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Update Part I: The Past

March 07, 2007

It's been a while. I'm going to give myself a welcome back.

I want to open this "General Update" blog with the work of a nostalgic artist, Thomas Heatherwick.

This work, which is installed in London, is a "hydraulic bridge across a canal feeding the River Thames that can curl itself into a ball to make way for passing boats."

Above my attraction to the aesthetics of this bridge's design is the fascination with the nostalgia presented with the work. The drawbridge is such a antiquated archicture that it almost exists the realm of fantasy for modern day people. However, its obvious social implications and its physical connection with landscape makes it relatable to children. I remember reading a children's book when I was very young. It was about practical applications of logic (yes, a geek since the very start) through strings, trading, and drawbridges.

Ever since then, I've loved the idea of drawbridges. I soon fell in love with various other objects not seen around me. I aspired to build them when I grow up...but my dream realizing these fantastical architectures was eventually muted by practicality.

Recently, I felt these urges coming back to me again. And Heatherwick's work reaffirmed these desires.

I'm going to make a list of things that I've always wanted to make, even the most grandoise ones. And then I'm going to try to make them.

Over wintersession, I decided to make a guitar in the shape of a classical violin. The guitar would be built from scratch (with some purchased parts, such as tuners, bridge, pickups, etc.), but everything would be shaped, crafted, carved, and constructed by me. Here is my process, in a nutshell:

The plan came from blowing up the template of a classical violin, and fitting guitar electronics into the shape.