Susannah Bourke

explorations in poetry, art and design

[susannahbourke]

The find in full view!

Chipboard panels with a solid wood carcass. 

Someone put it in a skip, it would have ended up in landfill. 

I can pull it apart and use the timber to create something new. 

[susannahbourke]

pastel blue

[susannahbourke]

Always check skips for unexpected prizes.

[susannahbourke]

Notes on Tony Fry’s Design Futuring.

[susannahbourke]

Bent lamination prototype.

This technique creates a lot of wasted timber, but it’s strong and lightweight. Having the staves as a single piece also creates an aesthetic simplicity which gives value to the stool, even though it’s made from materials which aren’t considered valuable. Furthermore, hardwood sawdust can be used in other applications, such as the propagation of mushrooms.

I’m still not comfortable with the amount of glue which needs to be used in the process, but I will develop the process more over time. 

[susannahbourke]

stool prototype

[susannahbourke]

Currently reading;

Tony Fry, Design Futuring: Sustainability, Ethics and New Practice.  UNSW Press (Sydney : 2009).

[susannahbourke]

Sketches

A low stool which breaks down into pieces. A cushion sits atop the seat and transforms into a backpack when time comes to move on.

[susannahbourke]

Brief

Design and construct a stool which would be the only form of seating the user would own for their lifetime. The seating will support the user from their infancy until they die. It must be reproducible in a small scale production run and support a nomadic lifestyle in a culture parallel to our own.

[susannahbourke]

New work incoming

[susannahbourke]

A reshoot of some old work out in the wild. Seems to suit it much better than a stale gallery context. 

Read about the project on my website; http://www.susannahbourke.com/thewelcome

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the marmoleum section mocked up using paper photocopies

[susannahbourke]

presenting my research

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making things always involves stupid mistakes. like this one, where i glued the caul to the back of my panel.

[susannahbourke]

experimenting with photocopies of the marmoleum i am going to use to cover the interior form of my trunk. 

[susannahbourke]

an object placed inside appears to rest in no-space. an inverted plinth.

[susannahbourke]

trunk in process

it looks like it’s painted black inside, but it’s actually a chemical reaction between the tannins in the timber and a solution of vinegar and steel wool. the more tannins a piece of timber contains, the darker it will go.