Back to the conservatory

The making of the model tree was the incentive to start this blog since it was very new at the time and would allow me to show the progression of a piece from birth to completion, however it wasn't the first of my efforts to construct a 3D model in card. The idea for this has been developing since mid last year, but it's only recently I have given myself the confidence that it may amount to something. The first project was a scaled replica of my conservatory at my last house. I'm not entirely sure why I chose the conservatory- I think there was something enchanting about the space which was completely offset by a mirror ball in the centre, and I spent a lot of quiet time in there due to the enormous amount of light in the summer.

So that's the initial inspiration for this piece. I've already had an image of the construction up on the Sculpture page for a while but I've not really mentioned it before. The intent is not just to make architectural style models- that's always just been a means of having and object to "virtualise." By this I mean I want to use a process known as texture mapping used in the rendering of virtual objects/environments and apply it to a tangible, physically interactive object. To do this has required a lot of trial and error especially on the part of how I'd go about having flat, seamless textures that would still look authentic. Below is the first printing and attaching of a surface texture, revealing the first glimpses of the overall aesthetic.

 This is the old texture sheet, which didn't quite work. It is as true a capture of the actual surface which I'm replicating i.e as opposed to constructing a flat repeated texture as in the later version, this is a flat photo of the wall. Unfortunately using this process, the detail is lost and the image is sloppy. I do like the idea of adding in little embellishments though, such as the small hook in the middle.