Focusing on Light
Dates
2023 - 2024
Focus
DIY Projects
Location
New York City
London Graffiti Tunnel Ring Light, 2023
Unique lighting fixtures always catch my eye, and even if on a small scale, I like to try my hand at DIY'ing lighting fixtures.
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I created this lamp as a gift with simple materials -- balsa wood, zip ties, twine, and ribbon.
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I cut and stained the balsa wood pieces before gluing them together to create the bench. I covered up the light sockets with ribbon and glued on the twine arms and legs. I then stripped the wires and created series circuit between them, so that a single plug would turn both lights on.​​​​​
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My favorite part of this project was designing the bench. I enjoyed finding what the most comfortable proportions would be for my light bulb humans.
Made February 2024
My next​ DIY lamp, showing "rebar" coming out of concrete, was the result of my desire to work with different materials.
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A few years back I read Built by Roma Aggrawal, and was inspired by how much flexibility reinforced concrete afforded architects and the development of the overall built environment. Again, although on a tiny scale, I wanted to be able to work with and display this composite material.
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This lamp is made from Quikrete and garden stakes (aka the "rebar"). I took a rectangular mold and put some sand inside of it to create the shape of the negative space (where the light is now). I secured the socket in the sand, and then poured concrete over top of it. I ran the wire through the back of the concrete and let it harden.
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A few days later it was ready to come out of the mold! I brushed away the sand, screwed in the Edison bulb, crossed my fingers and turned it on. I enjoyed getting to see the process of the concrete cure around the metal and sand.
Made May 2024