For my maquette, I decided to attempt to fabricate a smaller version of two of my concepts utilizing the same materials that I plan on using for the final project. I am very fond of wood as a material, which is what I chose to make both pieces. For my lighting sources, I purchased a set of long LED lights and a set of portable battery powered bulbs.

For the first piece, I modeled a flower-patterned design in AutoCAD, which I later used to laser cut into the wooden canvas. I then attached the LEDs to the inside of the canvas and inserted batteries to power the lights. Once illuminated, the flower patterns are quite bright and visible. For the final project, I wish to accomplish a similar, but stronger, effect. In order to achieve that, I decided to paint the interior of the canvas black and cover the back of the wooden board with a solid white material.

For my second experiment, I also modeled a design on AutoCAD and laser cut shapes onto wood. For the lamp shade, I decided that I wanted it to be a square box with the same patterns on every side with the exception of the top side, which included a round hole to fit the bulb. When I first attempted to cast a shadow using the prototype shade and the bulbs which I purchased, I realized that the bulb was not strong enough and did not produce enough direct light to cast a shadow off the patterns in the design. I also realized that I might need to use a much smaller bulb, which will work better with the final and larger – sized lamp shade.

Moving forward, I need to purchase the following items:

• 2 sets of 11×17 1/4″ birch wood ( $14.99)
• 3 6 W 5000k LED Edison Bulb (smaller ones) ($22.85)
• A larger wooden canvas ($10)
• White card-stock ($5.99)

For the remainder of the course, I wish to start working on the final project as soon as possible. I should have all of the required items purchased by the end of the week. By the beginning of next week, I should have the design ready to laser cut onto the wooden canvas. After that, I will try to tackle the obstacle of figuring out the right bulb size and lamp shade size necessary to cast a good shadow. I will probably laser cut a design into one panel and test it with the new bulb. Once that is resolved, I will cut the rest of the panels in the correct size and begin to assemble the lamp shade. Throughout the last two weeks of the term, I plan on polishing the projects and putting the finishing touches on them. Both the lamp shade and the wall decor will be constructed as a set in which I will either keep in my apartment or gift to a loved one.