Rock Maple Flowform
Hand-crafted spatula cut from a block of rock maple. A study in flowforms, function, ergonomics, affordances, and aesthetics, and an exercise in craft.
Duration
3 Weeks, Spring 2022Course
Designing Products for Interaction![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7232e0a2c42957ab6d57bbc949ffb087e9e81566005542e5ea977e6995f4ce0a/IMG_5732-2.jpg)
Line and Silhouette Studies
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c4467ed7d4a2d838570ee0326a729b6ccee4cf36fffe5572bd0243d60883bb94/Frame-1.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5574265d9905617e47f0b661c358401ee8fdc5e4fe76b563a2f153c9e3fa0176/Frame-2.png)
Paper Studies
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/81d4e92a1cc0d29030fed46fdd17e0149a54ddcb1dd9fc1c783669c7128969bc/Frame-3.png)
Lofts
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dce9e281329e6ab5297f770f1e9dd77c419cc6e54234e103da23cb416f035371/Untitled_Artwork-1-1.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/94a5f5aa7ebdaec5bcc093bb003bf22dd9ec4094476897923be2a69329a555a0/Untitled_Artwork-2.jpeg)
Ink & Charcoal Studies
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/691a031fd9fcc8e13e671388be4d0c5958447e9b378c1280abac872e41e85b54/Frame-4.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d42e8ba8d278034e2c110074593b82b881701fd6a9bdc9f64df79e273c502b76/Frame-5.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b73b967f96507329cb6f5ce4280791a87e267529a15234c24a884a0e5f190af9/Frame-6.png)
SolidWorks Modeling & Further Exploration
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4c0977e327550a2e6a16a678bf1272c48b60845471a67c2c46a207a9c1a84770/Screen-Shot-2022-01-31-at-8.33.55-PM.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/29e62ed1c8f70ccaa92c451c12c5f7d25b09c0d0fd9631e2fa552f85dac26f49/Screen-Shot-2022-01-31-at-8.45.40-PM.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/753f4680b0ebf3f33b9234a1959a976fdc75018170b1427ce86cc110769450e6/Screen-Shot-2022-01-31-at-8.46.02-PM.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/db07c05d812d03d57261e263bcf653bc08a08ec86a654d1677aeb28ebb8c2e45/IMG_0625.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/522d86a5ca578b4240bc4cc032cb59d5b4216ca7a0dc5f353df53caf05be495f/Screen-Shot-2022-02-17-at-1.03.58-PM.png)
Final Foam Models
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/eff6379edb525d566a8cb3056e037eff850b9de4a21de8c1d3c652d71590e2cc/IMG_0559.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1346b589e04f0ee9466e3edc311c30f18ba05a40f957ecf5900516e25a8d118f/IMG_0577.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ca3a511510d8e974f509f9e8bb2622ae88c895c63a467cd9164248b0acb6401c/IMG_0581.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/544a28502c23848c0f7ca9ee5375674940c4faadbc016bcb0fd59ecbc4237ce1/IMG_0585.jpeg)
Craft Process
Using the bandsaw, I made two cuts on the 11x4 plane and two cuts on the 11x2 plane of the wood block, resulting in a total of 9 pieces, the middle-most one being the spatula. From here, I used the belt sander, oscillating spindle sander, rasps, and various grits of sandpaper to shape and smooth the form.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/05322c081b9d32a7074de1b3296f37f0ee124a1357bf69dabf7fa76e26a935ef/IMG_0695.jpeg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e65f7b730ea713f63f069d9ff14c54566e1f50e3737c02eb11644a2918941867/IMG_0781.jpeg)
Final
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c222070af2c7ce161bca836d1de0abd15be4decc7fc61206eaf4ab0e06bbee66/IMG_5761-2-copy.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cb17056502918a35c5495550a3d8a07eceda3962e8c260d0da3fdf02a0a69bce/IMG_5708-copy.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ef3b9dc266a90f3e03bc792226425e22dc1d04d09b72e787def82dea060a0316/IMG_5660-2.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/01a5d959cbe88dfa60bd7ea7d2b6bdd166c01136d8ef4a5ab43699062d691e74/IMG_0884.jpeg)