Week 2

The Bowl

Walking into studio without any prior knowledge about digital design and fabrication, I were curious yet fluster to hear that our first task was to shrink an aluminium sheet into a blow form. It sounded easy when the coordinator was demonstrating each step to the group. However, I regret having said that. Hitting the mallet to the aluminium sheet was hard; I could hardly hit on the correct spots of the aluminium sheet.

Here is an image to show some of the initial steps before shaping the aluminium sheet:

I began to shape the aluminium sheet gradually from the outer circle path to the center point. Putting a shot bag underneath the sheet allows more rooms to create negative space and to form a round surface.

These images below show different perspectives of my finished aluminium bowl. To result in a smooth and even appearance, I hit the aluminium plate with the radius end of the mallet to create a concave look and then use the rounded end to smoothen the aluminium.

Likewise, by using English wheel, it helps to create a polished finish. As shown in the below diagram, there's a thin gap between the anvil and the rolling wheel that helps to form smooth curves.

Critical thinking- Looking at this finished aluminium bowl, I realized that it might be fun to design a lampshade from the piece. So, here is my design of an aluminium desk lamp.