Alyssa Phillips: Slots

Design Inspiration: I wanted to create a slot design that steered away from strict, mechanical geometric patterns and more towards organic forms. This project made me think of connecting toys that we all played with as kids, and unlike most pieces in these kits that are basic blocks or sticks, I wanted to make some connecting pieces that had a theme to them. I honestly took my inspiration from an image of a cactus on a beer can while I was at work (I work at a bar). I then thought to myself that a Texas theme would be a great idea, and started doodling simple images that reminded me of Texas that I could create as multiple connecting slot pieces. I decided on the 3 modules below; a rose, a cactus, and an antler (which kind of looks like a branch too).

Technique: I created my modules in Rhino by creating free-form curves with control points. I've found that choosing this option is the easiest way for me to create the kinds of forms that I am looking for. I added innercut curves for the rose and cactus piece that gave them more depth and make it easier to understand what the form is supposed to be. I then went in with the rectangle tool and placed them around the module edges and trimmed the extra pieces off. After I had my roots complete, I arrayed them into the reference box. 

Turnout: I was pretty pleased with the final work that I put together, even though I did run into issues in the process. I wanted to stain the wood originally, but after it was cut and had the burnt look to it, I thought that it gave it more of a Western feel. I also lost some pieces during the cutting process because the sheet of plywood was warped to the point that some of the lines were not lining up in the machine, so they did not cut all the way through and came off the sheet with a lot of extra splinters. The sheet was also only about 0.19 of an inch, and I made my slots to be 0.21 of an inch just in case, but it ended up being just a tiny bit too much. I was able to glue the pieces together and slide them into each other where they stayed in place. I wanted the antlers to be at the base of the structure for support, and then I connected the cactus pieces and roses up and around the antlers.