Daniel Gordon Baird

Patternmaking is at the heart of metalworking, woodworking, fashion, architecture and many other disciplines. Why? Because so many materials are available in sheet form. Students in this course will investigate a range of processes by which flat sheet materials like paper, wood, metal, fabric, vinyl, and plastic can be used to make volumetric, three-dimensional forms. Patternmaking for Sculpture will teach the student digital and analogue methods of designing, cutting, and assembling 3D work. Practical strategies as well as contemporary industrial use and the history of patternmaking will be explored to give each student a range of options for making their own work, whether it be art or design.

How can artists use professional tools to connect with the art world while engaging with communities, institutions and organizations? In what ways can artists stimulate the public's imagination? Speculative proposals can communicate radical and provocative possibilities to inspire change. In this class students will explore the fantastic, utopic and dystopic that can be made possible within the limits of a hypothetical proposal. During the semester, students will use models, plans, diagrams and sculptural forms to create speculative proposals as standalone 'finished' pieces that imagine realities beyond current financial, physical, legal or practical constraints. The semester will culminate in the presentation of student projects. The class will organize, plan and promote the dissemination of the finished proposals, focusing on unique forms of distribution, presentation and public engagement.