Avery
Vang
Libertyville High School｜Libertyville, IL
TEACHER: Julie Johnson
3-D Art and Design
Echo｜40 x 80 x 10 in.
Idea: My sustained investigation was guided by the questions: How can I depict sound through fabric? How can I implement sound into my designs?
Material(s): Muslin Cardboard Black acrylic paint Copper wire Rubber tape Hot glue Zipper Sewing machine Thread
Process(es): Cut cardboard pieces, taped them to wire, wrapped them in fabric, painted them, attached to dress
Over the process of creating my AP portfolio, I learned new sewing techniques and the importance of experimentation. Before this portfolio, I had virtually no knowledge about how to sew, I only had the idea of what I wanted to pursue. Through trial and error and extensive research, I successfully built garments I thought would never exist outside of a sketchbook. Through exploring new techniques like installing zippers, hemming, drafting, and draping, I have grown as a designer and artist. The experimentation I utilized most explicitly near the end of my portfolio with fabric dye and a Chladni plate, allowed for stronger works with the introduction of color and more thought-through, complete designs.
Avery Vang
Student statement
Student
statement
The process of designing and sewing the dresses came with many challenges. The center semicircle structure had to be sturdy, but light enough to be held up by the skirt and shirt set. The skirt and shirt had to be carefully measured and sewn to fit tight enough to the models to avoid sagging when the semi-circles were attached. I also used multiple layers of fabric for stability. The center structure is cardboard backed with copper wire, wrapped in muslin, and painted black. I experimented with different materials like painted flattened wire and foam board, before finding that using cardboard and wire created a line that was thick, bold, and malleable, as well as light-weight. They fit into diagonal pockets in each top and skirt and are glued and sewn into place for stability.
My AP portfolio was an investigation of representing soundwaves through wearable art. This piece, “Echo”, utilized repeating lines and contrast to depict a connection bouncing back and forth between the subjects. Inspired by echolocation, the two dresses combine to create a pattern of crossed dashed and solid lines when the subjects stand next to each other. The interlaced design of the crossed center-pieces represent a bond between the subjects. I created this piece to investigate structure and explore technique in building fashion pieces.
NA | NA
Material(s): Copper wire Corrugated cardboard Muslin Paper Acrylic paint
Process(es): Experimented and practiced with shaping wire and finding materials to create a stable structure
Untitled, View 1｜2 x 3 x 1.5 in
Idea(s): Two pieces of metal with overlapping negative space designs create one pattern, focused on symmetry
Material(s): Nickel Brass Copper wire Leather String
Process(es): Cut and filed nickel and brass pieces, riveted together. Attached clasp and main piece with leather
I spent longer thinking through form, pattern and layering choices when my process included more extensive experimentation. I also enjoyed the act of making more; there was less pressure, and I focused on being guided by my process instead of being guided by deadlines. I am more confident in my own creating and in trusting the unknown of making through building my AP 3D portfolio.
Untitled, View 2｜2 x 3 x 1.5 in
Idea(s): Two pieces of metal with overlapping negative space designs create one pattern, focused on symmetry
Material(s): Nickel Brass Copper wire Leather String
Process(es): Cut and filed nickel and brass pieces, riveted together. Attached clasp and main piece with leather
Teacher
statement
Julie Johnson
It can be a formidable challenge to launch into a journey without knowing the destination. One thing I learned from Avery is to have confidence in each student’s process of investigation. Avery started the year interested in representing sound waves through fashion, which evolved into implementing sound waves into her process of creating wearable art. As is evident in her portfolio, she chose a laborious technique. Not only had Avery begun to navigate a journey without a destination, she had also selected a particularly arduous route. However, she truly enjoyed the art-making process and the materials she was working with. This transformed an initially laborious process into intrinsically motivated projects of passion, as opposed to projects created simply to fulfill an assignment requirement.
Avery was fortunate to critique with engaging peers whose discussions were a rich source of questioning and inspiration. When she started her investigation, Avery didn’t anticipate her processes, materials and ideas would begin to deeply synthesize when she began to experiment with a Chladni Plate. The Chladni plate is a tool created in the late 1700’s, which Avery modified to transpose sound waves into visual patterns directly onto fabric using dye. The resulting fabric was then used to construct wearable art. After seeing Avery’s successful exploration of an investigation that was at times uncertain, I will be more transparent in celebrating the muddy process of student investigation, encouraging students to be persistent in excavating their art-making passions and concepts through questioning, experimenting, and critique.
Avery Vang
