Lampsession

I need to write this entry so I can stop my obsession with lamps. Or have all the work bear great fruit. Either outcome would be fine.

This is the story of the  four lamps and the evolution that occurs from the first to the last. Or perhaps it is devolution that occurs.

It all started with some scraps of wood sitting around that were too small to make into anything substantial. So I thought I could make some funky table lamps out of them.

Lamp 1. So I made a bunch of 4×4 squares of cherry about one half inch thick and started stacking them in different configurations. Once I had stacked them ad nauseum I started to narrow the options down to what I could string a lamp cord through (I know that seems like such a creative-limiting move but since i didn’t want to install a battery powered light fixture and since I don’t know much about the transferring of electricity via microwaves I accepted this limitation).

You will see that what I ended up with was a simple rectangular Base with the rectangles cascading linearly in a backwards direction (or forwards depending on how you place the lamp). Creates kind of a nice offset feel while retaining some pleasing lines. Almost has a grand staircase feel to it.

Lamp 2. Second verse same as the first. Almost. But we throw a twist in there to break up the lines. The swirl creates some sense of motion, more like a spiral staircase. The twist carries the plane away from us then brings it back a little. Perhaps keeping us grounded.

Lamp 3. If one is good two is better. Here we try to add mixed motions (or maybe mixed emotions).  If one spiral staircase is good, a second will be even better, especially if they seem to be dancing with each other, or perhaps juxtaposed. I sometimes think it has that Ziegfeld follies synchronized swimming swirling feel to it. Or maybe a tango dance as someone has suggested.

And you’ll notice here the wood lamp shade.  I decided that since the lampshade can be such an integral part of the  lamp experience, why leave it to chance. So we created here a nice geometric design with a subtlety patterned paper to diffuse the light.

Lamp 4. Then we decided to take the idea horizontal and have the spiral come out at us and attacking the new plane from a different angle. Not only does the spiral come out at us it also dips in slightly, due to the walnut squares being thicker on one side than the other. The movement is very subtle and is difficult to see in the photo. The slight dip creates a bit of an off-putting feel about it and throws the lines into a slightly different place than you expect. It also manages to make sure that nothing about the piece is level.

Which takes us to the lamp shade, which is square and level.  This opens up options on how to situate the shade.  In the photo the front lip of the shade is level but is raked slightly forward, like a fedora raked slightly forward. You could also set the shade level on all sides or you could set it level to the top of the post, creating challenging  reactions from the people viewing it.

The few reactions I have had to it so far have been hard to guage. Linda said it looked like a wild animal. I think it looks like something sprouting from the earth.

So I guess this kind of what I mean when I say my style is evolutionary. Hard to predict, hard to explain, but I think easy to look at. I can’t imagine how anyone would not want an evocative lamp like one of these.

This entry was posted on 13. November 2008 at 18:17 and is filed under Designs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.