Chair 4, Post 1

Yesterday I spent a concentrated period of time working on Chair 4.

First I outlined my design on "butcher paper" in side profile, to scale.
Then I cut out pieces on the horizontal ban-saw. I was a little apprehensive when using it because the machine at the Crucible is very different from what I used at the Lick shop (and it's expensive to break). After several cuts though, I was comfortable enough so that I could cut with more speed and accuracy.

This part is pretty simple, but prone to mistakes.

DJG

Shelving Unit 2

I don't know why I can't rotate this image, but it is my progress thus far on the shelving unit. Instead of all straight edges, I decided to bend the signs upwards to support the books that I place there. It's looking pretty good!

Part of the fun of fabricating my own designs is that I can change it mid-production and make improvements. As I started working with the signs, I realized that the objects on the shelf (books for example) would have trouble staying on the shelf if there was no support system that rose above the book platform. Then I thought of two beautiful curves holding up the books on either end. It all came together-- the signs are rather easy to bend.

More to come.

D

Starting Up at the Crucible

Yesterday was my first day at the Crucible. I didn't accomplish much-- just moved in my supplies and cleaned a few of the really dirty signs.

I found myself without a project to ease myself into the Crucible, so I designed a shelving unit that combines several techniques to gain confidence in the new shop environment.

I have a few variations I'd like to try out-- look out for photos tomorrow!

DJG

Coffee Table, Finished

Today, I finished my last piece of furniture in the Lick-Wilmerding High School metal shop. It was definitely a bitter-sweet moment at the end of the day. I developed immensely over the past three years under the guidance of David Clifford, Gary Goddard and more recently, Youssou Falls. My designs and craftsmanship improved in strides--thanks to my interest in architecture-- fueled by my wonderful instructor Goranka. I'll certainly miss the Lick shops: the people, the tools, the friendly atmosphere.

But I have no real time to ponder these thoughts. Tomorrow, I move into the Crucible's metal shop and begin work for the next five weeks. In this vain, I sought out and found four large signs from various salvage yards. I now have sufficient traffic signs to build several coffee tables and a chair in the next week or so.

Now the real adventure begins!
-D

Chair 3 Complete! Coffee table 1

What a beautiful day Friday was! I finished Chair 3, which is certainly the most comfortable, well designed, and crafted piece of furniture I've fabricated in my three years at Lick. The chair combined wood and metal. The two materials worked off each other to create a comfortable, colorful, and (very) strong piece of furniture. This is certainly the beginning of a trend in my work-- I realize how the two materials can compliment each other; Each medium has its limits and by combining the two, the possibilities increase at least two fold.

Here's a detail of the wood backing. I rounded the edges smooth with the router.

I don't think it's feasible to make the fourth and final chair of this project in the last two days before the shops close for the summer, so I set out to create a smaller-scale piece of furniture. I designed this small coffee table (24" long, 14" wide, 12" high). My concept was to utilize wood as the base to attach traffic signs with screws

The blue aqua top will be de-burred and rounded, and then attached to the wood. Look for the completed piece tomorow!

DJG

Chair 3, Post 9

I've graduated from my high school, but I still have unfinished business. I'm chugging up the big "Hill of 4 Chairs", saying "Yes I can" the whole way. Tomorrow and Friday are my last official days in the Lick-Wilmerding metal shops. Today, I developed the seat, back, and armrests for Chair 3. With four hours in the shop tomorrow, I hope to complete this chair. Here is a progress update:
These armrests are not only visually attractive, but structurally supportive for the backing and the armrests themselves. I will outfit the tops of the armrests with traffic signs and smooth all the surfaces to make sure they are safe and comfortable.

I also returned to the Crucible for another go at the TIG and grinding tests. I aced the TIG welding test, because I practiced all of today with Mr.Clifford. And even though I practiced assembling the angle grinder, I failed again on that today. I think it's because the grinder I was supplied by the Crucible was different from the one I practiced with. I'll have another go on Monday, and I better pass or I'll be disappointed in myself!

All the best,

D

PAINTS art auction

Daniel and I attended the Bird House Gala and Auction on May 28th in Piedmont, CA.

It was a fundraiser for arts education in Piedmont which we donated our "Cat Ate Bird" piece (Collab 1) to.

Brennan Popovic and Ari Oppenheimer

A possible material choice?

Since my work is slowing down to be a stop because I have no malleable traffic signs for Chair 3, I've decided to share some other excellent high school artists' work with you.

Sometimes, I see art that must be recognized. Talent that must be introduced to others. Today, I want to feature two friends of mine-- Brennan Popovic and Ari Oppenheimer. Both are sculptors whose work is precocious and refined.

Brennan's work uses organic forms, abstract imagery, layered clay, and vibrant glazes to produce visually complex and compelling sculptures. Here are three of his pieces (the image quality isn't top notch as I'm using an Iphone, but you should the idea for how impressive his work is).

I haven't seen much of Ari Oppenheimer's work, as he's a relatively new student in ceramics. Here's one of his pieces, which I fondled intently as I shifted it around in my hand. The smooth and round contours of the lower segment of the piece contrast nicely with the spiny protrusion that sprouts out of the top.

Hope you enjoyed!

D

Chair 3, Post 8 and Wall pieces!

The past few days have been quite hectic, but here I am on a Friday writing in about my trials and tribulations this week!

I've made some progress on Chair 3-- the frame is all together and ready to be upholstered with traffic signs. Unfortunately, I don't have the traffic signs that will work yet. I'm working on it as we speak.

Chair 3 frame (now with two additional cross pieces)

I took a "checkout" test at the Crucible, where I plan on working for 5 weeks this summer through a program that lends out tools and the facilities to students. The tests were simple, yet difficult. The MIG and TIG welding tests required me to completely set up a welding station and weld. The Fabrication test (cold tools) required me to explain the use of each tool and the procedure for using it. The grinding tool required me to completely assemble an angle grinder...and I don't know what else I have to do because I failed that first component! =/

I failed both the TIG and the grinding tests because I couldn't SET UP the tools. I am proficient in using them, but the studio manager was checking for correct setup and safety. I passed the MIG and Fabrication checkouts, which wasn't all the easy either. Ultimately, it was a blow to my ego-- a good thing because it will push me to learn all of the tool setups.

In other news, Daniel and I have completed our first collaboration piece, which can be seen at his blog. We're donating that piece to an auction that will raise money for arts education. We hope it will be a successful item in the bidding process.

I'm so excited about the result of the first "collab" that I made two other wall-pieces to pass on to Daniel. Here's one of them.

I cut the hole in the middle using a cut saw--

The piece:

Leaving my mark in the grinding room:

A really sweet weld:

Classmates' Chairs

Hey All,

I wasn't able to work in the shops today due to an AP Calculus test and an architecture project. Even though it's second semester senior year, I'm keeping up my work ethnic!

I was able to snap a few pictures of some of my metal classmates' projects though. I would go so far as to say this year's crop of designers and their designs were the best I've seen in my four years at Lick. Maybe I'm getting sentimental here, but it really was a good group of kids.

Hansoo Song is a sophomore. His chair is a kind of cocoon, which envelops the user from three sides. It tilts back with ease and is padded with sound proofing, which makes it an extremely comfortable chair. The sound proofing also makes it an enjoyable place to listen to music, so Hansoo placed two speakers on the top of the interior. Mr.Clifford astutely pointed out, "It feels like the music is in my head."

Kayla Abe is a junior. She was voted most fashionable in the Chronicles of Shop Fashion post. Her chair used recycled wood, which is splayed out to form the chair backing. A velvet red cushion was beautifully upholstered onto a stainless steel seat. My favorite elements are the two curved metal pieces, which act as structural elements but add to the composition of the chair as well.

Olivia Burr is a sophomore. This chair is very cute, and I love the asymmetrical backing.

Mike, a senior, took a very technical approach to his chair-- it reclines via a system he developed.
Hope you enjoyed! Please comment!

Chair 3, Post 7

First, I want to say sorry for failing to post for the past week. I had my reasons, one of them being a three day trip to Princeton University for a symposium on race relations.

Today, I was back in the metal shop, working at full force. I cleaned welds on each side of the frame in preparation for welding together the two halves.

I learned the hard way today that grinding can be dangerous. I was using a very precise grinding tool that hooks up to compressed air and small pieces of the weld I grinded were sticking to my arm. It was a similar sensation to get a wood splinter, but they were much smaller and in much greater numbers. My arm developed a small rash from all the places the metal imbedded (lightly) into my skin. Here's a look:

I also learned that the Scotch-Brite pad (at right) evens out the surface of the metal around the weld with more precision than the sand paper (at left). Good to know for the future!

Finally, to update you on the Daniel-David collab, Daniel is working away at the sculpture portion. Here is his progress:

--David Joseph Goteiner

Chair 3, Post 6

Today, I welded the whole second half of the frame. Now I have two identical side profiles of the chair, which will be attached with steel tubing at points that require structural support.

Setting up the chair for welding with C clamps:
The welded sides, slightly offset so you can see the accuracy of the duplication.
The design for the arm rests. As seen from a front view.Look for a completed frame tomorrow!

D

Coverage on Grassroots Modern

Hey All,

On Friday, this blog was featured on Grassroots Modern, a wonderful design blog that looks for affordable and modern design. Creede Fitch, the founder of the blog, was hooked by my new and improved pitch!

Creede, who is not only a blogger but a manufacturer of modern and affordable doors (and capabilities to produce furniture), showed interest in manufacturing a "short production run" of one of my designs. He has the facilities, and the same passion for affordable design as I do, so I'm hoping it works out.

More to come soon--

D

Chair 3, Post 5

Oh man I'm feeling good about this project right now. I completely welded one side of the Chair 3 frame. It looks amazing-- definitely my favorite of the three chairs I've designed.

I'm not feeling great about the "viral marketing" campaign though. I contacted Fecal Face SF and Dezeen but neither responded to my story pitch. I don't blame them though, my story pitch was pretty weak. It's probably time that I draft an intriguing, well written email that I can send out to all the major design blogs. Basically, my strategy right now isn't working. I think this chair will boost my chances of getting published though, because of its modern and sophisticated aesthetic.

On another note, I am signed up for a 5 week work period at The Crucible in West Oakland this summer. Once I pass their entrance tests (hoping I will...!) then I get access to their equipment and facilities for a 5 week long period. What can I make in five weeks of straight metal fabrication? I think we know the answer to that one... =]]]

Cheers--

DJG

Chair 3, Post 4

Today I had to reconfigure two pieces of my third chair-- The back leg and the armrest. The armrest was much too low, at 6 inches above the seat. That would have made the armrest unusable, so I raised it to 9 inches, a standard height for comfortable arm-resting...

After cutting out those pieces, I took my time setting up the whole chair so I can weld all the pieces simultaneously. This is a technique my metal teacher recommended. This way can ensure the layout of the whole chair before beginning welding.

One of the key lessons that was reinforced today is patience. After realizing (thank god I realized) that I needed to reconfigure part of the chair, I got anxious. It wasn't according to my plan, and it made me frustrated that I had to backtrack and cut at the cold saw. It's the same issue as architecture model building-- which is time consuming and often requires backtracking.

As a result of my frustration, I was sloppy with my cuts, and had to backtrack even further to correct the careless mistakes.

I'm a little worried that the chair will be back heavy, meaning that it has too much weight on the back end of the chair and will capsize. Time will soon tell...!

What do you think of the design? I personally find it the most elegant one so far. It's so simple, which is awesome!

goodnight--

DJG

Chair 3, Post 3 and Piedmont Post Coverage

I'm veering off course, somewhat. Instead of starting on the original Chair 3, I'll using this new design:

The reasons are very logical-- I don't have enough of the rectangular tubing to complete the original Chair 3, so I created a new design that will require less material. It's also simpler! Lighter! More elegant!

I may be partially forsaking comfort for beauty though. The proportions of the chair are different-- lower to the ground and wider. I believe the aesthetic is more modern in appearance...

Here's a "miter joint." Taking some advice from John Mayer (not the singer...although John is a fan)

On another note, a Q&A session about my furniture was published in the last Piedmont Post newspaper. It is part of the coverage leading up to the PAINTS auction, an art auction that will raise money for Piedmont's art programs. I'll be donating a piece to the auction (perhaps the collab with Daniel).

Leave a comment!

Deej

D and D Collab (2) and Surveys (Chair 1)

I bear exciting news--my collaboration with Daniel is going very well. He's developing the sculpture like a pro! More to come, but here's the update:

As promised, I'll share some of the preliminary data of the survey I conducted on Tuesday:

- All four subjects ranked the aesthetic appeal of the chair at or above a 4 out of 5.

- 3/4 subjects responded that they would sit in the chair "regularly."

- All four subjects found the seat height to be "just right."

- 3/4 subjects would "recommend" the chair to a friend.

More to come on this front.

Goodnight!

DJG

D

Chair 2 Complete

I'm writing from the Lick library with exciting news-- I finished Chair 2 this morning.

I added the support the chair needed in the seat. I was pretty excited, to say the least:

Any ideas of where/who I can send this chair to online to get it published?

-D

Chair 2 Upholstering (2) and Surveys (1)

I made a promise to post everyday, and I will keep it as best I can. Even if it takes away from much needed sleep!

I upholstered Chair 2 today. Everything was going smoothly until I sat in the chair when it was partially upholstered. The seat, which is not directly reinforced underneath with steel framing, began to cave in. I quickly jumped out of the seat, but not before a rivet POPPED off the chair.

That was easy to replace, but the weak seat needs reinforcement, so I will either weld on a supporting piece or devise some other method to solve that problem. I wouldn't want one of my chairs to break!

Today, I started to conduct the market research for Chair 1. I asked four Lick students- Tomas, Haden, Nick, and Jeremy- to sit in my chair for approximately an hour each. I created a survey, which I will share with you tomorrow. Although today's data isn't conclusive, I saw a trend-- that the chair could be improved on a comfort level, especially over prolonged periods of time.