a few small motors and kerf cut luan. The project is modeled after the triumphal arches of the Roman Empire. Those arches were used to commemorate victory and to record the tale in relief sculpture. This then becomes a narrative about my time in the sculpture department, a moving, three-dimensional record of what I had learned there, especially about kinetic sculpture and my tendency to make large work. Each“cluster”of custom designed gears is powered by a small 7 rpm motor. Everything about this project was custom designed, down to the brackets holding the gears and the special ordered black oxide screws and spacers.The arch measured at 9ft tall, 6ft wide and 18in deep, with a 3ft “door.” One of the large gears was used later in a piece called Graphic Motion, seen at the end of this section. Also displayed here is the small prototype developed to test the gears.The clicking, clacking noise filled the gallery, echoing as people walked through and around the arch.
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Graphic Motion Graphic Motion is a piece born of incessant circle drawing and a repurposed motor and gear from the aforementioned capstone project. I have a fascination with doodling, graffiti, and street art in general, and that drove me to spend 14 hours drawing tiny bubbles. This is a mesmerizing thing to look at, constantly watching to see when the gear will match up perfectly with the drawing.
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Gears Prototype Here is a photo (also seen on the cover) from the prototype for my senior capstone in the sculpture program at LSU. This prototype fulfilled both the requirement for a kinetics class, which is why there are graphics drawn on the back in pen and charcoal, as well as to test the custom gears and brackets for the capstone.
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3D Printing The 3D printing seen here is mostly from my own exploration of Rhinoceros 3D and the desire to see digital models come to life without the need to actually build anything. I have completed two classes in Rhino with master jeweler, sculptor and digital fabricator Chris Hentz. Even in the Interior Design program I have found use for Rhino in modeling everything from a transient artist residence located in a fire tower, a rock wall for a gym, and now a huge focus of my senior capstone which will include a large wall system, columns and roofing for a rather large covered walkway between a number of buildings. There will be in the near future a 3D printed model of this capstone. The first item here is a personal project I worked on while in Hentz’s class. There was more to this figure that never saw the printer, but I do still have this guy. This is a plastic print. Second is another personal project for a friend. We had been working on a comic book together called Sci-Fi Panda, and this was Starship Unicorn, his aircraft of sorts. This was a test print, there were, as you can see, a couple of thin points that needed addressing. For various reasons he was never printed again. This is a plaster print, soaked in super glue. Last is a custom designed 3D coat of arms for my favorite art history professor, Mark Zucker. It combines his almamater, Columbia University, and his then current location, LSU. Our university does not have a coat of arms, so I had to take liberties in borrowing from a country with tigers on theirs. Zucker passed away the next semester, so this project is very dear to me. This is a plaster print, soaked in super glue.
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Components These are a few objects made during a components class last fall 2014. Laser cut chip board notched, laminated, or folded. The class covered different forms of rapid prototyping on a small scale. the final project was a bit larger; I designed a coffee table made of plywood and cast concrete.
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Small Spaces The idea is to offer a comfortable, temporary living situation for artists brought in by the Baton Rouge Arts Council. This includes adding wrapped platforms around the existing tower, with access points at various levels, to provide new spaces and to weave the interior and exterior together to create new spaces. Weaving new, large, glass panels around the building following a series of spiral stairs generates movement and incorporates new without sacrificing the old. In order to facilitate a visiting artist of any nature, the space will be used to maximize function without the small footprint too constricted. The space will accommodate at least one individual, but possibly up to three or even four. The first floor will be used as an entrance and storage space, as well as the laundry room.The second floor will contain the bathroom; this floor will secondly function simply as a transition area.The third floor is the kitchen, containing an under counter refrigerator and freezer, dishwasher, small cook top, convection oven, pantry, and an island with bar stools. The fourth floor is a roomy living space with a bench seat and murphy bed for extra guests, and a small seating area. Just above the living area is a wooden loft sleeping space with a full size bed and clothing storage option. The studio workshop can be entered from either the maindoors on ground level or from above using the platform connected from the third floor. The purpose of the studio being separate from the living quarters is simple: not every artist can operate in small spaces. There will be some woodworking and welding equipment provided, as well as a throwing wheel and canvas topped worktable for clay work.
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