Timepieces

Hello all! As a continuation of our store that we conceptually created, our class was given a new task: to design three different time pieces that could fit into the store. They had to somehow document the passage of time while also keeping the concept of the store in mind.

This first idea is my favorite--I think it goes with my concept the best. I researched different ways (other than clocks) to tell the passage of time. Two really interesting things that I found was the hourglass and the act of counting tree rings to tell the age of the tree. I thought of how neat it would be to combine those two ideas into one beautiful timepiece. I think both of the elements used (sand and wood) go very well with my concept. I decided to take the "zen garden" approach to my project. As we all know, the zen garden's main element is sand--thus, the hourglass. Also, I knew that the zen garden came from the Japanese. When I think of japanese design, I think "symmetry," "geometry," and "simplicity." I also remember that they use lots of wood in their design.

The timepiece designed below is my interpretation of the combining of these two ideas. I decided to place it on the back wall of the store behind the cashwrap. All of my materials in the store lead the eye back to that point. I placed an hourglass-like installation within a wooden circle. The sand within the hourglass takes a full year to fall completely to the bottom. The wooden circle consists of four rings that are all stained different shades (the lightest on the outside, and darkest on the inside--this creates visual depth.) Each ring represents one of the four seasons. One can tell what season it is currently, based on the level of sand. When it reaches a new ring, that indicates a new season. The sand in the hourglass counts the tree rings. The whole timepiece (or, timewheel, as I like to call it) can be rotated from the back of the wall when the year is finished. To me, this is the most interesting and most calming piece.

The next idea I though of for a timepiece is illustrated below. It would be placed at the same place as the previous timepiece (obviously, the store would only have one or the other of these timepieces.) After researching a zen garden, I found myself captivated by the ripples in the sand. I wanted to capture that texture and imitate it in a larger scale up on the wall. To do that, I decided that my back wall would be a textured wall. One time while researching, I came across a wall located in the Fort Lauderdale airport that seemed to mimic the undulating ripples of zen garden sand. The way the light hit the wall was incredible. (A picture of this wall is a couple posts down in my inspiration photos.) I decided to have a wall like this in my space, made out of molded plaster. I thought about the passage of time and decided to use two bamboo stalks as clock hands. There would be no numbers on this "clock," just the shadow of the bamboo on the ripples behind it.

For my last idea, I thought that I would take a bit of a different approach. Both of my previous ideas are at a large scale, so I thought I would also create a timepiece at a smaller scale--something that could be set around the store. Going along with the concept of "silent stone," and my continuation of the concept, "zen garden," I realized that since the common denominator between the two is the stone, I would create a stone replica that would tell the time. Now, I don't mean that I'm just going to slap a little clock on top of a random stone--I'm wanting to have really nice glowing stones, sprinkled throughout the display areas of the store. They would be made out of a thick, slightly textured acrylic. Inside would be a light that is set to a timer and changes colors depending on the time of day. It changes slowly from a robins egg blue during the morning to a grassy green during noon time. From there it changes to a pale, sunset pink for evening, and then to a dark indigo for when night comes around. In order to change the batteries, all one has to do is slide open a well hidden bottom compartment that sits flush with the rest of the stone.