Author: Lauren Nee

Research Step 1

List 5 dangers to protect yourself from:

Hyperthermia
Boredom
Addiction
Breaking bones
Starvation

List 5 ways to extend the capabilities of your body:

Living longer/immortality
Needing no sleep
Flying
Reading minds
Hardened skin

Chosen topic: Hardening skin for protection

I choose this topic because being able to harden your skin provides extra protection and a sense of security for a person. You can use this to protect yourself or the people around you in dangerous situations. It can protect you from weapons, car crashes, falling from high heights, etc. Hardened skin can also protect the person from harsh weather or climate change. Tougher skin can help survive in extreme heat or fire, along with freezing cold temperatures as well. It is an effective solution to a wide range of problems and helps the person adapt to a difficult situation.

List out 10 tangible people/places/things that are associated with the purpose of your project:

1. Skin

2. Metal (for strength of skin)

3. Scales (hardened skin will resemble scales for aesthetic)

4. Sheild/protection

5. Weapons (skin will protect against blunt forces)

6. Fire (can protect against extreme heat)

7. Snow/ice (can protect against extremely cold temperatures)

8. Bulletproof vest (can deflect bullets)

9. Punch/strength (skin gives strength to user for protection)

10. Heights/falling (skin absorbs impact if user falls from great height)

Research Step 2

Artist: Jennifer McCurdy
Work Title: Wind Vessel
Attribute/Strategy I intend to borrow from the piece: This ceramic design flows very smoothly and efficiently, similar to how I want the hardened skin/armor to flow over the skin of the user. I want it to be aesthetically pleasing to watch the product “wrap” around the skin and take over.

Research Step 3

My sculpture is of a woman sitting on stones and thinking about something. She is slightly crouched over with her legs crossed. Her arm is in the air and is almost touching her face, and her face almost has a concerned look to it. It represents the human mind and how it is always curious and wondering. The woman is deep in thought and is contemplating or reflecting on something. Her gaze is focused downwards, suggesting she might also be sad or mourning. The sculpture is reminiscent of ancient Greek or Roman art, with soft garments draped over her head and body. My sketches of distortion all relate to her hand, and face. This is what impacts the sculpture the most, and changing her arms/hand shifts the feeling of the sculpture.

1a. The event I chose is my semester studying abroad in Glasgow, Scotland. I recently studied abroad this past spring semester at the University of Glasgow, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I was able to learn more about a new country and its culture, while simultaneously learning more about myself in the process. I have never traveled to Europe prior to my semester abroad, so I was definitely nervous about adjusting to life in a new country. Though I easily adjusted, and was able to meet many new people and make friends. In addition to learning and traveling to Scotland, I am lucky to have been able to travel all over Europe and meet up with my friends from Bucknell. Almost all of my friends also studied abroad, so I was able to travel with them every few weekends, which made the experience that much more enjoyable. When traveling, I always flew on a plane to different countries because Scotland is far from the European mainland. When in other countries though, I traveled by high speed trains. Overall, I enjoyed this experience so much and it changed my outlook on other countries and traveling.

1b.

1. Europe

2. Exciting

3. Nervous

4. Highland cows

5. Spring

6. Rain

7. Food

8. Scotland

9. Travel

10. University

Name: Lauren Nee

Major: Civil engineering major

Interests: Traveling, listening to music, running

I’m taking this class because I love design and art. Within civil engineering, I’m interested in structural engineering, so I would love to incorporate some aspects of digital sculpture into designing infrastructure. I’m excited to learn more about 3D printing as well!